Hara City in Riyadh

This is a weird start of the week on a Saturday with Sunday being off. Daily routine continues nothing changes except for the fact that yes, Sunday is an off.

Given the extended weekend with just 1 day of holiday...lot of folks were off. Given a bit relaxed time, we left office on time and decided to checkout on  Executive  Apartments in one of the leading hotel chains. Some of the folks here in team want to cook themselves and wanted a different kind of room experience. We went over, where another member of team had booked in, rooms were decent but I was more interesting to explore the area about a Kilometer away from that names Hara, famous in this part for its confluence of cultures from Sub-continent, namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. 


On reaching Hara one thing we realized, this was so unlike Riyadh that we have seen so far. It was another place may be from some backlanes of Kolkata or further Dhaka, but I have not seen Dhaka so cannot say. The boards are not just in Arabic and Hindi, shops have boards mostly in Bengali. Some rare shops have it in Malayalam, but its Bengali which predominates in this area. People are roaming in the region like some chaal on outskirts of Mumbai. Cars parked just like that, vegetable vendors extending shops like they do in sub continent and am sure a local resident from Saudi will feel like a foreigner in this place. Long unwinding lane of gridlock traffic and a herd of human bodies jostling for space, this when its not even a weekend. Eateries dishing out Sub continental fare (finding anything else was difficult)...this place was overcrowding and over flowing with masses everywhere and small nukad groups at every corner. We were not even sure if they all were legal immigrants. Some good food, but lack of choices if you are vegetarianian in the region.


We headed back to the serviced hotel room of the friend shortly and after a coffee back to our hotel. Roads as on other days later in the night packed, but more so today as tomorrow its Saudi National day. People and kids on car tops, sitting on doors waiving Saudi flag and shouting all along the route. Driving even for a distance of 6-7 Kms is not easy. We reached hotel and were off. We know tomorrow evening we can watch spectacular crowds on streets, particularly Thahiliya, Olaya etc and have booked a table in a road side cafe to watch this. Staying in central Riyadh just a few steps away from Olaya street allows us to experience this luxury. Lets see what tomorrow brings.

A Sad Sun and Champagne

A sad sun is not a spelling mistake, but I will come to that latter. Its been another week since I spoke about Riyadh. Time has just flown and alas another weekend gone, but none the less, we have a rare Sunday off in this part of the world.  Its a national day and a government holiday, so no meetings. Not really sure on what it means cause the weekly off on Friday's is nothing less than a national holiday situation in capital or even more. Shops and malls do not open till afternoon prayers, roads which are generally jammed do not have a vehicle in sight and not a person on streets...it will be closer to a curfew situation than anything.

Well there were days apart from Friday as well and they were good. Dinner is not just a means of food consumption, its a key part of days entertainment and elongated discussions, just that these are over food. In this week we were taken through some nice food experiences which we wouldn't have known had it not been for our Partner from the region suggesting items to us.

Off all things we liked Saudi Champagne the most...well a Champagne in Saudi...don't read too much into the name, its non alcoholic, but none the less good. Its a cocktail of juices, made from Apple and Orange Juice along with Sparkling water. It tastes good and is a decent drink. 

Another thing we did try was Arabic coffee. They make it differently here but its fantastic, off-course if the Arabs had not shown us the beans they use world would have been without its favorite drink.

Now apart from the drinks we tried some unheard of Indian dishes in this far away land. One made from eggplant was amazing at Awadh's at Thahiliya street. Now Thahiliya  is the place in region and newer part of town for its eateries. We liked Koshi Bashi last time for its Turkish delights and now this. This was a good change on Wednesday night from our mandane week. 

Now its almost end of Friday and I have been watching one of the most beautiful sights I have seen yet again. One that I get to experience only during weekends from the high rise hotel room window...the setting sun against the desert background. But alas today the color scheme is not the same. The sun is not setting in horizon but in distant dust clouds before that. May be its a sand storm passing from far away...and today the sun with this color scheme appeared sad...a sad sun that is. but the sight that lead to that was still equally breath taking and one which will make me wait for it...this time not till another weekend, but just 2 more days for Sunday...Cheers all.

Riyadh Skyline

On a late Friday evening, as I peep outside the window of my hotel room, I see an enthralling skyline of a city which it seems is so quiet on its day of prayers. The usually bristling King Fahd road and bumper to bumper traffic on any weekday it seems has been replaced by a road which is letting traffic zip past at speed. Such a contrast to any weekday. The only time I see such traffic in Delhi is only on national holidays, not on weekends.

One thing that has not changed in the weekend is the magnificent skyline and how it appears at night. The lights on distant roads and  atop buildings all in a straight line, some white some yellow and some flickering on high rises. On other side I still see construction, that's one thing you see a lot as you walk down the streets of this city. Buildings and big buildings. 

Walks on the street, that's on thing I miss which I am able to do in most cities that I have traveled so far. For one crossing roads is not easy and second carrying passport everywhere is a pain and lastly, only time you can be out is early mornings or late evenings. Things are hot even during early evenings that you cannot venture out. Malls and Markets are bristling with people primarily after the last prayer of the day, that's usually between 8:00 PM to Midnight. But what every time you are on road, you see cars of every type, though its rare to see smaller cars. Most common SUVs are from GMC and Chevrolet, some of the size bigger than Tata 407. Well there is one thing we got to know during a discussion with someone in office, you need to have a family in Riyadh to be able to buy a SUV, singles would be restricted to sedans. But then kind of Sedans you see on the road are also the best from the world...rare to see a small car, though in the last 1 week, I have seen 1 alto...yes, just 1, no Indica / Indigo on this trip yet, when last trip I saw 1, and couple of Accents. Among cars with some number, you see Toyota's Yaris and Corolla as smaller cars here. Rest everything just keeps getting bigger and better. 

But yes, now back from the view of the road to the skyline and yes, the distant lights on roads and streets look so enthralling and captivating, have been gazing them for sometime now before heading out for the last of this weekend's dinner. Its a bit early for me but then the foodie in me wants to experiment and try something different today :).

Sunset over Riyadh

Am writing this blog as I see the sun about to set over the distant horizon. Have been on my hotel room window overlooking a hospital followed by a barren land and then some construction far far away.

Its rare to get such a clear view of sunset in our cities right till it just vanishes in the horizon. Being a weekend this is one of the rare luxuries I can afford to have for the day. Its been breathtaking and I have been gazing at this for last couple of hours, the color of sand and change in shades of the sky. On a clear day in a desert land this is breath taking, that too when there is little wind and no moisture in air. Sigh, this breathtaking view is being taken away from me for another day. As I now write this line, half the sun is only visible and rest half is below the horizon. So bad I don't have my camera, this would have been one of the rare shots I would have taken in this country, where photography is not encouraged. Sigh...what a sight just went by.
 

Now that I have been in Riyadh on this trip for 6 days now and have had various new and varied experiences. Some good, some a reminder of sorts yes things here are meant to be different and each an experience of its own. The climate is very hot and dry, not possible to walk beyond a few hundred meters for souls like us who are not used to this kind of dry heat. Takes time to get used to it. In this heat one thing i have been relishing is food. Riyadh would be a gastronomical delight. Its a melting pot of all Arabic cuisines and has good number of Persian outlets and to top that there is no dearth of eateries dishing out Indian cuisine.

I have been lately relishing Persian cuisine a lot and all veg at that. off course Shewarma / Kabab's here in Arabic and  Persian cuisines are thing to go for, but there is no dearth of things for the vegetarians. Have been feasting on a regular basis on Hummus (made from Chickpeas), Matabul (Brinjal base), Tabula (coriander base), Fatoosh (veg Salad base preparation) among many other things. Unleavened Persian bread is also so like the ones we have in India. Just amazing.

Another thing we figured out is that food outlets in Riyadh catering to wide variety of economic class people. You can have a meal in Central Riyadh in as low as 8 Riyal (less than 100 Rs) to as high as your pocket permits. This is true for not just local food, even Indian. Also variety of sandwiches is awesome.

Ah, the foodie in me is back to talk about food. Well the only thing that has been troubling me is the need to carry passport as soon as you step out of the hotel. You need to have an id with you everytime, even when you are just stepping out for dinner. Have been told of some good Indian cuisine areas like Haara and Batha. Haara am told is fine but batha is best avoided, On Friday's its akin to Bhagirath palace on a weekday with just people and people, some who have overstayed their duration. Offcourse this is hearsay no way to validate it. Will try Haara some day, have time on side. 

In these 6 days, right from the airport, there are signs of change even if i compare it to what was the situation 6 months back on the last trip. Though gradual, things appear to be more open. Not sure how it will be in next month in runup to Hajj. Well I would need to ensure tickets are done early, as in Hajj period getting tickets is difficult. No, people dont land up in Riyadh, they end up going to Jeddah, but connections into the hubs in gulf are full. 

Anyways, its almost quarter past 6, let me head to the gym today, since pool is closed for some pool side party. Untill next time, take care.

Another Trip

It was a hectic travel day yesterday. Not hectic in sense of tiring, but yeah could have been better, but given the flight schedules. This time even had a stop over at Doha. Of all things I ended up doing what I hate the most, getting up early, on what was supposed to be the first of the weekend days...err first of the weekdays, depending on where you are, so another lost weekend. 

Having reached airport and surprisingly was through check-in,  immigration and security in flat 25 mins. Now that is very quick for Delhi Airport, but that was how it was so what was to follow was an agonizing two and half hour wait, with some time for breakfast. This was the first time was flying by Qatar and would rate it better than many of the airlines flying out of Gulf region, but alas, even though my boarding card clearly had my food option listed, the staff told me they don't have in their list, but then he arranged it. 

Landing in Doha was again different, they had color coded jackets for boarding cards to ensure you are on the right terminal for transits or exits, but surprisingly even when Doha is being used as a transit terminal, it had no aerobridges. All Boarding and de-boarding was using buses et all. Was informed that new airport under construction, and probably one of the reasons that Bahrain, just next to it, with an airport which lacks space gets more traffic. 

Now onto Doha appears to be a city in rush to grow and develop. It is more cosmo than most cities in Gulf, but yes, not yet Dubai. The way its going, it will get there, sooner rather than later. Dint have much time in Doha between the stuff to be done, lunch squeezed in and all. Lunch in Doha was good, some of the best halloumi I have tasted yet. 


Well post lunch back to the airport for an intragulf flight to Riyadh. Problem with intra gulf flights is lack of choice of food even to preorder, but given the flight was only 1.5 hours it is manageable. The crowd surprisingly was far better than what we had from Bahrain, i was seated with a local Qatar citizen and had some interesting conversation. 

Riyadh Airport this time was a surprise, with immigration queues were based on visa type and only separate section for GCC citizens as they get express processing. One person from Europe, standing behind me not used to this, tried to talk to Immigration officer to get his done first, was sternly told to wait for his turn in queue. Another thing was a foreigner entering Riyadh immigration in a 3/4th which was another surprise. Clearing all the formalities and getting baggage scanned was out in the limo. I had hit the road right before office peak hours and by the time we were just 2-3 Kms from our hotel, traffic was crawling, it took us 40 mins to do those last couple of Kms. The chauffeur told me, it can crawl like this for hours. Traffic is notorious here, with most of the drivers and taxi folks from subcontinent. (The person driving my limo was from Faisalabad, Punjab Pakistan). What this traffic did was to let me the kind of cars (some I would say were trucks, not cars) that people drive on the roads. Majority of them SUVs or high-end luxury sedans but you do find cars of every make on the road. I could see an Alto, though just 1 on the entire trip and an Accent too.

Anyways' checkin as always was smooth, a quick dash to the mobile operator to get a new sim, some cash from ATM and all set for dinner and thats one thing you will find good in Riyadh...food, amazing variety and quality. I just wanted to finish food, be back and hit the slack. In a day when all 3 meals were done in 3 different countries (not in flights).

Anyways, its Sunday morning now and need to headout in a few mins for some meetings. Yes, work day 2 of the week. Now that I will start to head out and explore the place in evening.