Finally, Lani and I manage to make a trip to Khobar to shop for my abiya. This is not like getting in the car and driving to the Alderwood Mall. First you have to find a free morning, then you have to find a driver who is able to drive you that day. Women cannot drive in Saudi Arabia except in the Aramco Compound. Michael who is 10 years old could drive to Khobar (if he could see over the hood) but Lani can't.
We had arranged to go Monday morning and the driver forgot and was already taking someone else. Fortunately, Tuesday worked for both of us. Sheik is the driver Lani uses most of the time as he is very helpful and a good driver as well. We put on abiya's and were ready to go. We do not leave the compound without wearing them. We probably could, but it would be offensive to the Arabs and we're not here to offend.
When we got to the shop where Lani had purchased her abiya before, I found one I liked and then Sheik bargained for me. I also got a scarf and hood to complete the outfit. I got the entire outfit for 130 riyals or about $32.
Lani and I in our abiyas.
We also did some grocery shopping at Timmimis which used to be a Safeway and is very large and well stocked. Since we still had a little time we checked out the brand new Ikea that opened here just before Christmas. It looks just like the one at home.
Steve has been trying to get us to a coffee shop in Khobar ever since we got back from Egypt. Between work, kids commitments, and the coffee shop hours, horrendous traffic making the trip too long, and prayer time we have yet to get there. When we have made it in, the shop has been closed.
You have to time your shopping to between prayer times which occur four times daily. Every-thing pretty much shuts down during prayer. The difficulties of Saudi.
New Year Day
We got up at 5:00 in the morning for a 2 1/2 hour drive to Hofuf to see the camel market.
This was certainly a highlight of the trip. I absolutely loved it. The crowds of Arab men and boys, the camels, brown, black, white ones and their babies, along with the farm type smell.
Most of the camels were pretty layed back and just wandered around occasionally making their unique sounds.
The babies are adorable, just like all baby animals. The mothers were protective so we made sure not to come between them and their little one. We were able to pet one of the babies. The owner held him for us. He had soft curly hair which surprised me. I didn't know there were curly haired camels. These all had only one hump. The camels with two humps are found in China and Australia.
We also were able to see one camel loaded on a truck. They tie up their legs and put straps around his body and use a hoist to lift him up into the truck. He was not happy and was struggling and bellowing
I could have spent hours there wandering around taking pictures, but we had places to go and things to see, so we moved on into town. We poked around in the antique shops, each finding something we wanted to own. I think Tom's was the most unusual. A model Buick car that was the same era and looks as ours except it was red and convertable and an Electra instead of Invicta. Who would have expected this in Saudi Arabia?
Next we went to an area with a cave and rocks forming a mountain. This was special for the boys to climb and explore. I checked out the cave as well. It was nice and cool and apparantly the temperature stays the same all year around. It was quite beautiful with all it's unusual formations and paths.
Then the long trip home. We wandered a bit through side streets trying to find our way out of the town. It was tiring, but also interesting.
Till another day. Dolly
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