The Allure of Al-Khobar Part 3 of 3

Why hello folks, still catching up with us? Okay, time for me to tie loose ends on my Eid trip to the Eastern province. This is the third and last entry of my Al-Khobar feature. I'm hoping you're still with me on this one.

I guess Saudi Arabia is big on street art. I know Jeddah has huge street monuments done by prominent artists. They have the Ad-Darrajah (The Bicycle), As-Sofon (The Ship), At-Tayyarah (The Airplane), Al-Falak (The Orbit), and Al-Jawad Al-Abyad (The White Horse). These I have yet to see.

Riyadh doesn't have a major street art though. The city leans more towards landscape like the one in the intersection of King Fahd Road and Mecca Road which features a well-lit landscape, whose meaning [if there's one] eludes me. There's a series of er, rocks assembled like the Stonehenge and stages illuminated and highlighted by dancing lights of various colors. Of course the date trees are understandable. But the rest... can someone please explain to me what the landscape portrays? Anyway, let's leave this segue way portion behind muna and go back to Al-Khobar...

Al-Khobar, on the other hand, has its share of street art prominently displayed on roundabouts (traffic circles). I enjoyed looking at the structures during our ride around town on our Day 3.

Rainbow in Doha Road.

Er... wings?

Sails? Remind me of our very own Mindanao 'vintas.'

Sort of a machine?

Golden pearl? This one is special because it's in the middle of a fountain.

These are the only ones I managed to capture. I'm not sure how many I've missed but by the looks of it, these designed roundabouts are such a trend. The companions hated the roundabouts though. We made a couple of mistakes entering turns which led us to roads further from our destination. LOL. One time, because the lead car in our small convoy was confused on which road to take, it stopped abruptly causing us to do the same. The pick-up behind us nearly bumped into our vehicle. Good thing, the driver had a good reflex but was in a foul mood after that. He kept on honking at us 'til we were out of sight. (Okay, okay, we got the point! It was our fault! Please stop ruining our eardrums!) The kicker was both roads led to the same road in the end! Gah!

Here are some more scenes from the corniche:

Tower, playground, tramvia.

I'm very happy seeing Saudi families having their picnics on the lawns, parks, and gardens scattered along the corniche, especially at night. It's something I do not normally see in Riyadh. (Most of the grassy patches you'll see in Riyadh are beside major thoroughfares.) Too bad, we didn't have the time to stroll on the Baywalk-like area because it was a very hot noon and we were checking out of our hotel. We didn't have a photo in that area. Huhu. Well, no worries, it might be the perfect reason to go back! We also ate at a Filipino restaurant in Al-Khobar's "Batha" area but I wasn't able to take photos of the food. I didn't even got the resto's name! Too.hungry.to.think.

After three days, it's time to head home for us. Even if I enjoyed Al-Khobar, I cannot stay any longer. The life and work is in Riyadh so we bid ma'asalamah to Al-Khobar at 4 in the afternoon and journeyed across the desert again.

Where to? Riyadh is not in the choices, LOL.

Camels from a distance.

Desert sunset.

Al-Khobar certainly has its charms that endeared it to a lot of Filipino expats. I can see that clearly with my trips to the sea city. I know I haven't given enough justice to the beauty of this city, as per its residents, but I hope I got there near enough. If you have other things/stuff/places to add, please feel free to comment.

I can't wait to go back for another swimming trip to Al-Khobar but for now, I'm happy to be back home in Riyadh where the towering Mamlaka and Faisaliah beckon. And of course, where the Pink Tarha awaits.

This year's Eid moon over Riyadh City.