The Janadriyah Festival 2011

We've enjoyed the Janadriyah Festival last year so we were excited to go again this year, especially when we found out that we can watch the camel race.  Cheering for a camel is one of our lifelong dreams in the desert. (Swear!) We were so excited for the camel race. But alas, it was not meant to be. Huhu.

On a Monday afternoon, Eyecandy and I rode the company's bus to the Janadriyah Festival. The first schedule of the day is to see the camel race. Eyecandy and I were giddy with excitement, along with a couple of kids in the bus with us. They were so excited they were screaming and jumping around. We wished we become children again to have the license to be loud and rowdy or become instant mothers (not!) to understand this need for constant attention. So anyway, there we were expecting a rather long trip and hoping to get some shut-eye. The latter was so impossible because of, yes, the rowdy kids. They were our source of amusement for a while.

An hour later and too many kids' squeals after (our ears were ringing), we arrived in Janadriyah but we got stuck in traffic near the main entrance gate because of undisciplined drivers (what's new?) and the lack of traffic police (sayang, wala ang saher traffic system!). And because it was also drizzling, we already had a hunch that the camel race will not push through. So yeah, our guide told us they canceled it. We literally heard the bus groan. We just went directly to the Janadriyah "village" where all the exhibits and events were being held. (Village huh?! Para s'yang subdivision sa laki!)

Even if the camel race got canceled, we were still welcomed by a...

Hi there! Nice to see you, esp. when your brothers didn't want to race! :P

The camel was grinding sesame seeds.

We went around the area to look at the following:

Plump, ripe mangoes

Spices galore!

Miniature traditional Saudi huts

We saw an artist doing this, along with miniature farm sets. While looking at the craftmanship of the hut, a larger version of it caught my attention...

This large!

Upon entering, we saw what a traditional bedouin hut - okay, make that compound - look like. The compound had a few huts inside serving as the living room, the kitchen, the guest room, etc. You need to go out of one room to go to another! The ceiling of the main room (living room) was pointed and high, maybe for proper ventilation. Everything inside was colorful! Dishes with floral appliques adorned the walls and pillows and duvets were embroidered and beaded. Amazing details!

Interiors

A view of the living room hut from the kitchen

Outside the compound was this huge tower.

What are you, tower?

We were supposed to look at it closely when we were sidetracked by a nearby performing stage where a few men and women were huddled for something. Turns out, a dance was to commence. We took our seats on the makeshift benches and waited, and waited. Over our heads, the roar of the jets and planes of the Saudi Hawks can be heard. While waiting, we realized that we were the only Filipinos in the crowd. All around us were Saudi men and women with their children coming and going. Though we were a bit weirded out (this is not the first time we were in this situation), we actually liked that we blended right in! No one was paying extra attention to us.

...Except this kid who kept glancing our way.

The growing crowd

Of course we couldn't understand what the emcess were saying! Haha. We saw these Arab men, all in white, huddled at the base of the tower. On cue, they began chanting and walked to the stage arm in arm.

Men in white

When they reached the stage.

Men in blue

The traditional song and dance numbers were a bit long and we figured out we couldn't sit there all day when we only had 5 hours to spare so we stood up and continued our "tour."

Tower, up close

The tower is more or less the same as the hut with a few house items inside. Except for these:

Rifles anyone?

Red smoke! Lol.

The upper floors were closed so we just went out in time to see the Saudi Hawks do their exhibition. We were so engrossed that this is the only thing we captured:

And then we turned to having photographs with the men in thobes.

Smile! (We sure hope the guy on the right is not pissed at us, hehe.)

At first, we were shy in asking the men to have a photo with us. We actually just wanted one or two souvenir photos. Then Eyecandy became courageous enough to approach a few men huddled near the man-made mini lagoon and they obliged. (Saudis are really generally friendly.) Then a funny thing happened... the number of mobile phones and cameras taking our photos multiplied. E and I were eyeing each other... Did we bring a lot of cameras with us?! Lol. Some of the men's colleagues whipped out their own phones and were taking our photos too. Lol. Gusto din nila ng souvenir! (For the record, we only had my digicam and E's iPhone serving as her camera that day.) Maybe they were too amused why we wanted to have a photo. Crazy... us!

The salat was nearing by the time we finished with the first exhibit hall so we decided to grab some food and eat them while the prayer is on going. There was a lane dedicated to food stalls (yes!). 

Take your pick!

We ate shawarma, of course. And while eating, we were people watching too. Families were having a really good time. After dinner, we searched for the Japan hall. Japan is the guest of honor this year. (France was last year's.) We were not disappointed with the Japanese stage and hall. They made a huge effort to showcase their creativity and talents. A huge stage with large drums and various wooden musical instruments were built beside the Japan exhibit hall.

Japan's showcase (taken from the side of the stage).

Japanese playing the small wooden drum (via screen).

A flurry of people watching the street parade

The only concert in Saudi Arabia. :P

After watching the musical performance of Japan, we decided to enter the exhibit hall. There was a long line outside but people were kept engaged by the photos from the tsunami that devastated the country recently. Messages of love, hope, and unity were depicted on the screens and memorabilia set up outside the hall. 

Entrance to the Japan's exhibit hall.

Inside the exhibition hall, we were greeted by a LOT of television sets. First up is the hall that presents Japan's inventions. Hello Hello Kitty! And robots, and colored pencils, and anime, and dolls, and bento! We were looking for sashimi (seriously) but this is the only thing there is:

Bento!!! Good enough to eat? Yes, that's plastic.

Looks too good to be true?

Traditional fashion (the kimono)

Modern fashion

Up next is the hall of Japan's biggest brands in the transportation and technology industry...

Let's dissect a Nissan Patrol!

E with the men of Toyota

The man on the left looks like a Korean star. Haha. (Nasosobrahan na sa koreanovela, sorry naman!) We were envious of his rosy, flawless face. :P Oh, and they were the ones who initiated the kawaii pose. Haha.

Present were Sony and Panasonic too with their huge 3D television screens. We even got to try on the glasses especially made for 3D viewing!

And we again go back in time with their displays of traditional samurai costumes and swords.

A warrior's uniform

A weapon of mass destruction... nah, just a helmet.

Japan also showcased their arts through this:

We love the paintings and calligraphy!

Up close with the busy lady in gorgeous kimono.

And so that ended our Japan tour. The Japanese are amazing people! :)

We decided to walk around a bit more in the light ad laser show area. The replica of old buildings were illuminated with pink lights! Wow, we were really meant to be in this place, lol. There were a few stalls selling food and traditional trinkets. There were chairs for picnics too. Moving on, we reached the site of the Royal Armed Forces where helicopters and battle tanks were on display.

Heli-lipad na!

We just took a few shots and went on because we've already seen the Al Jazeera Aviation Museum so this was not new to us. And then we saw this from a distance:

Unidentified flying... er, hovering object!

Turns out is a suspended restaurant (by a crane! like in a construction site!) hosted by the of the Faisaliah Hotel. They were trying to re-create the feeling of dining in the Kingdom Tower's Spazio Restaurant and Lounge, several meters up from the air. In a way, it was a good experience espcially with the view of the Janadriyah Festival below but the price of SR240 per person was a little bit steep for just a snack and a view. Might as well spend it at the Kingdom Center or some fancy dinner in the city.

The Saudi soldiers waiting for their turn to perform.

We watched the Saudi military perform a few routines and the Saudi military band's exhibition but we wanted to see the musical performance of Japan too so we left in a hurry and reached the Japan stage just in time. They were using the big drums! Yey! We were so engrossed that we sort of ignored time, lol. 

Dance to the beat of your own (big) drums!

Our bus call time is 9:30pm and we were rushing to the gate when we realized we were going to the wrong gate. Whooops! Good thing, there was a huge stall of Kudu (the fast food chain) and we retraced our steps. We sighed a huge relief when we reached the parking lot three minutes before 9:30 and we can see our bus in the distance... until we saw it leave! Really leave us behind!

The following scenes were hysterical! We did not know what to do first. Should we run after the bus?! (We did spend a few seconds waving at it, lol!) Good thing, we had the cellphone number of our guide. We kept calling him but he didn't pick up on the first few rings. When finally he did, they were probably a mile away but they came back for us. Super huge sigh of relief! Because seriously, how will we go home from the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night?! A taxi is out of the option. Our fathers wouldn't even know where this place was and even if they did, we would have been grounded for the rest of our Riyadh life (not that we would take the "grounding" seriously, haha, peace!... or that we still get grounded with our old age!). 

Well, you probably have an idea of the scenario when the bus picked us up. We were pretty embarrassed entering especially when a co-passenger quipped, "Uhuh, Filipino time!" Frack! Hahaha. But t'was all good. It was not as if we did not hear the end of it. When we got back, we were too tired. And thankfully, our co-passengers were too so they kindda forgot about our boo-boo. Even the kids were a little bit subdued. We were hoping they were already asleep! Not!

The Janadriyah Festival is an awesome experience. We only had a few hours in the place (and we only covered half of the entire village) but we'd taken in as much culture and tradition that would take ten years to get to know. Attending the Janadriyah Festival is one of those things we're really proud that we did here in Saudi Arabia. So, who's with us next year?!

§undrenched

PS. This we just have to say, really say... "Thank you very much, good Faris!" He was our guide. :) Also, see our Janadriyah teaser entry at The Sights and Sounds of Janadriyah.