The Jeddah Weekend (2 of 3)

The first thing I did when we woke up on a glorious Thursday morning in Jeddah is to look in our window to see the lagoon. I've been itching to do this the moment we arrived in our room at the Red Sea Palace Hotel but of course, I couldn't see anything at 9 in the evening, or all of the evening for that matter. The view is not that breathtaking but it's enough to make me happy. We don't have this in Riyadh. We may have wadis (rivers) but they're dry for the most part of the year and they're far from the city center. I took photos of our view immediately.

A panoramic shot via iPhone

A peaceful lagoon

8:00AM Starting The Day Right

After preparing for a full day ahead, we went down to the hotel brassierie (Al Bouhaira Restaurant) for a quick breakfast. We chose a spot near the glass walls overlooking a pocket garden. There were lots of bread in the buffet but few viands. I enjoyed the freshly cooked omelet.

Breakfast is ready!

Where's the fried rice?! Diet ateh?

Freshly-fried omelet

Our first agenda for the day is to buy abayas. We know, you might be wondering... "Bakit sa Jeddah pa? Ang dami naman sa Riyadh!" (Why buy in Jeddah? There are many in Riyadh!) It piqued my curiosity too when I first heard Filipinas going to Jeddah whose main purpose in going there is to buy abayas. They said that Jeddah's abayas are cheaper and their designs and styles are different from the other parts of Saudi Arabia. Since they're less conservative and more tolerant, their abaya designs and styles are quirky and fun: more embellishments, colors, and drapes. Of course, black is still the overall color.

Free wifi at the lobby while deciding where to go next

9:30AM Abaya Hunting in Bawadi Souk

We were supposed to be driven around by a Filipino taxi driver that was suggested to us but he claimed over the phone that we can just go to the nearby Balad Commercial Center and be done with it. I had to disagree because I know Eyecandy, who was in Jeddah two weeks before we did, said that the popular abaya souk was quite a drive from the center. R and I decided to hail a cab outside the hotel and asked the driver to take us to "Badawi souk", as E mentioned. He eyed us curiously and asked, "Badu souk?!" "No, Badawi souk!," we chimed in. Our driver is a Yemeni who has a friendly face and mild demeanor. He proceeded in telling us, in his halting English, that the abayas in the nearby Badu souk is not worth it. If we want, he'll take us to Bawadi souk a few kilometers away from Balad. And that's when it hit us that it was indeed "Bawadi" instead of "Badawi." Haha.

Hey, we have this mini bus in Riyadh too! 

On the way to Bawadi, our driver (Maher) got to talking. He asked where we came from and when he heard "Riyadh," he immediately tsk tsked and said "Riyadh mushkila, Riyadh mushkila!" over and over. Without even an explanation, we already understood his thoughts and sentiments. Anyway, he was nice enough to slow down at roundabouts so we can see and take photos of Jeddah's famous street installations.

Larger than life bicycle

Is this science-related? Hehe.

These sculptures make Jeddah one of the biggest open-air art galleries in the world. Their roundabout pieces are bigger than those in Al-Khobar.

Morning is not the best time to visit Bawadi. The street sellers who sell their abayas at cheaper prices were not yet around. Only the air-conditioned stores were open and their abayas are priced like the ones in Riyadh. But since we're already there and there were few people around (which makes shopping easier), we can't back away now can't we? 

An area of the Bawadi center

Lots of abaya on window displays

We chose to pick abayas with unique designs instead. We're very particular with the fabric. We want the thick kind that doesn't need to be ironed. Interestingly, I went for the still conservative almost all-black type knowing that I (and my friends whom I'm buying these for) will be wearing them in Riyadh. The quirk I mostly got was from the stones and beads and the newest style that hugs the waist slightly. I got a onesie (like a dress that doesn't need to be buttoned or zipped) that has a glittery design on the chest and I got my mom an abaya embellished with little rosettes. R bought a few more than I did.

Oh what to choose?!

Embroidery galore!

For The PINK Tarha! :P

12:00NN Eating The Famous Chicken

Maher waited for us and took us back to the center after an hour or so. He egged us to go and try Al-Baik, the infamous broasted chicken of Jeddah. R and I saw this as a wonderful opportunity to eat the chicken hot off the broiler in the comfort of our hotel room. He took us to the Balad branch.

Finally!

After getting our lunch of crispy, hot Al-Baik chicken, we went back to the hotel for lunch. After packing the black robes away, we took our seats near the window and ate!

What a perfect location to have lunch!

Yuuuuum!

The aroma coming off our order of Al-Baik was heavenly; it covered the entire room in minutes. Al-Baik has a distinct taste that is coming from the red orange tint in the chicken meat. The skin is crispy and it went well with the fries and bun. I love it piping hot! Okay, I know I'll probably be heckled (please don't throw stones at me) if I say that I didn't find Al-Baik outrageously delicious. It is delicious, yes, but I can live in Riyadh without it (come to think of it, we're living in Riyadh without it). There are many broasted chicken in Riyadh that are quite good too. But anyway, we enjoyed our Al-Baik meal and saved some for dinner. R and I were contemplating if we ought to bring back Al-Baik for our families and friends in Riyadh.

2:00PM Mall of Arabia

After a bit of rest, we called Maher again and asked him to take us to Mall of Arabia for the only store we came here for: Forever 21. Hahaha. The design of the mall is beautiful and the interior is spacious and airy. We immediately went to Forever 21 and got lost in all the cute, affordable clothes. Excuse us for a while...

Mall of Arabia!!!

Love the wide, airy space great for events

Levels of stores

An indecisive me among accessories in Forever 21.

The only sale sign we saw is from H&M

With our plastic bags of clothes from Forever 21, we roamed Mall of Arabia and found this gem of a bakery cafe on the upper floor. It's called Chapter. The display of cakes and large macaroons is beguiling. We settled for slices of red velvet cake and rainbow cake.

Macaroons from Chapter Bakeshop

Huuge macaroons

Love our colorful slices

Then we saw the entertainment center from above and it was so much fun watching the kids ride the rides that R and I were afraid of trying. Haha.

A water ride inside the mall? Amazing!

We settled for a quick snack at the Tonino Lamborghini Cafe. There is a branch of this cafe in Panorama Mall in Riyadh and we haven't tried it. We were just enticed with the location of this cafe. It's perfect for an afternoon coffee. We can see the roads outside and the soft afternoon sun rays flooded the clean floors. I went for a dark chocolate frappe while R ordered a latte. We added a plate of pasta with white sauce and took bites of our cakes after.

Great location!

Wonder if the service here is fast. :)

The view from where we're sitting.

Perfect for sipping on a hot afternoon

Cheesy and creamy merienda

6:00PM Corniche Road In A Flash

Maher came back for us around 6 in the evening. On our way back to the hotel, he chose to pass at the corniche road so we can see that area. We passed by a few known Jeddah spots like the floating mosque and the dazzling hotel lane by the Red Sea but we didn't stop and took photos. We just enjoyed the scenery and it was really fun seeing families gathered at the shore having picnics. So laidback!

We stopped on the side of the road to take photos of the King's Fountain. It was too far from where we were at but that's okay. This fountain is best admired from afar anyways. It's the biggest seawater fountain in the world.

Jeddah's pride

8:00PM Too Early for Curfew

Deep inside I know that we're too early to be back at the hotel. I mean, we shop until the wee hours of the morning during Ramadan for goodness' sake! So what are we doing holed in our hotel room at 8pm?! Haha. Well, good thing, our blogging friend Mr. Kenji of Thoughtskoto saved us. He and his wife, Sheila, called to say that Mr. NJ of DesertAquaForce, another friend from the blogging world, will come to pick us up for dinner. And thank goodness, he did!

10:00PM Crossing The Border

He and his friend, Mr. Jun, drove us to On The Border, a Mexican-themed restaurant that is not found in Riyadh. Kenji, his beautiful wfe Sheila and their adorable kids Hevyn and Galei, followed after a few minutes. The Solis family gave us a lovely bag with some cosmetic products and perfume (thank you very, very much!). I ordered salmon; the first time in years that I picked fish over meat in a steakhouse. R went for the tacos. 

Hand me some watermelon margaritas!

Salmon+mashed potatoes+beans

I first personally met them in the Philippine Expat Blog Awards 2009 ceremony in Manila where The Pink Tarha won our first award (ahhh memories...). They were friendly and kind people. It's a pleasure to be seeing them in their turf this time. I admire these men's passion for their family, career, and advocacies. We talked about PEBA, OFW issues, and the differences among Al-Khobar, Jeddah, and Riyadh. The Thoughtskoto family, as they're fondly called, lived in Al-Khobar for a few years before settling in Jeddah. NJ is based in Al-Laith and he told us he's a little bit scared every time he had to go to Riyadh for some business matters. We're not surprised that they have reservations about Riyadh (heck, all expats do, haha!) but we promise that when they'll be in the city, we'll show them what makes Riyadh nice on its own (wow, ambassadresses to Riyadh lang ang peg ng Pink Tarha ladies?! Lol.)

Photo from Kenji

We decided to go home around 12 midnight... but not without Mr. NJ's nice surprise. He gave us a huge white styro box that weighs a ton (ah, kilos pala, hehe). We had an idea what's inside because we know the nature of his work but I was still surprised when I opened it at home (more on this on the third entry). Thank you very much to the Solis family and Mr. NJ Abad for the lovely evening in Jeddah.

Our third and last day in Jeddah is up next! :)


Sundrenched