Addressing Adresses

Eyecandy and Sampaguita Pride grew up in Riyadh. Shoegarfreeruby has been here for 10 years. Me? Nearing 4 years. And you know what's odd? We still don't know where we live exactly. Uhuh. Let me explain.

When you ask one of us where we live, we will answer you with "at the back of Nafoura Restaurant" or "near King Fahd Medical City." There's no specific answer. Because like everything else you'll find in Riyadh, KSA, the address/location system is unique and one-of-a-kind.

Folks who are living outside Saudi Arabia, here are a few things you need to remember about an address here in Riyadh.

1. We live in P.O. Boxes. Okay, not exactly LIVE there because we wouldn't fit but addresses are P.O. Boxes. There are no flat numbers, apartment numbers, and street names like normal addresses have. Most of us use the P.O. Box of the companies where we work instead of where we live (houses and flats) because we don't avail of our own.

These are not the usual P.O. Boxes in Riyadh. I hope.

For example, a nurse working in King Fahad Medical City can use this address:

[name]

[department]

P.O. Box 59046

Riyadh 11525

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Take note that you don't even have to specify the hospital or company. The P.O. box number and zip codes are the important things to put there. Most companies and hospitals have their own mail room that sorts and distributes mails and packages. If it was following the Philippine address system, it would have went like this:

[name]

Department of Pediatrics

Room 62, Building 26

King Fahad Medical City

Abdul Aziz Bin Musaed Bin Julowi St.

Suleimania, Riyadh

11525, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

It is longer so having a P.O. box has its own advantages. One disadvantage though of having a P.O. box as an address is when we shop online. Some stores do not ship to P.O. boxes. Sometimes, I have to contact their customer service and tell them that hey, it's all we have here in Saudi Arabia! So I hope stores like that are reading this.

2. Houses and buildings have no identification numbers. They have numbers alright but they're mostly ignored. You will not usually see them in our address. We just know them and would use that to direct relatives and friends who are coming over. I use all prominent landmarks around our place to direct people. For example... here's a conversation I have when ordering for delivery.

Resto Guy (RG): Hello.

Me: Hi, I'm ordering for delivery. Here's my order (blah blah).

RG: Where are you located?

Me: In Dabab St., turn right to Ar Razi St. The street going to Military Hospital.

RG: Where exactly?

Me: Uh, building 25, flat number 3.

RG: Where is that? Near Military Hospital?

Me: Uh, a few blocks away from the hospital.

RG: Blocks?

Me: I mean, not so near. I mean, a little bit. (HUH?!)

RG: Uhhhh...

Me: The building is beside DHL, across Little Ceasar's...

RG: Okay, I will just tell the driver to call you.

It gets frustrating that's why whenever we order for delivery, the father insists that I call. Why does it always have to be me?! Hehe. Of course, that would've been easier if I can speak Arabic or the operator (or the driver) can speak English. Some delivery guys find the right street and just cruise up and down until they find the right building. Btw, that in the conversation is a true location but it's not where our flat is located so please don't stalk. Hahaha. Jk.

3. Street names here are long and winding roads. Imagine saying to someone, "We just live in the corner of Abdul Aziz Bin Musaed Bin Julowi St. and Al Amir Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz St... kuha mo?!" Most popular roads have, thank goodness, shorter names like Olaya, Mecca, and Oruba. Some have nicknames which are totally unrelated to their real names seen on maps. For example, Abdul Aziz Bin Musaed Bin Julowi St. is better known as Dabab St. while Al Amir Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz St. is better known as Thalateen St. The parallel street named Al Amir Mohammed Ibn Abdul Aziz St. (spotted the difference?) is known as the hip and happenin' street of Tahlia. Confused much?

Oh, and if the confusion is not enough, they're also spelled in various ways. Tahlia can be Thalia, Tahaliya, Talia... Takhasussi can be plain Takasusi, complicated Thakhassusi, or longer Takhassousi. Spell them however you like to pronounce them. Go! :)

4. Floors are counted as ground floor, first floor, second floor, etc. It's different from how we count in the Philippines where we consider the ground as first floor and so on. Sometimes there are some buildings who follow that so to each his own. No one said there's uniformity around here. Haha. Thankfully, no one lives in sky-high condominiums with 40 floors. Not yet.

Eeenie meenie miny moo, to what store should I go?

5. Most store signs are in Arabic, especially the ones in the older areas of the city. It makes it more difficult to find the right store for foreigners and expats unless it's a common store for something. Some stores look like offices from the outside and it's upon you to guess what they are correctly. Hope the store keeper or manager speaks English.

And just to remind you... Riyadh is not just a city. It's also a province. So there's a Riyadh City located in Riyadh Province (ArRiyadh). It's like Tarlac City in Tarlac province in the Philippines. There's also a "Riyadh Center" symbolized by a circle with a dot in the middle on most road signs. We don't really know what is within the city center and where it ends but we just take it as this: if you're near the Faisaliah and Kingdom Towers (two highest buildings in Riyadh), then you're still in the city center. Once you get out of range of the two (meaning if you see them in your horizon like needles sticking out of the sand), consider yourself out of the center and into the outskirts.

The faraway hazy area? That's the outskirts and beyond.

Needless to say, it's confusing to find a specific address here unless they're prominent and famous. It's always been a must to provide maps to a specific destination, especially if we're talking residential. We wonder how ambulances, fire trucks, and police find the places when they get emergency calls. We guess local knowledge really helps a lot. But what if you're new in the city? What if you don't go out as much? What if you rely on Google Map, Wikipedia, and GPS coordinates?

HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR WAY IN RIYADH?

Do it the Pink Tarha style! Tips on the next entry! Hope you don't lose your way before then. ;)

*Click on photo for photo sources and credit. 

§undrenched

How To Survive Riyadh's Sale Seasons

Brace yourself for yet another sale season, fellow Tarhas! The sale season is starting and bet your bottom dollar riyals that it will be chaotic, crazy-fun, and stressful (lol)!

But we have to be realistic here. In our opinion (as veterans of the sale seasons in Riyadh, ehermn, lol), the sales have diminished in value, both in quality and quantity, over the years. It's not like before when we can find really good items at rock bottom prices in large quantities. Now, every thing is just so-so and there are some shops that don't hold it as fervently anymore. But the sale season is still worth going mad over because you'll never know what you'll find. We like surprises! So kung galit ka sa pera, go lang ng go!

Are you set?!

Here's a few tips on how to experience the lows and highs of our favorite season in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

1. There are two basic huge sale seasons: the start of the year and the middle of the year. (There are also the less stellar mid-season and end-of-season sales.) The latter is the one beginning this month, if schedules are still the same. Although we enjoy the mid-year sale season, it's the end/start of the year sale (December-February) that we usually wait for when shops go all out!  However, let's not disregard this coming sale season because good deals also come this June to August. Prepare your fulos, ladies! They're about to go to battle! :P

2. Take note of the periods of a sale season, which we'll liken to the stages of "cooking water" here. (Sorry, water is the only thing I can cook, lol. #S)

a. Poaching. This the beginning where the water is kept warm but there's no visible bubbling to indicate heat. In this period, the sale season has started but they're still not advertised loudly. Merchandisers are preparing and any minute now, they'll be amping up the temperature so we can all feel the heat! You should power up your sixth sense shopping radar so you get the latest sale scoops. Also during this time, the department stores are already on sale. Centrepoint and Citymax just went on sale three weekends ago so that's a good sign. They wouldn't want to compete with the bigger brands during the sale season so inunahan na nila. Lol. For those who are eyeing the more known brands, wait for the next period before unleashing your cash... As you know, the "poaching" stage this year is over last week. Hope you got good finds in Centrepoint, Citymax, and Iconic. I know I did. *wink*

b. Simmering. Here we will see bubbles forming and gently rising to the surface of the water, but the water is not yet at a full rolling boil. You will see the red signs hanging and you'll probably think, this is it! It's here, it's sale season so let's go! Okay, hold it! The stores don't go all out at once. If you noticed in past sale seasons, they usually begin at 25% to 50% off. 25% and 50% off are good because well, you still get to save something. But we all know they can get lower two weeks, or even a month, from now so you can wait it out further. However, the advantage of having a major shopping spree during the "simmering" period is you get the first dibs on every thing. There will still be a lot of items that come in your size. The clothing, shoes, and accessories are in tip-top shape. Unlike when you wait out the 75% discount, you get items that were already handled many times. We're currently in this stage now. MNG, New Look, and Parfois are simmering and my wallet's suffering from a first degree burn from yesterday's visit to Othaim Mall.

c. Boiling. Of course, the hottest point among the periods! It's the most exciting part but also the most damaging (to your wallets). During this time, the stores are already offering 75%-90% off, the lowest they can get. The red signs are blaring and glaring and they’re utterly tempting. Unfortunately, this is also the time when a lot of people have already caught on the sale season virus and are in the malls almost all the time scouring for more goodies. You have more competition! You now need to dig deep in the bins for undamaged items and search the racks with passion for your shoe size. Lol. We say that this period is the most damaging to your wallets because even if you don't notice it, you buy a lot! You are attracted to the SR 10 necklace or the SR40 pair of shoes... which leads you to buy more stuff you're not even sure you need or want. Just so because they're cheap. Well, hold on for dear life! The boiling stage this year might be 2 weeks before and after Ramadan, which falls on August this year.

d. Cooling. Every thing is naghihingalo by now. The salesmen rearranging and replenishing stocks over and over, the racks losing shape and stuff, the pockets (of your husbands, lol), your wallets... you. You'll be tried from all the sprees that you will need to rest. And you will need to give the discounted stuff a rest too. By this time, latak na lang ang natitira. These are the stuff left behind by every one else and you will need to let go of them too because they're no longer worth it, even if it's so cheap. Alright, we had that time in our lives that we still went out and check out the latak just because we wanted to and unbelievably, we still had the energy to do so. But now, we know better (we do?!?). We let those stuff go... because we'll prolly see them again next sale season. Hahaha.

3. Mind what you buy. It's easy to get lost in the euphoria of the sale season but it will be a good thing to think before you buy (yeah right!). During the "poaching" period, head to the malls to check out the brands you love and take note of the products you'll want to buy when they go on sale. It’s also a good thing to be chummy-chummy (friendly) with the salesmen so you can ask the exact date when they’ll go on sale. During the "simmering" period, buy the stuff you really, really want (tipong hindi ka makatulog sa gabi sa kaiisip) even if it's just on a 25%-30% off because you'll never know if you'll still see it again during the boiling period. Wag nang maging super kuripot noh at mag-intay pa ng 75% off para sa mga bagay na gusto mo talaga. Sabi nga nila, "The early bird catches the worm." May gan’on?!  Grab and buy the clothes, shoes, and sandals that you love (and can never let off the hook) during the simmering period because they still have it in your size. During the "boiling" period, go crazy in the stores! By that we mean this: get a shopping bag, grab all the stuff you want without thinking, and sort later. During sorting, that’s the moment you think about it. Take the stuff out one by one and debate (in your head or with friends) if you need it or just want it. Discard those which do not make the cut. It will actually be helpful if you return them to the shelves and racks where you got them so other people can check them out immediately. During the "cooling" period, the only thing worth buying are prolly the small accessories that didn't get beaten up in the duration of the past three periods.

Oh my, oh my!

4. Mind your budget. We're the number one offenders of this rule. We go over budget during the sale season and we usually say we'll not gonna repeat it in the next sale season but we do repeat it. (Bad girls!) However, please feel free to not imitate us and work with the money you allotted for the sale season. Allot a specific amount for the sale shopping spree. It will be hard because we're betting you'll want a lot but just try and spend your money wisely. If you're having your vacation on the latter half of the year, then it might be wise to spend some money on pasalubong already. When it comes to saving, we're probably the worst persons to give you advice so we end this tip #4 now. Lol.

5. Have fun and enjoy the experience. It will be more exhilarating and fun when you shop with friends and your family (only if your husband is supportive, lol). You get to ask them their opinions. You get to eat lunches and dinners together. You get to wait out the salat with them. And you get to laugh at yourselves when you think how crazy you are for acting on your shopping impulses. Wives, please don't fight with your husbands when it comes to taking you to malls, orayt? Ask them nicely and sweetly. Threaten for a separation only when he gives you an almost ultimate refusal. Hahaha. Just kidding. It will be good to have one person who’s more decisive than you are. Chances are you will regret a lot of things you didn’t get but don’t fret, there will be more gorgeous stuff coming your way on the next seasons. 'Nga pala, wag namang parang end of the world na at mag-hoard ha?

6. This is the most important: Read The Pink Tarha for sale alerts so you always get informed! :)

Orayt, that’s it. We'll see you in the malls, ladies! Say hi when you bump to any one of us. Hopefully, we don't fight over the same stuff. Haha.

§undrenched

The Pink Tarha GUIDES

SOS?!

It's a natural feeling to be afraid of Saudi Arabia. It's very different from the Philippines. It's a 180 degree turn from what you were used to. So we can just imagine how shocked you'll be once you try and grapple with the realities of living in the world's most conservative country. Let us help you in our own little way...

We present you the how-tos and tips in living a fab life in Saudi Arabia! We can't say what specific topics we'll post because er, we're the spontaneous kind of people. Hehe. But we'll make sure they'll be beneficial to you or your loved ones and friends in Saudi Arabia (or soon to be here). For the record, we are not (professionally) experts on these topics. We're basing it on experience! (Of course, that varies.) Haha. Enjoy!

1. How To Celebrate Valentine's Day in Saudi Arabia
2. How To Make A Long Distance Relationship Work
3. Queer Eye for the Wrong Guy (How Not to Fall for the Wrong Guy)
4. The Basic Dont's (How to Survive in Saudi Arabia)
5. How To Land in Riyadh Fashionably
6. The Five A**holes You Meet on the Road
7. How To Exercise Your Right to Vote
8. An Expat's Guide To Ramadan
9. How to Spend Your Eid Vacation
10. How To Keep In Touch
11. How Hajj is Performed
12. The Flight Home
13. How To Celebrate Christmas in KSA
14. Taxi Talk
15. How To Be More Than Just Desert Housewives