The ABAYA Special

HALLOWEEN IS JUST around the corner and for sure, costumes will be donned and spooks will abound. In Riyadh though, if you're a newbie and you start walking the streets, don't blink twice if you think there are "black ladies" seemingly floating amidst. Yes, there are plenty of us who lurk almost everywhere in Saudi Arabia shrouded by a black cloth...some even covered from head to foot. But rest assured, we are not from the 'other side' (I hope).

It's called the "abaya" and it is the national dress for women here. It is a long, black fabric made of either silk, satin or cotton and is usually worn with a veil called "hijab" or what we call the "tarha". Everyone, even if you are not Saudi or Muslim, is required to wear the abaya anytime you go out in public. If you are a woman, you can get arrested if you tread the town in your regular clothes, let alone a fashionable outfit. However, it is interesting to note that apparently, the Qur'an does not mandate women to wear the abaya per se (see article that discusses that here) and yet Muttawas (the religious police) can scold and shame a woman should she not follow this "rule". Hmmm...any experts out there care to shed light on this?

As much as that previous claim may spur a debate among readers, let's not forget that this blog is about what is PINK (and/or Kikay) in our Riyadh life. And so, in true Pink Tarha fashion, the ladies and I had a 'photoshoot' a couple of weeks ago (o, nagmamaka-mowdels daw kami) in hopes to feature our abayas. There is a love-hate relationship with abayas for us expats here in the Kingdom. Sure, it hides a woman's potential fashionista; but then again, it also takes the pressure off of having to think of what to wear when going out.

Here are the Pink Tarha ladies revealing their very own abayas. Not so ghoulish looking, I suppose.

Sundrenched seen here in her favorite abaya. Long lines further elongate our already tall, Editor-in-Chief. Up close, the garment is treated with tiny beads along the chest and wrists following a light, black lace rim.

Shoegarfreeruby's (R) elegant abaya is shown here with heavy white embroidery lining from the neck down and along the sleeves continuing to the hem. It is a button-down type of abaya and the sleeves are sewn tight towards the opening.

R stands perfect along this bougainvillea garden wearing this very simple and dainty satin abaya adorned with velvet flowers and leaves that accent the cuffs.

This is my everyday abaya. It's almost plain and it doesn't attract much attention (which is really, one of the points of wearing an abaya). It's worn like overall, which I like more than the button-down ones because I wouldn't have to worry if my legs are exposed while walking or if my flabs are bulging when sitting down. :P

This is the abaya I wear to formal occasions. It makes me look regal worn with the proper shoes. There is a thick, silver-studded lining that runs through the neck and cuffs.

Here's a more 'decorated' abaya with several floral embroidery on the back, front and elbows. Comes with a matching tarha too. I don't particularly wear this as often but I enjoy the design.

Do you I look like a "hood-lum"? Haha. This is another style of an abaya that has a sewn in hood in the back that can act as your readily-available tarha. It's an easy pick for those who don't like the hassle of carrying around the tarha around their necks. Usually, expats wear this style.

And then there were three.
(Mary is still on vacation, we miss you M!)

Abayas have come a long way since the mid-80s. I still remember the ones I had to wear growing up wherein the trend on abayas were ones that you had to tie to a bow in the middle of your chest. Nowadays, abayas have been updated and made fashionable. Since it's the garment you get to wear everyday of your life here in Saudi Arabia, you might as well look decent in it (at the very least). I'd like to think that the key is in the 'subtle details'.

The abayas we own are all less than SR200 and the most common place we buy them from is a souk (market) called Dirah. The cheapest one with no design at all can come at around SR50-SR60. There are also several high-end fashion boutiques found all over the city with abaya's prices ranging in the thousands. There are even Svarovski-studded abayas made of the finest silk! But we have yet the privilege of entering such places. The most expensive abaya ever made is worth $350,000! That's over SR1.3 million. See that diamond-studded, white-gold encrusted abaya here.

The abaya is a must-have for all women here in the Kingdom. It's not just a form of everyday fashion, it is a government-mandated outfit! Despite the imagery of creepy-looking black figures roaming around the streets, it's not a halloween costume. So don't be afraid. Unless someone strides behind you and says, "BOO!"

Cheers!

-ec-

Metamorphosis

Ta-daaaah!

The season is changing so we need a new coat. ;)

WELCOME TO THE NEW PINK TARHA!

The reason why the Pink Tarha blog went 'invite only' mode, aside from the fact that we didn't know how to turn it offline temporarily, is because we're transforming! This is a long overdue plan but we needed to find an HTML guy that can do all this work for us (yeah, we're that ignoramus in the HTML coding department, we can only tackle the basics). Thank you to Mr. Jalil Sultan! Thank you for bearing with us "HTML-Code-Ditz". :P We'd also like to thank Ms. Shirley V. for her valuable input in the design of our new banner. Thank you tita!

Ten months ago, the Pink Tarha was born out of a selfish personal desire to blog about our shopping sprees. Shopping?! What's the big deal about it right? The big deal about it is that we are Pinays shopping in SAUDI ARABIA, the world's most conservative country. We are Pinays living and working in the hot and haute city of Riyadh thus the tagline 'Unveiling the lives and times of four sassy Pinays in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia'.

Our ongoing creed is to write about the lighter side of living in this Kingdom because we already know the bad side. We've heard the horror stories and we've even seen some with our own eyes (and experienced 'em too). Writing about the lighter side is not shunning away from or turning a blind eye on all our kabayans' cases of abuses and sufferings. We would just like to show you that not all Filipinos in Saudi Arabia are being treated that way. That amid the harsh weather and the harsher change in culture and values, there is a Filipino community thriving in this desert. There are a lot of blogs out there (and news sites if you want) that cover the hard side, but the Pink Tarha chooses to journey the road less traveled. The mission: find the beautiful in this desert. This is our way of adapting and adjusting to the environment we're in.

And so we're here and we're loving the life of a Pink Tarha girl. Out of the entries churned in ten months (para namang ten years eh noh?), we decided to widen our horizon and become your guide to living a fab life in Riyadh! We're not claiming to be the official guide book. We're just here to help and share our experiences. Of course, in our very own kikay way. After all, we're girls ladies who just want to have fun! The blog is not for ladies only. Guys, you can read too but read at your own risk. ;)

We now have our own domain! Not that we know what this whole domain thing is. Haha. We're just glad seeing www.thepinktarha.com on the url site. Looks very sosyal. Hehe, kiddin'! Therefore, better update your bookmarks or browser favorites dear readers!

Those ladies taking our place in the header represent our fashion style (but we fervently wish they will represent our figures soon, haha). We assure you that we are not that sexy. Haha. Ohkay! We cleaned our sidebar a little. We've narrowed down our categories into eight, which you'll see on the upper right corner of the sidebar. We'll probably add more as we go along the way. We've also updated our About the Pink Tarha page. Who knows, you might see our photo sans blurs and bars there one day. We collated all the links of blogs and blog communities that we love and adore. We still have our apps for Facebook (add us please?), along with our Twitter. Add us in Plurk too. Or we'll add you! Just leave us a comment. For everything and anything, you may contact us at ladies@thepinktarha.com or thepinktarha@gmail.com.

Everything you see here is a work in progress (we told you we're kindda slow in dealing with the HTML thing) please don't smirk when a link you click fails. Hehe. Along with this change is our promise to be more active in the blogging community.

We know our simple thank you is not enough to show our gratitude to you, our dear readers, for reading our (mis)adventures (napagtyagaan n'yo in fairness) so we're promising to write more articles that will be beneficial to you... or even if it will not, then perhaps put a smile on your face and add color to your life (kailangan may ganyang factor kasi nga pink eh, haha). Thank you very much for supporting the Pink Tarha!

Now let's enjoy the coming winter and holidays!

Need to put up a personal/professional website?

Contact:

Mr. Jalil S. Sultan

Web Developer

dropzite_02@yahoo.com

Need a graphic designer/consultant?

Contact:

Ms. Shirley Vidad

Graphic Artist

shirleyvalentina@yahoo.com

Both of them contributed to our 'transformation' free of charge (because they are big fans of the blog teehee) but if you are interested in availing of their services, they will happily do so if the price is right. :P

Back To School

Haven't done a Collage Week for weeks now so here's one for you: it's college week in Collage Week at the Pink Tarha blog! :)

This school theme should have been published last June but we girls became so busy with other things. (This is so long ago that Eyecandy has already grown her hair longer and Sundrenched has already cut her hair shorter now!) However, we figured it still is in season because the second semester for most colleges and universities will start next month.

We visited one of the Philippine schools here in Riyadh last May to complete our photography workshop. After we finished shooting our models for our portraiture lessons, we decided to ham it up for the cameras. Seeing the classrooms, blackboards, hallways, and stairs of the Sovereignty International School (formerly known as Second Philippine International School), we realized we terribly miss school and wondered why we were thrown to the cruel outside world and can not stay in school forever. :P

Feeling like kolehiyalas all over again, we came up with suggestions of what to wear in school (provided you can wear civilian clothes):

Sundrenched: Jeans from Divisoria, Philippines
Eyecandy: Jeans from Next

Jeans are, of course, the staple in every college student's closet. They're very versatile but it's hard to wash and iron them... the secret is you don't. Hehe. We're sure you've reused your jeans a couple of times before throwing them to the laundry basket. Sundrenched, who went to the University of Santo Tomas for her degree, had to wear a uniform but says she wears jeans every time she goes out to meet friends and brainstorm on projects. Eyecandy, who went to college at the University of the Philippines-Los Banos which has the perpetual normal clothes day, says shorts are the means to go to school. (But she's wearing jeans here because she's in Riyadh, not in Laguna. Hehe.)

Tops from Citymax

In college, you can wear anything as long as it's decent and comfortable. Most college students now opt for tees and jackets. S feels like polo blouses are the safest bet on college dressing because they're not shabby and not too formal. E likes gypsy tunics in colorful threads and airy fabrics and shirts to evoke the free spirit of her alma mater.

Shoes from Peacocks.

Headbands from Forever 21.

Flats are your saving grace when your classrooms are in different buildings and you need to rush from one to another. But shoes with heels can give you the confidence boost that you need especially when you're giving your oral presentation or defense. S says she wore black shoes with one-inch heels or plain black flats in school. "It's part of the dress code. Bawi na lang sa style ng sapatos!" E can pick whatever she wanted but relied on slippers most of the time. (Again, for purposes of being in Saudi Arabia, she's in her red kitten heels on the photo. ;)

Accessories are optional but if you want to stand out, then go for eye-catching headbands and jewelries. Just make sure they match your clothes.

College is fun!

No matter what you decide to wear, enjoy your college life! You'll miss those days for sure when you're already out slaving in the work industry. E and S miss their allowances the most! ;) For those who are past the college life, look back and tell us something about it.

Background photos used were searched through google.com.

Sushi for the Adventurous

Whenever the Pink Tarha Ladies go to Faisaliah Mall, I never fail to order sushis, sashimis, and makis from Samurai. The other PT Ladies and I love Japanese food (probably the biggest understatement I'll say this year)... especially the fresh, succulent salmon sashimi. Just writing this entry makes me drool over the pinkish fish flesh. Yum, yum!

I will never get tired of Samurai but I noticed a modern establishment at the end of Tahalia street one night. The neon orange and green interior is hard to miss especially with the floor to ceiling glass windows. At first I thought it was one of those "bar"-type restaurants which will entice you with their sleek and incandescent decor only to disappoint with the bland, overpriced food they serve (and the obvious lack of wines and cocktails for a bar, blah). But with its name, it obviously doesn't serve the usual Italian or Middle Eastern fare. My interest has been piqued by Sushi Yoshi since then and I did not rest until I ate and conquered.

Sushi Yoshi is sushi at its best variety. (If you visit their website, please prepare your shades to prevent eye strain. Just lookin' out for yah!) If I were to eat expensive sushis, then I'll eat them at Sushi Yoshi instead of lining up in hotel buffets.... because yeah, Sushi Yoshi's prices are a bit steep compared to Samurai but the wide array of choices make up for it. It's not just your simple "sushi." It even has a "legend!"

Legend has it that during the olden times, there was a father from Japan named "Sushi Yoshi" who loved to eat raw fish and whose sons were named Ura Maki Son (the shy one), Hoso Maki Son (the naughty one), Sashimi Son (the fresh one), Sushi Son (the nice one), Ura Maki Son (the funky one), Futo Maki Son (the nosiy one), Temaki Son (the serious one), Yo Man Son (the hot one), and Rebel Son (the weird one). Meet the family, complete with drawings, at Sushi Yoshi's website. Favorite ko si Futo Maki Son. Ang kyuuut! O diba, may story pa talaga!

And the story ends there, LOL, but the dining experience is just commencing...

Traditional meets modern.

We were greeted with a modern zen-styled interior design which mixes funky neon colors and sophisticated black. The black faux leather chairs caught my attention in an instant! The bamboo partitions were out of place but I'm thinking it's an ode to the bamboo mat used in making sushis. Haha. There's ample lighting everywhere and it's good to admire the Porsche display room across the street because of the glass walls. Not that you'll have lots of time to gawk at the cars there because you'll be pretty busy once they hand you the menu!

Picking from the main course menu is easy because there's only a handful of items to try but the sushi/maki/sashimi menu is mind-boggling. We spent an entire salat (prayer time) perusing the menu, making decisions, and changing our minds. By the time the resto opened again, the lights came out of their stupor, and the waiter is by our side ready to take our orders, we're still not decided what to eat. Aaaahh, the good and bad of having so many choices!

We finally had our picks dahil nahiya na kami kay kuya waiter na antagal nang nakatayo sa tabi namin at naguguluhan na rin:

Kani Soup, SR20
Crab meat, miso paste, spring onion, wakame (edible seaweed)

Shrimp Tempura, SR26 There's a *cough, healthier, cough* version of vegetable tempura at SR10.

Beef teriyaki, SR45 You have an option between beef or chicken.

The soup is so-so, just enough to prepare the palate for the main courses. The ebi tempura has the perfect light crispy breading- not too thick and not too thin. We can actually taste the shrimp inside! Even the tempura sauce is right. The teriyaki though is too sweet.

Our board of sushis:

The beautiful fare.

Lady in Pink, SR24 (from the Rebel Son list) freshly cut salmon, tongarashi* tobico wrapped with rice and crab
Exotica, SR27 (from the Yoshi Maki Son list) Crab sticks, shrimp, salmon, avocado, and tobico (flying fish caviar) Dynamite Roll, SR26 (from the Rebel Son list) Freshly cut salmon, wasabi, salmon skin, tongarashi (Japanese spice), Japanese mayo, and dynamite spicy sauce

The dainty Lady in Pink.

The board of sushis... they're heavenly! We definitely made the right choices! The Dynamite Roll is the bomb! The chopped salmon laden with mayonnaise is creamy. The dynamite spicy sauce adds a tolerable amount of heat. It didn't set my tongue on fire but it sure did tickle my tastebuds (watusi lang eh, LOL). I personally love this one. My friends loved the Lady in Pink; it's crab goodness to the nth level. And the Exotica, while not true to its name because the ingredients are not really exotic, is sweet and refreshing (mainly because we chose to replace the avocado with mango).

If you'll go crazy deciding what to get, then go for the platters. I would have loved to get the Just Salmon platter! The reason my friends and I decided to forego these is that we're fickle-minded we want to try the weird combinations. I'll definitely be back to sample the gyudon beef and the other kinds of sushis... especially the one with the melted cheese (Melted Roll). Thinking about it makes my mouth water. Craving for 'em now!

What's really cute is the take-out boxes displayed in the corner.

Japanese to-go!

Oops, don't go just yet. Sushi Yoshi has a stall which caters to unusual Japanese products too.

Drinks and Kitkat in apple vinegar, green tea, assorted, and lemon vinegar flavor. Whoah!

Dare to try?

I cannot read the labels on some of the drinks so I'm doubtful of the contents and the effects. LOL. But I'm familiar with UCC so I guess that pretty much tastes the same as the ones in their uber expensive cafe/resto in the Philippines (which I visited only once). I decided to try the apple vinegar-flavored KitKat to test if curiosity will really kill this cat.

Kitkat in Apple Vinegar flavor.

It is a white Kitkat and it tastes, hmn, like white Kitkat. But at the end, I eventually tasted the vinegar punch. The aftertaste was odd (not insanely mind-blowing "WTH is this?!" moment) but nostalgic because the over-all taste reminds me of a childhood chocolate/candy I'm trying to remember until now. I can't seem to get a hold of its name. Waaah.

Pepsi White?!

Anyway, I'll try the Pepsi White next time. The Philippines had the blue or red Pepsi but white?! Japan has white Pepsi?! Wow! Lord help my tummy.

SUSHI YOSHI
Tahalia St. corner Dabab St.
Riyadh, KSA
Tel No. 8120055

More SALE Alerts

WE TOLD YOU SO! It's the mid-season SALE! We're getting high fever seeing the signs pero gaya nga nang nauna nang sinabi... bankrupt kami (because of some other reasons, not because of shopping...). Our pockets and wallets need time to recover. Baka next week okay na ulit. LOL. (Kailangan pa ring humabol eh noh?!)

Sale, sale, sale!

Visit New Look for shoes, dresses, and cardis!

Hep, this sale is for the Eastern region only. Head to Centrepoint for their Jaded accessories.

Anyway, enjoy shopping... But before you flash that cash or swipe that credit card, make sure you've already donated for our kababayans back home. They really need all the help we can give, especially with the onslaught of Pepeng in Northern Luzon. We heart Pinas!

Mid-Season SALE Alert!

This is why we prefer to read our news straight from the paper: we get to read stuff that the online version doesn't have... like a SALE sign for instance.

Look at what we saw in today's Arab News:

Shoegarfreeruby's fave store!

Eyecandy's comfort zone.

Where we find nice jeans.

For the mothers out there.

It's the mid-season sale people! As the stores get ready for the Winter season, the autumn/fall season (and spring/summer too) clothes are now on sale. Good thing, you can still get good clothes for the cold days on the autumn line so it doesn't hurt to scour the stores. Also, in the wake of the typhoons that hit the Philippines, we're sure you have a lot of clothes in your closet that you're ready to let go now to make way for new ones. So donate those that you've outgrown but still in good condition clothing items that you have and take advantage of the sale season. Or you can buy tank tops and tees (some going for as low as SR5 each) in bulk in some stores and donate them too. For those who are going home for the Christmas holiday, buy your pasalubong now (if you haven't done that during the past sale seasons already).

Hmn, the PT Ladies are currently bankrupt. Huhu. But oh well, at least we've given you the first dibs on what's in store for this week.

PS. Pssst! New Look and Topshop are on their sale period too, but don't tell others we're the ones who told you that. ;)

Red Carpet Beauties

AS MOST OF you know, ladies here in the Kingdom are all covered up in public. We're required to cover our hair (with our tarhas of course) and wear our abayas whenever we go out of our house. The idea of a beautiful woman isn't exactly glorified (and/or exploited) in this part of the world, but as young and sassy Pinays, you know we'd find loopholes to express our beauty one way or another. Whether it is underneath our tarhas and abayas or through this blog! You better know that we bring it. Can I get a B for Beautiful? Right on. ;)

So, how can ladies in this desert city be fab and stay fab? Well, there are plenty of ladies-only salons peppered throughout the town. If you're Filipino, chances are you get a regular home-service haircut/manicurist from fellow kabayans who do it for some extra income. But if you miss the hustle and bustle of your local beauty shop, fret not. There are lots to be found here. Though you might miss your regular gay hairdresser as all these salons are for women only. Nevertheless, you'd feel right at your feminine comfort zone with the sounds of snipping scissors, loud gusts from the blower, bubbles from the foot spa machine and the snickering between gossiping girlfriends.

Members of the Pink Tarha Team, along with other girlfriends decided to try out The Red Carpet Hair and Beauty salon. It is co-owned by a well-known Filipina entrepreneur here in Riyadh located in the Suleimaniah District. We have been hearing from our titas and other common friends that they have been to the place and they gave us enough good feedback to try it out for ourselves.

Now readers, you all know my birthday just came to pass... :P and it was before my birthday extravaganza that we opted to try out the salon. You know, to glam it up for an upcoming big day. So my friends and I set up an appointment via telephone and we arrived at the salon at around 5:30pm.

Reception area

Lounge area

A mini-snack bar, I suppose.

First thing I noticed was, "They don't have a red carpet!". Hahaha. You enter the salon here like you do a neighbor's house, via doorbell and intercom. When I arrived inside, I didn't personally feel like a "royal treatment" was headed my way (as described on their flyer). The salon looked like any ordinary hair salon in the Philippines. I wouldn't say that it looked like a glam spot on the LA strip. But I suppose the ambiance was welcoming enough not to intimidate potential customers. It was clean and quiet. A little house music wouldn't hurt in my opinion.

I was booked for a haircut and a facial while my girlfriends were still undecided on either getting a pedicure or threading for their eyebrows. I hadn't had a haircut since January and my hair has lost its shape and volume. According to the grapevine, the hairdressers that this salon hired were all trained or were previous employees of David's Salon in the Philippines.

Their styling trays were clean and organized.

Hair care products used are from L'Oreal and Wella.

The "spa" area where they do the facials and body massages.

Facial products used are from Nu Skin

Apart from the areas seen here, the salon also has a space for their foot spa/manicure/pedicure clients. They are also known in the Filipino community for adding nail decals to their polish and I have heard good things about their foot spas. In an interesting note, as one of my friends was getting her eyebrow threading done, we learned that they also do "Brazilian waxing". *wink wink*

I opted for a 'Galvanic Facial Spa' which is an upgrade from your regular facial where they use this special device and gel that is supposed to further energize the skin. The facial was painful as it should be when they pierce your pores to take out the bad stuff. I just chanted in my brain, "Pain is beauty...pain is beauty...pain is beauty". LOL.

Voila!

My hair all done and my skin is still glistening from the facial (with my friend, J).

The service was fair enough. I just think that they were a bit understaffed. The mini bar wasn't even stocked I guess because no one offered us to have some snacks or something. I was satisfied with my haircut, but it wasn't like a "Wow!" moment. The facial was good, but when I started asking the lady about the benefits of what she was doing/applying on me, all I got were generic answers. It would be beneficial if she educated me along the process so that I too, can care for my skin better.

Overall, the Red Carpet Hair and Beauty Salon offered what it could. We all came out of that salon looking better than we did going in, so that means they did their job right, right? Right.

So, if you are in Riyadh and have been long searching for a salon to treat yourself to...Or if you are an incoming OFW having withdrawal syndromes with your local beauty shop in the Philippines...worry no more. You can try The Red Carpet Hair and Beauty salon and see if it fits you. If not, then rely on your Pink Tarha Ladies to scout out more salons in this city in the days to come. :)

Cheers!
-ec-

The Red Carpet Hair and Beauty salon offers hair design and style, hair treatments, hair coloring, nail care and nail art, facial and body treatment, massages and waxing treatments.

Contact them at:
Near RKH/Military Hospital
Suleimaniah District
P.O. Box 64115
Riyadh 11536, KSA
T: +966-1-293-3497
M: +966-55-651-0758

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.