The Hidden Valley

After three years, I found myself in Hidden Valley again. Not lost, mind you, but appalled at how much garbage had been thrown and graffiti had been written in the place through the years.

Let me backtrack a little... Hidden Valley is the next stop to a Red Sand weekend trip of Filipino family and friends in Riyadh. Remember this post I wrote about Red Sand three years ago? At the end of the entry, I promised a Hidden Valley entry next but much like missing Pink Tarha up next posts, I never got around to writing it. My sisters, who are visiting Riyadh for the first time, gave me another reason to visit the place and finally, as in finally, write about it.

We went to Red Sand last Thursday. The weather is perfect. It was a little bit cold for my liking but I like the sun's warmth when we were already climbing the hill. Nothing much has changed. There were lots of Filipinos and there were still the makukulit Saudi youth who kept doing acrobatics in the sand. One of them even removed his shirt and began chasing Filipinas wanting to give them a group hug! His friends subdued him (good for him because other Filipinos were already throwing him dagger looks). Anyway, after a while, we went to the Hidden Valley.

The path to Hidden Valley (mind the tires).

It's beginning to look like a construction site.

Not much has been said about the Hidden Valley (must be because it was hidden? Chos!). It's where most Filipinos have their picnic after walking up and down the red sand hills or riding ATVs. When we first went there in 2009, I was amazed with the rock formations surrounding the place. It creates a dramatic backdrop to a desert experience. Filipinos and other expats climb the rock walls and hills to get an amazing view of the dunes and Grand Canyon-like scenery afar.

A trail up to the sand mountain.

What I did not fail to notice though are the graffiti on the wall. Seriously? Must this be a wall of attendance or a bulletin board of love announcements?!

Are those writings on the wall? Trash on the floor?

I was expecting a better Hidden Valley this time knowing that this place is already an established picnic ground so visitors might have cleaned up after they eat or hang out on the place, right? After all, many expats come here and see this as somewhat like a tourist spot. Oooohkay, that thought bubble burst immediately when I saw the place again. It was dirty. Trash littered everywhere. 

Plastic everywhere!

The dry river bed running on the side (part of the Wadi Nissah), is filled with paper and plastic plates, plastic bags, empty cartons, mineral water bottles, chip bags, and a lot more.

If this dry river can talk...

*speechless*

If that river is not dry, it might have looked like Ilog Pasig by now. Plastic bags hung on the branches of the desert bushes. The walls were covered in more graffiti. Names of visitors were proudly displayed. As in talaga namang ineffort nila masyado ang pag-akyat at pagsusulat! I wonder how they did that. Spiderman much?! Did they bring paint just to write on the rock walls?!

There are more to these on other walls, kaloka!

The sisters were snickering. "This is a tourist spot? You brought us here to see trash?," they said laughing. I was embarrassed. "It was better before!" I claimed. To somewhat steer them away from the trash-filled scene, I told them to pose making the rock formations and mountains as their background. Those magnificent rock formations are salvation.

You're still here! :)

Closer, closer...

I must admit I didn't begin picking up trash right there and then if I'm THAT concerned. However, we all know that there's no excuse in not disposing trash properly. A lot of Filipinos go in Hidden Valley and in Red Sand; make it picnic grounds, even take naps on carpets under the desert bushes. There are no official caretakers of this place. I think only us Filipinos and some other expats know of these places as tourist spots (Saudis usually go to Thumamah for their desert camping trips). Let this quote be our reminder, not only when we go around Saudi Arabia, but when we go everywhere: "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time."

With that, have fun exploring Saudi Arabia! :)

Much Love,

§undrenched

A Picturesque Jeddah

The Pink Tarha Ladies would like to welcome our very first "guest blogger" for this particular entry. Her name is Nikoll Long and she's a professional photographer. She's a big fan of our blog and when we saw pictures of her recently concluded Jeddah trip on Facebook, we just couldn't resist and asked her if she can share her experience with us and the rest of our readers. Pink Tarha ladies E and R have both been to Jeddah and have featured their trips here and here. Nikoll, however, has a unique story to tell about Jeddah. Just let the pictures speak for themselves!

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Jeddah, one of the Kingdom’s “hot spots” for tourism. Although I’ve been in the Kingdom for three and a half years, I had yet to visit this diving paradise until a couple of weeks ago.

Located on the Red Sea, Jeddah is known for it’s relaxed atmosphere, beautiful corniche and world class diving. I have to say, however, I didn’t really know what to expect. Are the people really that different? Is the culture more open? Is there anything fun to do there? The answer is yes!

Jeddah is about 2,500 years old and was a fishing village that the tribes of Quda’a first settled in. For many years it was the official port into Saudi Arabia for pilgrims arriving to perform Hajj and Omra in Mecca.

Welcome to Jeddah!

We arrived on a Wednesday evening and transferred to our hotel, Al Bilad.We could feel the difference in the humidity before we got off the plane. A shuttle for the hotel greeted us, which was great! No taxi fare! This service is included in the room charge at Al Bilad.

We ate dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. I have to recommend eating somewhere a bit more local than this American chain that had slow service (despite our group of 12 being almost the only ones there!) and the food wasn’t anything special. One of our taxi drivers recommended a place called Al Wadaa for dinner, which is along the north end of the corniche. Apparently it has plenty of seafood and other fresh favorites and patrons can sit out on a patio that overlooks the sea. I think I’ll check it out next time I go!

Thursday morning my mom and I hired a taxi recommended by the hotel to take us around town. We drove along the corniche stopping every so often to shoot photos and appreciate the endless sculptures and works of art throughout the city.

One of my favourite pieces of art in the city is a row of giant lanterns that light up in the evening. They’re absolutely gorgeous!

Another interesting attraction is the floating mosque, which is located on the corniche and is on stilts in the water.

A brilliant section of downtown is Al Balad, which is the old city area of Jeddah. It’s full of old mud houses that in some cases are several stories high. The buildings have been around for more than 200 years, and although some of them show their age, they’re doing quite well for having been made of wooden beams and blocks constructed of sand from the sea.

We stopped briefly at the antique souk, but found that many of the wares are from other parts of the Middle East, such as Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. There weren’t many items that were native to Jeddah, or even Saudi Arabia for that matter. Although we didn’t explore any of the other souks, supposedly the carpet and handicraft souks are excellent and have some of the best shopping (souk-wise) in the Kingdom.

The people in Jeddah are very different from those in Riyadh. They don’t stare or gawk at tourists. No one told us not to take photos and everyone behaved quite openly and civilly to us. The general atmosphere is very relaxed and people seem to take the time to enjoy life in Jeddah. The traffic (although still terrible) is definitely a few steps above Riyadh and you’re surprised to find drivers actually give way some of the time! It’s as though you’re not in Saudi Arabia anymore!

After our morning of touring the city we decided it was time to hit the beach. Al Bilad Hotel (like many hotels in Jeddah) has its own private beach to which they provide a free shuttle several times per day.

We hopped on and in 20 minutes we were standing on a private beach full of people all dressed in swimming attire. Saudis and expats alike hung up their abayas and thobes to enjoy the sun, sand and water.

I had never really been snorkeling before, so having my first experience be in the Red Sea was a treat to say the least. As soon as I put my face in the water an entirely new and breathtaking world appeared before me.

Fish swam right up to my face as I explored the beautiful multi-coloured coral and sea life.

I was hooked! The next day we took the early bus after breakfast and spent the entire day snorkeling and relaxing on the beach. With food and drinks on the beach and plenty of sun there’s no need to leave, unless you’re catching a flight that night back to Riyadh!

A weekend away in Jeddah makes one appreciate some of the amazing things we can find in the Kingdom. We as expats are very lucky to experience treasures such as the un-touched parts of the Red Sea, where tourists outside of the Kingdom will never get the opportunity.

So, for all you Riyadh dwellers that are looking for a peaceful, relaxing and truly refreshing weekend away within the Kingdom check out Jeddah.

PS. I hear the malls are amazing! I thought fans of this blog would be especially interested in that fact! I think I’ll make the effort to include retail therapy in my next trip there!


-Nikoll Long aka BB (Blonde Bombshell)


You can view more of Nikoll's beautiful photograph portfolio at her website:

Nikoll Long Photography
Website: www.nikolllong.com
Email: contact@nikolllong.com

White Sand? We Have Red!

The first "tourist" attraction Filipinos go to in Riyadh is the Red Sand. The Red Sand is located 80 kilometers outside Riyadh's city center and is less than an hour away so it's the perfect weekend getaway for us who are looking for some change in an otherwise lazy weekend afternoon.

Before reaching the Red Sand, the road leading to this spot is gifted with amazing views as well. Sedimentary rock walls sandwich the road. And the road probably looks like a snake from an aerial view judging by all the bends we have to traverse. The slight shift of the car gear is no biggie especially when there's a surprise that awaits each bend.

The rock walls.

A surprise awaits after this bend.

The well-paved road opens up to this:

The world is out there.
(My photography skills did not do this justice!)

The scene is something from a desert movie with a huge budget for a stunning cinematography. The lighting from the sun's muted rays provides the landscape a serene ambiance under the sweltering desert heat. Very ironic yet beautiful. The huge rocky formation from a distance is a great backdrop for the bleak, dusty highways too. With these, who needs editing?

A scene from Arizona?

And now on to the Red Sand. Though the first view from this place doesn't prove to be as amazing as the panoramic views on the way, the red orange color of the sand is enough for me to be awed.

This sand is red orange and we are like ants in a red orange anthill.

Looking at the hills of sand, I doubted my capability to climb but because of the sand's very fine texture, the uphill trudge was not much of a trouble. Besides, having my feet buried under the warm particles is enough for me to go on. It's like having a free foot scrub! ;)

Once on top, there's a sweeping view of the desert!

Whew!

This is where the sun met the sand.

Footprints... and wheel prints.
Don't forget to become a tourist. Snap away!

There's nothing much to do here except to have picnics on a fine day, run around like crazy, take photos, and observe what other people are doing from the different peaks of the dune. Or, sometimes, there are daredevils who use their vehicles and ATVs in committing suicide going up and down the slopes that we can watch. Some can conquer the almost vertical drops but others are quite unlucky and end up getting buried in the sand with their mean, bad machines flying and landing nearby. Good thing, the sand is soft and cushions their falls.

The Red Sand is the perfect spot to begin discovering the wonders of this desert.

After the Red Sand, it's very likely that the next stop will be the Hidden Valley. This place deserves an entry of its own.

The Pink Tarha TRAVELS

Gawd, desert! What's there to see?!

You'll be surprised once you change that way of thinking. True, it's all desert here, but it doesn't mean it's just sand out there. What are oases for then?! Travel with us when we comb the city of Riyadh and leave it for our vacation! We'll take you to places we've been so you'll have an idea where to go when you'll be taking your leisure days, whether for your weekend/holiday getaway or for your annual vacation. If you fancy going to a place we've featured, just ask us anything about it and we'll get back to you!

Share us your travels too. We'd love to become envious on the trips you'll make with your loved ones. Let's see the world together! :)

1. Jeddah's Best
2. Eyecandy in Jeddah
3. White Sand? We Have Red!
4. Experience in your Eyes
5. Dammam Here We Come!
6. The Pink Tarha Goes to Dammam
7. The Globe Visit
8. A Trip to Riyadh's Cultural Sweet Spot (1 of 2)
9. A Trip to Riyadh's Cultural Sweet Spot (2 of 2)
10. Slices of This Desert City (1 of 2)
11. Slices of This Desert City (2 of 2)
12. Hawks of the Peninsula
13. The Allure of Al-Khobar Part 1 of 3
14. The Allure of Al-Khobar Part 2 of 3
15. The Allure of Al-Khobar Part 3 of 3
16. A Picturesque Jeddah
17. The Wetlands of Wadi Hanifa