Al-Khobar 8-Feb-07

Trip Report
Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia 8-Feb-07

The weekend is upon us. This is a good thing, the weekend, in most places but here we have limited recreational options. The weekend, as one of my neighbor's said once "is all about killing time". Neighbor was talking about something else, maybe his work day, but the sentiment fits.


If the weather is nice we can head down to the Corniche, grab a Starbucks chai and go for a stroll along the beach walk. There will usually be a few people out fishing and some families enjoying a picnic but, for the most part, the park is empty.






Another option is to head south along the Gulf shore for a Friday drive. There are several Family Only beaches. There are also opportunities to rent 4 wheel drive ATVs and race along the dunes. A picture of one of the rental agencies is shown here. Camel rides and pony rides are also available. The ponies are so little that my feet would be dragging if I ever got on one.




Trips to Bahrain remain a popular option for the weekend. We went over last weekend and stayed at the luxurious Tylos Hotel. The place was cheap but not that clean or comfortable. The beds were like concrete slabs. John found roaches in his room. I was woken by a phone call at 1:30 AM by a woman wanting to know if I wanted a massage.
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So, if the hotel is so crappy, why do we go? Bahrainis have beer. There are several bars clustered in the cheap hotel disctrict. I figured that after 5 weeks of drinking nothing but tea and water I deserved a cold beer so of I went.





Scenes from the car: Here is a picture of one of the larger mosques in Bahrain.




Bahrain is different from Saudi Arabia in more ways than just having beer. They are building a large financial center, skyscrapers and everything, along the Gulf shore. Several buildings are going up and most have some degree of architectural thought to them. No big rectangular boxes for these guys.










Scenes from the car: Construction cranes at the Financial Center.

















The big pointy building shown here is a pretty neat building. There are 2 similar towers side by each. The towers are connected by three walkways. Each of the walkways will have a windmill installed midway between the buildings. The windmills will generate 75% of the building's energy requirements. My question is... If trhee mills will generate 75% of the building's energy requirements, why not install 4 mills and be energy independant?

We also had the opportunity to walk through the local vegetable, meat and fish markets. I couldn't take pictures due to local cultural sensitivities but perhaps it is just as well anyway. Picture a big warehouse, filled with stalls, each run by an independent vendor. Who smokes. While cutting up your fish or your meat. The sanitary conditions in the meat market could turn you vegetarian. Uncovered, unrefrigerated meat hanging and dripping on the floor. The fish market was somewhat better but that is only because they were selling the fish whole. Only a few vendors were gutting and cleaning the fish.

All of that being said, what are my plans this weekend? I'm going to sit in the sunshine by the pool and do some reading. If I get adventurous I'll head into downtown Al-Khobar and buy a new pair of running shoes. I'll take the slow bus from the camp because, as we know, it's all about killing time.