The thing
that I like the most about teaching is; we enjoy a lot of holiday during each
year. We always try to take benefit of different holidays and try to explore as
much as possible. So last week we got spring break of one week and thought to
visit Dammam, Saudi Arabia. I heard from people a lot about it so off we went
to Dammam. As were not much sure about the route so we were hesitating to drive
till there. At first we decided to go by train and checked the website of train
for booking of seats but the available timing for travel did not suit us. So
thought to drive till Dammam.
On our way
to Dammam it was great to see that there were boarders of Kuwait, Arab
Emirates, Bahrain etc. Saw many people driving towards these places for holidays.
We were
going for the first time and as always were thinking to use navigator but it
was great to see that it was a straight road No. 40 that was going directly to
Dammam. It was super easy to get on the road.
We heard
that there are few main cities in the area; Dammam, Khober and Jubail and all
are
beautiful. Dammam city and Khober are very close but Jubail is little far away. Jubail is famous for its Industrial Area and Khober for its corniche and few universities.
beautiful. Dammam city and Khober are very close but Jubail is little far away. Jubail is famous for its Industrial Area and Khober for its corniche and few universities.
It was just
two days trip so we could not explore much. Mostly remain on road during these
days and as much as we saw, it was a nice experience seeing it.
We saw some
places in the city and then thought to visit Bahrain Bridge. There is a 25km
bridge between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia through sea. Almost Half part is under
Saudi Arabia and other half under Bahrain. The name of the bridge is King Fahd
Cause Way. There is a toll plaza at the start of the bridge and we paid 20 SR
there and we were told to go straight on Bridge.
It was nice experience
to drive through the sea with huge amount of water on both sides. After few
kilometers we saw a small Island with lot of palm trees and beautiful light
towers. On arriving the place we came to know that it is Bahrain check point
for immigration. There were almost 7-8 cabins and there were many lines of
vehicles of people waiting for immigration. It was great surprise for me that
there is no need for getting Bahrain Visa in advance as per occupation for GCC
residents through Cause way check point. I asked my husband to give it a try.
At the Check post we were little lost and were double minded to go for Bahrain
or not(as I was forcing my husband to go for it. He explained to me as we did
not plan before and do not know where to go so it can not be a great idea to
act upon). So I kept quite as his point was valid. We did not prepare and do
not know after entering which places are best to visit or where to go, so it’s
good to stay and turn back from the check point.
Finally we
took the U-Turn and turned back and parked the car and thought to enjoy cool
breeze of the sea. There were a lot of hotels for food, a beautiful masjid, I
was thinking to take a picture but I was so lost in it’s beauty that
unfortunately forget to take picture. There was a high tower on Island and on
top there was sea view hotel but unfortunately it was closed due to
maintenance. So we could not go up to have view of the beautiful Island.
We went very
early in morning around 9: 00 a.m. so there was not much rush on the sea. Just
few
families were there. The sky was blue and the sea water was blue too. The horizon was meeting the sea and it seemed that sky came down on the earth. The water was very clear and calm. There were no weeds growth and we could even see the stones and small fish swimming in clear water.
families were there. The sky was blue and the sea water was blue too. The horizon was meeting the sea and it seemed that sky came down on the earth. The water was very clear and calm. There were no weeds growth and we could even see the stones and small fish swimming in clear water.
There was
barrier and visitors were not allowed to go in sea or swim. But can enjoy cool
breeze while sitting on the benched along the side.
I sat down
on a bench and my husband and daughter started running after seagulls and cats
along the bank of the sea.
Then my
husband got some drinks and asked if I am hungry. I told him even if we are not
hungry better to enjoy food with cool breeze, he got some Arabic Rice and
roasted chicken and to my surprise he told me that price is same as in the
normal places in cities. I was thinking as it is check point the prices will be
high, but not at all.
We enjoyed
food and my daughter also feed some waiting cats and played with them too. I
took few pictures while sitting there and saw few ships in the sea and also
boats full of visitors were moving in the sea.
We remained
there till 4:00 p.m. and it was the time when people started moving in and
almost all the benches along the sea were getting occupied. People started
coming in as sun was about to set. There was an over head bridge and it was
full of trucks carrying containers and heavy machinery. I did not see any truck
moving. I am not sure, why they were waiting there fully loaded, turned to
Saudi Arabia.
We saw many people
who were not aware of roads or routes and by mistake were entering in wrong
lane of the road, heard traffic policemen shouting and calling them on loud speakers to turn back on other roads.
lane of the road, heard traffic policemen shouting and calling them on loud speakers to turn back on other roads.
We parked
our car in parking area but many people parked outside hotels and along road
and sea. There was a policeman who was leaving papers on each vehicle. He was
doing his job when we entered parking area and by 4:00p.m. when we were
returning he was still busy and we did not see even a single car that did not
had yellow page stuck inside wind screen wiper for the fine.
Saw few people returning and discovering the paper and feeling disappointed but I was
wondering why they parked their vehicle wrong before, out of parking area.
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To check more pictures from Dammam, #Saudi Arabia click here.
Look at all the pictures, do not they tell you the story of a beautiful place to visit. We were fascinated by the weather and enjoyed walk for hours on the beach. That lovely bright bluish sea will always be remembered by us.
To have more information about Dammam you can check this website of Saudi tourism