Monday 27 April 2015

Dammam : #Saudi Arabia

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.

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.
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.

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.

      
   So, if you are planning to go to Bahrain bridge then do not park your car wrong. Make sure, it is in  parking area.

 

It was a wonderful day and finally we returned back home in evening.

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

37 comments:

  1. Sounds like a wonderful get-away and I have to laugh at the parking tickets. Here where I live they are everywhere! You really have to pay attention to the signs! Glad you didn't get one!

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    1. Hello Jacquie

      We laughed hard too, you will not imagine from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m. we saw him putting tickets. The expression of people was worth seeing as hardly in my last 6 years I ever saw someone giving tickets on wrong parking. As normally there is a lot of parking area so no one parks out of place.
      It was a wonderful trip.
      Thanks for your time.

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  2. What fun an unplanned trip can be! You saw some interesting things such as camels which certainly aren't seen where I live. Great advice: "Do not park your car wrong!" I hope you are feeling better today.

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    1. Yes you are right Beth.
      I love that picture of camel and interesting thing in that picture is; there are camels with three different colors.
      Thank you I am much better now.

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  3. Have been to Damman/Al Khobar many times mainly to spend time at Aramco. The scenery on the drive there is beautiful. But I have to say that I don't find Damman/Al Khobar beautiful, though, Jeddah and Riyadh are much more attractive cities. Aramco is so interesting because it's a whole city. In there you can take off your abaya if you wish and they have everything a city needs including hospitals a museum and so forth. And, not to forget, Aramco is actually the engine of KSA. Without it where would Saudi Arabia be today?

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    1. I have seen many cities of Saudi Arabia now and I love them all.
      Yes Khobar is beautiful and about Aramco, it really a great place. Same like Tawal KAUST and petro rabigh. Few of my cousins in Aramco are asking us to visit, lets see when we get the chance. I went to Dammam to see my grand mother and had great time with her. I have heard about Jubail that it is a beautiful city too.

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  4. This sounds like a lovely trip. How wonderful to get so lost in the beauty you forget to take a photo. Sometimes it seems as if we are so busy taking photographs, we don't take the time to enjoy and savour the moment.

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    1. Yes Donna it was.
      You are right, when we carry our camera all the time, I feel we can not feel the nature around us deeply.... At times we have to enjoy without capturing.

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  5. What a lovely trip! Never been to Saudi Arabia but have travelled to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
    Nature is beautiful . . . wow
    Love the pictures x

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    1. You are right Nature really is beautiful. There is beauty all around us we have to feel and admire it.

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  6. What a lovely time for you and your family! I do love road trips and that is the one thing I miss about living on the mainland. Maui is a beautiful Island but small and a good portion of the Island is rugged driving so there's really no place you can go for a full day drive. Thanks for sharing your experience and photos!

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    1. Hello Marquita

      I really wish someday I live on some Island.
      But there is no Island here on my side unfortunately.
      It was really a lovely trip.

      Thank you for your comment and time.

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  7. It is nice you could take a few days off and travel with your family. There is no way better to spend more time getting to know them than a family road trip. :) our family used to do that a lot.

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    1. Yes Susan
      It is such fun and I am happy that my daughter always love these road trips. My husband is not a road lover and try to fly everywhere but I force him to be on road.

      Thank you for your time.

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  8. You have lovely family adventures, Anleeb. It's so strange to see camels roaming the land like the cows roam the farms in the US. Your countryside is so diverse, the image of the car over the water looks like it could have been take in Florida. Yet, the picture with, I think it's a Cypress tree, looks like you're on safari. It sounded like a perfect day. I thought your daughter might have drawn another picture. : )

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    1. Hello Gildalily

      You are right I always say to my husband that moving through these areas is like we are on African Safari.
      There are lot of camels but never saw cows.
      You can see barrier along the road, I never came across any road without barrier as there are so many camels and they also cause accidents in many areas as they come on roads.
      I also think it is shrub type Cypress tree and camels feed on them.

      Thank you for your time.

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  9. I love day trips and it sounds like you had a wonderful time on yours. What a lovely country. That drive through the sea is not something you experience every day. The last picture of the sunset is great - shows a wonderful ending to a day. And now back to teaching.

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    1. Hello Lenie
      I went to see my grand mother as it was really an amazing short trip. You are right now back to teaching but thankfully the semester is about to finish and I will go on holidays God willing.

      Thank you for your time and comment.

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  10. I must admit, one of my favorite parts of teaching were the regular holidays as well :) In general, I'm more of a mountain person than a beach person, but still occasionally enjoy a day at the beach.

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    1. Hello Jeri

      As I live in Kashmir so all the time we are coming across hiking, trekking and mountains climbing so beach really fascinates me.
      I think you should come to visit me in Kashmir, believe me you will be fed up of mountains :)
      Thank you for your time and comment.

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    2. Mountains never get old :)

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  11. I love the beach. I'm so glad you had the chance for a nice get away with your family. Visiting a new place is a wonderful way to feel refreshed.

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    1. Hello Michele

      You are right. It was fun.
      Thank you for your time and comment.

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  12. What a lovely trip! Seems like you had a good reward for stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new. I love the picture of the camels!

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    1. Hello Meredith

      There were three different colors of camels that I tried to capture. The quality of pictures is not that good as was trying when my husband was speeding up.

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  13. Damman looks beautiful. Could imagine just spending the day sitting on the rocks and staring out at the water.

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    1. Yes Ken.
      You are right it is fun with family.

      Thank you for your time and comment.

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  14. dammam seems a beautiful place to visist and it is great to travel on sea and reach another neighboring country

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    1. Yes it truly is amazing. Thank you Ubaid for your time.

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  15. Nothing like a spontaneous getaway to make you feel like you are getting a break; it's kind of like warm up to a real vacation.

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    1. Hello Tim
      Thank you for your time, yes you are right. It's always great to spend some quality time with family.

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  16. What a great description in your post. I have been to Saudi Arabia, and must say I found it fascinating. I live in a lush wet, cold place in Upstate NY, and to see a place like this captivated my attention. Thanks for sharing this.

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    1. Hello William
      Which cities of Saudi Arabia you have visited?? Saudi Arabia has different areas with different looks and even temperature.

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  17. If you don't mind my asking, Anna, are the roadways clean in Saudi Arabia? Or are the Saudis a bunch of litterers like Americans are? (OK, not all Americans are litterers, but too many of them are.)

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    1. Hello A. Peak
      Until now, I have not seen any dirty road. But as there is not much sewerage system (now they are developing) so when it rains the roads flood with water and bring litter as well but here the municipality is excellent in cleaning works. All the water is sucked and trash is removed quickly. I never went in old cities so have no idea about them but in cities roads are clean.

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  18. I love heading out early for traveling. Like you experience places before the crowds get there, it gives a person more time and space to enjoy their visit! Thanks for sharing some pics that let me know things are very similar around the world!

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