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