[zibby]

Originally Posted by ajitkommini

I grew up in Al-Khobar and Jeddah from 1985 till 1991. Even back then it was car heaven. I don't have pics unfortunately, but some of the more notable cars I spotted during that time were : this and one or two of these. One of these lived quite close to our apartment. For some reason all the police cars were either Caprice Classics or Volvos.

Thats some rare cars.
Nowadays commonly used cars for police in Riyadh are Toyota Land Cruiser and Crown Vic. Undercover police use Camry and Caprice

[zibby]

Riyadh Zoo

Visited the Riyadh Zoo couple of weeks back, located in Malaz area. Singles males are only allowed on Monday, rest all the days are reversed for families. Entrance is cheap only 10 SR. Zoo was much better then my expectation. The time I visited was in afternoon so some of the animal dozing off. Contains all major animals are the world, worth a visit.

[zibby]

SEVEN Car Lounge
The best exotic car showroom I have ever visited. Most of all rare supercars under one roof.

















































To be cont.

[zibby]

Part 2 of Photos

http://www.sevencarlounge.com/

[agspins]

Lets not call it a showroom....Its a Art gallery.

[amit]

I wonder about the kind of investment that's gone into that showroom. Millions of dollars worth of stock!

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by zibby

I got it hassle free because I have a UK Driving License. But compare to other GCC countries its much easy to obtain DL here from new. There are no major manoeuver ie 3 point turn, parallel parking etc, driving test takes place in closed area not on public roads like UK or UAE. From what I heard you can even pay someone to do your theory test. That's the main reason there is no road discipline in KSA, hardly anyone follows the rules.

Hey, tell us about the driving scene and rules for women. I understand that women are banned from driving in the KSA but some rural areas do permit driving. Wiki says they are even discouraged from using public transport!

[kiku007]

That's H E A V E N;not Seven!

Thanks for sharing

[Wanderers]

Hi zibby

Thanks for giving us the insight into Saudi. I had heard it and now i see them.
The buildings are pompous and impressive and so are the cars, big and personalized. However you managed to find & click popular Indian Cars.

Tell us more about the food options. Do they have night life ?

[zibby]

Originally Posted by agspins

Lets not call it a showroom....Its a Art gallery.

Originally Posted by kiku007

That's H E A V E N;not Seven!
Thanks for sharing

I totally Agree

Originally Posted by amit

I wonder about the kind of investment that's gone into that showroom. Millions of dollars worth of stock!

At one point they had 3 Laferrari for sale and 2 918 Porsche.
Some of the cars on display (diablo's, F40 & Enzo) belongs to the owner.
Cars on display keeps changing on regular basis, that means they must be selling quite a few of cars.

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Hey, tell us about the driving scene and rules for women. I understand that women are banned from driving in the KSA but some rural areas do permit driving. Wiki says they are even discouraged from using public transport!

I dont think women are allowed to drive in Kingdom anywhere. But some women do drive secretly. Women here are treated like royalty, most of arab houses have a chauffeur car for female in the house. Honestly there is hardly any public transport within the Riyadh city. There are private mini buses driven mostly by Bedouin, which are mainly used by working/labour class males. Trust me dont believe the net, even before I arrived my expectation about Saudi were very low due to the www. but after arriving here opinion changed completely. Woman can use any mean of transportation within KSA no issues.

Originally Posted by Wanderers

Hi zibby
Thanks for giving us the insight into Saudi. I had heard it and now i see them.
The buildings are pompous and impressive and so are the cars, big and personalized. However you managed to find & click popular Indian Cars.
Tell us more about the food options. Do they have night life ?

Hey,
I did manage to spot the odd Indian car ie Safari, Indigo and Tata Mobile.
There are alot of Ashok & Tata buses used here by construction company mainly for labours.

Night life in Kingdom can be interesting depending how good your connections are. There are the usually shisha cafe located on the outskirts of the city only for male. There are parties organised by the embassy every weekend which have alcohol available. Expect these there are parties organised by individual communities (ie Filipinos) in rented villa where there is dancing etc.

[zibby]

Saqer-Aljazirah Aviation Museum
Interesting Museum with the aviation history of Saudi Arabia. The museum highlights role of pilots and the royal family as it grew from a desert kingdom to a regional power. Main building is modern every well looked after. The amount of aircraft on display inside and outside were impressive, although some were in need of repair. I visited the museum during the winter evening, so it was pretty cold outside to hang around for too long.





























































To be cont...

[zibby]

Part 2

[Night_Hawk]

Originally Posted by zibby

Thats some rare cars.
Nowadays commonly used cars for police in Riyadh are Toyota Land Cruiser and Crown Vic. Undercover police use Camry and Caprice

Zibby.... excellent coverage of Riyadh... your pics and narration made me feel nostalgic. I lived & worked there in late 80s to early 90s. Those days.. Caprices, Buicks, GMC SUVs Land rovers ruled the KSA roads. Waiting for more details; keep them rolling in

[zibby]

King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research & Archives
Visited to a Museum dedicated to the first King and founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz Al Saud. Museum displays variety of things used by HRH such as clothing, watches etc. I didn't take any photos as there were signs up for no photography. But the most interesting thing on display for me were the cars used by the King. The museum displayed 4 cars, 2 Rolls, Pierce Arrow & a Caddy.

[vinayrathore]

Excellent prospective of the otherwise misunderstood region of the world. Most of the pics contain drool maal!

What are the fuel rates there? Is it really cheaper than water as is the notion?