[TrackDay]

Amazing write up. It is one of those countries in the Middle East with little exposure in terms of tourism. Glad to see things change around recently.

Originally Posted by ZenMaster

Good old memories of KSA..... Its the food that I miss the most. Evertime I see a Shawarma stall in India, I get angry,
For people who love the KFCs in India. They taste quite sad compared to the KFC we get in MiddleEast.

Originally Posted by kamilharis

I think we are in the same boat. Your comments on the Arabic foods that are being served in our homeland is true, especially for the Shawarmas and Broasted Chickens.

Having been brought up in the Middle East, when I shifted to India for higher studies, I too was in for this shock. I know some might find this arrogant, but it is the truth. From Shawarmas, Kentucky chicken to Pizza few are up to par. However some have addressed these issues and come up with authentic taste. In Kochi check out Haji Ibrahim or Al-Taza for good shawarmas and for Pizza go to Sijis Pizza Street. They are really good !

[shinuak]

@kamilharis Its very good to listen to an untold story. After seeing the travelogues from all the popular tourist destinations, it was indeed good departure from the normal, to see the unexplored land. Good to know that they understood the importance of tourism and and is opening up. I guess the realization may have dawned upon them from the fact that oil may soon become a depleting resource, followed by the trend of EVs catching up.
The terrains and ruins look quite different from our usual sights. How old were those buildings and markets at Uqair ?
The food looks yum and many thanks for sharing !

[Neversaygbye]

This is an amazing travelogue @kamilharis! And that too about places in a country that the world knows very little about, in general.

I was in Dammam on work for two weeks, back in 2015 and would have visited all these places had I known about them. I'm a sucker for Unesco world heritage sites and this one looks absolutely splendid! There was at least one weekend when I had absolutely nothing to do and as a result ended up spending many hours at the corniche.

Had asked around before that and the suggestion was that I go to Bahrain but I was not sure whether a KSA work visa would be entertained at the border so gave it a pass (I did not have a Bahrain visa). I had asked my local colleagues whether there was anything to see or do in KSA and the answer was that tourism was non-existent in KSA and that they did not even have the concept of a tourist visa. Everyone had discouraged me from moving about on my own (I was alone) and so the next weekend I had gone to Petra rather than spend any more time at the corniche.

I'm glad to see the change that has come about in KSA - in fact in some of the pics there are women who are not wearing the abaya and that in itself would have been quite unimaginable 5 years back. Hope the changes are permanent - would love to go back and visit these places one day.

[aaaajwedk]

Thank you so much for this amazing write up!

As a 21 year old who has spent 17 years of my life in Saudi Arabia, this brought back a lot of memories. Cannot wait to go back, especially with all the positive changes taking place around the country nowadays. HMU if you ever come to Riyadh!

I'm now craving some mutton mandi and falafel sandwiches.
As several BHPians have already said, I feel like authentic Arab cuisine is very hard to find in India. Arab food here, especially Shawarmas, don't even come close to the real thing! I have so many fond memories of going to the nearby falafel shops and getting a 2 riyal sandwich during our school lunch breaks.

[kamilharis]

Originally Posted by TrackDay

Amazing write-up. It is one of those countries in the Middle East with little exposure in terms of tourism. Glad to see things change around recently. However some have addressed these issues and come up with authentic taste - Haji Ibrahim or Al-Taza.

Thank you TrackDay, yes the exposure is still less but they are trying to push it harder now by providing tourists visas and organizing it through dedicated channels. The only issue with the country is if you want to travel from one city to another you will have to drive for hours & hours through the desert highways, but that's all fine for those who love to drive! And yes I will try to pay a visit to those hotels during my next vacation!

Originally Posted by shinuak

@kamilharis Its very good to listen to an untold story. I guess the realization may have dawned upon them from the fact that oil may soon become a depleting resource, followed by the trend of EVs. How old were those buildings and markets at Uqair?

Thanks shinuak for your appreciation. Yes, they are looking for revenue beyond the oil industry, and the "Vision 2030" initiative by the crown prince MBS is a part of it, which is as of now a successful initiative. Year by year they are increasing their revenue % outside the oil business.

The history of Uqair is still unknown - i.e when was it constructed or who was behind the construction of those buildings!

Originally Posted by Neversaygbye

This is an amazing travelogue @kamilharis! And that too about places in a country that the world knows very little about, in general. I'm glad to see the change that has come about in KSA - in fact in some of the pics there are women who are not wearing the abaya and that in itself would have been quite unimaginable 5 years back. Hope the changes are permanent - would love to go back and visit these places one day.

Thank you Neversaygbye. Yes, the changes are a lot in the last 3 years especially. The abayas and other restrictions are the stories of yesteryears, you have to be dressed in a modest manner in public that's it. And unlike those days, nowadays anyone can get a visit visa to Saudi Arabia and stay here for 6-12 months on that visa, cost of the visa for India is $100 IIRC.

Originally Posted by aaaajwedk

Thank you so much for this amazing write-up! HMU if you ever come to Riyadh!
I'm now craving some mutton mandi and falafel sandwiches.
I have so many fond memories of going to the nearby falafel shops and getting a 2 riyal sandwich during our school lunch breaks.

Thank you aaaajwedk, yes for sure we need to find out all the BHPians in Saudi Arabia soon and arrange a meet. I have visited Riyadh maybe 4 years back, but I might be visiting again to check out the "Edge of the world." And yes the Falafel still costs only 2 riyals in many shops, thankfully!! :P

[gopa99]

Thanks kamilharis for your thread, I actually learnt more about the Changan eado and googled now to learn more! Wonder if they have any plans to hit India, I am seeing they are all over our neighborhood.

With google maps being so unreliable can I still be a happy tourist conversing in Hindi and English?

[R2D2]

A very enjoyable read. Thanks for writing a travelogue on a very unique country. Most Indians visit UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait but very few visit KSA. I'd like to visit KSA some day.

[kamilharis]

Originally Posted by gopa99

Thanks kamilharis for your thread, I actually learnt more about the Changan eado and googled now to learn more! Wonder if they have any plans to hit India, I am seeing they are all over our neighborhood.

With google maps being so unreliable can I still be a happy tourist conversing in Hindi and English?

The Changan EADO which you might be seeing now is the latest one, mine is the 2017 model. Yes they were about to enter India by 2021 with their SUV lineup but they have postponed their plans to 2022 due to covid, you can see the tbhp discussion here.

Google map does its job, the only issue is it gets confused when the spot is in a remote area. Otherwise, it's fine and reliable.
And regarding the language, yes Hindi & English is enough but not ENOUGH.

Originally Posted by R2D2

A very enjoyable read. , a travelogue on a very unique country. Most Indians visit UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait but very few visit KSA. I'd like to visit KSA some day.

Thanks R2D2. You can check out their Visit Saudi website here. The only problem with Saudi presently is, the public transport options are very very limited. Either you have to get yourself a taxi or rent a car during the visit. But yes, the Kingdom is surely worth a visit now.

[CornerCarver]

Ohh. What a coincidence. Just these days I was hoping to put my recent drives into a travelogue and post it on TBHP. But, the great procrastinator that I am, it kept on pending.

A brief intro about myself. Working as Doctor, based in Central Province- Buraydah since 2 years.
Owns a Corolla 2015 with a puny 1.6L engine.

As rightly pointed out, KSA is heaven for cars and food.

A meet is possible if we get to know more BHPians.

Ahlan wa Sahlan guys. Drive safely.

[kamilharis]

Originally Posted by CornerCarver

Ohh. What a coincidence. Just these days I was hoping to put my recent drives into a travelogue and post it on TBHP. But, the great procrastinator that I am, it kept on pending.

A brief intro about myself. Working as Doctor, based in Central Province- Buraydah since 2 years.
Owns a Corolla 2015 with a puny 1.6L engine.

As rightly pointed out, KSA is heaven for cars and food.

A meet is possible if we get to know more BHPians.

Ahlan wa Sahlan guys. Drive safely.

Wow one more, Ahlan bik. Start a thread for your travelogues as well, let's see.

It's good if all other BHPians watching this thread from Saudi could comment on this very thread or PM me, we will try our best to create a database, myself from Al-Khobar of Eastern Province, working in Dammam 2nd Industrial city.

And by the way, I like that color of your car, any day better than the typical white Corollas! I don't have the TBHP sticker yet on my car.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by kamilharis

Thank you Neversaygbye. Yes, the changes are a lot in the last 3 years especially. The abayas and other restrictions are the stories of yesteryears, you have to be dressed in a modest manner in public that's it.

I didn't know much about these developments (living under a rock, clearly!) and was pleasantly surprised to see this in your pics. Good to see they are getting liberalised, even if slowly.

As for the food related points, I agree with the others here. As a Gulf kid (Dubai born n bred), the default snack when we head out was a shawarma. The taste is unmatched in all the places in India that claim to sell them. McDonalds was something I never tried in my time in the Gulf. KFC was the more preferred option, and the spicy chicken bucket with coleslaw being a family favourite.

[CornerCarver]

Originally Posted by kamilharis

Wow one more, Ahlan bik. Start a thread for your travelogues as well, let's see.

It's good if all other BHPians watching this thread from Saudi could comment on this very thread or PM me, we will try our best to create a database, myself from Al-Khobar of Eastern Province, working in Dammam 2nd Industrial city.

And by the way, I like that color of your car, any day better than the typical white Corollas! I don't have the TBHP sticker yet on my car.

Yeah surely. Right now, work is keeping me busy. Once I get some time, I will surely pen down an assorted travelogue.
I visited sharqiya twice last year- Dammam, Khobar and Jubail. The vibes there are different and lively.

Was really impressed with the Khobar Corniche, Al Nakheel beach and Half Moon beach. Especially the Corniche.
Had lots of indian food too. But the standout meals was at Al manar, Abu bakar siddique street. Mataam Sinjar. It's an iraqi restaurant and the food was out of the world.

Will PM you bro the next time I'm in EP.

[awadsaud]

Hello Kamil, thanks for the nice review. I am considering Changan CS75 or CS95 and would like to hear from you about your Eado’s reliability. I also live in the Eastern Province and some of the dealer reviews mentioned lack of spare parts and difficulty in getting appointments, would love to hear your experience on this.

[Samfromindia]

KSA is opening up. This feature on AlUla by Curly Tales is nothing short of exquisite Long live MBS !

https://youtu.be/-PEAztK-KJA?feature=shared

[kamilharis]

Originally Posted by awadsaud

Hello Kamil, thanks for the nice review. I am considering Changan CS75 or CS95 and would like to hear from you about your Eado’s reliability. I also live in the Eastern Province and some of the dealer reviews mentioned lack of spare parts and difficulty in getting appointments, would love to hear your experience on this.

Hii!! Eado has been with me since 2018. And I have crossed 1,60,000 km until now and it has been trouble-free. In my friends circle we have the new Eado, Alsvin, CS35, CS75, CS75 Plus, CS95 & UNI K / V. All are doing well.

+ Regards to spare parts, I never faced an issue and everything was available at the showroom. Price is on par with other brands, only for the body parts in some cases you might have a waiting period of 2-3 weeks, which is the same with most of the brands. Service at the showroom is not that expensive, and yes you need an appointment always, which you can easily get through the app or customer care.