Exploring Off Camp

The last two weekends, Mike and I have been fortunate enough to be able to venture off-camp, into Khobar.

Downtown Khobar

Zatar from Latif Bakery

The first weekend, our good friends piled us all into their giant car and we drove into Khobar to get to several places.  First, we went into downtown Khobar to get some cheesy bread at Latif Bakery.  Downtown Khobar is rough and scary.  But the cheesy bread was great!  Lawrence really loved it, too.

A picture of Latif Bakery when we were here 2 years ago.

However, we spent so long getting there and being there, that we ran into Prayer Time.   Prayer Time happens 5 times a day, and stores close when it is prayer time.  There are certain big stores that will let you stay in the store and shop during Prayer Time (but you better get inside first because they close the doors), so the best plan is to make sure that you are inside one of those stores when the prayer call goes out.  Otherwise, you are stuck in the parking lot until it is over (usually about 20 minutes I think.)  On top of that, after the 11:00 prayer call, most stores (expect these great big ones) close up entirely until 4:00 pm.  I guess this is like a Saudi Siesta.  So if you haven't gotten your shopping done by 11:00 am, just go home until after dinner. 



So to avoid Prayer Time, next, we went to the grocery store, called Tamimi Market.  This is what used to be known as "The Safeway."  It lets you stay inside during prayer, and it stays open after prayer is over, all afternoon.  It's a beautiful store, much more like what we're used to in the States.  Unfortunately, I can't get there by myself.  But hopefully, once we have a car, we can make a once-a-weekend run out to the store to get staples, like Goldfish.  They have a lot more American food than the commissary, and a better selection.  I imagine that it's more reliable, as well. (As in, they always have sour cream in stock.)  We bought a bunch of STUFF (groceries, toiletries, paper goods, etc., etc.), and headed out to our next stop.....IKEA.  Ah, familiar Ikea.  Looks the same, no matter where you go. Mike and I ran in to get some random things that would make our life easier, like step stools for the kids' bathroom, and then we were on our way home again, as Lawrence was falling asleep in the car - time for a saudi siesta for him, too! 

Aramco bus to Mall of Dhahran

The next weekend, our good friends watched our boys for the morning so that Mike and I could practice taking the shoppers' bus into Khobar.  This will be the way I get there when I want to go by myself and I have some childcare lined up.  We drove to the bus stop on camp, and we got on the bus at 9:00 am.  The bus took us to The Mall Of Dhahran.  This is a really large and pretty mall, and I was absolutely struck by the overwhelming number of women's clothing stores.  WHY??  It's not like anyone ever sees you in your clothes - everything is just covered up by your abaya.  But no, they have all the familiar American stores, like Gap and Banana Republic, and Gymboree, and Nike, and on and on, plus European favorites like Zara and Mango.  They also have store after store that I have never heard of before, but the dresses in the window are expensive, trendy, and revealing.  I am bamboozled.  If my culture made me wear an abaya all the time, you better believe I would be in favorite sweat pants and ancient, soft tshirt underneath.   In the summer, I might just wear a slip or something.  (I've been told that's what most ex-pat women do.)  Why spend a lot of money on clothes?  (And, believe me, these American brands are a lot more expensive here.)  But apparently, there is a market for it, and I am glad for the American companies that that is so.  But I just don't understand it.  Maybe it's making up for the fact that they CAN'T wear what they want, just overcompensating.  If you know that you look good underneath, even if no one else can see you, I can see how that would be a good feeling.  But the expense of it!  Just wear your old throw-on clothes!  Go figure. 

Also, in the middle of the mall, there is another store that is kind of like a tiny Super-Walmart called Hyper Panda (note the accent mark over the a.  Does this mean we should all be saying /HY-per pan-DAH/?)    Hyper Panda was also better, grocery-wise, than the commissary, and it had camel meat at the meat counter!  I am curious.  Not sure I want to buy it raw and try to fix it myself (yet?) but I would be up for tasting it if it was at someone else's house.


After wandering in the mall, it was time to meet the bus again at 11:30 am - so we hopped on and went home.  Mike got a pair of running shoes (his own were stolen from the front of our house on the first day), and we got a kitty-litter scoop.  So all in all, it was a shopping success!  It's tough not being able to dictate your own schedule or transportation, but I'm sure I will get used to it.   And I try not to think about the fact that what would have taken me 15 minutes in the Arboretum Wal-Mart took us 3 hours in Khobar, and that was all the outing we got for a whole week.  Looking forward to next weekend's shopping adventure.