Riyadh is a different place

I am back in Dubai after spending three days in Riyadh and one day in Jeddah.

Riyadh has changed a lot. I could hardly recognize anything from the time I lived there. I tried to find the apartment where I used to live but I couldn’t. The neighborhood where I used to live has totally changed. Not a single landmark was there anymore. It used to be a suburb back then but now it was in the middle of the city.

Other than that, I found Riyadh to be a decent place. Of course there is no comparison with Dubai in terms of glamor and entertainment options, but even then Riyadh is nice place to live if you want a simple and hassle free life. Since there are not many options for entertainment, you end up saving a lot of money. Prices are also pretty cheap. Traffic is not as bad as Dubai. The malls offer more or less same brands as anywhere else. The only thing missing is movie theaters. Oh, and there is no beach.

But Jeddah takes care of this problem.

The only landmark I recognized in Jeddah was that huge bicycle on a traffic roundabout. It was there 20 years ago as well. We used to jokingly call it Adam’s bicycle. It sure brought back some memories of my childhood. I didn’t roam around in Jeddah that much as I was there for less than 24 hours. But one place I did check out was AlBaik.

AlBaik in Jeddah

It was worth every bite. Was it better than KFC? Well, perhaps it was because this particular outlet of AlBaik was right next to KFC, and KFC was totally deserted while AlBaik was jam packed. I guess that tells a lot about how popular AlBaik is in Jeddah.

So that’s how my KSA trip went. I am now back in Dubai with no trips planned at the moment. So I am trying to get the most of my time here and enjoy some quality moments with my family.