Saudi Arabia = Desert? not really Part 1

I am an Indian born and raised in the capital city of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. Whenever we speak of Saudi Arabia, first thing that comes into our mind is Oil and then Desert and similar things along those line. It was the Gulf war when I was born and I am always reminded by my parents about the precautions they had taken and how scared they were. Towards the mid of 90’s, life in riyadh had become stable/normal like most other Middleeastern countries. Back then, like every other kid I love watching TV – Channel 1 and 2 were the only channels available in kingdom  which is funded by the Government. Channel 1 served the arabic speaking nationals and While Channel 2 was in English.  Most of the series, movies, cartoons were recycled material of the 80’s but I must admit I have many movies that I still like and gives me a feeling of Nostalgia. As far as I could remember, Bill Cosby show, Pretender, Takashi’s Castle, House Full etc were my favorite shows back then. By the end of 97′, cable connection/dishTV s had become legal but the average forienger couldn’t afford it but as time went by – prices also reduced and it was about 99′, when we had one at our House. I always looked at my watch while coming back from school for just not to miss the Cartoon Shows. Those were the Happiest part of my life.

Food in Saudi Arabia was somewhat similar in taste to that of Indian Food. I think Kabsa has to be their national food. There are two version of it, 1. Cooked basmati rice along with boiled chicken  and 2. Cooked basmati rice with Chicken Faham a.k.a Barbecue. khubuz a.k.a pita is a kind of a flat bread that is often eaten with curry and Halawa (A sweet). Laban is the most widely used yogurt made in the form of fine liquid. I have to agree completely for the quality and standard they have maintained on Food items unlike India where everything is adulterated.  Saudi Arabia had its own fair share of Junk food/Fast food stores like Mc Donalds, KFC, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, Starbuck etc. I remember, at the end of every month my Mom takes me along with her in a Taxi to Akaria to recieve her Salary – The reason for her to take me is to buy me a Big Mac. Buying Big Mac was some kind of a ritual for me. How could one forget the great arabic “Shawarma’, its literally everywhere you go but Macoys Restaurant provides the best Shawarma in the Kingdom if not in the world. There are a good number of national Fast food chains like Herfy(Fried Chicken), Kudu(Sandwiches),Tazaj (BBQ Chicken), Al Baik (Fried Chicken) etc are growing and is getting popular among other Arab countries.

Panda was the first and is still the biggest Departmental store in the kingdom with many branches outside as well. Everything from Italian clothing to German Cars to Japaneses electronics are available in the Kingdom. Departmental Stores like Geant and Carrefour has come into Saudi Markets with intentions of huge profits considering the amount of Rich people residing in the Kingdom. Jarrir Bookstore is the biggest as the name suggests Bookstore/Computer Accessories store in the Kingdom, as for Laptops and Computers Not until few years ago. Thursday and Friday are considered as weekends and that is when our family would go for Shopping. Like everywhere else in the world, markets are saturated with chinese goods – the good things are some does work longer than expected and the other thing is “Use and Throw” policy & bad things are some don’t work at all and people can’t show off. I buy Electronics that are not necessarily have to be branded like DVD players, Surround Speakers etc of China. Unfortunately there is good amount of fake ones of Sony, Panasonic in the market which is a let down because I know many who falls for those.

If you liked it, pls comment for Part 2