Early November over Eid (5-day holiday celebrating Abraham's sacrifice), we went on our first roadtrip in Ariane la Nissan (named after the French rocket) to the IKEA of Dammam, KSA. That is Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Yahooo!
Our transit visas came through at the last minute, thanks to our wondrous contact, Waleed. I ran to buy an abbaya (the long black dress, can be found here in malls and souqs, even at our local Carrefour), we packed up and left Tuesday morning. The 450 km trip took us over the KSA border at Salwa, then up the Persian Gulf to the bridge leading to Bahrein. Simple, no? Well, crossing the border to KSA implies much more than covering your head: we had to deal with 6check-points alone... and this is with the proper visas! Then another 6 to enter Bahrein.
Dave did all the driving (women are not allowed this priviledge). Leaving our house at 7.00, we arrived at our destination at 2.30 - yikes!
The next morning, up again at the crack of dawn to hit the IKEA of Dhahran at its opening at 10.00. This small city is located just South of Dammam, home of the very powerful Saudi Aramco. Total bliss to stock up on furnishings from home, including a new sofa. Whew, what a trip. Will we do it again? In a flash!
The next morning, up again at the crack of dawn to hit the IKEA of Dhahran at its opening at 10.00. This small city is located just South of Dammam, home of the very powerful Saudi Aramco. Total bliss to stock up on furnishings from home, including a new sofa. Whew, what a trip. Will we do it again? In a flash!
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