Summer Is Here, What To Do?

Many expats and locals find themselves "stuck" in Saudi for the summer with nothing to do, fearing death caused by boredom. Not everyone is lucky enough to escape the Saudi heat. With the schools now closed, children and youth (and housewives) get very bored! This causes frustration in parents, what to do?
There ARE other options than shopping people!

Here is a quick list of suggested activities for the summer mainly for families and women:

Kids Summer camps
Try: My Little School , Creative Hands Preschool, Dragonfly School, SPLASH summer camp at Intercontinental Hotel, Crayon's International Activity Center
Summer Camps Riyadh FB page:  http://www.facebook.com/groups/363357090388129/

Horseback riding
Dirab Golf course and recreation center http://www.dirabgolf.com/
Al Aghar Equestrian club Diplomatic quarters both have lessons available for children and women

Swimming
Equestrian Club inside Diplomatic Quarters has outdoor swimming pool for ladies and children
Al Manahil also in DQ  has indoor pool
Diplomatic Quarters Sports Club has large outdoor pool complete with slides and a wave pool ladies/men's days alternate (membership required)
Water Splash waterpark exit 9 Eastern Ring rd.
Dirab Golf course outdoor pool (membership required)

Rent an istiraha with pool
There are countless istirahas spotted around the outskirts of Riyadh. One of the bigger ones is Yamamah Resort http://www.gtandalusia.com/yamama/yamamaresort.htm

Check Out Maison Bo-M
Inside Nojoud Mall next to Intercontinental hotel. Ethnic fashion, art exhibition, cafe lounge, delicatessen, books, gifts etc..Women only
Special Exhibition "Themar Ramadan" – June 4th-July 31st 2012  
http://www.maisonbo-m.com/

Try Family Bowling
Intercontinental Hotel
Alkhozama Bowling Center
Universal Bowling Center http://www.ubcriyadh.com/aboutus.html

Spend the day relaxing at a women's center
Al Multaka http://www.almultaka.com.sa/overview.htm
Al Manahil http://www.almanahil.com.sa/english/index.html

Visit Dinosaur world
Inside Al Othaim Mall, on the third floor. Also in this amll a large indoor amusement park area with 5D movie theatre on the 4th floor. http://imagesofsaudi.blogspot.com/2012/05/dinosaur-world.html

Cool off Ice Skating
Ice skating rinks I'm aware of: Royal Mall (also for females), Othaim Mall exit 15, Hayat Mall, ChinaMart Mall upstairs (can be reserved for private functions as well)

Play Paint Ball
Riyadh's only paintball operator allows only men on site but they can be booked for private functions and women can play too http://www.facebook.com/groups/68469925659/

Visit King Abdulaziz Historical Center & surroundings
Visit the National Museum, Murabba Palace, the historical buildings, Public Library, King Abdulaziz mosque and Memorial Hall and browse the surrounding beautiful parks complete with fountains and picnic areas. Nearby also the water tower with a viewing platform and a small amusement park located next to it.

My Gym
Inside the Panorama Mall Women's section, has activities for kids and moms this summer. This June
"The Little Artist Competition": http://www.facebook.com/events/164552030341611/

Visit the "Riyadh Corniche"
Newly developed Wadi Namar, 2km long lake complete with promenade and picnic spots off exit 20.

Any other suggestions? Feel free to send me links to events etc that you know of this summer!
Check also: WSB magazine

April Activities For Women

I meant to post this on Tuesday as the Tuesday Ten post but what stopped me was the move from hell which we experienced this week! On Tuesday believe it or not I was sleeping on the floor in the new apartment while the beds and foods were being held hostage overnight in the moving truck by the greedy and totally unprofessional moving firm men. If you want to hear all about this moving experience with not one but two incompetent unprofessional and rude moving companies then go to this post: http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2012/04/move-from-hell.html

And now to the positive things! Sorry men of Riyadh but you're out of luck this April! Looks like there's TONS of stuff to do this month but mostly it's for the ladies in Riyadh. This is the month of exhibitions so be sure to check out at least one of these if you haven't been to a female only expo in Riyadh yet! Not to missed! For my previous experiences at women only expos check this post about the Blue Harbour exhibtion here: http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2010/05/blue-harbour-exhibition-in-riyadh.html
And this one on the Palla Mano expo: http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2010/06/palla-mano-exhibition-for-women.html
I cannot stress how much fun it is to go these and it's a great chance for the female expatriates in Riyadh to get to know some Saudi women too. I often hear women complaining it's impossible to meet and talk to Saudi women here. This is your best chance to see them without any barriers such as the veil and abaya and out of the public eye. You will find Saudi women very friendly, welcoming and curious toward expats at these expos.

1. Riyadh Fashion Days 8-11th April at Nojoud Mall:
http://www.facebook.com/events/377293495626312/

2. Wedding Fair at Nayyara Banquet Hall 22nd-25th April: http://www.nayyara.com/pdf/11th_International_Weddings_expo_EN.pdf

3. Cosmo Beauty Fair 2012 Four Seasons Hotel 21st – 23rd Apr: http://www.riyadhessence.com/all-events.html

4. Go Karting at Reem International Circuit 5pm - 12 am. Every Thursday and Friday.
For more info call 0569082900

5. Join Riyadh Quilt Guild more info here: http://riyadhquiltguild.blogspot.com/

6. For women in Saudi participate and learn at the Glowork Workshops: https://twitter.com/#!/Glowork1/status/185997229817987072/photo/1/large
Job search for women in Saudi: http://www.glowork.net/

7. GCON 1st Girls Gaming Convention! April 11th-12th, PSU:  http://www.gcon-riyadh.com/

8. Write a restaurant review and win an iPad: http://www.riyadheats.com

9. Riyadh Women's Exhibition 16th to 23rd April: http://rywomexpo.alriyadh.gov.sa/en/

10. Art Expo by Abdulnasser Gharem 10th-12th April, French Embassy, DQ more info: mdfriyadh@yahoo.com

8 Things To Do In Riyadh This March

Here's a list of some suggested activities for those in Riyadh this March.

1. Visit the International Riyadh Book Fair. The fair starts 6th March and runs through the 16th, open daily from 10 am to 10 pm at the Riyadh International Exhibition Center. There is an English books section, a female only area and an excellent children's book and activity area. Be sure to check out the religious police's hilarious stall where they display confiscated items such as T-shirts and poker chips.

2. Go to the desert! Spring is almost over and now is the time to see the desert in full bloom and the weather is not too hot yet. Easy to reach even with two wheel drives are the Red Sands area on Mecca highway and Thumamah sand dunes and park in the North. For further expeditions out of the city try Rawdhat Khuraim, directions in desert treks tab.

3. Visit the National Museum. SCTA is holding an exhibition "Recovered National Antiquities" in conjunction with the events of Al Janadriyah Heritage and Cultural Festival 2012 until the 12th of March at the National Museum. Around the museum you will find lovely parks and fountains perfect for a stroll. http://www.imagesofsaudi.blogspot.com/search/label/National%20museum

4. Visit a compound function. For the expat ladies in Riyadh there are monthly coffee mornings in compounds such as Kingdom and Jadawel. Kingdom compound has the largest expat bazaar in Riyadh every first Monday of the month(5th March) and Jadawel 11th March. This month there's also a bazaar at Cordoba on the 15th and a craftsmarket at Najdi compound on the 21st.

5.Go watch the horse races at Riyadh Equestrian Club!
Located next to the Janadriyah village, the Riyadh Equestrian Club is open and free entrance for all. Races start after Asr on Fridays. There's singles, family and a VIP sections. You can rent your own viewing room complete with private service and dinner included, no abaya needed.
http://www.imagesofsaudi.blogspot.com/2012/02/winner-takes-it-all.html

6. See (or participate in!) a golf tournament. The Dirab Golf & Country Club is hosting the AMEX 19th Annual Golf Tournament on the 28th and 29th March. This golf club is worth visiting because it has stunning scenery, a nice restaurant, swimming pools and horse stables with beautiful Arabian horses. http://www.dirabgolf.com/Default.aspx

7. Join the Riyadh Road Runners! The running season continues until end of April and all levels of runners are welcome to participate. The next 10 km run is in Salwa compound on the 16th March starting at 8 am. More info on their website: http://riyadhroadrunners.com/index.html

8. Go to the desert every weekend for a nice walk with a group of expats! Email me for details, expats only!

P.S for those asking details for opening times/family days of National Museum please check this link: http://www.arriyadh.com/Eng/Tourism/Left/KingAbdula/getdocument.aspx?f=/openshare/Eng/Tourism/Left/KingAbdula/National-Museum.doc_cvt.htm

11 Cures For Sandbox Boredom

There's so many events going on this February I thought of dedicating a post to it on its own in addition to the Events tab I regularly update. Too many things going on this month not to be missed! I was going to add my regular ten for Tuesday but added one as an extra bonus for ya'll.

This list is to help all the people out there effected by the dreaded "Sandbox Boredom- Syndrome".
People always complain how Riyadh is such a boring city with nothing to do, no social life or events.
Wrong!

1. The annual Cultural Heritage Festival Janadriyah is the main event and a MUST SEE for all expats at least once! Starting 8th Feb running through 24th Feb. Check more info on events section and for pics from last year go here: http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2011/04/janadriyah-2011.html


2. Reem International Circuit “Family Fun Day” onThur 9 Feb: 11 – 10pm. Safari animals, BBQ, Kids and adults activities,, campfire lunch and dinner provided. Email events@optimumchoice.com.sa or visit Good Ship Lollipop on Thalia St for tickets

3. Classical Music Concert at French Ambassador’s Residence Mon 13 Feb 8p.m. More info on events section.


4. Cosmo Beauty Fair 2012 11th -13th Feb at Four Seasons Hotel Ballroom check events section. Women only.

5. “Strike Out” Family Bowling Day Thur 16 Feb 2 – 4pm. Members SR 50. Non-members SR60. Inc. shoe rental and 2 games. Sign up by 13th Feb at http://www.acrsa.com/

6. Stand-up Comedy Show 16th Feb Riyadh, tickets available at Wayne's Coffee - Azizia Panda, Takassussi Branch. More info on events section.

7. Al Faisaliyah Hotel Globe Food Summit 13th -17th Feb. From educational cooking seminars to outstanding gala dinners, brunches and High Tea with Michelin Star awarded chefs. Reservations essential. Full schedule and timings here:  http://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/alfaisaliahhotel/i/downloads/Globe_Summit.pdf


8. Chocoflora Exhibition 2012 Nayyara Banquet Hall. From 18th-21st Feb 2012. Go to events section for more info. Women only.


9. "From Sea to Shining Sea” in the US Embassy Formal Gardens Thur 23 Feb: 7pm – Midnight. SR 250. Tickets at USERA Gift Shop sold from Sat Jan 28th to Sun Feb 19th 9.30-3.30 Sat-Wed. Closed Feb 18th.

10. Barney and Friends come to KSA! Reem International Race Circuit 22-24th Feb several shows during the day. Barney, Pingu, Thomas The Train, Bob the Builder and others perform for the whole family. Tickets, schedules and F.A.Q here:  http://www.tlbcksa.com/

11.“Carnevale 2012” by OasItalia Cultural Center A cultural festival in the Italian Embassy Thur 1 Mar:  7.30 – midnight Tickets on sale Feb 2nd 10 – 12am (OasItalia members only) and Feb 3rd 4.30 – 7.30pm Nonmembers. Info at oasitalia@gmail.com

Go out and enjoy the lovely February weather and take a cultural bath this month!

Culture Fair for Children in Riyadh

Something very interesting currently going on in Riyadh is the first International Children Culture Fair at the King Fahad cultural center. For more info check the Blue Abaya events section!

I went to the fair with my friend Aisha Al-Hajjar who was asked to cover it for Arab News, she writes columns for Saudi Life and has her own blog Saudi Birth Story too. I was honored to be asked by her to cover for the photos for the Arab News article.

Coming from an extremely strong culture of reading, (we grew up reading books, not watching TV) the fair was a very positive surprise for me. There was so many children's books for sale ranging from toddlers touch and learn type books to older kids bedtime stories. The fair had many books in English as well and some English learning centers were represented along with a few embassies such as Sweden and Japan.

My husband bought some books for our baby because she is already such a little bookworm! These were her first Arabic language books. I started reading to her when she was a few weeks old in Finnish and now whenever she sees a book she tries to grab it so it is definitely paying off already.

Reading to children is not as common in Saudi-Arabia than it is in Finland, but it seems to be growing in popularity. Reading to your kids is always highly beneficial for their language skills and strengthens the bond between the child and parent.

A nice bedtime story will help the child relaz and wind down before falling asleep and even look forward to going to bed. I hope many parents get the inspiration and encouragement of reading to their kids from this fair.

The fair had many other aspects to it on top of the book fair there was a museum, plays and shows and interactive learning center. I would recommend all parents Saudis and expats alike visit this fair with their children!

The King Fahad cultural center has very modern architecture and pleasant surroundings with fountains and gardens.

Children being interviewed for television.

Can you guess the sponsor of this event?

I was surprised how all the classic fairy tales that we know from childhood could be found at the fair and had passed the Saudi censors. There was some excellent books on Islam in English language for children available too.

Cute little boy hugging his book!

Fun interactive books for toddlers

There were lot of booths to browse various kinds of children's books. Most were in Arabic language but they did have English books too.

This book was about the history of Saudi-Arabia

These young Saudi men were dressed in traditional outfits and were performing traditional dancing at the fair.

Saudi hand puppets!

A happy kid enjoys the fair with his father

Face paintings were a hit!

You can have your name written in Japanese at the Japanese embassy booth!

Pretty Saudi girls dressed in traditional dresses with flower bands on their hair.

A girl being interviewed by media.

More hand puppets.

More toddler books! Was hard to choose which ones to get for my daughter.

Monkey manners is a marvelous way to teach kids basic manners ;) 

 Fountains outside the center.

 Such a pretty girl and pretty dress!

A marvelous book for expecting mothers with children and curious questions to answer how the baby got there!

The architecture inside the King Fahad cultural center is impressive!

It's cookin' in Riyadh!

This week the temperature has hit near +50c everyday. To make matters worse it doesn't get much cooler in the nights, dropping to only +46 yesterday. When it's windy, you would think it has a cooling effect, but actually it feels like somebody is holding a hairdryer to ur head on full blast of hot air!

We are also moving houses in this heat..Looks like summer weather is here to stay for about three months onward, inshallah not more! Actually I don't mind it if there's a water source like a pool nearby!We have one in our new apartment alhamdulillah.

What else is hot now in Riyadh is fashion! I went to the Palla Mano exhibition yesterday and it was awesome!

There was two banquet halls, one for the bazaar and other for the fashion show. Saudi designers were competing for the title of Fashion Designer of the year, first time ever! There was a white runway and beautiful dim lighting all around the hall. An anticipating female crowd filled the room with perfumes and excited chatter. Maids dressed in old fashioned arabic clothing went around offering the guests arabic coffee, chocolates and dates.The ceiling was adorned with huge crystal chandeliers. An all female camera crew was ready to capture the event on film.

There was lots of stunning ladies in attendance, I felt under dressed in my long flowery dresss. Everyone seemed to have had their hair done at a salon and donned Oscar Gala-worthy dresses and evening makeup.

Excitement was definately in the air!

The show was great, there are many talented saudi fashion designers maashallah! Afterwards I browsed the bazaar area and chatted with the women there. Some of the competing designers work was on display. I walked through different booths displaying arts, jewellery, abayas, evening gowns, wedding dresses, spas, home furnishings, bakeries, female run volunteer organizations and photographers. Seeing all these women doing what they clearly enjoy so much really gives hope for the future of the women in this country. These kind of pioneers in their own fields are the women who inshallah will slowly bring progress to women's rights..

 I thought these serving trays were a fun idea: Its a painting which she covered with plastic and cut into pieces, each with a stick in the middle where you place whatever you are serving. You then just lift your own piece off and wa'la you have a plate!

Palla Mano exhibition for women

Another women's only exhibition this week in Riyadh!
This time it's going to be in the Four Seasons hotel, starting on tuesday 7 pm to thursday 11 pm.
I'm really excited about this one because they are going to choose the Saudi designer of the year 2010!
Also there will be are bazaars selling clothing like these exhibitions usually have, check out here and here.
This is what their website has to say:
"Palla Mano which means in Italian" Touch The Hand "the show is unique and the first of its kind and is an event where females seek to provide all what is new with all respect to fashion faand beauty in the world of high fashion with the participation of a group of talented fashion designers.

The exhibition will include on the first day the first competition of its kind in Saudi Arabia to select the best female designers in Saudi Arabia for the year 2010.
In second and third days of the exhibition there will be the opening of the exhibition "bazaar" and the exhibition "Queen of creativity". Present will be multi-talents with the attendance of elite businesswomen and women of society, the exhibition will be covered by many media outlets."

I am hoping to find colorful abayas, afterall it was at an exhibition like this that I found my Blue Abaya!
The venue is to show off talented saudi designers and their work.

I will post how it was after I've been there inshallah!

Edit:here's the link to the post!

Exhibition week

This week I went to the King Khalid exhibition at the National Museum and the womens exhibitons at the Mercure hotel.

The Blue Harbour exhibition was really nice, although much smaller in size than the previous ones I've attended. It was held in the third floor of the hotel (which is shaped like a cruiseship btw!)

There were abayas and other clothing on sale, and I found myself a really nice comfy one with beautiful flowery sleeves. The material is very light and perfect for the summer weather which we have now +45c!

It was great chatting with these talented women, they were all so friendly. As usual, we were the only westerners there. We talked to a painter, a photographer, a jewellery designer and a lady who was starting her own bakery business. Had to test some of her chocolate muffins which were heavenly! Yet again I was in awe of the beauty of  saudi women, maashallah! I didnt want to take any pictures because they would've felt awkard and I didnt want to be disrespectful. Nice evening! Afterwards we walked to nearby Granada mall for some more shopping.

 One of the Entrances to National Museum    

   King Khaled exhibiton was at the National Museum in its own separate building. They wlecomed us very warmly and we were treated like VIP guests. I guess they dont get many blondes coming in :) We got our own english speaking well-mannered guide for the tour. The exhibition was beautifully displayed and had lots of interesting artifacts. There was photography of the Kings life on the walls, and the the rooms were divided according to the theme. The guide took us through the various rooms highlighting the Kings political career, achievements, hobbies, personal and religious life. They let us stay inside during the Ishaa prayer and we got to sign the special guests book. When I wrote something in it in arabic they were amazed :) They said the exhibtion should be there for at least another month, and there are no special days for women or men only its allowed for everyone. Around the National museum theres a big park area with fountains, creeks and sitting areas, nice to walk in the evenings with the beautiful lighting. Here are some pics I took :