Day 1: Speedy Gonzales

We started in a hurry, leaving work early at noon and at 12:30 pm we were on our way. We had to leave early so we could at least have a chance to make it to Riyadh before 9 pm.

We made it to the Qatari border in one and a half hours with a quick stop at a petrol station. The crossing was easy, with a quick stop on the Qatari side (we pre-registered to exit online) and a wee bit more work on the Saudi side. Since it was our first time in Saudi Arabia, we had to go to the main terminal and get registered (basically walk the customs there and back). We, of course, didn’t do that and went straight to the border (in our defense they don’t mention it anywhere to go to the terminal) and were told there that we had to go to the “building “. But we didn’t understand that he wanted us to turn around so we just parked by the terminal in between the two border gates (entry and customs) and walked in through the exit. We surprised a lot of people there but they were very nice, let us through, stamped our passports and car documents, and we could just continue without leaving the border area. After, we just got our car inspected, which took about a second, and then had to buy car insurance. That was pricey. We paid 230 SAR for 14 days.

After the borders, it was just driving and driving. The landscape was changing and we were getting used to Saudi drivers that are maybe even worse than Qatari (Edit: They are the worst! Number one on our list of countries where we drove ourselves.). When it got dark, we saw a very bad accident.

We reached Riyadh just after 7 pm and decided to take some side roads around the airport, rather than the main highway through the city. We ran into some traffic because there was an accident right in the middle of one of the light intersections but no one wanted to be delayed on their way so the whole place turned into chaos. Cars were coming from wrong directions, cars fully driving on a red light, or buses u-turning but couldn’t make it.

But we got through and were at the turn to the general parking for the Middle Beast Sound Storm festival just after 8 pm. There was some amount of traffic by the entrance but after that, we were flying to the parking. We then walked quickly to the gates that were about a kilometer away from our parking spot.

All the driving, hassle, and stress were well worth it because we made it there just 10 minutes before the Linkin Park set started! The stage was massive and I was very happy to finally see them live. They were shortly followed by Eminem who was the main act of the festival.

The main stage was full of people and I must say I didn’t expect this in Saudi Arabia of all places but there were many, many extremely overtly “fabulous “ men around. Also, we don’t know if we were attracting them in some way but like 4 people passed out right in front of us! (strange since they only sell tea and juices…) Finally, there were thousands of people but of course, we ended up standing next to 3 fellas from the Czech Republic (“Inu, svět je malý a o náhody tu není nouze.”)

Eminem finished around 1 am and we went to use the credits we got with our tickets to buy some food. After we ate it, we were on our way to the car since we were dead tired.

Since it was so late, we didn’t book a hotel, we just lowered our seats, blocked the windows, and slept in the parking lot.

Day 2: Rest in Riyadh

The night was surprisingly fine (I guess because we were exhausted) and we left the parking lot just after 7 in the morning. We drove to a nearby King Salman Park and rested there for a wee bit more, used the toilets, and had breakfast and coffee (our stuff, you can’t buy anything at the park).

We then decided to go visit the Al-Turaif Heritage site. It took us about an hour to get there and we had to pay 30 SAR for parking.  Little did we know that on Fridays the site opens at 2 pm so we had over 3 hours to wait. We just walked around and ended up leaving after about 30 minutes. We were exhausted so we drove towards our hotel and just made a quick stop at the Grand Mosque.

We got lucky twice at our hotel. First, they let us in 2 hours before check-in. Second, the sign “This property is closed due to law violations. You have 48 hours to vacate the premises. “ was old (at least we were told…). We had a quick shower and were in bed catching up on our last night’s sleep.

We woke up around 4 pm and after a bit we went for a walk around the place, looking for food, and we went to check out a nearby King Abdullah Park. We got shawarma and Karak tea and then tried Mutabbaq (Murtabak) – filled bread (pastry) with meat, egg, and herbs. We also got Kunefe. We wanted to eat it in the park but they wanted 11 SAR to enter so we just found a bench nearby. The pastry was OK but we wouldn’t get it again.

After, we made it to our room, watched some shows, and were sleeping by 10 pm.

Day 3: South we go!

We could stay until 3 pm checkout time in our hotel but it was time to go exploring Saudi. We headed south of Riyadh to Heet Caves which were surprisingly difficult to find and surrounded by a fence. However, the fence ended about 50 meters in each direction so all that was needed was to go around. We explored the small cave filled with water and hiked a wee bit more above it. Next, we drove to Lakes Park and had coffee and snacks by the water.

We finished around 1 pm and it was time for us to start heading south towards Abha and the Aseer region. We knew we wouldn’t make the whole 1000 km journey in one day but instead chose Wadi Ad Dawasir as our final location. This was about 600 km into our route to Abha. We used the highway number 10 to go South since we read that it’s in a better condition and offers more services like petrol stations along the way. Our Mitsubishi was almost 20 years old and was eating 15 liters (at least!) per 100k so we needed petrol stations around.

The road was nice and except for a few small parts in very good condition. The scenery was great and we could already see the change as we were getting closer South but most of our way was just sandy since we were passing the Empty Quarter.

When we reached near the city of Wad ad Dawasir, the road was lit up and there was some more traffic. We stopped right at the first park before the town even started and set up our camp there. We slept in the car with an air mattress in the back and all our stuff on the front seats. Our camping chairs and table didn’t fit in and we didn’t have a roof rack (yet!), so we had to leave some stuff under the car.

Clare cooked us a beautiful dinner of pasta, veg, beans, and eggs and we got karak tea from a nearby seller. There were a lot of street lights and we were close to the main road but we slept very well and no one bothered us during the night.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Mickey doesn’t have cruise control so the long driving was shite.

Day 4: Abha

We started with coffee and organizing the car. Since this was the first time we slept in it took some time to move things around but we got better as the days went.

We left our camping spot and continued on Highway 10 to Abha. A little bit into our drive the landscape started changing a lot as we were getting closer to the mountainous region of Aseer. We reached Abha in about 6 hours with one longer stop to refuel and wash our dishes from last night.

From the big city Khamis Mushayt, which is just before Abha, it was built up and the traffic was heavy and we had a few near misses with Saudi drivers. We parked on the street in the center of the town near the main square and went for a walk.

We went to see the Shada Archaeological Palace…closed, the Aseer Museum…closed, Al Basta…you can walk by the old buildings but otherwise closed, and Shamsan Historical Castle…yay, open…but empty and full of trash. Unfortunately, this was a reoccurring theme with many sites in Saudi for us.

Nevertheless, we had a nice walk, bought some snacks along the way, and stopped for coffee. We then drove above the town to the Dabbab Walkway. I was actually surprised by Abha at the beginning because it didn’t really look as mountainous as I imagined. But when you get to the edge, you get the view of the valleys on the other side and you suddenly understand that you are indeed at above 2200 meters above sea level.

Since it was close to 5 pm and it was getting dark we went to find our camping spot for the night. We had one spot pre-researched but it turned out that it was really close to many houses and could only work for maybe RVs. But it was next to these other old ruins so at least we saw something else. We then took this other side road nearby that had a park on Google Maps and it turned out that this “park” meant these small terraces built along the road which were perfect for camping.

We set up our camp, made dinner (rice this time), and were in bed before 9 pm. We wanted to sit out longer but it got really cold in the mountains.

Day 5: A beautiful hike to the used-to-be highest mountain in Saudi Arabia

The night was cold! We had both double jumpers on and it was still cold but mostly then from the mattress which we couldn’t really do anything about.

We were up with the sunrise and were perfecting our routine of transforming the car back into driving condition. We also got a coffee and breakfast and packed our bags for hiking.

Today’s plan was to go hiking to the highest mountain of Saudi Arabia, Jabal Soudah (Sawda). Or rather the used-to-be highest mountain. Based on an article that we found while researching hiking in SA, the Jabal Soudah used to be considered the highest, but after careful measurements, they found out that Jabal Ferwa (further east close to the Yemeni border) is a few meters taller.

First, we had to get to the start of the hike which was a delight. We were already pretty high in the mountains so we only had to climb a little before we had the full view of the valley below. This is also where we first had a chance to get a closer look at something I’d never imagined finding on the Arabic peninsula…colonies of Baboon monkeys! They were everywhere and the males were massive! After we drove along the ridge for a while we started our more than 1000 m descent into the valley on one of the steepest roads we have ever seen, just to then climb about 600 meters back up on a single-lane road where we were praying not to meet anyone driving in an opposite direction.

Everything went well and we were at the start of the hike just after 10 am. The beginning of the trail is a wee bit hard to follow but later there is only one way to go and all is nicely laid out. We read that there aren’t many trails around that would be marked but this one was perfect. There were stairs made out of stones, arrows to show you the way, and even a few camping spots.

The trail took us straight up 300 meters and then followed a ridge towards the peak while it was going further up and down as we had to cross other peaks along the way. At the end, there is a small almost abandoned village and you finish on a tarmac road which takes a wee bit out of the otherwise beautiful hike. At the summit are then several antennas so you can’t actually reach the peak itself. Probably while building the antennas they dug off enough ground to lose those few meters and made it the 2nd highest mountain.

We made it to the summit in 3:15 hours which wasn’t the best but decent considering we both were dealing with some cold we brought from home. We had a 15-minute break at the top and headed down as dark clouds were coming in. We were happy for the clouds before because it was pretty hot otherwise but now we were afraid that it would start raining and we didn’t have any raincoats or extra clothes for the cold. But all was good, the rain didn’t come, and the clouds made for some great photos on the way down.

As usual, we weren’t much faster on the way down and it took us 3 hours to get back to our car. We wanted to have a wee break but the sun was almost setting so we headed down the hill to search for a camping spot. I remember there was a park just at the start of the valley so we tried it there and it was perfect with some street lights and toilets. We then went back just to get some groceries for dinner and went to make food.

The night was cold again but not as before since we were in the valley so we could stay out longer. We were occupied with all the “friends” we attracted by making the food. There were 4 cast, then a dog showed up, and at the end a fox. We were glad no Baboons came down the hill.

Day 5: Wadi Lajab and Jizan

We wanted to start the day with two historic sites to see but we didn’t plan it well the night before and we just couldn’t make it to Tabab because we would have to climb from the valley and drive in an opposite direction to then come back to where we started. Instead, we headed directly to Rijal Alma historical village.

Unfortunately, our luck with historical sites followed us and we were told that the place was closed and “maybe” would be open in the afternoon. It was just a wee bit after 9 am and we couldn’t hang around the whole day so we just took a few photos from the outside and continued south. We saw a brown sign along the way which was written in Arabic but it only said 4 km so we followed it and ended up stopping at a local small museum dedicated to local customs.

We then continued further to Wadi Lajab. Along the way, we stopped to take a photo of a small oasis and bulls drinking from a river. We were stopped by a local fella named Ali for a little chat. We then stopped in the next town for lunch, but before I even got out of the car Ali was there to tell us not to eat there because “the people are so dirty” (if you live in the Middle East as long as we have you, unfortunately, get used to how locals treat others that are not from the West). I didn’t want to tell him that we eat in places like this all the time so we ended up following him to the next town where he showed us a different place (it looked basically the same). We got a big portion of rice with different parts of goat (intestines and all).

Wadi Lajab was then about another hour away. You can drive into the Wadi for about 1.5 km if the water level is low but we didn’t want to put Mickey through more stones and dirty paths than we had to so we walked. Which I would suggest is the better idea because the beginning of the Wadi are very narrow tall walls that look amazing and remind me of the entrance to Petra in Jordan.

There is a space to park cars at the end and a restaurant. After that, you have to continue on foot since you have to hop some boulders and get around the running water and ponds. If you plan to have a food break there I’d reconsider since all the locals that were trying to cook there had a big problem with Baboons trying to steal their foot and getting too close.

We continued about one more kilometer into the Wadi before we headed back. The water was so clear sometimes and just inviting us to jump in. At one point, there was an absolutely spectacular rainforest hanging suddenly on a ledge in the middle of the valley wall.

Our drive then continued back the same way that we came from the restaurant where we had lunch. Someone must have remembered us there because as soon as we passed it we got chased by a police car and pulled over. But the police officer must have thought we were someone else because he was very surprised when he saw me behind the steering wheel.

We were on our way right away and reached Jizan just before the sun started setting. Our first stop was the port authority building where we got tickets for a ferry for the next day to Farsan Island. Tickets are completely free but if you want to get a car on the boat you either have to be lucky or be there a few days in advance to book it (we heard you have to be there in person but maybe there is some other way how to book it).

We then went to the AL-Dosariyeh Castle which was just above the port and discovered that it could be a great camping spot since it was away from roads and had a toilet. We then finished our evening with a walk near the port and another walk in Corniche Park where we also had our leftovers for dinner (and ice cream).

Day 6: Walk tour of the Farsan Island

The camping spot was a little bit busier than we thought but no one bothered us except the damn mosquitoes. It was so warm in Jizan that we left the windows open and at some point there we like 20 mosquitoes in the car! We woke up with bites everywhere, especially all over our feet.

We were up at 4 am since we had to be on the ferry by 5:30 am (at least they say but if you are a passenger and don’t have a car you can be an hour late and all will be fine). You have to go through a metal detector and x-ray like at the airport so don’t carry a knife like me (but they let me through). They also ask for passports and to show your entry visa. The ferry takes about 1:15 to get to the island and there is a small shop on the boat.

After we landed, we got on a public bus for 3.5 SAR each that took us to the town. Our card didn’t work and the driver paid for us and didn’t want anything back but we gave him 10 riyals cash. We got off at the first stop which was just at the edge of the town since it was close to the Ottoman castle. The castle is small and nothing to write about but it’s just a short walk from the town.

We then headed to the town where we stumbled upon some old abandoned buildings and then walked to the main road. There we stopped at the first cafeteria we saw and got two parathas with egg and juice. While we were waiting, some locals were trying to communicate with us and we took some photos and they wanted to pay for us. We were very surprised by the friendliness but of course, we didn’t let them.

We then got chai a few shops further and continued on the main road. There is nothing to see so we turned south towards the water and walked another few kilometres before we reached the small cliffs at the coast. The end of the walk was on stones and not very nice since there was no path. There was a small cove with a port and a pier so we had a chance to get to the water and dip our feet in it.

We then walked a wee bit further, crossing a hotel beach, and ended up in a public park (Dana Park on Google) with sandy beaches. We didn’t have much time left so we just had a short break and then walked, following the road, back towards the town.

When we got to the edge, we continued along the main island road towards the ferry port. At this point, we were 10 km away from the ferry and had one and a half hours left. We decided to walk along the road and possibly jump on the bus if it passes us. We ended up walking all the way to the port with many local people honking or stopping to check if we wanted a lift. The bus passed us about 0.5 km before the port.

Even though we were 15 minutes late for the boarding, the boat wasn’t ready yet and everyone was still waiting. We celebrated our long walk along the island with some cold drinks on the boat.

When we got back to the mainland, we just got our car and headed straight to the town called Sabya where we booked a hotel for the night. Along the way, we spotted Cinnabon and had to stop! We then got a takeaway from Al Baik (Saudi fried chicken fast food). We stayed in a place called Aseer Hotel Apartment for 90 SAR which was a sweet deal.

Day 7: Sightseeing drive through Fayfa and the mountains

We checked out at 9 am and were on the way to a place called Fayfa. This “city” is built on the terraces going high in the mountains which makes for great drive and amazing views. We didn’t have anything specific to see there so we just slowly climbed all the way to where Mapy showed us the top part with viewpoints and parked there. The drive is not long but the climb takes time and it’s definitely worth it for both the spectacle and the fun of driving up and down. You can spot a lot of ruins in the hills so this place must have been inhabited for ages now, most likely to escape the heat.

After, we continued towards our next camping spot which was under the mountain Farwan. The drive was only about 200 km; however, the road basically just goes up and down and we couldn’t go at any speed. We actually had to climb to another pass under the Al Hasher mountain which was even harder for Mickey than Fayfa! We had a small break after the climb and had a coffee and a tuna sandwich for lunch.

Before we stopped for the night, we passed our turn in the town called Ar Rass and continued further to the Al-Jahamah Historical Village. We saw several similar buildings as we drove but always among other, newer buildings. This abandoned village stands on its own and many buildings are well preserved. There is no official entrance to the village, no parking, no signs, and no entry fee. We were surprised and afraid that it would be closed as we were there close to sunset but you can come and explore the village whenever you want. We walked among the buildings and guessed what was there before, who lived there, when was it built, and when and why abandoned.

We left when the sun was setting down and stopped at one more similar village nearby. This one was in the middle of a new town, was smaller, and didn’t look that cool. Clare was tired after the whole day so I just ran out on my own and ended up helping a local fella push his car out off the road after he ran out of petrol.

We then stopped at Ar Rass for karak and chicken tortillas as appetizers before we had to set up camp and cook.

I read about a campsite just under the hill but when I walked there in the dark it looked accessible and that our car would make it but we decided just to park next to the road on this large layby and not to put Mickey through more stuff for the day.

We made dinner (rice with eggs and beans) and for the first time we also made a fire. Surprisingly, for being right under the 3000 meter mountain the weather was quite good and it wasn’t too cold. There was almost no traffic and no one bothered us during the night.

Day 8: Jabal Farwa and Hima Petroglyphs

Our morning started with a hike to the highest mountain of Saudi Arabia, Jabal Farwan. This mountain lies at the eastern edge of the mountains and the summit of Jabal Farwan is at 3004 meters above sea level.

Even though this mountain is taller than Jabal Sawda we did before, the start of the trail is at 2800 meters. There is also a lot of development around the area, mainly on the power grid so the way up is fully on a 4×4 path. Actually, the start is the same path where we wanted to camp the night before. Now we saw that there really was a nice flat spot just about 200 meters away from the main road. But we were glad we didn’t camp there because during the night at least two cars went this direction while we were alone at our spot.

The climb is relatively easy. The first 2 km are flat and then the incline starts. Since you have to do the 200 meters in elevation in less than 2 km it can get nice and steep at some points. The path went to a bigger construction that’s now at the top of the mountain and we could see that actually the other side of the mountain is used by truck to get up there. There are two peaks at the top. One has a small white building on it and the other is bare, except for 2 stone pylons (now 2 after our hard work).

The whole hike was nice and quick but nothing special since there wasn’t anything to see and the path was just a dirt road for cars. However, since it was the morning, fog and clouds were hanging out low and it made for some nice views of the valleys below.

We were up and down in 2 hours and with reaching the peak it took roughly 4.5 km one way. After our descent, we continued on the road east since it was a shortcut to the main road to Najran. Along the way, we spotted another historical village and stopped for a few minutes. This village was similar to what we saw yesterday but the construction style was different. The buildings from yesterday were specific by layers of flat stones every 20-30 centimeters separating the mud walls and probably providing pressure to hold the wall together. These buildings didn’t have the layers and from up close it looked like they used mud on top of wooden/straw structures.

We reached Najran just before 1 pm and first went to the Aan Place. There should be a museum but the place was closed and it opens in the evening. We then continued further and saw a sign for Wadi Najran Dam. It was less than 10 km away and it would bring us about 500 meters from the Yemeni border so we decided to do it just for fun since we knew for sure there would be no water. We drove for a bit but ended up at the gate that said “Welcom” and had a green light, but at the same time, it had a big red sign saying “Keep out. Restricted area.” We made a decision that it was not worth it to drive further and turned around.

Our next stop was a mound Ra’um with Qal’at (castle) Ra’um at the top. This hill overlooks the city and it looked like a great spot to get a bird-eye view of the surroundings. It is less than 1 km to reach the top but 200 meters in elevation so we rightly expected a lot of stairs. It was also the midday heat and we were running out of water but we were right by the town and felt safe. We reached the top in 18 minutes and could see that even though there wasn’t any water now in the wadi there still were a lot of trees and a water treatment plant so this place must get lush during the rainy season while now it looked like more of a desert.

We were on our way out of the town and thinking that maybe we had time for some food when I suggested checking one more place just for a quick photo. We drove to the King Fahd Park and there saw an entrance to the Al Ukhdud Archaeological Site. Of course, the only site that we didn’t have on our list and didn’t plan time to visit is the one that’s actually open! We went in and were greeted by the guy at the reception and later we received water and tea from the employees while we were exploring the museum (this also included about 10 photos taken of us going through the exposition).

The Visitor’s Centre works as a museum and talks about the history of the Najran region and about the Al Ukhdud ruins. We then went outside to visit the actual ruins. The place was the original center of Najran and dates to the 6th century BC.

Since this took some more time, we didn’t have time to stop for food and had to head up north towards Hira Petroglyphs. It wasn’t that we were too hungry but we wanted to get more local food before we left the region.

The Hire Archaeological Site and Petroglyphs is located about one and a half hours drive north on the 177 route with a small detour into the desert. There is a sign mentioning the turn as you go by.

We arrived after 4 pm and it was slowly getting dark. We drove directly to the main gate but found out the whole place was fenced out and had a massive padlock. We read that Hira was just recently added to the UNESCO World Heritage and expected to see something.

In a couple of minutes, a white sedan parked by us and a local fella told us to go back and right. I saw on Mapy that there should be a visitor’s center so we gave it a try. There is no visitor center! However, there was a local security guard that I started talking to. He asked me if we had permission to enter which we of course didn’t have. He said we can’t enter without it but he offered to take us around and show us what we can see.

We followed his car and he took us back to the gate where we were before. I thought he was going to unlock it for us but instead, he went to the side and there was another part of the fence with a side door that was only closed by a metal barrier. Behind, he pointed at the rock formation that you can see even from the road, and there it was, writings and paintings on the rocks. He told us to go close to it and that we could take photos with our phones but not the camera. Later, we met the other guy in the white sedan and found out that that’s what he meant by going right, not to go to the building but to the gate.

Next, he went back to the “visitors center” but instead of turning to the right he drove a wee bit further and turned left on a dirt path and there was another fence. This one was closed using a wire and there actually even was a sign with some information about the place. There was another rock formation with writing and paintings.

We thanked him for showing us and he also suggested some other spots nearby but it was getting late and dark and also by the look of the places 4×4 may be needed. There was also some event being prepared nearby so I asked if he knew what was going on and he said that in 2 days the Saudi Prince would have a party there!

The last thing for us tonight was to find a camping spot. We could have camped in Hira but it was still early and we wanted to get a wee bit more distance in before the big drive to Riyadh tomorrow. Also, we still wanted the local food so every time we passed any petrol station or anything, we were looking if there was something where we could stop. We got lucky about 70 km in our drive and saw a restaurant on the other side of the highway. There were no U-turns but the divider of the highway was hard so we followed what we have seen many times the locals do, we just made our own U-turn. We got two different styles of grilled chicken with rice and veg (Madfoon).

We then drove further and were looking for a camping spot. We ended up turning right from the highway on one of the only turns there were. This one was an access road to the ‘Uruq Bani Ma’arid Nature Reserve that we actually wanted to visit the next morning. The road had several kilometers before it reached the reserve, it was dark and quiet so we stopped at the hard shoulder and stayed there for the night.

Day 9: Long drive to Riyadh and Usyk vs. Fury

After our traditional coffee in the morning, and a few stares from 3 cars passing by, we were on our way to the ‘Uruq Bani Ma’arid Nature Reserve. This place is located on the top of a flat-topped mountain (mesa) and is known for the big sandy dunes there. We drove directly to the dune that appeared in front of us when we reached the top and went for a walk in the sand. It was nicely cold and soft, like what we knew from the UAE. We spent about half an hour there walking and running up and down the sand dunes before we drove back to the highway. You can definitely spend more time there driving around but we needed to be on our way north to make it to Riyadh.

Our next stop on Route 177 was a UNESCO heritage site Al-Faw Archaeological Village. However, like before, this place was circled by a fence with razor wire and this time with no one to even talk to. There was a sign for this place about 35 km before but when we reached it the sign for the turn was covered and the same with the signs explaining what the place is. Unfortunately, the village is very far from the fence so you can’t see anything.

The Faw Village was only about 70 km from Highway 10 and joined just after Wadi Ad Dawasir. From there we were on the same road we drove down a few days ago from Riyadh and had about 550 kilometres to go.

We made a good time and only stopped to refill once and to have a wee break for coffee and “breakfast” (we still call it breakfast since it’s the first food of the day even though it’s 2 pm…). Clare drove through busy Riyadh and we stopped at the first available parking space after we exited the highway and coincidentally it was at a local Arabic restaurant and we were dying for some grab. We got a mix grill with bread (khobs in Arabic) and hummus, followed by kunefe. We chilled in the restaurant for a bit but decided to go and look for our next camping spot.

The reason we drove all the way back to Riyadh was that we got tickets for the Usyk vs. Fury Reignited fight. Since the fight was supposed to be later in the night, we didn’t book a hotel but instead planned to do the same as the first day in Saudi and just sleep in our car seats. We drove from the restaurant by a big mosque and a park which looked like a good spot but maybe a wee bit too busy. Then we wanted to check another park but found out it was in a gated community area. We then drove to the nearby McDonald’s to get on Wifi and found out that along the way there was a big street parking lot without any cars and not busy at all, except the passing cars, and kind of dark as well.

After a battle to get on Wifi (McDonald’s needed a local number, other places didn’t have it, so we ended up asking in one place and he gave us his hot spot) we double-checked that the main fight was really at 2 am local time and since it was 9 pm and we were already tired, we went to test our camping spot. We parked, blocked the windows with our windshield shades, set an alarm for 11 pm, and went to sleep.

I don’t even know how it happened but I was cold in like a minute and it felt like 5 minutes of sleep and it was already 11 pm. Our next stop was the same McDonald’s for coffee and then straight away to the Kingdom Arena. It took some time to park since we had to drive all around the arena to find the correct parking spot but we were in before midnight.

We found our seats and we were there just for the beginning of a fight. The Ukrainian fella won after 6 rounds because the other guy forfeited the fight. He got knocked out in round 3 or 4 so maybe he was injured.

We then went downstairs to get another coffee and paid 50 riyals for two which was awfully expensive for drip. Even worse, we made it back to the stairs and were told that drinks were not allowed inside. So we had to finish it standing outside, didn’t enjoy it, and moreover, missed another fight.

After that was time for the main fight of the night. The production was cool and the atmosphere in the stadium was as well even though it wasn’t full. The fight was good and went all 12 rounds so it was worth it even though they didn’t really hit each other much throughout the fight.

It was about 3 am when we reached the same parking lot as before and had the shades up for the night.

Day 10: Chill in Riyadh

We slept well and since the place wasn’t busy no one came knocking on our windows or anything. We actually didn’t wake up and leave until close to 9 am and went to the same McDonald’s as yesterday to get a coffee and get washed.

Our next stop was then the old city center of Riyadh. We walked through the souqs (markets) and around the grand mosque that was otherwise blocked for visitors. Behind, there was the Masmak Fortress but it was being repaired, covered in scaffolding, and closed. We then continued north towards the National Museum and the Murabba Historical Palace. It was Sunday, so even the museum was closed.

We got a small snack while walking and were done just before 2 pm and drove to the hotel we had for the night. The drive was a little bit complicated and the traffic heavy but we got there in about an hour. Check-in was at 3 pm anyway but they let us in early.

I was really tired so I went to sleep right after shower and woke up around 5 pm. Clare was already doing her research as to where to go for dinner or if there was anything to see around but we were in more of an industrial area and there weren’t any parks or anything nearby. We agreed on a Kerala Indian restaurant and I drove there to get our food. When I got our order I was surprised that it was cheaper than I thought and then checked the bag while waiting on traffic lights and couldn’t see any paratha bread. We both love paratha so I stopped at a place across the street from our hotel and got 4 plain parathas for 4 ryials. When I then got in the room, we found that they actually gave them to us and now we had 8 parathas. Needless to say, that’s not a problem for us and also the ones I got across the street were absolutely amazing.

We ate our food while watching football and then spent the rest of the evening watching more sports.

Day 11: Lazy morning and camping under the stars

We took our time in the morning just laying around and since we both were kind of tired we also changed our plans and decided we would not camp for two more nights but instead camp only tonight and then cross back to Qatar the next day in the evening. We went for breakfast at 9 am and were pleasantly surprised with the selection.

The check-out wasn’t until 3 pm (an amazing perk in Saudi) but we left just after 12 pm. We had a bit to drive and didn’t know how the traffic was going to be. But all was fine and we were halfway to Dammam and near the place where we wanted to camp around 3 pm.

We decided to camp near a village called Judah where we found some rock formations on Google Maps. One of them was called Judah’s Thumb and it didn’t require 4×4 to get to. It was still over 5 km on a bouncy dirt path that definitely had some spots where we could get stuck but as long as we stayed on the path everything was good. We made it all the way to the rock and went for a walk around. We were there alone and just one car showed up later for some photos.

We then set up our camping spot and decided to stay in the tent for the first time. We also went for another walk to find wood around (not really possible but there were some leftovers from other people and small dead bushes good as a starter). We then spent the rest of the night preparing food (heated leftovers of Indian from last night and added a few eggs) and sitting around the fire.

Day 12: Dammam and back to Qatar

The night was super cold. I couldn’t get warm and we spent the night in one big bundle. We got up with the first light and were waiting for the sun to warm us up. We even went to find more wood and started the fire again.

We left after breakfast and coffee and were in Dammam after 11 am. We first drove to the northern part called Tarout where we wanted to visit the Tarout Castle. We expected that it wouldn’t be open but it was even under a reconstruction. The surroundings were nice and old so we walked around for a bit and even got a coffee and some dates from a local guy sitting near a restored historical mosque.

We then drove back to the main part of the town and stopped at the King Abdullah Park Corniche. There are signs for Corniche everywhere but this one offers views of the Marjan Island with its spiral mosque and also has a Heritage Village. If you have read the whole article you can guess that the Heritage Village was closed.

We walked around for a bit and then were on our way to the next stop which was another corniche area, this time in a part called Khobar. This seafront walk was nicely kept and we had a view of the Khobar Water Tower in the distance (it wasn’t possible to walk closer to it because that part of the walk was being repaired). We had a small break in the park and ate some leftovers we still had in the car. We wanted to stop for a coffee but nothing seemed open around.

It was after 3 pm at this time and we were ready to go. I just had one more place on the list, and saw it several times on the brown signs as we drove through the town, so I wanted to stop there. Fortunately, it was on the way out of the town so we didn’t have to take any detours. This place was called King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture – Ithra. It had a very interesting building and it was open! Moreover, the entrance is free. Inside are then small exhibitions and different parts that have to be paid for (museum, knowledge tower, cinema, …) or are available to locals like a library. We were tired and didn’t want to spend too much time there but there was also an Energy Exhibit by Saudi Aramco. It’s more tailored to kids and takes you through the whole process of why is there oil in the region, how is it extracted, what different types of oil they have in Saudi, and how is oil and gas processed and distributed. It was interesting so I quickly ran through it.

We were ready to go in the car just around 5 pm and were on the course to the border in no time since the cultural center was close to the highway out of the town. It took about 2 hours to get to the town of Salwa right by the border with Qatar. Here we stopped to get one more karak tea and shawarma before we headed across (and to use our loose change).

The border crossing was smooth and only took about half an hour (again, you can pre-register for entry on the Qatari side but we forgot). We were then on our way to Doha and since it was Christmas, we decided to go get shisha and some beer. On the way back to our place, we stopped at a shop for some essentials and KFC for dinner. We didn’t get home until after 11 pm, totally destroyed the 12-piece bucket while watching NFL highlights, and went to bed.