Anonymous asked: What spurred on the decision to go abroad? and why ksa of all the places on earth?
Well… I’ve always wanted to travel. It’s been a bug I’ve had my whole life. After my masters finished I was finding it hard to find a job so I looked in to working abroad.
I was looking at the Far East or South America but, alhamdulilah, I’m really blessed in that Allah made my path towards Saudi. What attracted me was the fact that I could visit Mecca and Medina and the money there was the best in the world. Going there changed my life in numerous ways and many of them were for the better.
thehalalpeniswhisperer asked: While on the subject of life in Saudi, do these rules apply to non-Muslim diasporas as well? I was under the impression that there are sizable minorities from the subcontinent and elsewhere who work in Saudi, but didn't know if those women also have to wear abaya.
The abaya is a must for all women. They have to wear black ones. There’s no way around it if they want to go out in public. If the religious police see them in public without an abaya on I believe they can get arrested. The hijab.niqab is optional but the hijab, at least, is strongly recommended for Muslim women in public.
Minorities from other Arab countries, South Asia, Far East Asia, and Western countries actually make up a huge minority as a whole - as much as 30% of the population by some estimates.
I went to CF Chang’s (on my friend’s recommendation) and was totally blown away.
For starters I had something called Dynamite Shrimp. I swear, it’s one of the best pieces of food I have EVER tasted. It was delicious beyond description. The tastes, the texture, the presentation… everything! Wow!
For the main I had Mongolian Beef served with a side of rice. The beef was cooked to perfection. It was marinated in this soy sauce based dressing thing… I don’t even know where to begin talking about it.
For dessert… I had banana rolls with ice cream, fruit, and caramel. Each bite was like heaven.
THE HAVE TO BRING THIS TO RIYADH! It’s a good job I don’t live in Dubai or else I’d be broke because I’d eat out everyday and be super-fat.
(I’m so sad I didn’t take my SLR. These pictures are from my iPhone and they don’t do the food justice at all)
So I went to one of the hotel restaurants for sahoor and this guy walked in a couple of minutes later. He was a little bit shy and quiet and timidly followed the waiter to a table not too far from mine. We were the only two people in there. I’d already started my meal at this point and he ordered the same Sahoor set menu.
I’m travelling alone at the moment and, those of you who read this blog often know, I don’t like being alone so… I made small talk with this guy. He’s so cool! He’s Dutch and he’s Muslim (he’s white, though) and he speaks Arabic and English and Dutch and French and he’s travelling on his own and he’s on a round the world holiday at the moment and he’s been gone for six months and he criss-crossed across Europe and then he visited all the North African countries (except Libya) and now he’s in Dubai and next he’s going to Saudi and then to the Far East and then to Malaysia and Indonesia and then to Australia and then home. We ended up talking for about an hour about everything.
I made plans with him to hang out tomorrow night after I meet my friend or spend the day on Sunday with him (we’re going to the beach and then to Atlantis - I don’t know what that is either).
I love meeting new people! I want to talk to everyone this week!
