It was like a casual invitation by some of my close friends here in Al Khobar to have a mini travel to Riyadh during the weekend, well, basically to watch and support a singing competition called Pop Icon which was organized by one of the Filipino organizations there, but I was actually more excited to tour around the city as if it was my first time to visit the central region of Saudi Arabia. Lol.
To be honest, I've been there for like 5 or 6 times already but Riyadh still fascinates me with it's well-appointed and high-rise buildings which you cannot see in the eastern part of the Kingdom where I am based, plus the huge variety of malls and restaurants all over the city.
After packing my usual essentials for the trip, I immediately went to my bed and tried my very best to make a good sleep while hoping that I could wake up at 3am to prepare and be ready for our call time at 4am. Argh.
October 21, 2016 | As planned, we started the trip as soon as everyone appeared at our meeting place.
4:46am | Before we go deep into the highway, we dropped by at the first gasoline station along the way to have the car gas tank full and to grab a coffee for Kuya Jerwin, our driver for that trip. :)
6:08am | 'Twas an amazing day. Sunrise is still the best!
7:30am | Yes, you can only see desert along the way. So what else we did during this 4-hour trip? Of course, SETS! Sleep, Eat, Talk and Sing. Haha
8:45am | After almost 4 hours of travel, we have finally seen these great structures which means that we have reached Riyadh!
11:15am | After meeting some of our friends in Riyadh, we checked in at Al Mamza Hotel which is located somewhere near Jollibee. Sorry, I forgot the name of the street. :)
11:45am | We wanted to rest and get some sleep but our tummies won't let us be at peace. Haha. Good thing, there's a nearby Filipino Restaurant from the hotel called "DAMPA" along Sulaimania. Of course, we ordered our favorite pinoy dishes!
12:50pm | Keeping it comfy in Riyadh.
01:03pm | We had to get some sleep before we go to the event located at Kingdom Hospital.
04:15pm | We came early at the venue for the POP ICON Season 6, an amateur singing competition organized by the SE Productions in Riyadh.
04:30pm | Since we arrived early, we grab this golden opportunity to feed again our not-so-hungry bellies with Pinoy street foods like "kwek-kwek" & Barbeque.
6:20pm | The program had started a bit late. Though we were very much entertained by the talent of each contenders. Great show! Congratulations to all the winners. :)
11:30pm | After the event and before we put our a**** to rest, we went first to an amazing place. And when I say amazing, it's related to food! Lol. This time, a restaurant named "BBQ" (Great Taste, Eat Fresh) made me feel excited. Why? Well, it was new to me. Never heard about this restaurant before. We just ordered pizza, noodles, salad, a platter full of fried goodies like chicken and potato wedges.
I like the ambience and I love the food!
12:10am | With full stomach, I noticed that the beautiful Al Faisaliah Tower was just right there at the back so I immediately took some shots for my blog, of course. Hah!
2:20am | The night seemed so endless, we made our way to Dr. Cafe to have a cup of tea.
08:50am | After we checked out from the hotel the following day, we dropped by at Starbucks to buy some collectible mugs.
09:05am | While deciding where to have our breakfast, the idea of going to Batha to eat some Goto just won big time.
09:30am | Somewhere in palengke of Batha. Haha
09:53am | Before anything else, Kuya Jerwin made sure to buy fresh veggies from the market of Batha.
10:15am | This trip will never be completed without a picture of the great Kingdom Tower.
10:35am | Our driver needed a cup of coffee to escape from sleepiness.
A short but very well spent trip! So long Riyadh, see you again, soon!
