Trip to Jeddah

Hello all! Well it's been awhile since we posted last but we've stayed really busy. One of the things we got to do was spend a weekend in Jeddah! It was our first time traveling inside Saudi and hopefully it won't be our last. We loved it! Here are some of the highlights

 We flew on Saudi Arlines and it was great. One interesting thing is that happened was that they read a prayer over the intercom that was intended for travelers. Never seen that before on a plane! The food on the plane was definitely Saudi too with kabobs, falafel, and humus!

We are not sure how many stars our hotel was but we are guessing it was on the lower end of the scale. However, they did have a very unique fountain in the lobby.

Next we had an amazing beach day with friends! First time to the Red Sea for us!

It was so nice going to the beach and realizing the water was warm! You can see how there was a really long shallow area and then it drops off about 40 feet. Right at the drop off there was the most amazing reef and fish! There were fish everywhere!

Here are some of the fish we saw when we were snorkeling! It was unbeleiveable how colorful the fish were and there were hundreds of them!

After we finished hanging out at the beach (and getting really sunburnt) we drove around exploring Jeddah a little bit. One thing that really stood out and that was differnt from Riyadh was there was so much art around the city. It seemed like almost every roundabout had some new sculpture or statue. We really liked this gaint camel one.

This is King Fahd Fountian and is a cool attraction in Jeddah. We were pretty far away, which shows how tall it is. The fountian shoots up 1024 feet in the air!

This was definatly a big highlight for us. Name that restaurant...

It was so nice having good Mexican food again! We ate way too much and left moving much slower.

This was another restaurant that we sort of discovered because every taxi driver we talked to said that we had to eat here. I guess "Al Baik" is one of the most famous food places in Jeddah.

They are most famous for their chicken so we had to give it a try. We really liked it!

Next we got to explore the old city of Jeddah. This was one of the old city gates that originally was built by the Ottoman Empire.

 

These were some of our favorite buildings in the old city of Jeddah.

Many of the buildins date back to 1800s. It's amazing that people are still living in them today.

We also learned that the white stones you see are actually made of coral bricks! I guess that is what you make your houses out of if you live in a desert next to the sea.

We absolutely loved our trip and hope to return again soon! Love you all and see you soon! July 2nd!!

Top 10 things you don't see everyday in America

Hello all! For this post we are doing a top ten things you just don't see everyday in America. There are lots of things in Saudi we could put down, but here are a few that caught our eye. Enjoy!

#10 Little Rain = Big Problem

Yes, it does rain here in Saudi. Here are few pictures from one of the newspapers after a big rain a few months ago

Here in the desert, when it rains the ground does not absorb water very fast. Add that to a few sewage system back ups and it can be quite a mess.

All of this and it rained less than an hour.

#9 Class (hand) Pictures

Girls here never ever show their face in pictures, so class pictures can be difficult.

So how do they do it? The picture below says it all. I'd love to see the school's yearbook.

#8 Burqa Barbie

Not even Barbie can get break the law on this one.

#7 Anti-Woman Drivers Bumper Stickers

Yup that's right. That's a picture of a woman in an abaya with a steering wheel underneath.

#6 Cell Phone Mania

Sure you might be thinking that people are crazy about cell phones in the States too. Trust me, Saudi's are way more. How you might ask? Every Saudi I know has at least 2 on them at all times. It makes it great for teachers when you take away their cell phone for texting only to find out that they are now texting on their second phone. They aren't your run of the mill cheap phone either. About 80% of the students have Blackberries and another 15% have iPhones.

This was the lost and found at the school after one semester.

Just kidding

#5 Animals is the mall

I know this sounds crazy but in one the malls here they have all of these animals throughout the mall! Before you get too excited, they are all stuffed. But the malls here are immaculate. Not only are there tons of stuffed animals but there are also huge water falls and fountains. Oh and did I mention roller coasters? That's a whole different post in itself.

Where else have you seen a crocodile staring you down as you buy your Starbucks?

#4 Mosques in the malls

Hang a right after the food court.

#3 Full body bathing suits

That's right girls. Don't get a lot of sun in one of these.

#2 Sharpie time

We have mentioned this before, but here in Saudi, they blackout everything that shows women's skin. It can make for some really funny pictures. I think in this one that death is about to attack those children.

I'm guessing they were going for the black smoke from Lost look.

This one is my favorite. I like the teeth for effect.

And finally, the one you have all been waiting for...

#1 The Hunts are going all Saudi

Hope you enjoyed the list! See you all in 2 weeks!