How Does One Have Fun In Rabigh?

Imagine, if you will, that you are in a small town, inside of a giant desert, in a country that is theocratic and ultra-conservative. Now imagine that there are no movie theaters, no bars, and all women everywhere are covered in black robes from head to toe. Now imagine that you do not have a vehicle, and you're living in a hotel, and hour's walk from the city's downtown area. And now, the question: what does one do for fun, in this grim situation?

Well, first, of all, you make friends with whomever you can. It doesn't matter their age, ethnicity, religion, or even relative English ability. You just talk to everyone, and be as friendly as possible. Then you go out with your new found Spanish friends and smoke shisha like a boss.

Okay, Rabigh doesn't have a whole lot going for it, but there are some benefits. First, it's close to the Red Sea. You can drive there in ten or fifteen minutes. And if you don't have a car, you can just call up your Indian friend that works at the the drive through cafe, and he will act as your personal chauffeur, driving you and your friend to the beach, hang out for an hour and driving you back for only 25 SAR (about $7.50). I wouldn't want to go to the beach during the day, but at night, it's nice and cool. It's a great place to bring some food, and whatnot, and relax with friends. Or, if you're in the mood, for exercise, there are long sidewalks so that you can walk for as long as you care to.

There is no booze, in KSA, but the food makes up for it. Arabian food is delicious, and even at the cheap restaurants, it's fresh, and of high quality. I've had the best fish of my life here a couple days ago, in a dirty little restaurant ran by Indians. It cost around $6. There is a juice restaurant that also serves doners and fried chicken. There are about 30 flavors of juice. It's all made fresh, and it costs about $2 for a mug. I'm not sure that the chicken there is the best I've ever tasted, but it's in the running. $16 for a whole fried chicken and fries. That's a meal for 4. I'm going to go check out a Turkish kebab place in a couple minutes, and I'm sure it's going to be amazing. I'll be surprised if dinner costs more than $6. Even the cafeteria food here is good. No, really, it's pretty great!

Unfortunately, there is only one gym in Rabigh, and nothing in the way of martial arts, yoga, or anything of the like. But there is good scuba diving here. Granted, I have never done scuba diving, but I can work towards getting a license while going out on dives. I'm pretty sure I'll have time!

For now, I'm stuck in a hotel, but I don't plan to be by the end of the week. You can make a lot of money in KSA, and the cost of living is cheap. As in you can rent an apartment for $325 per month here that would cost at least $700 back in Vancouver. That means you have plenty of cash for a nice TV, and audio system, and whatever else you want to put into your apartment. Electronics cost about the same in Bangkok as they do in London. But since there is not tax on electronics, they are cheapest in Saudi. You can deck out a place for relatively cheap, and then, who cares if you never leave your apartment. For someone like me, who loves to read, write, draw, play video games and mediate, having time to myself in my own space, isn't a burden it's a blessing.

In a few month, perhaps I'll even pick up a used car. Why not, when I can pick up something decent for a month's wages. Saudi's aren't particularly keen on buying used cars. In fact, I've heard stories of people parking their old cars after buying a new one, and just leaving it there, like an empty soda can. So yeah--you can get something decent used for cheap--although you might have to buy directly from the seller; I understand it's hard to find a used car dealership here! God knows there are no lack of roads to drive here!