i just had a tiring weekend dahil walang kaabog-abog, late wednesday afternoon, i decided to go to riyadh at asikasuhin na ang renewal ng passport ko after dodging it for a long time. umiral na naman kasi ang biggest katamaran ko, never moved an inch kahit alam kong 
malapit na ang expiration ng passport ko.
then the changes to the process of passport renewal came (babaguhin na kasi ang passport natin to machine readable, to people who doesn’t know). ang inaasahan kong embassy on wheels sa khobar, (which is just an hour away - again, for people who doesn’t know) wala muna kaya aabutan ako ng indulto kung hindi pa ako kikilos. that’s why i have to go to riyadh. haaayyy…. talk about procrastination!
and so right after office, takbo ako ng bahay to pack my bags, then takbo kami ni orlee to dammam (he’s visiting his brother na nandon din sa riyadh) to catch the last train for the day. our 100-meter dash to the ticket counter was useless kasi, pagdating namin, wala na raw seats sa vip. ayaw naman naming mag-ordinary coach kaya we had no choice but to go to saptco to take the bus. sayang excited pa naman ako coz that would be my very first
train ride (hindi counted ang lrt and mrt ha!).
not bad na rin kasi first time ko rin sa saptco bus (where have i been all this time, you might ask, puro first time eh tagal na sa saudi!). so we rolled off dammam station at 12 min past 8. yon nga lang, hindi ako makaupo sa front seats, may mga madam kasi kaya sila ang nandoon. okey lang, hindi rin naman ako makapag-sight seeing kasi gabi na.
pero after more than 3 hours on the road, nagutom ako and the stop-over didn’t do any good. wala kaming makain from the unrecognizable food na nandoon sa resto somewhere in the middle of nowhere. hofuf ba yon, ewan. may signs pero arabic kaya mafi mallum. may ilang boofiya (sandwich houses
) naman kaya nagtiis ako sa isang hamburger na ewan kung paano ginawa, kagat sabay lunok na lang just to put a stop to the very loud grumbling of my stomach. si orlee hindi talaga kinaya kaya nagtiis sa pringles and water.
we arrived at riyadh at around 2 am. it is a big city na ang buhay lang ay pailan-ilang tao sa kalye plus the millions of light bulbs faithfully guarding the night. we checked ourselves into a hotel in the batha area and finally got to rest at 3 am.
thursday morning lakad na kami. madali naman naming nakita ang diplomatic quarters where our embassy was located. may isang kabayan na nag-offer mag-drive sa amin (taxi of course) and with his help, natapos naman ang dapat matapos. advice ko lang sa mga magre-renew ng passport:
1. don’t even bother bringing your own pics. pag kasi hindi pumasa sa criteria nila, wal
a rin. doon ka na lang magpa-pic sa photo shops na nasa loob mismo ng dipolomatic quarters.
2. be smarter than me – don’t forget to bring a pen!
3. and i-copy na agad ang first and last pages (actually pages 1 and 33) nong passport dahil kailangan yon. eh sa galing naman ng advisory na inilabas ng ating embassy, hindi sinabi na kailangan yon. duh!
4. and don’t bother going there on a weekday. bukas naman sila ng half day on a thursday. in fact, mukhang mas maganda kung weekend kasi konti lang ang dinatnan ko doon kaya less ang pila and inis na aabutin mo.
noong hapon, after some afternoon siesta, lumakad kami ni orlee para maglibot. batha area was teeming with kabayans na wala na yatang ginawa kungdi bumili ng cel phones or wala talagang magawa kaya mg
a nakatambay in every corner of the area. kakaunti ang mga itik at ibang lahi na nandoon sa area, talagang puro pinoy kahit saan ka lumingon. walang iniwan sa quiapo at sta cruz ang ambience complete with the same stench noong mga garbage skips.
then we had the chance to go to a mall (just one of the many gigantic malls) noong gabi na. riyadh gallery ang name nong mall where there was this kika store na competitor daw ng ikea. though i think it doesn’t compare to ikea. branded nga ang mga tinda nila pero mahal.
the mall scene is nothing different from anywhere. maraming tao, screaming kids running back and forth, mga moms and dads na may tulak na stroller, etc. basta maraming tao, mostly wandering aimlessly kesa talagang mag-shopping. kaya road traffic was very bad kahit close to midnight na. in fact, nagkaubusan ng taxi sa batha, marami daw mga pinoy na hindi agad nakauwi kasi walang masakyan.
friday morning, we headed back to dammam na. this time, natuloy na yong first train trip ko. and it was very enjoyable dahil konti lang ang passengers (sa vip section) that’s why i kept on switching seats to get a good view of the countryside. kaya lang, sandstorm through most of the trip kaya wala rin akong masyadong nakita.
it was one trip that i enjoyed very much. kahit nakakapagod. i had my first 5-hour bus trip, my first train trip and oh, before i forget, not counting the airport transits – my first trip to riyadh!
malapit na ang expiration ng passport ko.then the changes to the process of passport renewal came (babaguhin na kasi ang passport natin to machine readable, to people who doesn’t know). ang inaasahan kong embassy on wheels sa khobar, (which is just an hour away - again, for people who doesn’t know) wala muna kaya aabutan ako ng indulto kung hindi pa ako kikilos. that’s why i have to go to riyadh. haaayyy…. talk about procrastination!
and so right after office, takbo ako ng bahay to pack my bags, then takbo kami ni orlee to dammam (he’s visiting his brother na nandon din sa riyadh) to catch the last train for the day. our 100-meter dash to the ticket counter was useless kasi, pagdating namin, wala na raw seats sa vip. ayaw naman naming mag-ordinary coach kaya we had no choice but to go to saptco to take the bus. sayang excited pa naman ako coz that would be my very first
train ride (hindi counted ang lrt and mrt ha!).not bad na rin kasi first time ko rin sa saptco bus (where have i been all this time, you might ask, puro first time eh tagal na sa saudi!). so we rolled off dammam station at 12 min past 8. yon nga lang, hindi ako makaupo sa front seats, may mga madam kasi kaya sila ang nandoon. okey lang, hindi rin naman ako makapag-sight seeing kasi gabi na.
pero after more than 3 hours on the road, nagutom ako and the stop-over didn’t do any good. wala kaming makain from the unrecognizable food na nandoon sa resto somewhere in the middle of nowhere. hofuf ba yon, ewan. may signs pero arabic kaya mafi mallum. may ilang boofiya (sandwich houses
) naman kaya nagtiis ako sa isang hamburger na ewan kung paano ginawa, kagat sabay lunok na lang just to put a stop to the very loud grumbling of my stomach. si orlee hindi talaga kinaya kaya nagtiis sa pringles and water.we arrived at riyadh at around 2 am. it is a big city na ang buhay lang ay pailan-ilang tao sa kalye plus the millions of light bulbs faithfully guarding the night. we checked ourselves into a hotel in the batha area and finally got to rest at 3 am.
thursday morning lakad na kami. madali naman naming nakita ang diplomatic quarters where our embassy was located. may isang kabayan na nag-offer mag-drive sa amin (taxi of course) and with his help, natapos naman ang dapat matapos. advice ko lang sa mga magre-renew ng passport:
1. don’t even bother bringing your own pics. pag kasi hindi pumasa sa criteria nila, wal
a rin. doon ka na lang magpa-pic sa photo shops na nasa loob mismo ng dipolomatic quarters.2. be smarter than me – don’t forget to bring a pen!
3. and i-copy na agad ang first and last pages (actually pages 1 and 33) nong passport dahil kailangan yon. eh sa galing naman ng advisory na inilabas ng ating embassy, hindi sinabi na kailangan yon. duh!
4. and don’t bother going there on a weekday. bukas naman sila ng half day on a thursday. in fact, mukhang mas maganda kung weekend kasi konti lang ang dinatnan ko doon kaya less ang pila and inis na aabutin mo.
noong hapon, after some afternoon siesta, lumakad kami ni orlee para maglibot. batha area was teeming with kabayans na wala na yatang ginawa kungdi bumili ng cel phones or wala talagang magawa kaya mg
a nakatambay in every corner of the area. kakaunti ang mga itik at ibang lahi na nandoon sa area, talagang puro pinoy kahit saan ka lumingon. walang iniwan sa quiapo at sta cruz ang ambience complete with the same stench noong mga garbage skips.then we had the chance to go to a mall (just one of the many gigantic malls) noong gabi na. riyadh gallery ang name nong mall where there was this kika store na competitor daw ng ikea. though i think it doesn’t compare to ikea. branded nga ang mga tinda nila pero mahal.
the mall scene is nothing different from anywhere. maraming tao, screaming kids running back and forth, mga moms and dads na may tulak na stroller, etc. basta maraming tao, mostly wandering aimlessly kesa talagang mag-shopping. kaya road traffic was very bad kahit close to midnight na. in fact, nagkaubusan ng taxi sa batha, marami daw mga pinoy na hindi agad nakauwi kasi walang masakyan.
friday morning, we headed back to dammam na. this time, natuloy na yong first train trip ko. and it was very enjoyable dahil konti lang ang passengers (sa vip section) that’s why i kept on switching seats to get a good view of the countryside. kaya lang, sandstorm through most of the trip kaya wala rin akong masyadong nakita.
it was one trip that i enjoyed very much. kahit nakakapagod. i had my first 5-hour bus trip, my first train trip and oh, before i forget, not counting the airport transits – my first trip to riyadh!
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