It was in December 31, 1993 when I first landed in Saudi. I've been here for almost 15 years now and still no clue as to when I will finally depart. Some may view my 15 years in Saudi as being wasted. It's not. Honestly. People who hold this the-pasture-is-always-greener-on-the-other-side-of-the-equator view may say that I should have gone elsewhere. But I don't know where elsewhere is.

I've said before that I have a lot of things to thank Saudi for. My current job, most importantly. But were there things that I'm sorry about while in Saudi? Yah. I'm sorry that I didn't get an adventurous spirit to travel and see Saudi.

Saudi sites: Wishlist

Did you know that there are a lot of scenic spots in Saudi other than Judas Cave (which Filipinos frequent during holidays)? Along the Abu Hadriyah Road going to Khafji and Kuwait is a long stretch of agricultural land, which during the rainy months of January and February, is verdant green. I passed that way once (going to Kuwait), on a summer month of July, and all I saw were patches of brown earth. Can't wait to travel there when rainy season come (if indeed rain comes).

Did you know that there is a place in Riyadh called 'the edge of the world' and there is ravine so deep you can only see pitch darkness at the bottom?

I discovered (online, where else?) this beautiful site offering a virtual tour of Saudi Arabia. Your tour guide: Jane, a US citizen. Within the site are the beautiful places in and photos about Saudi.

Did you know that Abha is a good place to visit because it's like Baguio in the Philippines and there are cable cars to take you from one mountain to another? That's one place I'm planning to visit next year.

An officemate once told me that standing in a sand dune with nothing else on sight except sand, sand and more sand, is both scary and exciting. It's like being able to stand in the middle of wide sea. (Or something).

Saudi sites: Been there

The only places where I'm proud to say that I've been in Saudi were the following:

Fish market in Qatif where you'll see rows and rows of various kinds of freshly-caught fish (with varying sizes of small, large, very large) and you buy them by lot.

Half-Moon Beach which has been our annual refuge during holidays.

Yanbu Highway where I saw these mountains of brown, white and black.

Hofuf's pump station where Filipinos catch the fattest of tilapia.

The Haradh Highway which offers one of most dramatic views of night sky (myriad starts amidst pitch darkness). Just be careful of road crossing camels. (In Saudi, if your car hit a camel during day time, the shepherd pays you. If you hit the camel at night, you pay the shepherd).

We, Filipinos OFWs in Saudi (thank you anonymous for your comments below; I really meant to pertain to OFW's), are inherently unadventurous except for things that are...er, prohibited (okay, I'll keep my mouth shut). If only we would venture Saudi to see and discover (and please make sure to travel in groups) places other than where we are, we would be amazed at how beautiful this country is. It is geographically regarded as a sandy desert but it is not an all-rugged, all-dessert terrain. I hope to actually (not internet-ly) discover Saudi while I'm here.