Being a Single Lady in the Kingdom ...What's there to do?

Being a single lady in the kingdom has its pros and cons.

I liked it that anywhere I go, I would have to be driven and accompanied by a male guardian. Some would not have liked this, but I did. I felt safer from the prying eyes of men (that's another topic altogether).

But I did not like it that every move I took would have to be approved by my boss, our manager, our company guard. But there were ways to go around this.

First, be a lady and behave as you should. In the kingdom this would mean going out with women only or with their family, staying in the places designated for family only, and limiting interaction with men. That would be appropriate for me as I was attached and had a very faithful fiance back home.

Secondly, doing the things I said earlier would eventually win the trust of your male guardians. At any cost, win the trust of your guardians.

But what was a single lady to do for fun in the kingdom?

Mine was to go to their super duper malls and supermarkets. They were huge and expansive, so much land. You would even see huge and tall palm trees inside these malls. Food in the kingdom was as varied as the nationalities. There were even Filipino sections in the supermarkets. I loved their cheese and dairy section. Not only were there varied cheeses to choose from, but they were affordable. Arabs were basically milk drinkers so they had the best Danish Dairy and cheeses. Juice was fresh, and abundant. Their supermarkets were mostly European franchises so their food wares were such a joy of discovery from what we have here of mostly American brands. Equally joyful was the fact that most servers were Pinoys who would gladly help you with queries and even add a little serving of cheese and meat in your order. Good to know that Pinoys are known for being hygienic and clean so they get to serve the cheeses, meat, poultry and seafood section. Oh, I was surprised at Chinese restaurants. Most had Pinoy chefs :-)

Other than the supermarket, my favorite hang out was still IKEA in Riyadh.
Maybe because we did not have one back home. Or perhaps it was just too good a place to be in. Seeing those practical designs in a huge warehouse full of showrooms...you just had to visit it as often as you could.

Arab women have small get togethers and parties among themselves and here we danced and immensely enjoyed learnin from each other. The Pinoy singing talent (even if you didn't have one ) was shown off and their culture and dances tried and absorbed...the very sensual belly dancing. Lovely arab women they really were. They were / are such "fashionistas" underneath the abaya...think New York fashion week.

Families love going to picnics. You could actually mingle and talk with men provided they were with family. Join them and enjoy their food...mostly barbecue grilled meats called Kebabs and a lot of vegetable salads like Teboulleh, Spring rolls they call Sambosas.

One could also go to Batha, the Quiapo of Riyadh. This is where all Filipinos meet, and mingle. So much like Quiapo where you actually bargain and get to feel a sense of home with the taste of Pinoy treats like puto, pancit, dinuguang baka or manok, bibingka etc etc. You get to see the brands Pinoy oh so love...Nike, adidas, Sony...where you buy cameras, video cameras, TVs, DVD players, cell phones, SMART sim and load etc etc. Funny but they usually know if you are a first timer in Batha. You actually hear the loud whispers saying, "Bagong mukha".

You could also go to the Philippine Embassy and take part in their activities. The embassy is in a very nice compound where embassies of other countries are also located. The embassy usually sponsors Financial Literacy programs and medical missions. Here, you're definitely in Filipino soil so enjoy the freedom.

Now that I look at it, there were so much things to enjoy there. Good thing I took advantage :-)