On the 4th floor I think is where all the food courts are with a selection of outlets. I actually settled for McDonalds and just ordered some chicken nuggets as I wasn’t that hungry and just wanted to try McDonalds on a rare occasion! It was actually really nice, tasted fresh, and quite delicious! The great benefit about the KSA is that everything is halal so this was enjoyable!
As it was a food court, there was a vast seating area a short distance away. I couldn’t find an empty chair/area at first until a woman departed, to which I quickly grabbed a seat. I was joined soon after by two other guys who were wearing uniforms so I assume they were working at the complex and were on a break.
I went down to a small corner shop on the 2nd floor which sold prayer mats with engraving. These looked quite cool and it was something specifically I wanted to buy for my 3 nephews. I did purchase it but I came to find out from a brother I would meet on the train to Madinah that I really overpaid.
I didn’t think much of it at the time as this was the first engraving type vendor that I ran into and they caught my attention. Also during the short wait I got talking to them. They were very polite and courteous. I think they were Pakistani and they had some relatives back in the UK so they were a little familiar with London so we talked over that. They did try to sell me some prayer beads to take home for my mum but at SAR 50 I knew this was sky high. But I didn’t think about the prayer mats at the time, I was just excited to be able to get some gifts for my nephews.
I didn’t do anything special the remainder of the day. There is the The International Fairs and Museums of the Prophet’s Biography and Islamic Civilization on the second floor of the clock towers which I briefly went into the gift shop this time around. I will return early tomorrow morning for a guided tour.
That night next to the Emaar Elite Hotel the side road transformed into a small souk and I would spend a bit more time traversing through all the small vendors. There was nothing intrinsically different from the night before but the atmosphere on the road just seemed to be a lot more active and it was much busier. Walking through or down the street you’d have many of the vendors try to grab your attention. I had no idea what they were saying but it just sounded like an auction!
I went into the small supermarket opposite the hotel to buy a cold drink – diet pepsi. Can’s in the KSA I found a bit weird opening. On a normal can I’m used to, the can opening makes a big sort of dent into the top of the can so you can open. In the KSA however a lot of the cans, the can openings are not strong and they feel more like sliders to open the top.
So when I tried the first time I ripped off the opener where your finger goes through with a small opening at the top. You couldn’t drink from this obviously so I went back to the guy at the till if he could help. Thankfully he had a tool kind like a tweezer that he used to grab onto the remaining open part and pull down. This fully opened the can.
The pepsi was really refreshing and on top of this I decided to buy two pieces of some small chocolate cake that were packaged just for later when my sugar levels go down. This was a good snack at the time as I wasn’t in the mood to have any of the street foods that night.
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