Riyadh

Blackpool beach - that's what it felt like... Sat in a deckchair, flat sand in front of me like the sea was out and, of course, a gale force wind making it feel like zero degrees.

From an unpromising start we headed off towards the edge of the cliff to be greeted by a great view out of nowhere, a crumbling rock face stretching into the distance. Once over the edge of the cliff and following a gully made by rainwater it was a welcome relief to be out of the wind and really quite pleasant. Walking along the bottom we found a dry wadi with some flowers in.

Making our way along the bottom we climbed back out up the rock face. The route taken was straight ahead here and underneath the right hand rock of the group of three (couple of inches in from left of photo), making our way across the rockface and exiting at the far right of the rockface just before the last group of rocks (picture below).

The ants make the start of the climb.

Almost there...

Worth it all I think you'll agree.

And just for fun we did it twice! I was part of the lead group that went early to scout the trail and make sure it could be done.

And why is it called Indian Head? Well we didn't get that close but it's because of the rock formation at the far right of the last photograph. It's better shown by in this photograph.

Indian Head from the other side by Michael Kiesl

Another trip into the desert this Friday, very pleasant weather at the moment, a nice 25degC. Went looking again for the elusive sharks teeth (only found one though).

Pretty big beasts these camels.

Quite a few desert flowers could be found, no idea how they grow in just the sand.

Found this little beastie on the desert floor, quite fast for a little fella.

But not fast enough!

There are four golf courses for people to play around the Riyadh area. Here are the two I have played on. Dirab is a great full course and Arizona a short 9-hole course. The two I haven't played are Riyadh Green a full grass course and the Intercontinental Hotel very short 9 hole course.

Here are some photos

Dirab
Located an hour SE of Riyadh http://www.dirabgolf.com/ a fantastic course in the desert with some challenging holes. A buggy in summer is a must when temperatures reach 45degC, best to start as close to 6am as possible. The landscape shot shows Dirab at it's best.

Arizona
The Arizona Golf Resort is located in the NW suburbs of Riyadh. www.agr.com.sa It's only a short 9 hole course but good for sharpening up the game. Plenty of deer roam the course too.

Even a Yorkshireman cannot complain at these prices! 52 Litres for £4 (yes £4 not 40!). SR23.40 @5.85 = £4 for 52 litres = 7.7p per litre.

Petrol stations have fixed prices here in Saudi Arabia.

Cheaper than water? Not quite but not far off!

Well today we had the first downpour of winter. In the same way a couple of inches of snow brings chaos to the UK so does a couple of inches of water in Riyadh. Water gathers everywhere due to not many drains and also sand blocking them. A lot of places had a good couple of inches deep water to contend with and the underpasses get very dangerous as they fill with water. Not too much lightening today but when you do see it it is very impressive. The roads are slick and oily and a layer of water makes them fun, for once the Saudis were ultra-cautious on the road.

That said many of the Saudis in the office were very happy in the same way we Brits are when it snows. They will be all out having picnics in the coming days as things green up a little. Oh and everyone was happy to be sent home at 2:00!