Nightlife???? mmmmm errrrrrrr!! and other Saudi Arabia Nightlife Tips

Nightlife Spot: My place or your place?

Saudi Arabia is a some what restrictive country and therefore there is very little in the way of Nightlife unless your activities include playing sports, going out shopping and visiting friends.

There are no Clubs, Bars, or Picture theatres here so the lifestyle here is very quiet here compared to many other countries.

Many expats tend to get together in each others homes and have BBQ's dinner etc... or sometimes go out for special occassions or whenever they feel they want a 'night' out.

Despite what the media says about the expat lifestyle, many of us are just normal people making a bit of money so that we can be a little bit more comfortable when we go home. We don't have wild parties and many of us can survive without alcohol in our systems.

Saudi Arabia, as restrictive as it may be is not a bad place and would be a nice place to bring up a family is there is little crime here and the schools are generally very good.

As visitors to the country we must abide by the Saudi's rules ... 'when in Rome...' The call to prayer occurs five times a day which can be frustrating if you want to go out shopping throughout the day as many shops will close around 11.30am and won't open again until after 4pm. After that there is one more prayer in the evening and the shops don't close until around 10.30pm- 11.pm. This can make things hard for the females (who are Homemakers...) but most of the supermarkets are open '24' hours a day... once prayer time is over the supermarket will reopen again. There is the occassional shop open but usually the businesses will not open until after four.

Remember woman cannot drive in Saudi Arabia although I have heard that they can if they work for or the husbands work for Armaco but only on site I believe. In Saudi Arabia people drive on the right handside of the road.

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Theme: Other
Dress Code: Many expat woman in the Kingdom will be asked to wear an Abbaya which is like a black cloak that is worn over the woman's clothes when she goes out in Public.

In Al Khobar (where I live) this is not compulsory and a woman can wear her normal (must be conservative) clothes around the streets. I find it is better to wear the Abbaya as I don't like standing out in a crowd and you can blend in with everyone else. In other parts of the country such as Riyadh, woman may be asked to wear a scarf over their heads, this again is not compulsory in my area.

Men are asked that they do not wear shorts while seen out in Public, or in the mall etc..... Put this on at home rather than out in public.... THINK WISELY!

Nightlife Spot: Al Rashid Mall

Because Saudi Arabia is a rather restrictive country and there are no bars,nightclubs, picture theatres etc... (see my first Nightlife tip). Many people tend to use shopping as an outing with their friends and family.

Rashid Mall comprises of some of the worlds top brands such as Next, Liz Clairborne, United Colors of Benetton, BHS, just to name a few, all in the largest Shopping Mall here in Saudi Arabia.

The exterior looks somewhat like a huge castle like building and has parking avaliable. There is a Food court on the top level which has a mixture of Asian, Iranian, American and many other well known food outlets such as Mc Donalds and KFC. Rashid also has it's own selection of Coffee Shops from Starbucks to Cinnabon.

A word of warning to all of you wishing to dine in the Kingdom. There are generally two sections in a Restaurant or Cafe here in Saudi Arabia. One is for Single males which is known as the Singles section and the other is known as the Family section where families or a husband and wife and their friends can dine. A woman cannot dine in a Single section even if she is single but a Man can when he is without his wife. The same applies to the counters when paying for your order in a Fast food restaurant, everyday restaurant or cafe.

I reccomend this as a place to visit to relieve the boredom and allow yourself a treat now and again by going shopping in a glitzy extravagent Shopping mall with all the famous brands

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Theme: Other
Dress Code: Sensible clothing and nothing Wild. Use your common sense.

Please see my first Nightlife tip.
Website: www.alrashidmall.com