Bollywood Bus Ride

Americans are the minorities here in camp and we don't mind. Experiencing other cultures was a big part of why we came. Chris joined the Badminton club and is the only American. There are a few Canadians but they are of Indian decent. We had a blast with this group touring Al-Hasa last weekend.

Al-Hasa is NOT a pretty city. However, it is up for consideration as a new Wonder of the World because it is the largest oasis in the world. We did see groves of date palms but that is not what stood out for us on this particular trip.

Here is just a quick glimpse in town. This was the first trip into town for the boys and Ethan made up a song about it. As we drove down the street he began singing, "Garbage, garbage everywhere in the city" repeatedly. Even a three year old picked up on that. Two days later Zach dropped a grocery sack on our way out of the store. He didn't want to pick it up at first. I reminded him that we don't litter and that it wasn't appropriate. His response was the Saudis litter and don't seem to care. I told him we did not need to contribute to the cause. The bag was recycled instead.

Al-Hasa is a bit scary looking but Udhailiyah is very pretty and is known as the city of flowers.

As part of our day we toured some caves. These jebels (hills or rock formations) and caves were really cool. As recently a one generation ago they were used as a place to sleep in the heat of summer and as a refuge for families during shamals (sandstorms).

This was Zach's favorite part of the day.

Ethan kept running off into side caves. Luckily they were all dead ends. He kept lifting up his shirt for most of the pictures I took. Here are a few modest ones.

This is our new friend Nemita. Chris works with her husband and their whole family plays in the Badminton club. Her comment after the caves was, "He's your busy one," pointing to Ethan.

There were a few tight squeezes... and yes we took Graham out of the front pack for this.

We are so loving those cheeks.

Back into the heat we were off to the ghetto zoo. As we entered there was a banana peel on the ground and Ethan said, "I know a monkey left that there." If a monkey had made it as far as the front gate I hope it kept on running, because its life would be far better on the open road than in that horrible place. I suppose this is another reason Saudi is a closed country because PETA would give this place the SMACK DOWN! I have never professed myself an animal lover but I felt horrible for these ones.

A first look at the rare and exotic... house cat.

Who was next to Rover.

Followed by the ever elusive... chicken.

Ok, so they did have two tigers, two lions, and a giraffe, but the conditions were so horrible I didn't even want to take pictures.

At one point I was watching a gorilla swing from one trapeze to the next. As he swung off, he slammed into the cage wall and dropped to the floor. He crawled over to the corner, sat down, hung his head, and rubbed his injured shoulder. It was so sad to watch.

There was also the lone crocodile who had the saddest eyes. He did not look dangerous at all but he must have been ferocious and deadly, because as you can see they are too afraid to clean out all the garbage floating in his water. By the way, where the picture ends is the extent of his home.

The day got better. We went to a museum and watched a very interesting film about the history of the Arabian peninsula, but it was difficult to understand the English at times. It made me glad that in school we only had to study America's short history. Here it pretty much goes back to Adam.

We finished the day at a hotel downtown where an authentic Indian feast had been prepared. I sampled and enjoyed all of it with the hopes that Graham wouldn't have a hard time the following day. He was fine. We spent a few hours at home in the afternoon relaxing. Zach got some TV and computer time. Ethan asked if he could have some vacuum time. He has loved playing with, taking apart, and reassembling our vacuums since he could walk. However, this is a love-hate relationship, as he loves its mechanics but asks if the volume can be turned down.

We ended our day at the golf club BBQ where we had Cheesecake Factory cheesecake and the boys boogied the night away under the stars.