I meant to write about this right after it happened but then Covid happened and I thought who wants to hear about a road trip when the world has shut down?! And then I just never quite made it back to writing about it. Until today. Buckle up as this is going to be a long one…. Because, lets be honest, most expats never leave the gates of their western compounds except to go to and from work. It was always wild to me that people would move to a country and never experience any of it. Can you imagine if your entire opinion of a country was based on your co-workers?
When I first moved to Saudi you could only visit on a work visa. Muslim travelers were able to see bits of the country if they came for Hajj or Umrah. Tourism in those days was a bit like the wild west.
We literally drove and parked directly out front of the tombs and walked right into them. Obviously historical sites like this should be preserved, but travel within the country back then was really unique.
At the end of it was announced that Saudi would start allowing online tourist visas. It had long been a dream of mine to show either my bestie Jen or my family the country I called home for so many years. Thankfully Jen was keen and she flew from the US to Jeddah.
Saudi was late to the party in terms of allowing women to drive, but in women finally got the right. That fall I obtained my Saudi license, so I was road trip ready. I rented a car from the Riyadh airport. What they ended up giving me was a lime-green Hyundai Kona. There was literally no blending in driving it.
