The summer heat in Riyadh makes night seem like day and day seem like something worse, as a friend of mine said. The temperatures are about the same. During the day it’s 47 or 46 if you are in the shade. At 9 p.m., temperatures — without the sun in the sky — may still be 42. You wonder what the difference is. Basically, night or day, you’re toast! The enormous population of the city, currently at 5 million, the millions of air conditioners, the carbon dioxide in the air from hundreds of thousands of vehicles and the heat released from asphalt during the evening only make matters worse. To escape the nuisance of the city and the intense heat, one has three choices: Traveling abroad, staying indoors or choosing a domestic destination for the family.
The Supreme Commission for Tourism has been doing a great job in promoting tourism in the Kingdom. Festivals are being held in the Eastern Province, Jeddah, Asir, and even in Taif. But while people in Jeddah and the Eastern Province have the sea, people in Riyadh are stuck in the middle with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Malls are probably the most common solution but even window-shopping in malls is no longer a possibility for singles. Because of harassment of women in malls — which has sadly become common here — most of the major malls are now for families only. In other words, if a guy was minding his own business and wanted to buy something in the mall, he would be prevented from going in. He would have the choice of either leaving or trying his luck with the security guard at the entrance. Not much to be said for either.
Thinking of renting a bungalow in such areas as Thumamah would also be a waste of money. Because of the searing heat, you’d have to stay indoors from 8 in the morning to 7 in the evening. A friend of mine who recently went to “Fantasy Land” in Thumamah said he rented a bungalow there for SR2,000 a day. He told me how he had tried to rent a pedal boat at the artificial lake for two persons — him and his wife. The security guard stopped him saying that it was forbidden for women to ride in the boats. “But she’s my wife and I am responsible for her,” my friend argued. “Look man, I completely understand but there’s nothing I can do. It’s not my decision; it’s orders from the mutawwa. Go speak to them.” Not wanting to open a can of worms, my friend left. So much for a romantic boat ride for a married couple!
Other amusement parks have the same old practice of separating men and women. One day the park is for men and the next for women. Families? No. That would lead to sinful mixing and the doors of Hell would be opened. I feel sorry for people in Riyadh who have kids that want to go to Hukair Land. The father has to go one day alone and send the kids with their mom the next day. As a family, they would never have the chance to go out together. Even a visit to Starbucks can be a scary experience in the family section. Music is banned and all booths must have a curtain around them. Upon entering the booth, you think you are in a shower room, not a place for coffee and other harmless beverages.
Of course you can always leave the city for such destinations as the Bride of the Red Sea or the Eastern Province. However, because no one watches over prices, greedy merchants shoot the rent up sometimes 300 percent during summer.
In the end, a stay for a week can cost more than SR6, 000. That same amount, as pointed out by another newspaper columnist, would suffice for two weeks in a five-star hotel in Egypt or Syria.
Another problem in Jeddah which the authorities are doing nothing about is youngsters driving buggies (four-wheel motorbikes). The buggy drivers harass the public on the beaches and on sidewalks, kicking dirt at them and being a public menace. Al-Madinah recently reported that one of these crazy drivers ran over a girl who was badly injured and hospitalized. The offender got away but the nuisance continues. After weighing all these options, I think I will be leaving the Kingdom for my annual vacation.
