Saudi Arabia: our first impressions of Jeddah

After a rainy drive from the Dead Sea to Amman's airport, we departed towards our next destination, Jeddah, the second largest city in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

As we had chosen not get the KSA Tourist e-Visa prior to boarding the plane in Amman, we were relying on their Visa on Arrival option, thanks to our European passports. At Jeddah airport, we were directed to the area where we were easily able to get our Tourist Visas, after paying an expensive 480SAR/pax (approx 130USD for the visa and mandatory travel insurance) - I guess they need the money to feed the sharks in the aquarium that lies in the middle of the airport!

As we were Ubering to the hotel, we enjoyed the view of the city by night. It was a surprising first impression of the city, with modern and wide buildings completely lit up from top to bottom and very bright advertising panels. It seems there is no shortage of electricity here!

The following day, we used a Careem (another rideshare service) to go to Al Rahma Mosque and, on the way, we noticed these beautiful palaces, long malls of high end brands and a few highrises, separated by vast empty spaces - no wonder the city is so wide!

Unfortunately, we could not reach the Mosque as the roads were blocked due to the preparations for the WTCR cup, so we decided to walk and find our way to the coastline. However, we quickly learned that we had underestimated the suffocating heat and the distances - retrospectively, renting a car would have been a great idea.

When we finally arrived at the Corniche, the 30km promenade along Jeddah’s coastline, the breeze of the Red Sea offered some relief.

But even then the crushing heat forced us to go back to the hotel until sunset. 

On our way to dinner, we once again discovered a city full of lights with people enjoying the evening cool(ish) air, having picnics along the parks of the Corniche and admiring King Fahd's fountain by night (the tallest in the world). This really is a city that comes alive at night!

Two other things that also took us by surprise were the friendliness and the high level of English of the Saudis we encountered. From the moment we landed at the airport, there were staff members approaching us to make sure we were headed in the right direction, there was a tourist information booth with two incredibly nice ladies that offered tips accompanied by tea and, later on, there was even a random person that asked us if we needed directions on the street. We started to feel like we were basing our expectations on inaccurate preconceptions.

And finally on the culinary side, we discovered once more (we first found it in Wadi Rum) a dessert called Oum Ali - a kind of oven-baked pastry, soaked in milk that tasted a little like creme brûlée. 

And for dinner we went for grilled fish at a pretty good restaurant in the Middle Corniche called Saedi Fish.

A very good first impression of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia so far!