Reflections on Riyadh

It's been about three weeks since I got to Riyadh. Life slowed down for sure, since there's no work and all I've been doing is eating and sleeping pretty much. Needless to say it's been HOT, hovering around 45+ degrees celsius. Traffic in Riyadh has been getting worse every time I come back. There's so many cars on the road, and the concept of rush hour and weekend vs. weekday is fading slowly. No matter what time of the day you go out, you're bound to get stuck in traffic at one place or another. I wish we had a Metro thingy here. Riyadh is losing its traditional charm with all the Starbucks and McDonald's everywhere, and new outlets opening on a regular basis. Fahad and I went to Thumamah outside of Riyadh for barbecue with his buddies which was a lot of fun, you get to see/ride camels, horses, ATV's and there's sand everywhere. And above all, there's Shisha cafes with some traditional flavors you won't find in the US. I went to my high school 10 years after graduating. There was some sort of festival going on. It was nice seeing my old instructors and my alma mater. Some instructors have retired now.