I am in all sorts of trouble! .... What happened? I went shopping.
Trouble #1:
My friend took me to the gold souk this morning. Jewelry is ridiculously cheap here! Oh, my Goodness! I managed to pick out a prospective wedding band. Stunning, beautiful, unique white gold and diamonds, for less than half what it would cost in South Africa! I can already see myself going gold-crazy. Trouble....
Trouble #2:
Abaya, abaya, I buy a abaya....I finally have my full ninja kit! Walking around with my hair and face uncovered has been getting me way too much male attention. So, I decided to buy a niqab, a veil that covers your face, so only your eyes show. You should see the women here who cover up in this way. They actually have a sense of power about them. Those eyes glancing this way and that makes you wonder about the thoughts behind them. There is definitely an air of mystery about these women. The men think they have the power, actually, the women seem to be laughing at them from behind their veils! I am more than happy to finally veil myself, if only to stave off all this male attention. The only problem now is that I am already itching to get more abayas, with all the trim and various embroidery. Trouble....
Trouble #3:
The souk. The souk spells trouble for me. I walked into this little store that sells snacks, sweets and chocolates. Again, they seem to have everything from everywhere. Just the same as it tastes back home. Not adjusted, or sweetened like they do in the Far East. I was so happy to find AERO chocolates! And guess what? They even had Easter eggs! Salt and Vinegar Lays (which is almost impossible to find in Korea and China). Turkish Delight in every flavour under the sun: stuffed with pistachios, pomegranate seeds, chocolate, etc, etc. Trouble....
Trouble #4:
Clothing. Of course, I will have NO problems buying underwear, clothes and shoes here. They have just my style; beautiful, colourful hippy style Indian dresses and tops. Not to mention the shopping malls. Canal Walk in Cape Town is run of the mill here. All the designer labels and latest Western fashion are readily available, and they will fit the larger woman!!! (They even have MR PRICE HOME here!) Trouble....
Trouble #5:
Next, we went to a Carrefour for some grocery shopping. Once I was there, I realised that I'd be OK in Saudi Arabia. Carrefour Shanghai had been a huge improvement on grocery shopping in South Korea. Carrefour Riyadh makes the Shanghai ones look like a street market. It's spotlessly clean and well-organised with loads of room compared to Shanghai. In Shanghai, you'll see dried pigs' heads, fish guts and spilled water from the fish tanks on the floor, plus people constantly pointing and staring at you. This here, in Riyadh, is heaven! No one bothers you. They go about their business, doing their own thing. Everything you could possibly want, is here and readily available. Fresh fruit and vegetables from EVERYWHERE! Food items from Lebanon, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, China. You name it, they have it. They even had lovely, big mangoes from South Africa! And, of course, all the spices you'd need. Basically, when Saudis want something, it should be available whenever they want it. Hence, the huge variety and mountains of options. If you're a foodie or just love cooking, this is your paradise! Trouble....
Trouble #6:
I am in love with this Arabian bakery we went to. We went to get some cake at this lovely not-so-little place. They had little trays of nuts and seeds, dried fruits, miniature biscuits and baklavas, mini-savoury snack platters on these lovely metal trays, ready for you to pick up and take for your catering event. Cakes and croissants, and, and, and..... I LOVE the presentation! Trouble.....
See? I am in ALL sorts of trouble here!
Trouble #1:
My friend took me to the gold souk this morning. Jewelry is ridiculously cheap here! Oh, my Goodness! I managed to pick out a prospective wedding band. Stunning, beautiful, unique white gold and diamonds, for less than half what it would cost in South Africa! I can already see myself going gold-crazy. Trouble....
Trouble #2:
Abaya, abaya, I buy a abaya....I finally have my full ninja kit! Walking around with my hair and face uncovered has been getting me way too much male attention. So, I decided to buy a niqab, a veil that covers your face, so only your eyes show. You should see the women here who cover up in this way. They actually have a sense of power about them. Those eyes glancing this way and that makes you wonder about the thoughts behind them. There is definitely an air of mystery about these women. The men think they have the power, actually, the women seem to be laughing at them from behind their veils! I am more than happy to finally veil myself, if only to stave off all this male attention. The only problem now is that I am already itching to get more abayas, with all the trim and various embroidery. Trouble....
Trouble #3:
The souk. The souk spells trouble for me. I walked into this little store that sells snacks, sweets and chocolates. Again, they seem to have everything from everywhere. Just the same as it tastes back home. Not adjusted, or sweetened like they do in the Far East. I was so happy to find AERO chocolates! And guess what? They even had Easter eggs! Salt and Vinegar Lays (which is almost impossible to find in Korea and China). Turkish Delight in every flavour under the sun: stuffed with pistachios, pomegranate seeds, chocolate, etc, etc. Trouble....
Trouble #4:
Clothing. Of course, I will have NO problems buying underwear, clothes and shoes here. They have just my style; beautiful, colourful hippy style Indian dresses and tops. Not to mention the shopping malls. Canal Walk in Cape Town is run of the mill here. All the designer labels and latest Western fashion are readily available, and they will fit the larger woman!!! (They even have MR PRICE HOME here!) Trouble....
Trouble #5:
Next, we went to a Carrefour for some grocery shopping. Once I was there, I realised that I'd be OK in Saudi Arabia. Carrefour Shanghai had been a huge improvement on grocery shopping in South Korea. Carrefour Riyadh makes the Shanghai ones look like a street market. It's spotlessly clean and well-organised with loads of room compared to Shanghai. In Shanghai, you'll see dried pigs' heads, fish guts and spilled water from the fish tanks on the floor, plus people constantly pointing and staring at you. This here, in Riyadh, is heaven! No one bothers you. They go about their business, doing their own thing. Everything you could possibly want, is here and readily available. Fresh fruit and vegetables from EVERYWHERE! Food items from Lebanon, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, China. You name it, they have it. They even had lovely, big mangoes from South Africa! And, of course, all the spices you'd need. Basically, when Saudis want something, it should be available whenever they want it. Hence, the huge variety and mountains of options. If you're a foodie or just love cooking, this is your paradise! Trouble....
Trouble #6:
I am in love with this Arabian bakery we went to. We went to get some cake at this lovely not-so-little place. They had little trays of nuts and seeds, dried fruits, miniature biscuits and baklavas, mini-savoury snack platters on these lovely metal trays, ready for you to pick up and take for your catering event. Cakes and croissants, and, and, and..... I LOVE the presentation! Trouble.....
See? I am in ALL sorts of trouble here!
What a blast!!!! wish i was there...def my kind of holiday!!! enjoy girl to the fullest. Go bos before the wedding...coz after that its.."what colour couch shld we get" or " do u think we must get it this month or next?" So enjoy...go crazy!!!Gillian
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