My wife and children have officially boarded their flight back home to India, bringing a quiet, bittersweet end to a beautiful, whirlwind two-and-a-half-month chapter here in Jeddah. Having my beloved family physically by my side while living as an expat in Saudi Arabia has been one of the absolute greatest, most persistent desires of my life. Now, looking back at the countless, incredible memories we successfully created together, my heart is completely, overwhelmingly full.
Getting them here, however, certainly wasn't without its massive, stressful challenges. I had carefully booked their airline tickets well in advance, eagerly counting down the calendar days to their arrival. But at the very last, agonizing minute, SpiceJet suddenly threw a massive wrench in our careful plans by completely canceling their scheduled flight. It was incredibly stressful and highly frustrating, but I was stubbornly determined not to let corporate airline issues ruin our long-awaited, precious family reunion. I quickly ended up spending a bit more hard-earned money to immediately secure new tickets on an entirely different, more reliable airline, and thankfully, they arrived safely on the exact day we originally planned!
"I have to express my absolute deepest gratitude to the supportive management at Taj Polyclinic, exactly where I work. They were remarkably understanding and highly supportive, generously stepping in to provide us with comfortable, spacious family accommodation and kindly adjusting my rigid work schedule. Their immense help meant I could actually spend true quality time exploring with my family, rather than just tiredly passing them by between long hospital shifts."
Here is a detailed, loving look back at the incredible, unforgettable journey we happily shared across this highly beautiful, diverse country.
Spiritual Journeys: Makkah and Madinah
Our very first official family trip outside of Jeddah was directly to the beautiful, holy city of Madinah. We traveled swiftly via the ultra-modern Haramain High-Speed Railway, and the sheer, luxurious comfort and incredible speed of that sleek train made the travel journey itself a wonderful, memorable experience for the kids. Standing quietly in Madinah was incredibly peaceful and deeply spiritually uplifting for all of us. In total, we happily managed to visit Madinah twice during their extended stay, seamlessly alongside multiple deeply moving, spiritual trips down to Makkah for Umrah.
For a complete, highly refreshing change of scenery from the coastal humidity, we took a winding drive up into the rugged mountains and excitedly visited the cool, high-altitude city of Taif. The significantly cooler climate was an incredibly refreshing, welcome break. We happily explored the fascinating local history museum, wandered peacefully through a beautiful, fragrant strawberry park, visited the lively local zoo, and took quiet, reflective time to pray together at several of the mountainous region's highly historically significant mosques.
Exploring the Historic Heart and Modern Soul of Jeddah
Since the sprawling city of Jeddah was our official home base, we happily dedicated several full, active days to thoroughly uncovering the city's absolute best, most iconic sights:
- Balad Heritage City: Walking slowly through the incredibly narrow, ancient alleys of historic old Jeddah genuinely felt exactly like stepping straight back in time. We admired the towering, highly ancient coral-stone architecture, learned deeply about the city's rich, bustling trading history, and visited the deeply historic, beautiful Chop-Square Mosque.
- The Floating Mosque (Al Rahma Mosque): Peacefully praying at this highly beautiful, stark white mosque ingeniously built directly over the clear blue waters of the Red Sea was an absolutely awe-inspiring, highly serene experience.
- Marine Wonders (Fakieh Aquarium): The curious kids were absolutely, entirely mesmerized by the massive local aquarium. Getting safely up close to swimming sharks, waddling penguins, and countless colorful, exotic sea creatures was a massive, undeniable highlight for them!
- Parks and Landmarks: We happily spent several highly relaxed, breezy afternoons walking around Prince Majid Park, enjoyed a picnic by the lush greenery near the central lagoon, and stood in complete amazement watching the massive, record-breaking King Fahd's Water Fountain in Al Hamra aggressively shoot heavy water incredibly high into the dark night sky.
Spectacular Sunsets and Cycling at the Jeddah Waterfront
The highly famous Jeddah Corniche, or Waterfront, is easily and undeniably one of the coastal city's absolute most spectacular, highly developed features—a stunning, meticulously maintained 3.5-kilometer park stretching beautifully right along the breezy coast. We absolutely loved the vibrant atmosphere so much that we visited it two or three distinct times, making absolutely sure to walk the entire, long length of it so we wouldn't miss a single thing!
The happy, breezy memories made here are easily some of my absolute favorites. We walked bravely high up on the modern pedestrian skywalk, stood quietly on the long sea bridge to watch absolutely breathtaking, golden Red Sea sunsets, and cheaply rented public bicycles to ride quickly along the dedicated, safe cycle paths. And of course, absolutely no trip to the Corniche is ever truly complete without sitting casually right on the sandy beach, listening to the crashing waves, and enjoying a highly delicious, crispy, and iconic Al Baik chicken meal together as a family!
Rugged Coastal Adventures at Al Saif Beach
While the main central waterfront is incredibly modern, highly paved, and heavily bustling, our exciting trip down south to Al Saif Beach beautifully offered a significantly more rugged, natural, and highly adventurous coastal vibe. The kids had an absolutely fantastic time actively splashing and playing safely in the warm, shallow ocean water.
This specific coastal area wonderfully offered so many highly unique outdoor experiences. We happily explored the fascinating, vast local salt fields, where natural, bright sea salt is actively piled up incredibly high, looking exactly like massive snowy white hills in the desert. We got to see majestic local camels safely up close, went exciting horseback riding right along the wet shoreline, and the kids had an absolute, unforgettable blast driving the loud, small beach buggies aggressively across the soft sand.
Celebrating Community, Rich Culture, and Food
Far beyond simply visiting the standard, expected tourist sights, we completely and enthusiastically immersed ourselves directly in the highly vibrant Indian expatriate community and attended several massive local festivals:
- Sahityotsav Programs: We happily attended the massive, highly energetic cultural events organized for both the local Mahjar Sector and the wider Jeddah City. Seeing our kids actively participate on stage and proudly win several prizes brought so much immense, unforgettable joy and deep pride to our family.
- Music and Sports: We actively went to LaLu Sounds’ Paadam Namukku Paadam (Let Us Sing) musical program, where we thoroughly enjoyed listening to fresh, incredibly talented local singers. We also attended the highly thrilling, packed KMCC football final tournament, and my daughter was incredibly thrilled when she even got to proudly walk out onto the green ground holding a team banner!
- MediaOne Hala Jeddah: We eagerly joined the highly packed second day of this absolutely massive, high-profile mega-event. We excitedly saw highly familiar celebrity faces up close like the Udan Panam TV crew (Kallu) and the famous Chef Pillai. The spectacular, high-energy live musical performances by renowned artists like Shaan, Vidhu Prathap, Sithara, and Sayanora were absolutely spectacular and mesmerizing. We even luckily won several fun prizes from the Vijay and Nellara sponsor stalls and tasted a huge, mouth-watering variety of amazing, authentic dishes from the sprawling outdoor food courts!
Mega Malls, Modern Marvels, and Saying Goodbye
Just before they finally had to pack their bags and leave, we actively made absolutely sure to do some serious, extensive walking (and a lot of fun window shopping!) straight through Jeddah’s massive, highly luxurious, world-class shopping malls. We enthusiastically explored the massive corridors of the Red Sea Mall, Andalus Mall, Salam Mall, the sprawling Jeddah Park Mall, and even IKEA.
When the heavy, sad day finally came to say our emotional goodbyes, even navigating the airport was an incredible architectural adventure. They safely flew out of Jeddah's stunning, highly advanced new King Abdulaziz International Airport terminal, happily marveling at the massive, multi-story indoor airport aquarium located right in the center before finally catching their smooth Oman Air flight back home via a short transit in Muscat.
Two and a half incredibly beautiful months flew by completely in the literal blink of an eye. They happily returned home with a heavy suitcase fully packed with unique souvenirs, but infinitely more importantly, they carried a lifetime of absolutely unforgettable, priceless memories from our wonderful time spent together exploring Saudi Arabia.
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