Thursday, May 2nd and Friday, May 3rd, 2013
I'm sure you are aware that there is a very large expat community in Riyadh and we are always looking for normal things to do to keep us occupied. The many organized camping trips every year are certainly something we look forward to and this weekend I got my first opportunity to attend one. Now you have to remember that things are never that simply around here, especially of late. There have been many raids by the Mutaawa'a and we've seen an increase in arrests again. Obviously being caught with alcohol is an arrestable offence but so is being caught with a man who is not my father, brother or husband.....which means even co-ed camping trips are technically against the law.
That doesn't stop people for doing stuff though and this trip was no exception. There was a large group of us going, split between 3 vehicles and we would join a couple hundred or so other people at an undisclosed location in the desert. In fact only a few people knew the actual location. Camp organisers met groups of vehicles in various locations in Riyadh and then we would travel out to the camp location. I didn't know what to expect once we got out there so I was surprised to see how organised everything was. Each little group normally had their own fire and brought their own food and tents etc but there was one main area, with tents set up and a DJ.....and some "punch" for the group. There was a nominal fee (100SAR I think) charged by the organisers to cover those costs but basically it was a giant party in the desert.
A look at our little campsite. I found this little blue tent under the bed in the spare room. There were no instructions with it so it took us a bit of time to get it set up but we still did better than a lot of boys. The ground was a little soft too but luckily there were a lot of rocks around to hold the tent in place.
A few of the other random campers and in the background you can see the party tents. Just for reference, the black corners on these pictures are not meant to be artistic, it's just a sign that I need a new camera.
Watching the sunset, while dinner is cooking. Fires are allowed so we had some great meat cooked over some hot flames.
Another look at the desert sunset. So pretty. Of course once the sun went down, the party really got started.
A look at a few of the party goers. It was a smaller crowd than was originally expected (I know a bunch of people were scared off by recent raids on western parties) but it was still a great time.
The next morning people slowly got up, had some breakfast and then headed home. Good thing is the group was very good and cleaned up after themselves. Not a lot of garbage left behind.
It was certainly a short little trip, and probably a lot more work than one night deserves but it was a good time and totally worth it. Camp outs are hosted a few times a year so hopefully we'll head out on another one soon.
Julie
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