Open Writing

An early rising saw us driving south on the scenic tourist route to the town of Baha.

We passed through tiny villages with their ancient, crumbling forts and stone houses set amongst modern villas.

The views were more spectacular than I had imagined; soaring, rocky mountains stacked high in rows as far as the eye could see, with sheer drops to the green patches of valleys below. It was peaceful and beautiful and so unexpected from the Saudi Arabia I had come to know.

Baha was a large, attractive town, sparkling like a jewel in the mountains after the cool afternoon rains. Undulating terrain boasted gleaming white villas clinging to hills and dipping into valleys, as the town boundary encroached into national park.

We explored the town before driving into the surrounding parklands with our takeaways for ‘dinner with a view’.

We stopped next to a half-built mansion teetering on a cliff face. Even though it was still not much more than a shell, it was evident the building was typical of the richer Saudi taste; multi-story, gigantic, grand arches and soaring ceilings.

Expansive views below showed a narrow winding road spiralling around the mountain, disappearing into tunnels and supported by long stretches of bridges seeming to float above forest.

I had never seen roads like it, even in the winding mountains of New Zealand.
Amer is a traffic engineer and, naturally, thought he would have done things a little differently. I thought it looked spectacular, even if it wasn’t the most practical piece of engineering.

We found a hotel by accident when we turned off the hill road. The name Baha Palace Hotel sounded a lot grander than it was, but it would turn out to be the hotel with the best view ever on our entire trip - and cheap. The excellent price was due to the hotel being almost empty as it was the start of winter. Our room had a tiny balcony with views over the same basin of forest and winding roads we had seen earlier.

That night we were kept awake when a heavy downpour, complete with hailstones, preceded a loud, angry thunderstorm. We left the curtains open and enjoyed the spectacular show, having not seen drizzle, let alone rain, for months.

The baby’s hearing was obviously well developed, as he was frantic, kicking like crazy for hours until the storm eventually passed.

The next day’s journey proved to be a long one as we could only travel at about 80kms on the winding, unpredictable roads. I was excited about seeing Abha as I had heard so much about its beautiful setting and popularity amongst Saudis as a summer getaway.

We had planned to stay at the Intercontinental Hotel in the mountains 20 km out of Abha, but it turned out to be closed for six months, until the summer. A bit disappointing, as it would have been quite an experience to stay in a former palace.
We found an attractive two-level furnished apartment with a lovely lounge and bedroom, but it had horrible bathrooms, with water leaking from the toilets! At least the lounge was comfortable, with its Arab-style seating and huge floor cushions scattered around the walls.

In typical Saudi style, the windows were miniscule, built for privacy, which gave the rooms a prison-like ambience. They also blocked much of the fabulous view across the valley to the cable car line.

We drove to Green Mountain at dusk, so called because of the green neon lights covering it, and took the cable car from the top. In silent suspension we soaked in the city views while muezzins called from mosques below and children played in the parks. The car took us over the city, past our apartment near the rocky-bottomed valley, then over a small lake to an amusement park.

We had a wander around the park, watched a few twisting rounds of the rollercoaster and laughed with the Filipino maids in their abayas, san scarves, having holiday fun on the bumper cars.

Back at the apartment that night, Amer was in his element with more than 100 satellite channels to flick through.

Early the next day we drove deep into the mountains where Saudi Arabia’s highest peak reaches to more than 9000 feet.

A wander around the Intercontinental Hotel showed it was in a great spot but, apart from the beautiful tiled dome, wasn’t quite as grand as I expected.

Another cable car ride later found us in the valley 2000 feet below. We enjoyed a falcon’s-eye view over what would have been beautiful waterfalls and ponds, if there had been any water, and passed over a narrow strip of lush, green valley.

By late afternoon I was worried that the lack of oxygen might be affecting the baby, as he had been kicking like crazy. We decided to leave the mountain heights behind and return to Abha.

As a special treat we exchanged our accommodations for something more luxurious; the five-star Abha Palace Hotel.

Our room looked over the gardens and the amusement park, with a glimpse of the lake. It was pure luxury.

Later that night we returned to the Green Mountain and sipped cappuccinos as the sun set over the city.

Abha was everything I imagined it to be.

(Final installment next week)