Thuwal

Thuwal, the tiny little town just five minutes drive from our university, is known only for its fish. There really isn't anything else to this small community. We drove down both of the streets in Thuwal and saw only a handful of food markets, a rug store, a bank, a small gas station, two barbers, two sheesha shops, and a dozen resturaunts.

At this resturaunt, we picked our own fish from the the day's fresh catch. These guys tasted delicious. Most of the customers at this resturaunt drove for an hour from Jeddah just to eat here!

I was the only white guy at this traditional resturaunt, and my friend on the right was the only Mexican, I am sure! I enjoy these kind of local experiences so much. I wish it were easier for us to leave campus and hang out in the Saudi community more often. Local flavor is so much more fun to me than the campus compound life. KAUST feels more like a western suburb than a foriegn country, yet I came here to BE in Saudi Arabia. Those of us who want to experience the kingdom have to be intentional about leaving campus to do things like this.

I love seafood...

And of course tea for dessert. This mint tea was excellent, much better than Baskin Robbins ice cream.