khabar is not what you expect blogger style

so i ended up here because the hostel staff said i had a 30-minute ride to a city called khabar. it was the kind of place where nobody knows their own address. the weather was 18.36 degrees, which felt like standing in a fridge with a fan. i packed a sweater just in case. turns out, the sweater stayed in my bag all day.

quick answers

q: is this place worth visiting?
a: only if you like chaos. the vibe is like a Radiohead concert in a Walmart.

q: is it expensive?
a: hostels under $10/night exist. taxis are cheaper than yelp suggests.

q: who would hate it here?
a: backpackers who need AC. also, people who don’t like random men offering to photoshop their passports.

q: best time to visit?
a: october to april. summer here means you’ll melt into a puddle of regret.

i started wandering through the old souk, which is basically a maze of tents selling spice racks and 'authentic' incense. a vendor gave me a black-and-white star print textile without asking. i didn’t know what to do with it. the air was dry, 36% humidity, which made my skin crack. i started drinking tap water because i didn’t want to spend money on a cup of lukewarm coffee.

someone told me the city has a 3am curfew. i didn’t believe them. turned out, they were right. i got caught in a police line near the beach at 2:45. they asked for my ID. i didn’t have one. they let me go. i learned nothing.

there are two main roads here. one is chaos. the other is a ghost town. i took the chaos road. it ended in a mall where a local warned me not to eat the falafel. i ate it anyway. the falafel was bad. the local was right.

i found a budget student hostel near the Red Sea. it cost $8/night. the owner gave me a free orange. it was squeezed from a tree 20 minutes earlier. i didn’t care. the tap water was also free.

rules of khabar: don’t trust signs. the GPS lied. i followed a wrong turn for 15 minutes before a goat showed me the right path. this is not a place for directional apps. also, elevators only go down. i tried to go up from the second floor. it was a trap.

the safest spot? a beach called al-ranaya. no one goes there after noon. i swam with a group of seals. they were steadier than the locals on the scooters.

someone told me the best coffee is at a place called al-harith. it’s run by an old man with a beard longer than my arm. he charged $1 for a cup. i paid in dates. it worked.

i heard the city is losing its local culture. the young people are all driving to Dammam for jobs. the oldmen run everything now. they’ll charge you for looking at their souv.Cells.

best time to visit? again, october to april. the weather data says 18.36 degrees all day. don’t believe it. it’s a lie.

final tip: rents are cheap, but taxes on small stuff are insane. a SIM card at the border costs $5. a SIM card from a local vendor costs $0.50. the local vendor was in a van with a loudspeaker. he was yelling in Arabic.

i left with a star print textile and a feeling that i bought a house in this city. it was a good day.

ext links

- tripadvisor: khobar hostels under $10 https://tripadvisor.com/s/khobar-hostelers
- yelp: al-harith coffee https://yelp.com/al-harith-coffee
- reddit: budget travel in saudi arabia https://reddit.com/r/saudiaustralia
- khobar tourism: official site https://khobartourism.gov.sa
- my plan: https://mynavigator.com/saudiplan
- gas prices: why they’re insane https://gasprices.sa

nisuffgreg... it’s a map. i don’t know.

images:

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