I need a decent food!!! Shout out of the day during our trip to Madaín Saleh. Decent? Civilized? Is there such a thing as civilized food? Knock me out three times but our group defines decent food as no fat, no cholesterol, and no salt, in short a “healthy food”.
We wanted to have fun so no restrictions! Diet was not in our vocab for the three days and two nights were on the trip. Carbonated drinks, chocolates, chips, nuts, hotdog, hamburger, candies, bring it on!
When we were looking for a place to stay, we came across a restaurant that prepares “Kabsa”-an Arabic dish made of rice mixed with traditional spices, either with chicken, camel, goat or lamb.
A popular way of preparing meat is called mandi. This is an ancient technique, whereby meat is barbecued in a deep hole in the ground that is covered while the meat cooks. Another way of preparing and serving meat for kabsa is mathbi, where seasoned meat is grilled on flat stones that are placed on top of burning embers. A third technique, madghūt, involves cooking the meat in a pressure cooker. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabsar
On our first night, we went to the place but they were too busy preparing for a big gathering, we were not able to buy the kabsa , we opted for a chicken instead of Lamb.
The salon of the rented apartment has a flat cushions sofa, the usual way of eating Kabsa ( i heard ) is by placing the big plate on the floor and everyone shares, so basically we had a picnic inside the apartment.
The following night, everyone agrees, we are not going back to Jeddah without trying the “Kabsa” so we went back again to the same shop and they welcome us with an open arms.The big plate with 4 kilos meat (lamb) cost Sr 500, wow! we are not big eaters! We got the medium plate with 2 kilos of meat and one whole chicken for Sr 250.
They boiled the meat before putting it into the deep hole with a flame underneath.
Did we survive? of course we did! A well satisfied palate and a belly of happiness. Cheers!
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October 30,2012 -After a spectacular sunset at the top of Al Ula plateau , the following morning we decided to visit the ruins of mud brick houses of Al Ula. Its so sad to think that this houses were not protected or secluded to keep its history.
Slow down Camel crossing… Road trip to Madaín Saleh
As the sun rises up, we stop for a while for breakfast. We are 10 adults and 4 children in 3 cars. My two brothers are with me and a very good friend of mine who also packed his sense of humor which made the trip more enjoyable.
As we get nearer to the place, more curvatures are evident on the road with has the road sign “slow down, camel crossing” wow! As if were passing “School zone, children crossing”. This is good, because I heard a lot of accidents happened at night when suddenly camel cross the road and bumps the car.
We filled our KIA van with gasoline twice, and I can’t help not to mention that our friend’s car is Hyundai Matrix which I didn’t see him filling it, so I said “let’s buy that kind of car tomorrow immediately “joke!
Ten hours driving with 3 stops and still full of energy. 
Al Ula is a small town which is about 22 km away to Madaín Saleh. It‘s beautiful place surrounded by valleys, plateau, green palm trees and sandy mountains.
The gate opens at 10 in the morning and closes at 6 in the evening. 
Those visitors who doesn’t have permit were not allowed to enter the gate.
Madaín Saleh featured 131 monumental rock-cut tombs spread out over a vast area (I’m not sure how big it is) we only noticed the numbers when we started taking pictures. 
There was no brochure or map to guide us where to start. I think they should open the gate a bit earlier for the guest to look around and appreciate the place more.
I noticed that the outer forms are finer and decorative than the inside.
We left the place around 4 pm and went to checked – in to Arac Hotel. This time we were in a hurry to catch the sunset at the biggest and highest plateau in Al Ula. The road to Al Ula plateau is narrow and soaring high, so we decided to be all together in one big car. It was a thrilling experience to chase the sun which stunningly shines reflecting the golden sandy mountains.
The most thrilling and unforgettable Eid Al adha holiday was reaching the top of the Al Ula plateau, a height of more than thousand meters, overlooking the town of Ula. The chill of chasing the sunset was awesome and having a group of friends who are just as lovely as the sunset, what more can we ask?
Here’s an example of “forever lover at sunset” a story beyond aka (Richard and Dawn … I”m sorry I was not able to take the story of “Coco and Julia” as my shots are over -exposed.
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Autumn Cheers!
Raining hard when I arrived in Lucerne but it didn’t stop me from taking pictures.
The Swan in the lake of Lucerne are tourist friendly. 
as if trying to impress the onlookers, he dives beautifully
with his head neck twisted
on triangle formation
by two’s
arching his neck again
and again
what a lovely sight!
I can’t stop clicking , I hold my umbrella on one hand, camera on the other hand. Waiting for his wings to flap and looks like sleeping or tired of showing off!
then suddenly…opens his wings
and off they go!
A jewel at dawn
Alone at night
Camel gazing at sunset
Dr. Myriam- The Dental Aesthetic Clinic 
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