“If you can do enough in a short period of time, that segment of passage stretches out, making life feel longer and brighter, if only for a moment. Thus the secret to a longer life stems from novelty, adventure and interest first.” – Old Sean
Akin to Mobilize
Two weeks ago, I returned from a lightning tour through Istanbul which allowed me a bare week to finish up some work, type a few articles and gather something roughly akin to rest.
However, due to the logistics of end-of-the-year holidays, I have a lot of my free time packed into December. As such, I readied myself for yet another trip. This time, I would be joining my friend Ahmed on a road trip to the west, where I would visit the unique town of Hail, also spelled as Hael or Ha’il.
On Thursday, I gathered what I could in an over-packed duffle bag and hopped into Ahmed’s Lexus, which would be my de facto mode of transportation for the remainder of this trip.
Sadly, our trip wouldn’t start out with much vigor. For reasons still unknown to me, the traffic leaving Riyadh was horrific, despite leaving several hours before the standard rush hour. Ahmed and I inched our way down crowded streets, eager to be out on the open road.
When we finally reached the northernmost part of Riyadh and the road truly opened up, our engine began thrumming. We rolled freely down the road, blurring past vast lands of sand and cheap shelters, striving west.
A Line on the Map
As Ahmed and I drove, I directed us on a southerly-westerly route. Saudi Arabia is interesting since much of it’s road system is perfectly straight. With vast, flat deserts being the country’s defining central feature, there are many places where the road can just arrow over the land.
While this is a boon for those hoping for speed, I suggested Ahmed take a southern route instead, following a narrow road with sweeps and curves.
This turned out to be a splendid choice, as it allowed us to witness portions of the country rarely visited. The traffic was practically non-existent as we rolled past rows of mesas and strange mound formations where new date orchards were being planted.
We eventually reached the first location I was interested in viewing. Along the road was a small map point called the Raghba Observation Tower, found within the small town limits of Rughabah. This tower is one of the traditional desert overlooks that have undergone restoration efforts in the region. The towers are in rounded chimney shapes and offer incredible, commanding views over the desert.
Ahmed and I rolled through a series of ruins to reach the tower’s base. Raghba Observation Tower is a narrow, unusual feature. We were fortunate that the door was open, allowing us to climb up the steep, interior staircase. But even these stairs proved challenging, since the spiral gradually tightened and narrowed as we climbed the tower. The structure gave an intense sensation of increasing claustrophobia the higher we rose.
Also interesting was the overall architectural engineering of the Raghba Observation Tower. The building hosts a number of scattered windows along its sides, but these are not uniformly placed. Instead, they are designed at strategic points for light to enter the inner spiral, ensuring climbers are never walking in the dark.
We eventually arrived atop the tower to see the land spread out below us, long lines of concrete cutting into the distance. An orange sun blistered across the sky while distant mountains settled low against sandy plains.
Atop that tiny, round roof, Ahmed and I took our photos before descending.
Imagine Salt and Snow
Next, Ahmed and I stopped briefly to gather snacks and drinks for the duration of our drive. We passed through a countryside gas station, now racing to reach our next location before early sunset stopped any more road trip sight-seeing.
My next desired stop was the Al Qasab Salt Flats. The small mining community of Al Qasab prides itself on its salt extraction. There, an underground salt deposit is sequestered under layers of unstable sand.
Rather than drilling into the fragile ground, the mining operation pumps water into the salt deposit and then lets it flow to a series of lakes on the surface. These lakes are left under the desert sun, where they can dry out. From here, locals rake up the dried salt bed, bagging the minerals and selling them as a part of the industry.
The salt flat was especially nice during the sunset, when the pale, shallow pools captured and reflected vivid light with uncommon clarity. On the far side of the salt mining operation, locals were working hard with machinery, pulling up more piles of salt into a fluffy, towering mound. This salt mound has a bristling line of shovels poking out of it, the salt itself being loaded into bags.
Surprisingly, we were offered hefty ten pound bags of salt for a mere half-riyal. Ahmed and I turned his Lexus upside down looking for a single coin, as the salt here is actually surprisingly fluffy and tasty.
In the end, we couldn’t find anything. But we were given a pair of salt bags anyway.
Saudi Arabian people are uncommonly kind.
Dreamlike Drive
Ahmed and I got back on the road just as dusk fell and the sky began speckling with stars. We continued to drive on a pitch-dark road, concrete encased in pure darkness just beyond our headlights.
The night took on a disconnected, dreamlike quality. With no lights as reference points and only other high beams for company, our drive felt like something outside of reality. We continued to speed through the night, sand and desert invisible around us.
This was the longest part of the drive, but the abstract nature of it caused it to pass us by in an instant. We finally got back to the main highway, where reality reasserted itself in the form of street-lights, traffic and checkpoints.
Something unique about driving in Saudi Arabia at night are the care in which street-lamps are designed. The lamps are unusually close together, providing a lot of clarity while driving. But these lamps are actually reinforced with secondary lights overtop of them, usually in shades of blue, green or red.
These secondary LED lights are dramatic navigation beacons of sorts. For anyone wandering the desert at night, the additional colored lights make it impossible to get the road lights confused with a distant farmhouse. The navigational boost made driving along these roads a unique pleasure.
Sleepy City
We soon rolled into the community of Buraydah, a large desert city that merges with the urban sprawl of Unayzah. This combined urban space is often referred to as Qassim, as it’s the largest city and capital district of the Al-Qassim Region.
As it turned out, Buraydah is a meticulously-designed city. Its most famous feature is an iconic water tower best known as the Buraidah Tower. The white orb can be seen from miles away, as the city’s major highway angles directly towards it. The rest of the city is surprisingly clean, well-maintained, carefully planned, lovingly designed and easy to navigate.
Ahmed and I enjoyed our dinner here, stopping at a restaurant known as Jododana Restaurant. We were quickly seated on Sadu-patterned furniture, granted massive plates of rice-and-kabsa and granted cups of coffee before getting back on the road.
Last Leg
Despite the darkness outside, it wasn’t really late yet. The northern hemisphere simply has longer nights in the winter. Ahmed and I were able to get back on the road swiftly, spending a short couple of hours arrowing down the straight road towards Hail.
When Ahmed and I finally arrived in Hail, we rolled into the valet parking lot of Millennium Hotel Hail, a startling upscale lodging on the north side of the city. The staff quickly took our bags, sped through our check in process, recommended a local cafe and effectively cemented our stay as an excellent one.
As a final activity for the day, Ahmed and I rolled into town, blinking at the hazy mounds of stone hidden by darkness. We stopped at a place called Soar Cafe for a late-night indulgence of chocolate-slathered treats before calling it a night.
For now, our driving is done. The entire ride seemed dreamlike and time vanished with unnatural agility.
Tomorrow, Ahmed and I will head north, seeking out a unique series of ancient, neolithic sites. But until then it’s time to rest.
So until the desert calls us once more,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written Thursday December 21st, 2023
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Ten years ago, I abandoned my military surplus store backpack for a Farpoint 40 Osprey Travel Pack. I’ve never replaced my bag since. Two years ago, I bought two more Osprey Backpacks for my younger siblings on their first tour outside the country. I have nothing but praise for Osprey Products.
