I had a wonderful time in Saudi with Kate and Bret and I'd have loved to have stayed much longer if it had been possible. What a great experience. I flew from Wellington to Sydney on Qantas, then Sydney to Dubai on Emirates, all of which was simple and comfortable. Unfortunately, I had to change terminals in Dubai to board a Saudi Airlines plane to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. This wasn’t much fun as, apart from the long layover, the terminal was very cold, and there were very few places to sit down. The only sweater I had brought with me was checked in and I had no cash with which to buy a cup of coffee. (Note to self – come better prepared!)

The 2-hour flight to Riyadh was easy and it was wonderful to see Kate and Bret waiting for me at the airport. The environment is very different from anything I have ever experienced with blocks of completed buildings followed by long stretches of construction with heaps of rocks and stones waiting to be developed. And sand everywhere! But October is a good month to visit and although it was hot, it was comfortably hot and there was no humidity, and lazing by the pool while Kate went to her Arabic lessons was delightful. 

Kate and Bret’s apartment is on the ground floor of a gated compound about half an hour from the centre of Riyadh (provided one doesn’t get caught up in the worst of the rush hour traffic – the standard of driving is manic). We all relaxed for the rest of Friday and Saturday which is the Saudi weekend.

Bret goes off to work very early each day. He goes to the gym at 6.00 and leaves at 7.00. Kate’s routine is to go to the gym as soon as he leaves and then on to either one of her Arabic lessons or study group sessions. 

On Sunday, the start of the working week. Kate began to teach me what to do to create a digital marketing possibility to sell my book and other courses that need to be developed.  To be honest the whole thing was a complete mystery and poor Kate had to keep explaining the same thing over and over again because I just couldn't grasp the concept. Clearly, I’ve got a lot to learn. 

On Tuesday afternoon, Kate took me to At-Turaif which is an historic district in Ad-Diriyah, founded in the 15th century, north-west of Riyadh. Diriyah was founded on the banks of Wadi Hanifah, a deep valley that runs for 120kms  from northwest to southeast, cutting through Riyadh. Strategically located at the heart of Arabia, Diriyah became the powerful First Saudi State in 1727. 

In 2010, At-Turaif, which is regarded as one of the more important political and historical sites in Saudi Arabia, came to represent the Capital of the Saudi dynasty. It was the original home of the Saudi Royal family and was the country’s first capital from 1727 until the siege of Diriyah by the Ottomans in 1818 who took control of the area. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and it is quite extraordinary.

Diriyah was abandoned in favour of Riyadh in 1818 and the area remained deserted until 2000 when the Ad-Diriyah Development Authority was commissioned to carry out an impressive restoration project. Kate and I walked through the amazing restoration and marvelled at the astonishing work that has taken place both outside and in the various museums. The family trees hidden behind sheets of glass depicted massive dynasties and the horse museum displayed a wonderful model of an Arabian horse. And the toilets were pretty interesting, and very different, too! 

When he had finished work, Bret met us for dinner at a lovely restaurant in Diriyah as we soaked up the local atmosphere and surroundings. 

On Saturday, Bret very kindly took us to the Airport to catch the 1030 plane from Riyadh to AlUla where Kate had planned a few days of indescribable luxury for us both.

We were met at the airport with the usual offering of Turkish coffee and dates (I could very easily get used to the dates!). Kate picked up the hire car and drove very confidently to the Banyan Tree Resort, about an hour north-west of AlUla International Airport.

The Resort is absolutely magnificent and I felt as if I had stepped into another world. My first impression was that we were going to be staying in tents in the desert, but nothing could have been further from the truth. The individual villas may look like tents from a distance but the interior, like our bathroom, dispels this thought very quickly! The balcony to each room is vast and shows how far we were from the nearest villa. We were able to relax outside under the canopy in the balmy weather when we weren’t out exploring.

And, the view of the sunrise in the early morning was always spectacular. We couldn’t have wished for more and I felt very indulged!

Our car was valet-parked on our arrival while we went in for lunch in the main building. From then on, we called up a buggy to take us to meals or the pool which is unfortunately in the shade until 4.00 pm in the winter. 

On our first afternoon, we went on a tour to stargaze in the centre of the desert landscape and enjoyed a Bedouin-style dinner. Our guide was very well-informed and we were able to lounge in very comfy sofas and enjoy the night sky which had very different aspects from those in New Zealand. 

The next afternoon, Kate took me for a walk around the Old Town of AlUla which is currently being reconstructed. Unfortunately, we couldn't get very far because some of it was only accessible with a guide that we hadn't organized.

However, our next destination was Elephant Rock. It’s a magnificent natural rock, standing in the middle of the desert and families arrived and just hung out. We sat and enjoyed the ambience as the sun set and the little sparkling fairy lights came on all around us. It was very magical. Finally, we dragged ourselves away and drove back into town and had dinner at a restaurant called Somewhere which was very pleasant and very cheap. 

On Monday, we decided to get up really early and drove down to Maraya, which is situated within the Banyan Tree property and is the largest glass building in the world. The photos we took before the crowds arrived doesn’t really do it justice but its sides reflect the mirrored view that they reflect and it’s an amazing phenomenon.  

After breakfast, it was time to leave for Hegra which was a fascinating dip into the past. We were transported by coach and this photo shows the vast expanse of just a fraction of the desert with our coach in the distance. Unlike what I had imagined, there are massive rocks everywhere, not just vast expanses of sand. And, as at Elephant Rock, some of the rocks depicted strange shapes, like this one resembling a head.

We walked to several vantage points to look at the rocks and caves, all a testament to the home to the Nabataens, an amazing civilisation that lived there about 2,000 years ago. They were originally nomads but over the centuries they became experts in grading, building, engineering, and farming. Camel-drawn caravans carrying incense, perfumes, spices, sugar and cotton, passed through Hegra on their way to distant cities and ports. As trade grew, the Nabataeans became increasingly wealthy and powerful and the city of Hegra emerged. They transformed the desert around them into a city much of which has since disappeared. Hegra is the largest preserved site of the Nabataean civilisation south of Petra. It is home to more than 110 tombs, carved from giant rock formations way out in the desert. The monuments on all sides and in particular the tombs, are a testament to their ingenuity. The distances between the rocks and the tombs were extensive and I was really lucky that a guy called Mohammad Ahmed materialised beside the bus at each of the 4 stops and drove me in the buggy so that I didn't have to walk huge distances over the sand. 

Back in Hegra itself, we found Hinat in the museum. She was the daughter of Wahbu, and an ancestor of Hegra. Some tombs in this area had been sealed for thousands of years by a huge sand dune. She was discovered by archaeologists along with 80 other individuals in the tomb which she made for herself, her children and descendants for ever. A team of archaeologists, academics and specialists in the fields of forensic science and modelmaking created the world’s first digital and physical reconstruction of a Nabateaean woman. Evidence suggests that she died between the first and second centuries BCE and lay in her tomb for over 2,000 years.  

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. This was a wonderfully extravagant holiday in stunning surroundings and one that I am unlikely to be able to repeat, not only because of what I had experienced but also because I had been able to experience it with Kate. We caught the plane back to Riyadh where Bret met us and brought us back to their apartment.

And after just a couple more days, it was time to go back to the airport to fly from Riyadh back to Dubai where I was lucky enough to meet up with Stephen Chesterfield, one of my brood’s childhood friends in Paremata, now working in Dubai as a physiotherapist. We had a lovely drink together and caught up with lots of family news. 

The news from Spain, however, was not so good with huge rains descending on the east coast including in Barcelona and Valencia, our first two ports. I imagined that I would have heard something if there was to be a delay so put it out of my mind.