I Packed My Bag- Things That You Should Bring With You to KSA

I remember the night when I was all awake even though it was already 1 in the morning and my flight to Riyadh  was in eight hours. I stood there, my bunker of a  suitcase open and a bunch of my stuff spread all over the room. I had 20 kilograms available, a ton of things and I was traveling to a place where I have never been before. So naturally, I was asking myself: What am I really supposed to bring with me and what to leave behind (aside from the obvious sun glasses and sun screen)?

For those of you who might face the same issue, I have come up with a list of things that I did bring and some things that I wish I would have brought. If any of my local readers think I have forgotten something, please feel free to let me know in the comments! 🙂

 

1. Warm clothes

Yes, I know that Saudi Arabia is as hot as hell and that the country is in the middle of the desert but hey, there is such a thing as winter in this country, too! Starting in October it will become significantly cooler and you will need more than just summer dresses, shorts and t- shirts. I suggest you bring a jacket or two and some warm sweaters. Fifteen degrees celsius in this country are way cooler than anywhere in Europe.

2. An umbrella

Again, I know that we live in the middle of sun and sand but it does actually rain here. The thing is that once it does rain here, it rains PROPERLY. So properly that if you have a pavilion standing in your garden that has a roof made of fabric, chances are that roof will not survive the rainfall, even though the rain here usually last for maybe 15-20 minutes. Sometimes longer though. You may also consider bringing appropriate jackets and water resistant shoes for such a case.

3. Proper shoes

There are not many sidewalks here and if you live in a compound, chances are you will not be outside very much because you let the negative media brain wash you into believing that walking on the streets in this country is extremely dangerous (spoiler alert: it isn’t!). If you are courageous enough though and do go outside to walk you will find that the streets are not in the best condition and there might be the one or the other hurdle to overcome. As you can guess, this point is dedicated especially to the ladies: Fortget about the high heels and bring sneakers or moccasins. That will be much more practical.

4. Conservative clothes

Saudi culture is very different from the western one. Even though you can find western clothes in every shop here in Riyadh, you would not necessarily wear them openly in public. It is advisable for men to wear long pants while women will be obligated to wear an abaya or a long, wide dress when outside. However, you might consider some modest every day life clothes in case you are invited to the house of a local family. It is very likely that they will appreciate if you dress modestly, meaning no shorts or strapless tops or anything of that sort. Just try and look presentable. Presentable the Arab way. All that may certainly depend on the people you are visiting, whether they are conservative or not, but it still might be useful to keep these cultural differences in mind. After all, you never know.

5. Cash

It is not so common here to pay for things using your credit card so I suggest you have actual cash with you. Chances are that in some places cards won’t be accepted or you will be asked to go to the next ATM and get actual cash.  For those who don’t know, the local currency is the Saudi Riyal. One euro is about five Saudi riyals.

6. A cooling vest

Saudi Arabia is a very hot country and especially during the summer months it will be almost impossible to be outside without sweating waterfalls after the first two minutes. I can imagine that men are less likely to wear these outside over regular clothes, which is why I have another reason why the abaya is so practical. You may want to get a cooling vest, that will keep your temperature at a reasonable level and help you survive the heat outside. Just wear it under your abaya and life will be a little easier.

7. Classic gelatine (those of you who are into baking)

Most of you are probably wondering why I am putting this one here. What does gelatine have to do with anything? Well, I have a friend here who makes professional cakes and for most of her creations she uses gelatine to make the outer decorations or coating. However, it seems like you will not find any classic gelatine powder here. They have gelatine in all possible flavours but probably not the one you are looking for and the one they have is not of the best quality either. So, if you are into baking, bring your own gelatine.

8. A socket adapter

You can surely buy these here, which would probably make more sense but let’s say you arrive in Saudi and you have no time to go buy stuff, but you really need to charge that phone or  laptop or else it dies. The sockets here are different from the European ones which I didn’t know before and so I found myself not being able to charge/ use  my phone until I found an adapter. If you want to avoid such a situation, I suggest you try to find this thing at home and bring at least one with you. Just in case. They look something like this.