Living In Aramco - Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

This coming July'08 will be Azlan's 5th. anniversary with Aramco. Not bad..he got a SR1500 gift certificate and for sure..you know who will it be going to..May Allah swt. make it easy for him in anything that he do...anyway..when we first got here we were the first Malaysian family... although there were 1/2 Malaysians too..those married to another passport holder. There were those who were Msian but has now become holders of other country citizenship. But after 5 years there are now about 50++ families scattered in Dhahran, Udhailiyah, Ras Tanura and Abqaiq...Dhahran being the most populated and nearer to the Al-Khobar and Dammam and just a causeway away abt 45mins from the country of Bahrain. So..I guess those who got to stay in Dhahran got the better deals in terms of amenities..although you can be easily tempted with all the sale that is always going on. Probably those who stay in other camps will be able to save more money compared to us here Dhahranians... No matter what..I guess in Aramco that's where you can find the most varied citizens from around the world..just go to the schools and you know what I mean..the most mixed marriages...all in all it is quite a unique community.

Honestly...I dont venture out of the house much as I am without any help at home...got to do the 1001 things myself that the house and family needed..almost always 24 hrs on call...but basically no complaint as I got my equal share of fun the way I want it..But 3 mornings in a week I attended classes...this got me going and meet more fun people..like minded in the way we want to learn new things..so got to make sure I can maintain the consistency of going to the Quran & Arabic classes...There are always something going on..like the Womens Group..Garden Group and plus if you volunteer in schools for certain activities. You might end up having no time to devote to what your house or family need...sometimes I have a houseboy come to clean the windows and toilets etc..but since he's back to India not sure till when..I havent yet get a replacement...On camp there also have a few snack bars, a cafe, a restaurant, a dining hall, a movie theater, swimming pools..hiking tracks..sporst facility, library, bowling alley, golf field, a hobby farm for horses..beautiful beach when its not hot... a great wall climbing area, art classes, individuals who also provide services like gifts, beauty, piano lessons, dance...you name it and almost always its available.. so life here is not too bad..once you get bored with not finding anything to do you can always go away for a short or long holiday. We were in Lon&Paris for 2 weeks, now planning for a 5week trip to Malaysia and in between maybe umrah to Makkah, weekend in Bahrain..thats what sums up your life here....

But the things you will almost always miss being here are relatives and the time....the food you once love but in actual fact not that healthy for you always..though it taste great and looks wonderful...But for me, the best thing will be seeing my children grow from my own nurturing... seeing more smiles each day between us...although the age is now slowly creeping up...