The Rainbow Roundabout

Gemma and I spent my last weekend in Dammam trying to do all the things that we always said we would do but never got around to doing.  The Rainbow Roundabout was one of those things.  Very near my new accommodations is a roundabout with a giant rainbow colored sculpture in the middle.  We always joke about it being the Saudi tribute to gay rights, but it is probably just something some prince wanted put up.  A few blocks down the road is another equally strange sculpture that reminds some people of lady parts, but I don't see it.  Maybe they wanted it to match the cultural center that is still under construction, but already looks very phallic. Maybe people are just trying to be innovative and modern with the architecture, but I can't help but think that many of the ideas for these designs stem from the repressed sexuality inherent in a closed society.

In a car, the Rainbow Roundabout seems really close to my place.  It's about 2 min. away.  So I figured it wouldn't be too hard to walk there.  The thing you always forget when walking anywhere in Saudi Arabia, is that A.  It is really hot, and B. There is scary traffic.  

Gemma and I started off early to avoid the hottest part of the day.  At least, that was the original plan.  Of course, it was the weekend, and after a late night of playing card games, we ended up sleeping in, so it was after 10 before we actually left.  We were doing pretty well in the beginning and made our way through some side streets to avoid the traffic of the main highway and because I had seen from the main road that there was a sort of park somewhere around, I just couldn't tell where exactly.  Turns out, we had turned in one block too soon, so when we turned again to head back toward the main road we could see it, now one block back in the other direction.  Neither of us wanted to head back that way, so we decided we would look for it on the way back instead.

Even though we hadn't gone very far yet, we were both already pretty hot, so when we arrived back at the main road, the decision to take a break by going inside an air-conditioned store was unanimous.  It was a store called "Nice" which seemed to be a Bed Bath and Beyond type store.  We took our time smelling candles and touching soft towels.  We even went to the upper level which sold bedspreads and vacuum cleaners and suitcases.  I checked out the suitcases since mine could only be sewed up so many times, but they were very expensive.

Walking into oncoming traffic to reach the illusive Rainbow Roundabout

Once we were thoroughly chilled, we headed back outside.  Since no one ever walks anywhere here, there are no sidewalks, except right in front of stores.  It wasn't long before we ran out of stores.  Soon it was just us walking on the shoulder of a big highway against traffic.  Luckily, it's never that busy in the morning on a weekend, so there weren't a lot of cars. Still, there were enough cars to make us slightly fear for our lives.  To get to the roundabout, we first had to cross to the median, then cross onto the circle in the center.  I would put it at about a level 5 in the Frogger game.  It was not as bad as it seemed.  We made it across to the median with only one near miss, and the cross to the circle in the middle of the roundabout was actually pretty easy.

Me in front of the the Rainbow Roundabout

The minute we stepped onto the grass in that central circle it was like Heaven. I took my sandles off to feel the green grass between my toes. The sprinklers were on, so Gemma ran just out of reach of the spray trying to time it so that she always followed a rotation instead of being hit by it.  I guess she wasn't quite done playing frogger yet.  I didn't mind it and found myself purposely jumping into range.  I haven't run through the sprinklers since I was a kid, and frankly, I needed to feel a little like a kid again for a while. We walked around the sculpture and I took pictures from all different angles.  Then I tried to climb up onto it.  Unfortunately, the wall was too high and too slippery to climb, especially in wet flip-flops.

Rainbow Roundabout at Night

So we contented ourselves with pictures from afar.  It definitely looked better from far away anyway, since all the paint was peeling.  It looked even better at night when it was all lit up with the colors changing every minute or so.  It was even lit in all green lights for National Day.

I'm sure we were quite a spectacle for all the cars passing by on the roundabout, and more than a few cars took multiple loops around, probably trying to figure out what those crazy foreigners were doing out there. But we didn't care.  The walk home wasn't nearly as bad as the walk there either since we were soaking wet by the time we left. It didn't take long to dry though.  We decided to walk home on the opposite side of the street, and by the time we reached the halfway point, we were practically dry.

Gemma with S&M pillows

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We decided we might as well stop in at another giant store and check out the AC in this one.  This place was more like a department store.  We thought we would check for luggage here too, but we had no such luck.  We did find S&M pillows though, which is extra bizarre in such a conservative society.  I mean, how can you have S&M themed pillows in the same store that blurs out the faces of women and young girls in its advertising?  I still haven't gotten used to seeing those kind of ads.  I mean, wouldn't you be better off just not featuring women or girls in your ads in the first place?

By the time we got back to my house, we were feeling pretty tired.  We had somehow managed to pass about four hours outside in the hottest part of the day.  We didn't mind though.  After all, for a few more days anyway, we still had a pool we could jump in, and AC that didn't cause electrical fires.  I was really going to miss this place, and the good friends I had made in it.  Whatever happens, I'm glad I got to have these experiences.