I have had an interesting experience during my holiday in Dammam. It didn't start with a big bang at all,but rather with some chinese medicine and health tips.
On my way to Dammam, I met an interesting Chinese man, his name is Frank. Well, most people will say to me, "zim you like meetin random people". However this man was not random at all, actually he was extra ordinary.
We were both sitting at the Al Jouf airport waiting for our flight from Jouf to Jeddah. Somehow we started talking, he told me he was from China and that he came to Saudi for telecommunication business.
It was nice to see a different face and to hear a different story about travels and cultures.
The moment I said that I was from South Africa, his eyes widened and we started sharing the love of our countries.
He told me about how difficult life is in China, when there are other billion people trying to prove a point, it forces anyone to work harder to get the job.
On the plane, we talked about health. He gave me all the health tips I needed to stay healthy and to keep fit. He said "drink lots of milk, eat lots of yoghurt and avoid sugar". He said that honey is the best cure for anything. After that he told me that eating garlic is healthy but can also be useless and just give you bad breath. He said that most people like to just peel the garlic and eat it like that, whole. From his experience and chinese healing knowledge, he said that that is the worse way to eat garlic. You should peel the garlic, cut it up into small pieces, leave it for 20 minutes until the garlic changes colour and then eat it. That is the best way to benefit from its healing powers. I was really indulging in his knowledge of medicine and how we can use ordinary home foods to give us the health and protect us from disease.
After that he gave me a small bottle with green liquid inside of it, he said whenever you are feeling stressed or even sick, you should tap a bit of the green liquid in the side of your temples, at the bottom of your nose and on your forehead, it will make you feel better. I took the green medicine and placed it in my bag. I really enjoyed hearing all about it.
He also said after you eat, you need to drink hot green tea, it helps to break the fatty foods down, helps to clean your stomach and good for digestion.
I swear that he read me like an open book, as if he knew that I was trying to find health remedies to make my life easier in the desert.
I have been suffering from numerous problems since I arrived in Jouf. Most of all dry skin! I am telling you, it is the combination of dry air and bathing in hot sea water that will give you a skin that looks like a prune.
I have had rashes appear on my back, my left leg and on my left hand. I thought that I might have a skin disorder. However the chemist and most doctors have told me, it is just dry skin. They all gave me an ointment to help me keep the rashes out.
However, none of them worked really well. Now that I have come to Dammam, the rash that annoyed me on my hand has almost dissapeared. That is the cure! The cure is moist air, moist and humid air. Dammam is just that, moist and humid due to the sea. My skin has never felt as soft and moisurized just by going outside and sweating.
I have also gone back to traditional African remedies, like "coco butter".. as you know Africans swear by it. It is the number one lotion that will lock the moisture in and leaving your skin soft and supple. Another "traditional" lotion or skin ointment I have gone back to is vasaline. That blue label tub is the best to keep the skin as soft as a baby's bottom without any side effects.
I have thrown away half of the lotions I have bought to fight this dry epidemic and have gone back to what I know best.
This is just a simple insight about the little things that people don't tell you when you come to Saudi. Dryness! Especially in Riyadh and in the north of Saudi. Your feet will look like you have been a hippy for the past 5 years and have been walking barefeet. So ladies make sure to bring some serious lotions that will beat the dryness.
Dammam's climate and geographical location is perfect to get moisture and to keep things supple. It is humid, like your clothes sometimes stick to your body, but it keeps the body moist and sweating which is the best way to keep dry rashes,sand rashes and anything that will make you look beaten up, chewed up and then spat out.
I was lucky to have made my way to a spa in Skakah,which is opened by the princess herself. This spa provides all kinds of treatments, you name it, from pedicures to captules that will make you lose weight.
I opted for a pedicure and what a choice I made. That philipino lady scrubbed my feet till she couldn't anymore. She removed all the dead skin due to dryness and wearing sandles away. She told me the best way to keep my feet moist and protected was to put some glycerine on my feet with socks every night. I must say she did a darn good job of making my feet look eatable:)
So, for those that are coming to the north of Saudi, Riyadh or anywhere in the middle of Saudi, make sure you pack your skin lotions in and prepare yourself for a climate that can sometimes be harsh.
The Saudi ladies go to the spa to get their treatment, but I think that you can also treat yourself at the comfort of your home.
So take the tips and see what is best for you.
On my way to Dammam, I met an interesting Chinese man, his name is Frank. Well, most people will say to me, "zim you like meetin random people". However this man was not random at all, actually he was extra ordinary.
We were both sitting at the Al Jouf airport waiting for our flight from Jouf to Jeddah. Somehow we started talking, he told me he was from China and that he came to Saudi for telecommunication business.
It was nice to see a different face and to hear a different story about travels and cultures.
The moment I said that I was from South Africa, his eyes widened and we started sharing the love of our countries.
He told me about how difficult life is in China, when there are other billion people trying to prove a point, it forces anyone to work harder to get the job.
On the plane, we talked about health. He gave me all the health tips I needed to stay healthy and to keep fit. He said "drink lots of milk, eat lots of yoghurt and avoid sugar". He said that honey is the best cure for anything. After that he told me that eating garlic is healthy but can also be useless and just give you bad breath. He said that most people like to just peel the garlic and eat it like that, whole. From his experience and chinese healing knowledge, he said that that is the worse way to eat garlic. You should peel the garlic, cut it up into small pieces, leave it for 20 minutes until the garlic changes colour and then eat it. That is the best way to benefit from its healing powers. I was really indulging in his knowledge of medicine and how we can use ordinary home foods to give us the health and protect us from disease.
After that he gave me a small bottle with green liquid inside of it, he said whenever you are feeling stressed or even sick, you should tap a bit of the green liquid in the side of your temples, at the bottom of your nose and on your forehead, it will make you feel better. I took the green medicine and placed it in my bag. I really enjoyed hearing all about it.
He also said after you eat, you need to drink hot green tea, it helps to break the fatty foods down, helps to clean your stomach and good for digestion.
I swear that he read me like an open book, as if he knew that I was trying to find health remedies to make my life easier in the desert.
I have been suffering from numerous problems since I arrived in Jouf. Most of all dry skin! I am telling you, it is the combination of dry air and bathing in hot sea water that will give you a skin that looks like a prune.
I have had rashes appear on my back, my left leg and on my left hand. I thought that I might have a skin disorder. However the chemist and most doctors have told me, it is just dry skin. They all gave me an ointment to help me keep the rashes out.
However, none of them worked really well. Now that I have come to Dammam, the rash that annoyed me on my hand has almost dissapeared. That is the cure! The cure is moist air, moist and humid air. Dammam is just that, moist and humid due to the sea. My skin has never felt as soft and moisurized just by going outside and sweating.
I have also gone back to traditional African remedies, like "coco butter".. as you know Africans swear by it. It is the number one lotion that will lock the moisture in and leaving your skin soft and supple. Another "traditional" lotion or skin ointment I have gone back to is vasaline. That blue label tub is the best to keep the skin as soft as a baby's bottom without any side effects.
I have thrown away half of the lotions I have bought to fight this dry epidemic and have gone back to what I know best.
This is just a simple insight about the little things that people don't tell you when you come to Saudi. Dryness! Especially in Riyadh and in the north of Saudi. Your feet will look like you have been a hippy for the past 5 years and have been walking barefeet. So ladies make sure to bring some serious lotions that will beat the dryness.
Dammam's climate and geographical location is perfect to get moisture and to keep things supple. It is humid, like your clothes sometimes stick to your body, but it keeps the body moist and sweating which is the best way to keep dry rashes,sand rashes and anything that will make you look beaten up, chewed up and then spat out.
I was lucky to have made my way to a spa in Skakah,which is opened by the princess herself. This spa provides all kinds of treatments, you name it, from pedicures to captules that will make you lose weight.
I opted for a pedicure and what a choice I made. That philipino lady scrubbed my feet till she couldn't anymore. She removed all the dead skin due to dryness and wearing sandles away. She told me the best way to keep my feet moist and protected was to put some glycerine on my feet with socks every night. I must say she did a darn good job of making my feet look eatable:)
So, for those that are coming to the north of Saudi, Riyadh or anywhere in the middle of Saudi, make sure you pack your skin lotions in and prepare yourself for a climate that can sometimes be harsh.
The Saudi ladies go to the spa to get their treatment, but I think that you can also treat yourself at the comfort of your home.
So take the tips and see what is best for you.
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