Arriving right before Eid?

revive,

I was also planning to come after ramadan after August 10th (due to short working days and also per forum everything is slow in ramadan), but it appears that KSA wants me to arrive end of June. Lets see if I get the visa on time (per relocation agent I should be able to get it in 4-5 days).

I have the same fear that things will be real slow and it may take a while to get the normal stuff done to settle down in ramadan.

Thanks... I can accept that all the paperworks processing will be delayed. But I think as long as the basic facilities remain open, we'll be OK.

Will these remain available during the Eid break?
- Food (groceries & restaurants)
- Bank and STC store in Al-Mujammar. As long as we can still get cash and get prepaid internet. Or perhaps we should take care of this the day after we land.
- Bus services
- Car rental
- Other camp facilities, such as gyms, movie, pools.

How about the restaurants, malls & stores in Khobar & Dammamm?

Will there be people in Dhahran, or is Dhahran a ghost town during the break?

In DHA, the commissary will always be open. The dining hall will be open. The snack bars and restaurant sometimes are closed for a couple of days and then are open or open in the evening. The gyms are open, as are the pools.

The bank will close, but the ATMs will still work. Check with your bank on how much you can withdraw in each 24 hour period. You may need them to raise that for you.

Cannot remember if the movie theater is closed a couple of days or all the days or not at all.

Buses continue to run on schedule. Call bus info number on the phone list that will be in your house on arrival and check times. They sometimes adjust them through Ramadan and the Eid.

Malls and stores will have Ramadan and Eid hours and sales will be going on. Some stores will be closed the first couple of days and then will open. They each do their own thing.

You will be able to get some of the things down prior to the 7th.

Majestic taxis will run throughout, I do not know if their leasing office will be open. So check right after arrival. You just need your Aramco ID and my friends leased one with the temporary one he received at the airport the day after they arrived. Depends on availability of a car.

If you and the family end up suffering from jet lag, those days off will be a great for your adjusting.

Welcome to Aramco!

it's probably worthwhile mentioning, that coming in the Eid Al Adha holidays (at the moment - Oct, but shifts each year), can also be an issue. Bascially, it's almost 9 days off. This year, people work the sunday, but mon-thurs is a public holiday.

I was at Dhahran mall on tues, and it was a ghost town. The Panda Hypermarket was the only thing going, at 10am. Full of dumb expats (like me), thinking their back home!
Stores in Dhahran mall listed these hours;
Tues: 4pm to 12am, wed: 2pm to 12am, thurs: 9am to (I think) 12am. Mon I imagine is a write-off, but I do not know. Wasn't listed on the signs! ARAMCO buses ran regardless.

Even at 5.30pm, a little over half the shops (DH Mall) were open, though most restaurants had their doors open. The stores on the other side of the highway (IKEA, Jarir, etc) were still dead.

Anyway, I ended up in Rashid mall at that time (sick as a dog, looking for a pharmacy), which was about 70% open (Jarir bookstore, etc closed). Seems to ramp up to normality as you close in on the week-end.