Supermarket in Rakah compound

The commissary on camp is usefull but has not a very broad choice.
Also fresh fruits and veggies are typically double/triple the price compared with Hyperpanda or Lulu with a limited assortment and limited turnover.

Bus schedule deleted. Bus schedules are not posted in this public forum. anyone wanting a bus schedule can contact CIC and acquire one. Thank you. - vpainter

For more flexibility, there is also the possibility to book a taxi, preferably on camp for safety reasons with Samara, a bit more expensive than 'normal cab' but ways safer.

You can also go to the veggies market in Dammam.

atactic,

The store on site is Lulu's and the prices they charge are the same as other Lulu's. What might be different is the selection of limited stock that they make: for example providing US imported cherry tomatoes rather than local ones where both would be available in a larger store. This can really push the price up, but they are getting better and are quite responsive to feedback from residents. If you are willing to wait a day, you can order anything you like from the cashier.

The supermarket, Lulu's here is ok - a bit pricey for sure. If you need something other than what they have available and haven't ventured out from Rakah, you can ask to see if they can bring it in from the bigger Tamimi market. I've had no problems in this regard. They seem to want to help. The produce is good unless you want lettuce. I think tripping the stuff from one store to the next is hard on the lettuce.

Also ALL the water here, bottled or not, has Fluoride in it. So, if you are not wanting that chemical in your water (as I don't) all your water has to be filtered either by a brita, a zero water or buy your own water cooler that has a filter on it. They sell them off the UK websites. The one they will sell you at Lulu's here for 100SAR is not filterable. Ours should be here in a few weeks. At the moment we are taking the bottled water from our dispenser and pouring it into a Zero water to remove this chemical before using. If you are thinking of filtering the tap water for this purpose, you might as well buy a whole-house Hague unit for about 5,000$USD and get permission to install it/pay for the install in your utility shed - which has no roof- so bring covering for it to protect it from sand/rain if necessary. It has to be easily removable when you leave though. No other filtration system will do you any sort of economic good on the water coming from the tap if you plan to drink it. The shower filters are reasonably good for a while - bring several. There are 4 showers here. The utility shower has no walls so if you have a pet it's great to wash them there. Just close the door and let her rip... As noted in a previous post, bring your shower filters and any zero water or brita filters in your airline bags (checked bags) if you don't want fluoride in your water, along with 'other stuff' in the tap water, as soon as you get here. Good luck and Welcome!

Having recently arrived in Rakah and gone through the process of perception changing to reality, I'd like to chime in on the water situation lest someone find another reason to be nervous innecisarily.

The potable water recently underwent an unplanned inspection by a third party expert. The findings were published company wide and the results were a mix of complimenary or well within acceptable levels. I'm not an expert on flouride, but it is very commonly added to water in the US. I do remember concerns in my community being raised regarding some who have allergies related to flouride, but a doctor commented that the levels of flouride added to the water system were so minute that an adverse reaction, even among those with allergies, would be very unlikely.
We cook with the tap water and certainly bathe in it, but after reading so much apprehension about the water quality, we drink from the chilled water dispenser purchased from lulu's because its hard to get over our initial perception that the water is bad and could make you sick. Our group of friends who have been here longer than us say that if anything, you may see some rust in the water if you've been away for a few days or havnt used that particular tap recently.
Again, I'm not an expert and I'm not trying to invalidate others opinions. I just don't think the water quality at Rakah is even close to the top of the list of things you should have on your mind while your taking your family through such a huge transition.