Jeddah: Why I Got Hot But Still Glad I Saw the Red Sea
i just checked and it's 23.98°C there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. yeah, it's not winter or anything, but hey, at least aint freezing like some places. the air's thick with humidity, like a thick blanket you can't escape. hangout by the red sea if you want to feel less like a sweat-drenched ghost, but don't expect a chill breeze-the sea's hotter than a frying pan sometimes. but hey, it's not all bad. the jeddah corniche is just a short stroll or maybe a 5-minute jog if you're in decent shape. king fahd's fountain shoots water up like, how tall exactly? 300 meters? not sure, but it's impressive from afar. the crowd gets a bit chaotic around sunset, but it's hard not to feel tiny against those jets of water.
al balad’s got that tired charm. coral-built houses leaning against history, alleys old enough to watch pilgrims come and go. someone told me that these wooden walkways over the alleys? they're 19th-century stuff, built to protect the neighbors from getting soaked during rain. weird, right? i’d love to see those in person, but the new glass buildings nearby are kinda flashy. mixed feelings, you know? like old meets new, or old vs. new. hard to say.
unexpectedly, you can still find coral reefs here. not just for scuba diving pros either-some spots near the southern end of the city let you snorkel and see colorful fish. not sure how clean the water’s, but if you’re into marine life, it’s an option. a friend said something about a 'sunken fridges' spot? maybe urban legends, maybe real trash. either way, ask locals first before you wade in.
if you get bored, mecca’s just a 65k drive, medina’s 360k, taif’s a scenic 137k pop. all of them are holy places, but jeddah’s the one where you eat street food while stressing about prayer times. eat from every food cart you can. mansi architecture is everywhere-those white concrete blocks with wooden lattices? that’s the deal.
erolled my eyes when i first heard 'jeddah is boring', but then i saw the markets. souq al-ayad? yeah, sure, it's crowded. someone downtown told me the fish they sell there is fresher than you’d believe, but unless you're buying it, don't ask questions. my gut said no on that grilled octopus stand. lesson learned.
traveling here feels like wandering a neighborhood where everyone's loud, everything costs less than you expect, and the heat wears you down by noon. but then you see the sea, the coral buildings, that weird mix of old and new, and it's kinda... alive? not sure how to put it. maybe don't overthink it.
tags: travel, jeddah, middleeast, hot, map, chaos
