Saudi Arabia, Here We Come!

Tuesday for us can only be described as a 'big day out"!

We collected friends John and Margaret before 10 am on Tuesday (yesterday) and headed south to Brisbane and beyond.  Margaret was interested to learn more about Costco and as we were heading to Brisbane, popping in to Costco on the return journey home seemed a great idea.

But first we headed around 20k's south of Brisbane to a one of a kind store for this part of the world called "Amira's Abayas".  Amira didn't usually open on Tuesday but said she would pop down to her shop around 11 am this Tuesday and help us out.

She arrived in her car just after 11, covered from head to toe in traditional middle eastern female clothing.  She was in her mid 30'sm, bright and bubbly and having a great time with her happy nature and disposition.  She was so helpful and gave some good advice on what Trish could wear.

So after around 20 minutes and some good laughs we bought Trish's 'abaya' for her to wear when in we are in Saudi Arabia and outside of the KAUST compound.

Surprisingly the shop was only 10 minutes from Sunnybank and the Malaya Corner Restaurant.  This part of the world was a bit of an eye opener for our friends as we wandered around the Asian grocery, the butchers and had a look around the various eateries.

The meal was sensational.  Char Koay Teow, a seafood stirfry, lobak,rotis and a Moroccan Coconut Chicken curry.  John and I enjoyed a stubby, the ladies a wine and Diet Coke and the bill was under $90.  Our friends enjoyed it very much.  Each dish was so different but so tasty. It is a shame it is so far away from Caloundra.

Then we headed into Brisbane to buy a couple of "Shoo-Aways".  One of John's had stopped working and we had been promising ourselves to buy a couple when the first chance arose.  So we bought three of them.  You can find out more about a 'Shoo Away' here.

We don't get a lot of flies here on the Sunshine Coast.  But when a few decide to arrive and spoil drinks and nibblies, these gadgets quickly solve the problem!

The last stop off was Costco.  It helped our friends to decide it was worth the $60 joining fee.  I think they came away confident it was worth the money to become 'members'. We topped up with lamb cutlets, smoked salmon and other good deals.  Filling the car up with fuel saved another $5 off the total costs as well.

So ended a great fun and eventful day! It was around 4:30 by the time we put the car back in the garage.

It has been showery but I managed a bike ride easily enough this morning (Wednesday).  The pool was around 26º this morning and it should get back up to 28º or so later this afternoon.  We are really enjoying the cooler nights we are experiencing at the moment.  With showers of rain and warm sunshine, the grass in the lawns and the parks seems to grow as you look at it!