Here is a collection of videos which I captured on the way to Muzallif through Abha, some 500+ kilometer south of Jeddah. I was amazed by the scenic beauty of that area. In April when Jeddah was pretty hot and dry, this whole area had awesome weather with cool breeze and occasional thunderstorms. The roads snaking through treacherous terrain were well build, except for few patches where these were covered by landslide. In fact most roads were clear to drive through.
Our Journey took almost 12 hours to reach our destination, Muzallif, Al Qarn. The torrential rain on the way provided a great chance to refresh the memories of my native land, where I used to have such storms quite often way back in 90's during my school age.
On the way back at one point the pointed black stones on the road punctured the tire of my new Hyundai Elentra, and changing the tire in such a cold weather was not less than a challenge. Nonetheless, the experience was fantabulous (fantastic+fabulous).
The sudden hailstorm in Abha, where we stayed for an hour or so in order to meet an old friend of ours, was equally terrifying as well as mesmerizing. I thought it would break the wind shield of my new car, which of course I would least want to happen. Anyhow I started reciting some verses for the Holy book of Quran, to safeguard against any imminent disaster of at the very least a mishap. Thanks to Almighty the storm subsided within a few minutes and I was pretty relaxed.
The other obstacle on the journey back home was the thick fog that had engulfed the whole area. On top of it, it was pitch black at night, and the roads were quite unfamiliar and dangerous. Since I had only been behind the wheel for a short time, and in fact it was the first time ever had an experience of a long drive, I gave up driving and requested my friend (the man with white turban in the video) to take driver's seat. He had to drive very slowly and cautiously.
As the night deepened, drowsiness stated taking over the driver. Those were the most horrifying moments of the journey when Night, Fog and Doziness seemed have been conspiring against us. We kept moving at a slow speed. I and my other fellow passenger (We were three altogether) kept on talking loudly and tried to engaged the driver to avoid any accident. When my friend diving the car reached the end of his tether and it seemed he couldn't keep himself awake, I took his place and asked him to take a little nap at the back seat.
After some time the fog started to give way and the roads straightened up, I picked up the speed and covered a considerable distance. Probable after an hour or so I started feeling the attack of sleepiness. The other two had gone to sleep. Soon I found a Masjid by the roadside and and pulled over to fresh up. I awoke up the other sleepers too and handed over the responsibility of driving to my other colleague. By now had taken sufficient rest and was fresh again. He continued the remaining journey for five to six hours and we returned home safely early in the morning.
Here is the link to the Hailstorm Video!
No comments:
Post a Comment