one thing i love in al-khobar, saudi arabia is when the big stores like mall of dhahran and rashid mall go on sale.  the only chance i get to visit the malls is when i am to go for days off, a day before my flight going home to manila whilst coming from my remote area assignment where i work.

so after arriving in town from the heliport and checking in at the hotel, i went straight to the mall to hunt for my bargains.  i had good finds of shirts and denims from topman, zara, next and shoes and accessories from aldo.  there were a number of security guards that i noticed roaming around so i was not able to take photos and i didn’t want to risk myself ending up in saudi jail for snapping a picture (you know how paranoid they seem to be sometimes).

i had a bad encounter though at zara wherein a denim pants (which took me half an hour to choose!) was tagged with a deducted amount but when i paid for it (including the shirts i got), i noticed that they charged me for the original price!  i told the cashier that the item is on sale and i showed him the tag – then he said it is a new collection and not included as a sale item as he removed the sticker on the tag that says 120 riyals!  WTF!  i knew i turned red and told him i no longer want it and asked for a refund for the pants!  he then printed another receipt, let me sign in my name and mobile number and was trying to explain to me the receipt that just made me confused.  he then proceeded on the next customer and noticed i was still at the counter and told me, “you don’t understand?”  i told him as calmly as i could (the last thing i would want is to create a scene inside the store), “you still have my shirts.”  this time he was the one who looked confused as i pointed out at the black zara plastic bag beside him at the counter and said, “i paid for those shirts.”  he hurriedly handed me the bag and i exited the store feeling shitty.

anyway, i got good deals from topman like a 40 riyal pants and 20 riyal cotton shirts, which was not really that bad.  shopping for bargains is supposed to be a fun thing to do for me and i did not let that moment be ruined by that incident at zara’s.