Thanks for the replies.

If any of you are that serious about a visit (i.e., if you "miss the smell of the desert" as Missfirecracker elegantly put it) and a tourist visa is hard to get, I think that you could easily get tourist visas for Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. I know that the countries are not like Saudi, but at least it gives a chance to experience something that closely resembles Saudi. You could hop onto the Saudi/Bahrain King Fahd causeway bridge and enjoy some quality time at the Saudi border on the bridge. Yes, you wouldn't be able to walk the streets or shops of Saudi or drive through the residential and school areas where you may have spent your childhood - the true memories that you want to live again. But at least a few neighboring countries come close to the standard of Saudi lifestyle.

Another idea - it is possible to sneak in a little nostalgic tourist play in Jeddah while on a Hajj visa.

I miss the smell of the desert. I heard these tourist visas are quite difficult to get!

I heard you can go for visit as a tourist to Khobar and Riyadh.