At the airport. Departing Bahrain. Parting thoughts.

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I love Bahrain. I must admit this. All military thought aside, this is a great country. It has all the makings of a great country. First, the people. The Bahraini people are awesome! So happy! You can tell the Bahraini from the Saudi's just by look. The Bahraini are generally fat and almost always smiling! Bahraini love people. They have hardly ever met someone who wasn’t their friend. When they meet you, or you meet many of them, they shake hands with everyone in the group. The Bahraini love 'Genuine' people, because they are genuine people. It is no wonder they get along well with Westerners. They generally get along well with everyone. Also, they appreciate the finer things in life: good food, good company, and good women.

The food. I love the food here. There is more variety here than in the states and the local dishes are traditional Arabic food are wonderful. There is such a beautiful blend of spices. The Indian food here, with its aromatic rice and spicy meats, is very good. So is the Thai food, though at times, I must admit, it scares me a little. I must trust that the cook knows what she is doing. My favorite Arabic dish is Shiesh Touk (sheesh-took) and I love the Arabic flat bread, Naan. Shiesh Touk is basically well flavored and grilled chicken usually served with flat bread or fries. My favorite Lebanese food is, of course, the Schwarma, but freshly friend falafel with taboula (fresh chopped salad) and bread with humus is a close second.

The nightlife here is awesome! I've been trying to figure out why they call Bahrain the "Las Vegas" of the Middle East. At first I thought there must be casinos here and gambling. But, as far as I can tell, there isn’t even one. I think it's because Bahrain is an Arabic "sin city." Pretty much all the world's vices are tolerated here to varying degrees. Drugs of course are outlawed, but drinking and smoking are legal. And, they do it well. Sheesha is everywhere and it's some of the best I've ever had. All flavors of course, and generally well tended. Surprisingly, or not know Arabic men, Bahraini men, or just men in general, women are a very key part of Bahrain night life. They are everywhere. Every bar has "juicy" girls to attend to you. Every club has dancing girls, and every Thai girl that isn’t serving your food is probably for hire. Everyone in the region knows this and yet it is surprisingly discreet. All drinking and dancing must be done indoors and almost always (there are very few exceptions) in or attached to a hotel. It's almost as if only visitors do this sort of distasteful conduct, not the well mannered locals. And yet, they openly (in private conversation) want to be a part. Truly I can appreciate their discretion, and even applaud them for it.

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