A day exploring Bahrain...

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Back on the road for another amazing trip! If you want to discover the world, you do it one step at a time, and today is another step. I was dropping Tiffany at school last Monday, spend my day playing golf in amazing Kloof and Zimabali. On Tuesday morning, visited a friend in Dubai, than skied at Mall of the Emirates....on Tuesday afternoon, it was partying at the bar of the A380 on Emirates. From Tuesday to Saturday, I was happy home...running all around. And here we are, it's Saturday night, and I'm landing past midnight in Manama.



I've been to Doha and many times to Dubai, but it was a first in Bahrain. My ticket was not really a regular one, so took some negotiations to have Gulf Air putting me in a decent hotel, taking care of the visa, transfers, meals....but it was soon done...a nice smile can help a lot in the middle of the night!



I was in bed by 2am at the Golden Tulip in Downtown Manama, with my next flight only at 9pm the same day. Few hours sleep and I was ready to explore one more Gulf State. Nice breakfast, and up I was...ready to walk miles around. It's middle of the winter, so daytime temperature is truly enjoyable for a leisurely walk. I spent my morning first exploring the National Museum. There is not a lot to visit in Bahrain, so I went straight to the top sites. The museum has some art, and a huge part explaining the culture of the people of Bahrain. Nicely done, learn some about the pearl business.



Next, it was done to Al Fateh Grande Mosque. No idea if I could visit it or not being a non-Muslim. But here, what a surprise! You will not be alone in alone, but a guide will escort you and show you around. I ended up spending over an hour and half visiting, and listening, learning about Islam. I today world, the only way to understand the geopolitics, is to understand how the politics and people, nations and religions works. This place was excellent to learn a lot...to have an open discussion...and also to charmingly disagree on few points.



I went back to the Golden Tulip for a nice local buffet lunch, had a small break from the few miles walked in the morning, and headed later to discover the Souq. Well, Bahrain is the poorer cousin of Qatar and UAE, and it does show here. Was not really impressed by my tour of the local Souq...you can't have it all.



There are few Old Forts around Bahrain, but I decided to keep myself to walking today, so no visit to any of those. By 6pm, it was already time for me to get picked up...nice private car ride to the airport. With a little organization, the only budget for today visit of Bahrain, was a whopping 3usd, the entry fee to the National Museum.



I may not put Bahrain on my wishlist in the future, but I was happy to have had more than a pleasant day here. Next stop, a really short 20 minutes flight, and some bubbles on the way!

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