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Blogs from Manama, Bahrain, Middle East
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November 17th 2012
Overnight flight from London to Bahrain (new destination) was OK. As I have 5 hours to kill before next flight to Kathmandu, I thought checking into the Business lounge would be a sensible option. $26 later and I have free access to showers, food, newspapers and peace and quiet. Shame there is no beer included! Many of fellow business class lounge lizards have been casting the occasional glance at me as I pad around the lounge in my socks. Due to space and weight concerns I travelled in my walking boots and full winter gear (as it is quite heavy), which are now sitting in the corner having a rest. How many plates of croissants is considered too many I wonder. I limit my croissant eating to just 3 plates.....well I need to get my $26 ... read more
September 28th 2012
Made it to Bahrain on Sept 17. Norfolk to JFK to London to Manama, Bahrain. Here are a few pics. Sometimes thay do not like you to take pictures so most of them are from the bus.... read more
May 25th 2012
This small Arab nation is to be found in the Persian Gulf. If you travel back to times of yore, you will know that Bahrain has influences from places like Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Babylonians and of course the Arabs. Bahrain Tourist Information guide is certainly a guiding star as to knowing much about the history of Bahrain. History in Bahrain is a fascinating voyage into the makings of a country and its coming of age.... read more
A flight from Switzerland to Kuala Lumpur can take 50 hours - or: a chaotic stopover in Bahrain
Published: January 24th 2012Middle East » Bahrain » Manama
January 9th 2012
Finally, we were ready for a longer trip again. We were happy as hell! After having worked a lot in the last year, it was really time for us to leave our daily lifes in Switzerland for a while. Well, it was just for 2 weeks. But this is better than nothing. Having just made the first steps with our own company our budget and our time was limited. But we definitely needed a break and free our minds of all the business struggeling. Do not get us wrong, we love our business - but nothing can beat travelling. From Bern in Switzerland we took a 1,5 hours train ride to the airport of Geneva. It was our first flight with Gulf Air ever. The flight from Geneva to Bahrain was quite comfortable and short. Happily ... read more
August 26th 2011
We had only 22 hours in Bahrain, but it was plenty of time (assuming we were willing to forgo a bit of sleep) to see a few of the more popular sights. We arrived late at night and by the time we got to our hotel (The Diplomat Radisson, close to the airport) it was after midnight. The flight from Kuala Lumpur was over 3,700 miles and took nearly 8 hours, but Gulf Air seems to be a nice airline and once the flight attendants knew I was a sister flight attendant, I received first class service, even in coach. It would be awesome if I could one day return the favor! The Gulf Air flight attendants are wonderful and their uniforms are flawless, right down to their beautiful hats. After a short night, we were ... read more
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March 22nd 2011
At the Arabian Gulf sits the small archipelago consist of 13 major islands. It is one of the oil producing countries with the biggest oil reserves and it's monetary unity is the dinar. It is being ruled by monarch. The royalty which ruled the muslim nation for more 30 years. Recently riots in the streets particularly the Pearl round-a-bout is at the center or world media and politics. The majority Shiite muslims wants to overthrow the Sunni ruling monarch. A martial law imposed and some people died in the protest which is rampant in the middle east including Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Yemen and more recently Libya. There's nothing much to see in Manama. It's a rich emirate/state-nation but it will only be fully developed in the next ten years. It's way backward to it's neighboring Dubai ... read more
March 12th 2011
I returned to Bahrain from Dubai Thursday evening and just hung out with Dan and Jason. Turns out that Dan is an excellent cook and he made a wonderful chicken curry. He says that when he is back in California with his wife that he does all of the cooking! Jason really knows how to pick a roommate. We had a leisurely start Friday morning which is the first day of the weekend here. Then Jason and I headed south into the desert in search of adventure. Our main objective was the Bahrain Oil Museum. Along the way we stopped at a major landmark called "The Tree of Life". This is a large old tree (no one seems to know how old). Which is growing right out of the desert sand! As is typical in Bahrain, ... read more
March 11th 2011
This is just a break from sightseeing. Jason's job involves supporting US Navy submarine activities in the Persian Gulf. There has been a submarine and a tender in port for the last few days. Jason and Dan organize what they call a "Rug Flop" to give the visiting sailors a chance to by an oriental rug. Jason has become friends with a local rug merchant named Abdul Wahed Abdulla. It turns out that if you want to buy an oriental rug, Bahrain is the place to do it and many visitors know this and want to buy one. The Rug Flop is a combination social event and rug sale. The idea is that the party saves the sailors from having to shop from store to store and haggle for price. There is catered Arabian food and ... read more
March 7th 2011
Jason and his friend Dan are renting a house from a Bahraini man. He was originally planning to live in it himself with his family so it is very traditional and very well appointed. Many of the homes and apartments in this area were built to be rented to U.S. service people. We are only about a mile from the naval base where about 3,000 naval personnel are stationed. The house is quite large with five bedrooms and a separate apartment over the garage. I have attached a couple of pictures to give some idea of the decor. The house is in the main city of Manama which is in the NE corner of the island and we are in a neighborhood called Jufair. I think there is a map on this site which you can ... read more
March 7th 2011
This afternoon Jason and I went to see the Grand Mosque. This site is analogous to the main cathedral in any Christian town. It is relatively new (22 years) but built in the classic style. I was surprised that they offer tours for non-muslims. We were guided by a very knowledgeable and articulate woman who learned her English at Oxford where she completed an advanced degree in English Literature! She was Egyptian by birth but has lived in Bahrain most of her life. She explained the architecture and the significance of the the design. You may know that Islam prohibits the depiction of humans and animals in any art form. So Islamic artists tend to compensate by developing very complex patterns and designs. She took us from the main entrance courtyard into the prayer hall with ... read more
