Al Manzil Suites Manama

... sitting around all these businessmen...  waited on hand and foot... hot towls, Champagne, French wine, white table cloth meals...  so just when the crowds and pushing and shoving at the Cairo airport was about to make me explode, I was placated.  In conclusion, all Airlines in the US are **** compared to the service you get elsewhere, and for less money.

Out of the widow Bahrain looks like lots of dust with skyscrapers on. Inside it is a strange mix of Christmas decorations lots of tour groups who look like they might be going on pilgramage, 25k rolexes in duty free, mcdonalds,costa and free internet to keep us amused. We've got 2hrs to kill - body clocks already out of sink! Am going to try and learn some nepalese from a podcast.

... the bus was keeping on at an average speed, so where exactly were we? Strained my neck to catch the nearest milestone, and when I caught sight of the nearest one, shocked was an understatement: it said Jeddah 775 Km. I had to frantically call Manoj ( my host at Jeddah) and say: dont expect me too soon.

As I sat back observing, I saw that we were about to bypass a small town. And as I took in the picture of a small Saudi desert town, I couldnt help wondering: Are there ...

... to the west and Qatar to the east. We didn't know where it was until we were due to fly home via the island. It's interesting to note the road bridge (King Fahd Causeway) which links the two countries and is 17 miles long. Soon to be surpassed by the Bahrain to Qatar 'Friendship Bridge' currently under construction at 25 miles - it will be the longest bridge in the world.

كانت سفرتي مع زوجتي وبنتي شهد وماني قادر اوصف لكم جمال البحر 10;ن وجمال المن ...

... and common sense seem so reign. It's refreshing. I've really enjoyed a lot of the contradictory signs here in downtown Manama. The hotel offers a "daily buffet" (except Thursday and Friday). McDonalds is "always open 24/7" (except during Ramadan). An internet place near the hotel is "Open 24 hours" (except between midnight and 6am). These signs are like a metaphor for what I have seen throughout the Middle East ...

... although the pay can be good. Books: The Interpretation of Murder by (I think) Jeb Sunderlend (?). A unique novel loosely based around Sigmund Freud`s only visit to the United States in the early 1900`s, where he and hıs colleagues are consulted on a murder case ın New York Cıty. Well wrıtten, great dıscussıons on Freud`s theorıes, wıth dıalogue and characters solıdly based on real events. Very good read.

... going on here. Everywhere you look you see cranes and unfinished buildings going up. Oil prices have had an impact in all of the Gulf States and Bahrain is no exception. We finally got unpacked at our hotel around 12:00 and headed out to see if the Hard Rock Café was open and pick up some groceries. After finding the HRC closed and the grocery store open, we finally returned home at 1:00 and went to bed. Tomorrow - Our Hotel, Bahrain by Daylight, Second Impressions

... their definition of white" when it comes to bedding... Ah well, who wants luxury all the time... So we spent the morning lazing and getting room service (though we did manage to hit the gym for a bit) and in the afternoon visited the Tourist Info office. They were actually quite helpful, giving us good direction as to what to do, and also informing us of the world's longest palindrome - Malayalam - the language they speak from their area of India ...

... picked up another couple (from Lebanon), so we immediately headed south and west towards the town of A Ali, site of some of the oldest burial mounds, dating back to the Dilmun period 3000 to 4000 years ago. The town is built all around them; houses respect the perimeter of the huge mounds. The burial mounds have all been excavated, with the contents taken to the Bahrain museum and other archaeology locations. Following the formula of tours everywhere, we stopped at a factory, in ...