Bahrain Carlton Hotel Manama

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.

... lap of the journey was very picturesque, with a totally different desert scenario. It was basically a mountainous desert terrain.The highway took us along myriad ranges, and at one point I even saw a plateau out yonder.<br><br>It was at around 3:30PM that we finally cruised into Jeddah, and I saw Manoj had come to receive me. Well, he and his family looked after me and gave a great time, and Jeddah was a great city................... but that would be another story- a story of a city!

... 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.

... wanting to come into Bahrain and next to nothing going into Saudi - apparently it's easier to access alcohol in Bahrain! :P<br><br>Our last stop was the Bahrain Fort [aka Portuguese Fort]. Nothing particularly new to me, seen plenty of them, but it was weird knowing the whole area it was on was reclaimed land from the sea!<br><br>Today, my mum had a conference so I was left to do as I pleased. I had a walk around the Juffair neighbourhood which was where my hotel was ...

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... and put you in a different segment of society. There is definitely still a mystique surrounding pilots and flight attendants in the Middle East. Reality will come crashing down around me in a few weeks so I won't get used to it. Oh well. I am starting to really get into the Allah Akbar preflight ritual because Allah has been blessing us lately with early arrivals and smooth safe travels. Maybe ASA should adopt the practice to give our ...

... accomplished. After filling in the same form four times. And finally, was the museum. The fabled museum. The closed on National day museum. We drove was up to the gates around 2, to see... the same closed sign from 10 days ago. Luckily, my driver could ask what was going on, and we were told we couldn't enter. But try again in ten minutes, maybe then. We drove down the corniche, and I went for a short scenic walk to watch rats eat garbage, then when we returned, sure ...

... 30min drive. From many of these far off towns the towers the lined Manama were still visible. First we road past the ancient and mysterious burial mounds of the Diluman people who inhabited the island thousand of years ago. Then to a hand made pottery shop, where you could see people making all kinds of pottery based products. We ventured to the Tree of Life, a giant tree in the middle of the desert who's source of water is a mystery. I got to see ...

... past the king's desert palace and followed the pipelines to the King Fahd Causeway. The first island crossed by the causeway houses the palace of the King's fourth wife, who is 25 years old. We traveled to the artificial island which makes up the border, and stopped for a ride up the tower and to have a cool beverage. The island takes the form of a figure 8, with the waist being the no-man's land between the two sets of border control. The Saudi side looked more commercialized, and ...