Elite Resort & Spa Manama

Not much - just waiting at the airport for the flight! Bahrain was both nicer and more boring than I thought, the weather is a lot more forgiving but it's not worth more than about 3 days exploration tops.. Unless you like to get really nittygritty :P

Apparently the Bahrain-Saudi border is on a little island [not sure if it has an official name], which hosts a rest point on either side of the border, complete with matching observation towers. The whole road, which is 45km long, is called the King Fahad Causeway on the Bahraini side, with a different Saudi name.. Interesting stuff! :) Due to it being Ramadan and us not being ...

... of Dubai. There were two interesting buildings - the World Trading Centre, which has 3 wind turbines in the middle of it that produce its power, and a pair of buildings I dont remember the name of that's shaped like two quarter-pikes [skate ramps]!

Our driver then took us to some random palace grounds thingy - basically, it's where the king keeps all of his camels. And there were LOADS of the buggers! We got to go in and stroke one of the baby camels, who at 3 ...

... a-"come back in 2 hours (basically after all the Dubai people are dealt with and gone, I'm guessing).  Since we had an hour or so, the southerner and I went up to the airport bar to have a few drinks.  The place was playing music videos (at least some American) on a LCD TV and it had a vibe of what I thought a cheesy local joint might be like someplace in Europe (not having been there more than a few hours, can't say I have a very good idea).  There wasn't much seating, so we asked to ...

... 8217;t as productive as I’d hoped it would be, but with the key objectives already accomplished, I wasn’t as concerned. Knowing I was interested in local/Saudi food, the admin ordered traditional lamb for the team’s lunch. Again, it was a ton of food with the lamb/rice dish, a cucumber/tomato/dressing salad, yogurt, olives, hummus and bread.

At around 2:30, I was in a ...

... to match the sand. I spent the rest of my time watching movies on the TV in the hostel. One evening I went out to a restaurant, tired of the food I had in the hostels fridge I ate the only thing they had on the menu. Meat after about 3 months without. I felt guilty as I had before, not guilty because of the animal but guilty because I was not keeping my vow.. not that I had ever made a vow particularly but the feeling was there regardless. I didn't really enjoy ...

... the Ritz Carlton! Despite not quite finding a weekend idyll, the kids made the most of being on the beach: searching for elusive crabs, watching schools of fish, swimming and snorkeling. Even Chloe had her first dip in the sea and she smiled and "gooed" the whole time. The kids left knackered from the sun and play and we all felt dosed up on some vitamin D!

... to get their multiple exit re-entry visas to leave and re-enter the country. Gladys got hit with a bit of the same, as she had a single exit/re-entry visa. That meant she could have come to Bahrain; however, she is due to fly out to England to visit family two days after our return which means not enough time to put another exit/re-entry visa into her passport. So in the end, we left with James to Bahrain. Seems simple...except...on the way to pick up Dawn, I am ...

... of the outfit is. The rest? Businesspeople. Bahrain has a rich history, which you can read about in a couple of minutes on their website, www.bahraintourism.com. Some higlights--they were the first country to yield oil that had been drilled for, in 1932, now commemorated by an Oil Museum. They like to dive for pearls, and sell them for a lot, and this also has a museum. And for those of you oldsters not in the know, Michael Jackson lives here somewhere, but something ...

... 11-Dec-05 Bahrain - car day The car was to be delivered from Oscar's Rent-a-Car at 9:00. At 9:30 we called: "No problem. No Problem. The driver will be right there." At 10:00 we called: "Our other office is closer to you. Call them." We called them: "We don't have a car. The driver is getting one and will be there in 30 minutes. He will bring you to our office." OK, so we lost 2 hours. Still, we were finally mobile. The first stop (after the actual first stop to put gas in ...