Gulf 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

... and also not having any male family members with us [women are not allowed to cross solo, nor are they allowed to drive in Saudi!], we didn't even bother to attempt to cross the real border to go into Damman [although I wanted to..], so Saudi exploration will have to wait until I'm married :P [I have no brothers and my dad would much rather go anywhere else but a hot desert!]

... old was about the same height as me! They were very cute though :)

We then drove on the Causeway to the Bahrain - Saudi Arabia border [that road in the middle of the sea on the map]. We couldn't cross the border [you need a visa in advance, which is tricky during pilgrimage and they don't just give out visas to lone women anyway.. too much red tape for our likings!] so we went to an observation tower and looked at Saudi looming on the horizon. There was a huge jam of ...

... but needed to know the time of the Felix flight I could catch in Sana'a.  She said there flights practically hourly, but I knew this was not true, knowing how few flights there are in Yemen (especially for Yemenia) and that there was a Felix flight to Seiyun slightly later than my Yemenia flight, which I would also miss (having been inadvertently been offered this flight by a Yemeni tour operator).  She made a call to another Yemenia rep.

We ended up sitting there in the mostly ...

... before I got picked up, but I got to straighten things out for my transport to the Bahrain airport later that day.

The guy that picked me up was a quiet Indian guy that worked in maintenance. I threw my bags in the bed of his truck and jumped in. The guy’s English was decent, but he wasn’t a natural conversationalist, and I didn’t force it much.

The shortened day ...

1. For weeks Michael and I have noticed cars that are spray-painted to look like they have been dune bashing and are thus covered with sand. We've had fun guessing what the reason might be for the -- dare I say redneck? -- decor. Since sand covers everything here, was it a "can't beat 'em, join 'em" mentality? Do they just think it looks good? It turns out the reason is a much more practical one. When one drives on one of the highways out of town ...

... and his guests during race time). What a view! Watched the sun set from the balco. We then attended the Duran club for dinner. It was full of white people. How bizarre! Mostly pubs. It was almost like being in a pub in London really. Home to change and then we went shopping. I bought a beautiful bracelette which Kath bartered for. Yay for me! And an ...

... ago. The major construction projects have only begun here, but they are really trying to keep pace. They are building these twin towers that stand close to each other with gigantic fans in between them to save on energy costs. I headed out with a good idea of where I wanted to go. I cut through neighborhoods and various souqs, some more sightly then the others, although overall, much of the city is pretty trashy. For most travelers I would not ...

... If you pay attention, there is a treasure trove of history to explore. It is a pleasant mix of ancient architecture and modern world. Be mindful of your surroundings, and be respectful and you should come home with lots of nice stories to share with your friends and neighbors. The next chapter of this travel blog is the last for my 2005 cruise. Sorry there isn't a music video, but if you bother to read the next chapter of this story you will understand why. Fair winds.... Old Salt