International Manama

... as I knew only the big city. We drove past and again it was just sand , shrubs and little hills.

I did try to take some snaps but the bus was too fast for me so I guess you and I gotto be satisfied with these fleeting shots from my mobile. I noticed that the highway's sides were covered with wires all along and I wondered why. Realized later that they could be for keeping the camels from getting on the highway - I am so sad to say that I missed every picture ...

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!]

... wanting to come into Bahrain and next to nothing going into Saudi - apparently it's easier to access alcohol in Bahrain! :P

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!

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 ...

... The airline reps seemed pretty confused about me not having a ticket number, but a nice young girl was helpful in figuring things out.  She had surprisingly good English and was Islamic Arabian, not an Indian like those I normally dealt with.  My bags were checked all the way to Seiyun, but I'd have to get my ticket from Sana'a to Seiyun in Sana'a.  No problem---I had a 6 hour layover.

Had a lot of time before my flight, so I tried calling and booking a hotel in Seiyun ...

... too as all the crankiness from fasting all day was lifted. Before I got to the airport I had a few hours to kill so I went to the mall. I can report that a mall is a mall no matter what corner of the earth you are in. A lot of the stores were closed in the afternoon due to Ramadan but I did find a clothing store with some stuff I liked. Prices over here are actually pretty decent, so I grabbed a handful of stuff to try on. While I was ...

... I guess. But that doesn't mean it was unpleasant, by any means. And now I'm finishing this on a turbulent late-night flight to Damascus; I have the last row in the plane, with the guy in front of me leaning back and shifting in his seat every few seconds. I hope the weapons I've armed myself with, including ear plugs, eye shades, and a new one on trial, will help me get a little sleep. And I hope I do okay, despite the complete lack of an on-arrival plan. Sweet dreams, Kevin.

On the morning of first December I took my backpack(which weighed 16 kg, not too bad but could be better) and stepped out of the door. Walking towards the bus stop i tried to implant it to my mind that i am leaving home for a quite long time. No success. The flight to Frankfurt was really uneventful, it wasnt even delayed. In Frankfurt i had four hours to kill before my host through hospitalitycub named Jochen would arrive at home. I ...