Mansouri Mansions 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.

... which had started moving ahead (full marks to the driver for keeping his momentum). I had at some point wondered why the driver wasnt speeding up- it was only later that I learnt that a few days earlier there had been an accident and that all drivers were given strict instructions to keep momentum. Well, I found myself getting in between cat naps, and when I was jolted out of one I realized that we were speeding past some great city - had to be Riyadh, all lit up and awake in ...

... 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.

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... one driver claimed to know where it was and we set off. I realised immediately why the other drivers had not known the address, the whole city is numbered, there are no street names. After driving me around for about 45minutes the driver admitted that he didn't actually know the address I had shown him and offered to take me to a hotel he knew. I agreed but as soon as I saw the hotel I realised he had been taking me for a ride. I took my bag out of the car and the ...

... I am broke from buying a new car). So I went to my room, unloaded and went back outside to my rental car to get some stuff. When I came back, there was two girls standing outside the hotel. They told me that they where trying to meet a friend in the bar and they couldn't get a hold of him; because they weren't guests, they couldn't get in. So I agreed to help them out. As I was walking them in, everyone in the ...

... we could see on television, but we stayed anyways. What was interesting was that on the way in, we saw people lined up to buy snacks during Ramadan. Ramadan requires fasting during the daylight hours, so we were surprised. Upon approaching the clerk, though, we found out that only children could buy refreshments and adults were prohibited. After Dawn talked with the manager, Colin managed to get a Coke. J After the ...

... superiority complex--something I don't like to admit I have, except in places like Bahrain. The woman behind me asked the friendly clerk, who addressed everyone as "sir" and wore thick glasses that obscured his eyes, if it was possible to remove the cheese from the egg salad sandwich. Upon being informed that there were in fact no egg salad sandwiches left, something it took only a glance to figure out, she thought for a moment, then said, "give me a cheese sandwich." My ...

... we had of the area seem to be mere approximations, and we did not really know where it was anyway, so we were quite surprised to look up and see its sign. It was a bit early for lunch, but this seemed to be our opportunity. Like last night's dinner, it was a reclining type of place, with Shisha waterpipes and food. There were 2 robed couples in the huge place, which was decorated in strong Bedouin motif and deep blue walls and ceilings. (They made reference to the Tuareg Blue Men ...

... in England. She established an immediate friendship with him that lasted until we reached Bahrain and we parted company. By an amazing coincidence we found ourselves on the same plane six weeks later on the way home from Bahrain. The two rows in front of us were occupied by a young couple and their five or six extremely well behaved children. The highlight of the trip was the spectacle of Margaret fiddling with her headphone controls and cursing ...