Marine Tower 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.

... place I wanted didn't speak English [I learned this by calling, speaking in English, getting hung up on, calling back, asking "titkallum ingleezi" (do you speak English?), and getting a "laa, laa" (no, no)].  Guess I would wing the car/driver AND hotel when I got to Seiyun.  Since I wasn't sure when I'd have the next chance to get food, I grabbed some quick McDonald's, which I think was probably about the same a in U.S. airports on price.  I ordered the #1 (Big Mac) so that I could ...

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... the dressing room, the call to prayer came on really loud throughout the mall (Allah's presence is everywhere here, even in a tiny dressing room). I didn't know that the store I was in was ready to close as soon as the prayer was done, and no one had seen me go into the dressing room either I guess. I walked out and the gates were down at the front door and the place was empty. I am talking lights out empty. The people from the store ...

I think the name is "death by a thousand cuts". Whatever it is, it's kind of frustrating. The plan is simple: Connect from Muscat to Bahrain (via an overnight in Sharjah), arrive at 9 AM and see as much of the city as I can; meet my uncle Lorne in a hotel bar in the evening and pick up my cousins at the airport. There's something awesome about making plans with someone you know to meet on a certain day, place and time in a city you've never been. After a night in Sharjah ...

... your not supposed to go in and so forth. I headed home and spent my evening relaxing from a long day of travel. Another interesting footnote in my drive around the island was when we were somewhere in the middle of nowhere and suddenly found ourselves driving behind a pair of Military Humvees filled with Bahraini military personnel. So me in my infinite wisdom, decided to snap a picture of them. Well the soldiers did not agree with this and one ...

... tax added in) had come to 6 BD. (We also seemed to be the only ones getting a little bill tray with gum, cumin seeds, and toothpicks.) Still, it was very good. 13-Dec-05 Bahrain - Craft Center and beyond The Heritage Center on Government Road houses the Pearl Diving Museum. Except that it's not there, and no one in the place where two maps says that it is know anything whatsoever about it. Maybe it's over in the diplomatic area. Or maybe not. So, we walked southward through ...