Mashtan 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 ...

Bahrain!

Got here yesterday, the flight in was only an hour and you got a really good view of all of Qatar from the air! [stupid wing blocked photo ops though]. No problems so far, immigration was a breeze, found the hotel OK and after relaxing some more [yes, we're lazy!] my mum and I hunted down a taxi to see the few sights in the built up north of the island

Firstly we drove through the big banking district, and I was reminded of a less-trafficy, shorter ...

... fights to do something that's really not that "smart" to begin with.  I told Dina I understood that Yemenia couldn't acceptably get me to Seiyun and asked if I could just get off in Dubai instead (my next stop after Yemen).  She was a bit confused at first, but said we could do it.  I asked about refunds and she checked on it, but because the tickets were bought through an online site (Travelocity), I'd have to try to get it from them.  We both agreed that any refund would be unlikely ...

Last day in Saudi…woke up, showered, packed, and headed up to the usual breakfast. I called the front desk before I left and asked for a 9AM taxi. Breakfast was the same as before except this time there was mango juice. Was really good and reminded me of the stuff I had in Korea. Brushed my teeth and packed the last few items and went to check out. It took like 15 minutes to check out (U.S ...

... time in the UK, use it frequently and I've heard it in a lot of BBC interviews as well. I guess that also means a lot of people here are counting on luck. 4. On July 1, 2008, The Wall Street Journal published a story entitled, "Read My License Plate: It Cost Me a Fortune." The gist of the story is this: the government in Abu Dhabi has begun auctioning off license plates with low numbers (not the random five-digit number that regular drivers ...

Friday, September 21, 2007 It was another low-key day today. Again we slept in until around 10 A.M. before sharing a communal breakfast at James'. Bacon, eggs, pancakes, toast, potatoes, chili beans, and juice made for a great brekkie. After we finished cleaning up, it was back to touring the island once more. This time we went east, heading down the island. We passed through several towns, found the Country Club, which looked very nice, went by the Bahrain Endurance Village ...

... just laugh it off. Then they tell me its usually less, but the traffic is bad now. I tell them, fine you can sit here with no business and make no money or you can take me and at least make something. They come down to 3 dinars, I start walking away. They begin to bicker amongst themselves and finally one settles for 2 dinars, and thats how I got home last night. I was exhausted from a day of exams, planes, and walking and passed out around 8pm. Over and Out.

... showed up missing. Two of the four bags were logged as still being in JFK, with no mention of the other two. Emirates is not the main airline in Bahrain, so they had shut down the counter. With some patience and persistence in the departure hall, we were able to get some toiletry kits. After an 8BD (we probably overpaid) taxi ride to the Bahrain Int'l Hotel, we checked in to a dated, but OK room. Our toiletry kits seem to be one for a man, and one for a woman, but neither ...

... having forced Spanish or some other language down my throat at an early age. Actually, I wish my mother had been fluent in 7 languages and each day of the week would have been themed..."Today is French Friday...come over here so mommy can draw a curly mustache on your face" or "Spanish Sunday! I know we normally go to church around this time, but salsa dancing anyone? Anyone?" Ahh well, I guess asking her to be fluent in 7 languages might ...