Ramada Palace Hotel Manama Kingdom Of Bahrain

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 ...

... the Board of both Yemenia and Felix Airways that would get me on a Felix flight from Sana'a to Seiyun.  I told her I needed a ticket or ticket number first since Felix wouldn't know anything about the Yemenia arrangement when I got there and that I wouldn't fly to Sana'a without one since I was going to Seiyun, not Sana'a.  She tried to satisfy me by saying that the board member would write a note and sign my ticket which should assure the people at Felix.  I decided that was acceptable ...

... picture of the bottle of vitamins that I was brought in a sandwich baggie. Saudi The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful, but I had been able to build some conversation with my driver during the tedious 2 hour border ordeal. I got him to switch on the radio, which he immediately turned to an English-speaking station (first song was Britney Spears---how appropriate was that?! Or maybe inappropriate, considering my new geography? I remember the new Hispanic-themed "I Know ...

... you get used to the the heat in the summers but not the sandstorms. The latter produces blizzard-like conditions which leave a film of sand on everything, including your skin. Driving has been an interesting pastime. Bahrainis are crazy drivers and actually make Boston and Cobb County drivers seem downright responsible behind the wheel. My favorite thing about driving here is the stoplights. They go, as in America, from green to yellow to red. But, in an interesting twist ...

... but wiser heads (thanks James!) prevailed and we headed off to the movies. We ended up seeing the Bourne Ultimatum, which was a great show. Good action and an interesting plot. Matt Damon did a good job in it. That was the 12 midnight show. At 2:15 A.M. we made our way out of the theater, having all managed to stay awake for the entire movie. Feeling tired, we headed home and hopped into bed. Ahhh sleep! Tomorrow - we get stopped by the Military and visit a Country Club...

... officer said not to buy them online as they are cheaper at the airport - only 4BD each. He just wrote it out. Live and learn. [BTW 1 BD is equivalent to 9.5 Qatari Riyals - I was busy doing conversions in my head] Hired a car from National - easy - open 24 hours. Easy drive to most hotels. We stayed at the Elite Suites and were upgraded to a one bedroom suite. It is an Arabic hotel and has a non-alcohol policy. Breakfast was included ...

... curtained-off family cell, I'm not sure that we had it. Not recommended. Back at the hotel, we confirmed that our luggage had not arrived - JFK seems to have sent it the day after we left - so we collapsed into bed. 9-Dec-05 Bahrain The sound of jack hammering in the building next door did not keep us from falling asleep, and the night was not bad for a first night. Breakfast was a typical middle eastern spread, with fresh vegetables, olives (better that the usual California ...

... the women wearing long robes in the less conservative style is that most seemed to be carrying designer handbags and wearing expensive shoes. In any case, the airline I was on (Gulf Air) was fantastic. They had everything available to you even in economy, good food, nice stewardesses (yes, all of them were women) and they even had a "Sky Nanny" for those traveling with small children.