First visit to Bahrain

THE KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

My first view of Bahrain a small island country situated near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. 

In theory it should take only 45 minutes to get from Al Khobar in Saudi to Manama in Bahrain, but that would be too easy! There is double passport control (Saudi and Bahrainy) in between. Even travelling at 7am Friday, we had to queue for 2 hours.. and in the heat people get heated. My taxi had to switch lanes like the car shown and was rammed by another car! I do have a photo of the offending number plate and I was tempted to publish!

You need a Multi Entry/Exit visa from Saudi to do the trip. I will do a separate article on visas later for those interested.

View over Adliya area of Bahrain

Having read previous experiences of Bahrain I am pleased to say that as far as I can tell this area is free from sleezy night life. This is the view from my hotel and there are some great restaurants within walking distance.

In the south of the island there is a Zoo, which is well worth visiting at an amazingly low cost. There is an area to walk around but the animals are very close! There was nothing to separate me from these lovely birds but a low wall!

Entrance to Manama Souk

Since moving to Saudi I have tried hard to find the heart of each place. This is difficult as towns and cities do not seem to have a High Street, as we know it in the UK. However, the Bahrain Souk is such a place. This grand entrance leads to a maze of little streets and alleys full of life, spices, and goods of all kinds.

Manama Souk - typical alley

Hidden within the souk is a Hindu temple. If you ask nicely they will let you in!

Modern area of the souk - lovely and cool!

The Bettys of Bahrain! And the same cost too!         

EAST meets WEST in Bahrain, a 20 screen CINEMA!

All in all, I was impressed with Bahrain. Ofcourse you can get a beer here, which is great but  there is also a lot more history here than the modern Saudi cities. Down the south of the island you can see the ravages of the oil industry, but then this is what made the country rich. You can still see the iconic 'Nodding Donkeys' and even visit the first ever  to pump oil in 1932! Then there is the TREE OF LIFE, which is 400 years old and a miracle in itself. What I liked was seeing women in Abayas happily walking next to couples holding hands in western clothing. The restaurants are also great and not expensive. But none of them adopt the European way of showing a menu outside - so you will have to go in and ask.

Best time to travel for a weekend is very early Friday morning and back very early Sunday morning. There are even APPS available for your smart phone that tell you the waiting time! ELJISIR worked well for me.