Author: Yellow Duckie
•23:22
The journey to the office in Bahrain is literally, through the scorching heat and fury sandstorm. Basking in the midst of 45 degree celcius, one could hardly find air to breathe. Thank God that the humidity has not built up yet, else, I don't even know if I could survive through my trip in Bahrain.

Coming from a tropical country, I should be able to handle the heat but I supposed, I have to surrender when it comes to the heat in Bahrain. I tried to stick my face close to the car window to get a good look at the city but I was drawn away by the burning sensation I get ( I am not exaggerating)
My first impression of Bahrain: Luxurious. I am not too sure what drives me to feel that way but everything in this city seems brand new. It's a flat land with no mountains at sight and fantastically designed sky scrapper is found all around the city. One could hardly see much greens around and the entire city looks barren.


I can't say much about Bahrain except for the existence of great shopping malls in which you could find familiar brands from the Great Britain and the United States and hotels with interior that leaves your jaws dropped. Although there are signs on the street about saving energy, it seems to be ignored by the buildings here where lighting surrounding it (or in it) . They outshine the sun!


We had dinner at the Gulf hotel (5-star), apparently famous even among the locals as it has 8 restaurants in this hotel alone. It was a delicious dinner accompanied by a band that sounded pretty much like a broken record. My first exposure to a real lebanese food (unlike those served at the Kista Galleria in Stockholm), where we were first served with tiny dishes like tapas. I can't recall the dishes' names but it was really delicious, the portion were so generious that by the time our main dish arrived, meat on grills, we barely touched it. Not that it was not good but because we were all filled to the brim.

What I saw , according to my Bahrainian Colleague, is the good side of Bahrain. There are slump areas where poverty does exists. Perhaps I was ignorant, thinking that Bahrain, like Saudi, all the citizens are rich, however, in Bahrain, you still can find Bahrainian who works as Taxi drivers. Although blue collar jobs are not off limits to the local, walking into the mall in Bahrain makes me feel that I am in Manila, Philippines as almost 99.9% of the staff behind the counter are Philippinos.
Everything in Bahrain is expensive, holding 10 dinar in your hand, you can pay for your entire day's meal and what amused me (and still does) is half a dinar exist in notes, it's like a fifty cents in notes instead of a coin.
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1 comments:

On November 11, 2008 at 6:19:00 PM GMT+3 , Anonymous said...

Interesting to know.