If there was any advice about Bahrain I got, it was the same one from everyone: “a day is the right amount of time.” Yup. A day was plenty.
It’s a small country, and it also didn’t have anything that jumped out at me as overwhelmingly unique that needed more time to investigate.
It’s another oil-rich country in the Gulf, full of immigrant labor from other countries, and every single Uber driver is from the same state of India: Kerala. No joke, only this one taxi agency has a contract with Uber, and they’re all from this same state in southwest India.
I checked in at my hotel, did some sink laundry (since my suitcase was still MIA), and hung up to dry to wear the next day. Off to explore.
I caught a ride to the old fort, which was closed but still really interesting. It was also full of people taking walks, walking dogs, jogging, or just sitting around. Great atmosphere.
From here, I caught a ride to some great Indian food at Annapurna Vegetarian. Cheap and delicious – a winning combo.
From here, I stumbled on this religious procession of floggers. My understanding that self-harm isn’t accepted in Islam these days, so now they do this just for show. How religions all have people who think “I should whip myself!” is beyond my understanding.
I walked through some small alleyways and the gold district (sorry, didn’t get anything for anyone). I went to the Krishna temple, since these are always beautiful. This was…not. Every single design you think is cool is wallpaper. Wallpaper! They got some cool-looking wallpaper and put it over some arches, exterior walls, etc. and made something that looks pretty from far but far from pretty.
In another ride, I passed this cool World Trade Center location.
I got out at the grand mosque near my hotel, but the gates to the parking lot were all locked up at the time.
In the morning, I walked around some more and also tried to get some better pictures of the mosque + its neighboring Islamic center.
I ended back at my hotel and noticed this awesome sports bar across the street. I chuckled as I got in the car to head to the airport.
A day is definitely sufficient. An evening and the following morning was just right for this little island country connected to Saudi Arabia by a bridge. Short and sweet on this one.
This entry was posted in asia, bahrain, manama, Middle East
