Weekend In Bahrain

This past Thursday/Friday we spent a night in Bahrain. Our main purpose for the trip was so we could get our multiple exit/entry visa's stamped because you have to use them in so many days once you get them. So we didn't plan a whole lot this time around, but we had fun being together and just getting away.

Paul drove our car, which was really nice, instead of us taking a taxi. A lot of people in the camp here will take a taxi to Bahrain. I really dislike depending on someone else for transportation and it is so much nicer to just be able to go somewhere when you want to.
So we made the drive to Bahrain. A little about the country for those of you who don't know...
Bahrain is a small island country in the Persian Gulf (or Arabian Gulf to most around here). It is connected to Saudi Arabia via the King Fahd Causeway. It is known for it's oil and pearls. There are a ton of very tall skyscrapers with, what I found to be, amazing architecture. There is a whole bunch of information on this place. One paragraph I found on Wikipedia that I thought was a good description of why people from here go there often was this: "Bahrain is sometimes described as "Middle East lite" because it combines modern infrastructure with a Persian Gulf identity and, unlike other countries in the region, its prosperity is not solely a reflection of the size of its oil wealth, but is also related to the creation of an indigenous middle class. This unique socioeconomic development in the Persian Gulf has meant that Bahrain is generally more liberal than its neighbours. While Islam is the main religion, Bahrainis have been known for their tolerance, and churches, Hindu temples, Sikh Gurdwara and a Jewish synagogue can be found alongside mosques. The country is home to several communities that have faced persecution elsewhere." Pretty neat!

That's enough of a lesson for today.

So this is a couple pictures I took as we crossed the causeway. I didn't get very good pictures because we were moving fast and I was hanging out in the backseat with Mads.

I thought this was interesting... there was a McDonalds at the beginning of the causeway and then at the end of it after you got through customs. That place is friggin' EVERYWHERE!!

I was a bit hesitant to stay where we did, only because it was so expensive, but Paul has a couple friends here who recommended it and we felt like it would be fun to splurge a little - since it was just one night. So we stayed at the Ritz Carlton. It. Was. Nice.

As soon as we got there, a man took our bags. We were distrustful at first cause, hello!, who is this guy taking our bags away from us before we even enter the hotel? Yeah -he had a badge on and a nice smile, but what was he really up to? So he took our bags - we wanted to keep up the hoity toity image... "oh yeah, we stay here all the time... we're rich."

We had spent a few hours at the Seef Mall in Bahrain before checking into the hotel because check-in time was after 3:00 pm, so Madeline was put out and had falled asleep on our way to the hotel. As we entered The Ritz a woman came running up to me and with a desperate tone said,

"Ma'am, Ma'am, please come sit down while your husband checks in... please, and can I get you some water? Something to eat? A pillow for your precious sleeping baby?"

"Um, sure! That would be great!"

So I sat and relaxed while Paul checked us in. Our room was small, but very nice. The bed was sooo comfortable. So I layed Madeline down and we checked out the place. There were TONS of little trinkets for us to take home - a toothbrush kit, a shaving kit, bottles of water, a shower cap, q-tips, bath salts, soaps, shampoo, lotions... for the price we paid I would hope they were free. I took them. I guess we will find out.

I thought this was impressive... "Welcome Mr. Mevec" woo hooo...

The view from our room... HELLO? Gorgeous!

Although the view was great and the swimming pool VERY inviting, it was getting late and we wanted to have some dinner. We also thought it would be fun to take Madeline to her very first movie in a movie theatre. She LOVES Shrek 1 and Shrek 2 - we watch it probably every day - so we decided to try and take her to see Shrek 4. Unfortunately, that night, we got there too late. So we played at the mall some more, had some dinner, and planned on seeing the movie the next day before we came home.

We had a lot of fun at the Mall, and actually spent most of our time there. We didn't get to see all of Bahrain or even go into the City Center where there are a lot of fun things to do - a plan for next time I guess.

We had ice cream and hamburgers with bacon - which didn't taste that great to me and I am not sure if it was just me cause everything tastes like crap since I have been pregnant or if it really wasn't good - and chicken nuggets and cookies and a whole heap load of bad-for-you foods.

The Seef Mall

Madeline had a great time riding all of the kiddie rides at the mall...

And Madeline and I had fun climbing this huge netted climbing thing with slides and cushions and tunnels.

Paul took Madeline on the Future Train and almost threw up it was so fast and exciting - just kidding. Madeline had a good time on it though. It basically went in a circle about 10 times through a tunnel.

The next day we woke up when we were ready - I LOVE sleeping in - and then had some breakfast in the lounge at the Ritz. It was awesome. They had a huge selection of stuff. It was really good. As we were checking out Madeline entertained several people standing at the front. She gave all of them five, pointed at the elevators and jumped, and one of the guys went and got her a little stuffed lion, upon receiving she quickly did a great big roar - she won their hearts in a moments time and then we were off.

We actually made it to the movie. Madeline had a lot of fun running around the theatre and dancing to the theatre music before the movie started and she loves popcorn. She probably made it through the first 30 minutes of the movie and was ready to leave. She threw a lovely tantrum, which wasn't that bad and I wasn't too embarassed about it because there were only maybe 8 other people in the theatre. Paul immediately picked her up and took her outside before I could move an inch. He's really a good Dad.

I thought they'd be outside for a few minutes but they were gone quite a while.

So I went out looking for them. They were no where to be found so I went back in and watched the movie by myself. They didn't get back until the very end of the movie, literally right before the credits. So that was disappointing, but I liked the movie so that was good.

After the movie we had some lunch at a buffet restaurant in the mall called The Rendevouz. I thought for sure, being a buffet, they would have a good selection of foods that my picky little family would enjoy, but it was mostly foreign foods. Strange salads and mushy looking dips; strange meats we have never tried; and really weird desserts. They did have one bin of french fries and one bin of some penne looking creamy pasta - so that's what we had for lunch. They also had some soft serve ice cream, so Paul had some of that. I guess we need to be better about trying new things since we live in a new country now, but none of us were in the mood this time. All Madeline wanted for lunch was gum - my bad for giving her a little piece once - now she is obsessed with it. So she threw another exciting tantrum in the restaurant shortly after we arrived. We weren't there long.

We made a quick stop to see what they had at the Toys R Us in Bahrain. I wanted to see if they had any children's bikes since the selection here in Saudi for big wheels and tricycles is not very good. Unfortunately they didn't have much. We did pick up a cute little stroller and some bubbles, and then we were off, back home to Saudi Arabia.

All in all it was a nice trip. We had a good time together and we were able to get away for a while, which I am learning is really important here. We will definitely venture back to Bahrain soon to check out the rest of the place and have some more fun.

Part of what I really enjoy about living over here is that you really can find a lot of familiar things if you look for them, but at the same time there is this unknown culture all around us. WE are the minority... WE are the ones with the accents and who get stared at. Such a humbling experience.