I’m back!
Most bloggers would apologise for their absence at this point but I am really “sorry, not sorry”! I know I was missed because I received such beautiful, heartwarming comments from my readers wishing my husband and I a good time together. Oh and stats were booming while I was away too… thanks guys! Fox arrived in the Middle East 2 weeks ago and we spent some much-needed quality time together. There was some of this:
And some of this:
In summation, it was AMAZING. Although I have the duvet to myself again, I am feeling a bit sad since he left especially every time my eyes pass over my clothes drying rack and I see all of the t-shirts he forgot in my washing machine! Anyhow, the next few blog posts are going to be a bit cathartic for me, in order to ease the sadness so bear with me while I relive the past few weeks through my blog. In true Panda & Fox style, we spent most of our time adventuring, exploring, eating and laughing.
Fox flew from Durban and because he needed the ORIGINAL visa in order to enter Kuwait (the one I had to apply for therefore I had it with me in Kuwait… where is the logic?), we decided to meet somewhere and have a little getaway before I introduced him to my life in Kuwait. We both arrived in the small island of Bahrain and met in the immigration queue to enter this little country. I’ll spare you the details of our reunion but needless to say, the person behind us in the queue wasn’t impressed with us!
Of course, the one weekend that I decided to go to Bahrain, the weather was simply AWFUL. A heavy mist covered the country and heavy rains had left the roads flooded. We had rented a car in advance and immediately regretted it when we stepped out of the airport and saw the condition of the roads. Oh well!
With the weather being a hindrance, we abandoned our itinerary for the day and decided to eat our day away. A lot of our time in Bahrain was spent trying to navigate using google maps, who would tell us that we had “arrived at our destination” however, all we could see was roadworks and scaffolding.
Our first stop was the super cute Cafe Lilou for lunch. Of course we were way too hungry to take photos of our main meal but here is a picture of decadent dessert:
After which, we promptly had a food coma and headed back to our hotel. I am usually more of a budget traveler but since Fox and I were reuniting after far too long, I splurged and booked us in at a luxurious hotel. The view from the Novotel Dana Resort looked something like this…
Our first day in Bahrain ended with a disappointing visit to the Manama souk where we found that at 20:30, downtown Bahrain basically shuts down… most of the souk stalls were closed or were in the process of closing up and the streets were super quiet. I was pretty surprised… in Kuwait and in Qatar, the souk is most lively between 8 and 9pm!
Day 2 in Bahrain seemed more promising as I looked out the window and saw clear skies. The morning involved a bit of beach and pool activity (of course!).
After checking out of the hotel, we headed for brunch at Riffa Fort. Brunch at Saffron was wonderful but the fort… not so impressive.
It was small with nothing much to see.
Disappointed again, we made our way to Al Areen Wildlife Park. For 1BD, we were allowed entry and after a few minutes I regretted our entry. This was no wildlife park, this was a zoo. Large predators like lions and tigers were crammed into tiny enclosures… it was awful. I was so sad!
Feeling a bit down, we headed to the famous Bahrain International Circuit with the intention of doing some go-karting but with the wind suddenly becoming very cold and intense, we decided to give it a skip. Fox got a chance to admire some fancy cars from a distance at the track but other than that, it was a fairly unimpressive attraction. I’m sure it’s wonderful when there is an event but when there isn’t… it can be missed.
With the weather acting up again, and our list of things to do dwindling at a swift rate, we headed to City Centre Bahrain to do some shopping. Since shopping is a legitimate Middle Eastern pastime (one that Fox LOVES unlike this panda) I decided that Fox might as well experience it!
But a mall in Bahrain is the same as a mall in Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and even South Africa so we just had a quick bite to eat at IHop and then just made our way to the airport.
I think Bahrain is best for a 2-3 day getaway when you just fancy a change of scenery and want to do nothing more than eat and relax at your resort’s beach. Or perhaps you just need your alcohol fix and can’t face the bright lights of Dubai so you head toward to Manama. Yes Bahrain has freely available alcohol and there are plenty of clubs and bars to keep you occupied if that’s your scene. People in Bahrain dress a lot less conservatively than they do in Kuwait as well so you can pack your shorts if you are headed there. I think I just had the bad luck to go on the one weekend that there was bad weather but hopefully I will be able to make another trip there during my time in the GCC.
Fox was completely underwhelmed by Bahrain (understandably so) and in a way, I felt like this worked in my favour. This meant that his expectations for Kuwait would be pretty low and that he might have a better time there! Did I mention how great it was to be reunited with my husband? In case it isn’t coming through, here is another pic to demonstrate:
Next post will detail Fox’s time in Kuwait so keep your eyes peeled!
P.S. The places I visited are all hyperlinked in the above post if you need more information!
P.P.S Visas to Bahrain are very easy to apply for and obtain via their exceptionally efficient evisa website whether you are a GCC resident or not.
10 Comments
Hey Panda. Didn’t you get the hint in my post about Bahrain. The only thing there is to do, is relax at your resort. The Sofitel is beautiful. But at least ya’ll got to spend some qt together.
Oh dear I think I missed your Bahrain post or can’t remember it at all. But yip, the idea was just to reunite so it was all good!
Aw, stop, you guys are too cute! I am so happy that you and the hubs got to spend some quality time together. <3 Sorry to hear Bahrain wasn't super exciting; I look forward to reading the next post on your time together in Kuwait! But I just wanted to comment on this post because I'm so happy you got to spend a while together AND I love your gif choices as always. Cheers!
I think that when I look back on Bahrain, I remember our happiness at reuniting and not really boring-ness of Bahrain! Thanks so much for your feedback, as always, it is much appreciated 😀
I got interested in your topic about Bahrain and my hubby mentioned it before and glad to know from an expat point of view from another Country. I don’t like the idea that the souks closed too early… are all the shops closed for that time?
From my observations, at night there is more of an emphasis on nightlife (clubbing/drinking) rather than other nighttime activities in Bahrain. I am not sure what time malls close but driving around Bahrain around 20:30 at night and seeing everything closed and quiet took me by surprise. However I passed by the bar at the 4 Seasons Hotel (Trader Vice I think) and it was full and lively at 21:00!
I heard the same thing… unfortunately I am not a party woman even in my teens. I seldom go to a bar when I was single. So I guess if ever I may find the place boring if only night time is the happy hours. UAE still better I guess unless somebody corrects me.
I have a friend moving to Bahrain later in the year so I will pump her for info and we can revisit this conundrum then!
[…] if you have been reading this blog for a while, you will recall that I went to Bahrain earlier this year and was less than enamoured. However I am pleased to say that this trip made me a […]
I have a friend moving to Bahrain later in the year so I will pump her for info and we can revisit this conundrum then!
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