September 2007

Well here we are in Bahrain. I made the mistake of ordering pasta on the flight over. Never order pasta on an airplane unless you like pulpy mush. If Alitalia can't do decent pasta on their flights then theres no hope for the rest of them. When flying with a Gulf based airline, chose the lamb option.They never mess up lamb.

Bahrain is a different place from Al Ain. Despite the humidity here, I do love being able to smell sea from my house instead of just that dry desert smell in Al Ain. It's nice not to feel landlocked for once and to know that you're only 20 minutes away from the airport. People are a lot more open here too, expats and locals alike. There's not so much conspicous consumption going on and most people appear to have values beyond what car they drive or how much they spend in Carrefour. It's also a much more interesting area to walk around in, rather than long three lane roads lines with date palms interrupted by roundabouts.Walking in Al Ain got boring.

As I write, our furniture has yet to arrive, we don't have a car and a relying on the kindness of strangers. I have to say just how kind those strangers are and its thanks to them that I feel that I could make my home here, at least for a while.