B is for… Bahrain – My Current Home

After living with my parents in Lucknow for 26 years of my life, I moved to an entirely different place. This tiny island country in the Middle East was unheard of. I had no idea what lay ahead of me. But you see, that is the beauty of your 20’s – you don’t think, plan or feel scared about any adventure you undertake. You just go with the flow and it all works out.

I truly love this country - no two thoughts about that!

Fast forward two years, we witnessed the Arab Spring in 2011. It started in Egypt and took over the entire Middle East. The Shia majority in Bahrain wanted to overthrow the Sunni regime. They wanted equal rights like the minority community, for which they fought hard. There were rallies, protests, tyre burning in various places, the works.

Meanwhile, the other half of the population – the expat community – was unsure of their role under the circumstances. We feared massive demonstrations, food shortages, roadblocks, and worst.

It was 5 a.m. one morning and I heard sounds that replicated gunshots. I woke up the Boy and rushed to the window to check. We could not see any smoke or commotion but could still hear the thuds. After scanning the whole area, we saw a man in our parking lot. He had a dusting cloth in his hand and was cleaning a rather dirty car by repeatedly hitting it with the cloth...

We(I) were that paranoid!

That evening there was a meeting in one of our friend’s home. He said that he had decided to send his family to India. We booked our tickets to Dubai as well and thought of going to a cousin’s place for a few days. We had to take a very different route to the airport since the main one was closed. What's more, the airport was crowded with familiar faces; everyone we knew was going away for a few days. Somehow, it didn’t feel scary anymore.

Anyway, thankfully things got back to normal (for us) a few days later. Lives were lost in the process; some were taken into custody. Maybe the government did help the dissatisfied community, or maybe it didn’t. You can never know that, can you? A few days of lockdown affected the economy badly. We were just happy that our jobs were safe.

Bahrain waterfront

The coronavirus epidemic feels like a prolonged Arab Spring. This time, the entire world is facing the same problems and so, you cannot run anywhere. We can only hope that it shall pass and pray to a God who may or may not listen to our demands. Will he listen to our repeated protests against the virus? - only time will tell. Some people will lose lives, other will face economic repercussions that may feel like imprisonment of a different kind.

Obviously, we’ve had many happy memories here, but this just felt like something we could connect to in these times. If you or your friends ever plan to come here, send me a message. I am also on Tripadvisor and Quora bringing people closer to Bahrain! If your trip is during a weekend, we can even show you around. Yes, we are that vela, and yes, we always love to go out even if it is to the same places, which is usually the case in my tiny island country!

P.S. B could also have been B for Bangladesh. You can read about it in my 2014 A to Z challenge.

Guidelines for Surviving Ramadan in Bahrain

The holy month of Ramadan is fast approaching. Being a non-fasting expat in an Islamic country can leave you confused and scared. I have lived here in Bahrain for seven years now and here are some tips and guidelines that can come in handy:

1. Restaurants are closed in the afternoon. Even home delivery is not available. You need to cook or keep leftovers from last night's take-away. Some of the 5-star properties might provide lunch options. Check The Ritz-Carlton if need be. Also, supermarkets like Lulu, Mega Mart, Al Osra, etc. have pre-cooked meals that you can pick up in the afternoon.

2. Malls and most markets remain shut from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. This is the time people prepare their meals and break their fast. If you are out shopping, you will have to fill in this gap. Carrefour in City Centre mall is the only place I know of that is open.

3. Speaking of shopping, you can't eat/drink water while you are at it. In the past, we've sneaked in trial rooms and rest rooms to grab a bite hidden in our purse! The rule is - as long as you are not in the public view it is okay (actually the rule is no eating/drinking in public. But!).

4. The restaurants are full between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Even roads are crowded just before evening prayers. There are some ruthless drivers there as well and understandably so! So, if you are not fasting, stay away and let the needy reach home soon!

5. Thursday and Friday nights at the mall are crazy. It seems all Muslims hang out there to pass their time. In the scorching June/July heat, it is the only place of respite. Do your shopping in the afternoon.

6. If you need your hard drinks during this month, you will have to stock them up at home. That is the only place you can drink. Only exception to this are a few clubs like Country Club in Budaiya and The Royal Golf Club in Riffa. It would be best to check with them before going though.

7. It is actually a great month. Offices are a little relaxed and you can expect late starting and early closing times. Most offices don't allow lunching in the premises. You are lucky if you have a cafeteria (without the canteen working ofcourse) where you are allowed to eat and drink.

8. Iftar meals and Ghabgas are a lot of fun too. You should attend atleast one during this time. Most offices arrange one.

9. Some amazing prizes and lucky draws take place during this time. Take your chances!

10. It ends with Eid  Al-Fitr which means three public holidays. People take this opportunity to travel during this time. I have just seen one Eid while I have been in Bahrain.

Mostly, it is just about being sensitive and following certain rules. As expats, we look forward to this month because office starts at 9 instead of 7:30 in the morning, and the month ends with Eid holidays. So, well, it is a win-win for everyone!

Restaurant Review - The Orangery, Adliya

The Boy and me, we try to cover at least one new restaurant every week. It is a tradition that started almost a year back and is being carried on. Sometimes we do a new thing if not a restaurant, anyway..

So this week, since the weather was so gorgeous, we thought of going to an outdoor place with some sunshine. I had read about this newplace very close to my house. I googled for it online and found it to be quite impressive.

The Orangery sits in the Palace Boutique Hotel in Adliya. If you check its page online, the first impression that you get is that the place is very British.

And it is not wrong. We parked our car in the vast area and headed inside. The lush green garden is a rarity in the middle of Adliya. I was impressed straightaway. We sat in one of the cane chairs and made ourselves comfortable.

The service was quite fast and we gave our order – a Syrian Frittata and a Saffron infused French Toast. I ordered an Iced Latte because the sun was shining on my face and the Boy ordered a Juice because there was no wine!

While we basked in the sunshine, we could hear the incessant chatter of the women around. We could not help but notice that most people in the restaurant were Arabic women who had come for some kind of a celebration. Maybe the restaurant needed a wee bit of publicity amongst the Expat community!

The Frittata was an absolute delight. I was sceptical earlier because it didn’t have any vegetables. But the herbs and labanah made up for it and I loved my breakfast.  We thought that the French toast was a little too sweet for our palate, but that’s just us. Our drinks were fine, nothing unusual, nothing disappointing!

We even walked in inside to check out the décor. The interiors are breathtaking with cutesy wallpaper done in tea-cup like prints. The furniture is in tune with the whole ambience and is pretty charming.

We paid 18 Bahraini Dinars and walked out quite satisfied. If you’re looking to celebrate this winter, I suggest you pay this impressive Orangery a visit. It is ideal for lazy winter mornings and afternoons. And I'll let you know how my dinner turns out in my next visit!

I promise to click more pictures next time!

Middle Eastern Frittata

The lovely Outdoors

The Saturday Biryani Party

The title of this post might make you think I am posting about a social gathering that I probably went to over the weekend. Well, you may be correct but only partly. This Saturday Biryani Party with Construction workers is special; I'll tell you why:

A few weeks back I came across a Facebook page by the same name. Out of curiosity I clicked on it and was hugely impressed. A certain man called Mr. Abbas Khan living in Bahrain had started this initiative a few weeks earlier. He would collect Biryani meals from a restaurant, add some salad and chutney (that's how it is meant to be eaten), pick a juice or a cola and go to construction sites.

Now these construction sites in Bahrain have labourers from different countries. Men come from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Ghana, Uganda and other countries where it is easy to find cheap labour. Most men earn anything between 50 to 90 Bahraini Dinars. With the going exchange rate of 1 BHD = 175 INR that roughly translates to 13000 to 16000 Indian Rupees. These men sometimes have to pay for their own accommodation. Their meals are entirely their own responsibility. So that doesn't leave much in their hands to save and send home - the reason they are here for - to collect as much as possible for their families who live back home.

Not only this, the unbearable heat of the Middle Eastern sun is what they struggle with each and every day. We do have winters, but they are combined with high velocity winds and sand storms. Good weather lasts much less than the bad, and so, we feel badly for these people who live here alone, away from their families living on paltry income.

Mr. Abbas started visiting the sites with his family members and a few friends. People around him liked the initiative and started supporting him by helping him with funds. What started as a family event has now united a lot of people in the country who help him out by accompanying him to the sites and donating a part of their income.

Last month was very busy for us and we kept postponing our visit. This Saturday, however, we were not going to let anything come in between our trip! We messaged Mr. Abbas that we will be joining his 'party'. His usual trips start at around 10 or 11 a.m. and last for maximum 2 hours. We went out for breakfast and then headed to the meeting point. Something had kept us away from this - the first week we thought of going, my friend was hospitalised. The week after that I was staying with her in the hospital. And then, we had to go for our vacation. We were quite eager after 5 weeks of postponing, but we were stuck in an unusual traffic jam and thought we won't be able to make it in time! Talk about roadblocks when you want to do something good!

We reached just in time to see Abbas and his troop ready for delivery. I was impressed to see how punctual they all were. We introduced ourselves. The crew members were from France, South Africa, Australia, India and Pakistan. Lots of kids joined us too. Since it was our first time, we asked if we could accompany an older member in his car. Mr. Hasan readily agreed and we joined him. Actually it was a good thing - Hasan seemingly had been co-ordinating with Abbas since a long time and told us about the whole initiative. He told us how they resource food, their costs, the way they try to find funds, etc.

We went to our first site where we distributed food to 180 workers. The moment we entered the site, I saw so many happy faces! Apparently the SBP had been visiting this site since four weeks now and so they were kind of waiting for us. We were handed over our distribution items and the workers formed a queue within seconds! I think it must have taken us hardly 10 to 15 minutes to distribute food to so many. Everything was so well-organized.

After that we went to three other smaller sites where there were 10-40 workers. Over-all we distributed 300 packets of chicken biryani, chutney, salad, water and juice. It was indeed an over-whelming experience that filled me with pride that I am able to bring a smile to the faces of people who are probably struggling a lot in these conditions.

The crew took a lot of pictures that they share on their Facebook Page every week. I tried to invite a few friends to their page - what they do about it is completely upto them. I hope we can keep going regularly to the weekly event because it really does feel good to go. I'll leave you with these pictures. If you are reading this and you live in Bahrain, do like their page. It is a rare and impressive charitable initiative in Bahrain to help the labourers. If you wish to join the party, call Abbas on +97339874541 or email him at: absclix@gmail.com. You can even leave a comment here and I'll guide you through the rest! 

Biryanis ready to be devoured!

The crew that day

Have a great weekend, just like these labourers just did!

Bahrain Diaries - Liquor Shopping before Ramadan

This weekend was crucial as Ramadan starts on Thursday, 18th June, and we needed to stock up on liquor! Bahrain is a fairly liberal country where alcohol is served in licensed restaurants/lounge/pubs and hotel bars. We also have stores around the city to shop for hard drinks. It is only during the holy month of Ramadan that alcohol is NOT served in restaurants or sold in outlets in the city.

We basically know of two two big stores - BMMI and Gulf Brands. Since we live in an area called Juffair, we usually shop at the Gulf Brands International retail outlet located near the Gulf Hotel in Adliya. This weekend, to do our new thing, we visited the BMMI store in Mina Salman. (Not lame at all!!!! To find a new thing to do/place to visit in a small place of some 700 square km is hard!)

Since it was the last day before Ramadan, there were quite a few offers going on. The store seemed like it had just been robbed! Shelves were empty and cartons were lying around; basically the thirsty, expat community had grabbed all that they could so that they don't have withdrawal symptoms during the next one month. Also, since restaurants don't open till iftar/around 6 in the evening during this month, weekends are fairly bland. So to spice up our lives, we have house parties in the afternoons where we need to entertain guests with booze considering the fact that it is a luxury. Things taste better when they are prohibited, right?

Anyway, we bought a few cans of beer since we had everything stocked up from before. I don't know whether is was 'vandalism' or it was actually like that, we thought the Gulf Brands store is much better with more variety and a larger stock.

I wanted to click pictures with people pushing their trolleys and loading the trunk of their cars, but it just seemed too much. Hopefully I will use my phone's camera a little more from next time and give you a sneak peak into our weekends and also into our beautiful country that we call home - Bahrain.

P.S. If you landed here searching for liquor in Bahrain during Ramadan, I can suggest three places where you can check -

Country Club, Budaiya
Bahrain Rugby and Football Club, Saar
Royal Golf Club, Riffa.

It would be best to call these places and check before heading there. Also, if you are arriving in Bahrain from another country, the Duty Free at the arrivals section also sells alcohol to non-muslims during this month.