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!