Jon's Blog

Bahrain 05 Aug 2004

I made a day trip to Bahrain to see my brother, who was on shore leave there. I'd tell you all about him, but I remember the old WWII slogan, "Loose lips sink ships," and just in case it's still true for the war on terrorism, suffice to say that I am very proud of my "little" brother, and his service as a soldier and as a father. Funny how we had to meet on the other side of the world in order to get to spend a whole day together. Life does seem to get in the way of relationships, doesn't it?

Bahrain gets you coming and going. It costs 5 dinars (about $8) for the visa to get through customs, and 3 dinars for the "airport tax" to get back out. Seems to me, if I pay them to get into the country, they should pay me to get out of the country. Since so many visitors to Bahrain come across the causeway from Saudi Arabia, there are road signs everywhere pointing out the direction back to Saudi Arabia...as if any sane human being would want to go back there without a direct order from God Himself.

After renting a Mazda M-6 and unsuccessfully trying to find a map of the area, I set out to pick up my brother, using the directions he had sent to my mobile phone via SMS. That got me within a few miles of him, anyway, and he put a helpful MP on the phone to talk me the rest of the way in. We hit several of the malls in Bahrain, a couple of restaurants (Señor Paco's for lunch, Fuddrucker's for dinner), had Indian tea (sometimes called "karak" tea, brewed cowboy-style with cardemum, milk, sugar, and maybe some saffron), took in a movie (Shrek 2, hilarious), and attempted to catch up with each other's lives. We did finally manage to find a map, tucked away in the last bookstore in the last mall we visited. Let me know if you need a copy.

This was a rich day. When I figure up the cost of the airline ticket, car rental, meals and entertainment, I come up feeling like a man who has just paid a nickel for a pot of gold. This is not an advice column by any stretch, but I encourage the reader to look for opportunities to renew and cultivate relationships, because that's where rich living begins. Don't let life get in the way of living!

Posted by jon at August 6, 2004 05:45 PM