Kingdom of Bahrain - Representing PMU

After all the run around beforehand we finally made it through all the boom gates, checkpoints, passport control exit & entry points into Bahrain. It is actually a lot easier to get into Saudi than it was to get out! Our driver had even been phoned and told that we had an apartment to stay in and we were taken straight there to leave our luggage and have a short rest before heading off to the Seef Mall.

 

Our apartment by Saudi standards was not what you would call the Ritz but I was pleasantly surprised at the spaciousness, cleanliness and comfort of it and have to admit it was a lot nicer than our own apartment in Al Bilad Compound. For one it had a nice dining table that didn't need to be covered by a cloth :D, nice chairs, comfortable 3 seater & 2 seater couches as well as 2 arm chairs and a socket for internet connection which was free :D - only drawback - bed was hard! Oh and no brekkie available as they were family serviced apartments with kitchen.

 

Moving through every room you can imagine my dismay to find that unlike Saudi where you have an abundance of power outlets of different wattage in every room to find that here there were none in the bathroom at all, and only full on British 210v plugs and sparsely situated at that. After thoroughly searching the room that my bag had been put in to find none anywhere, I noticed an outlet in the larger room the other lady with me had commandeered, so I calmly and with authority suggested that seeing as I was there for the full 4 days and she was there only overnight that if she wouldn't mind I would like to take the larger room - cheeky I know, and as she is younger than me she acquiesced and moved her stuff and I had an outlet for my hair dryer and straightener :D after all - public image - you gotta do what you gotta do :D

 

Then I had the problem that my phone battery was nearly flat (Jesse is constantly at me for this as no one really calls me and I forget) and I had brought a Saudi 110v computer cord with me which didn't fit. I phoned down to reception to see if they had an adapter and they sent one up, however it had been used many times and they tend to go "loose" so that whatever you put in falls right back out so still same problem, computer not connected to electricity, phone going flat and still receiving and making calls to my boss back in Saudi. I had at least 1 hour of battery time on my computer so managed a short charge to phone and once we got to the Seef mall I told my male colleague Jassim my problem and he kindly went to radio shack and brought me an adapter that was tight so problem solved :D

 

One would think as it was approaching 4 pm by this time that I would have gone immediately to work - wrong! I was so busy from when I got to the university at 8am until arriving at the apartment that I hadn't eaten since 6 am that morning and was feeling faint from hunger. Jassim our male colleague said no problem - go, eat, take your time, no hurry, no problem :D - so the other lady and I took off immediately. The ladies in our office had told us exactly where to go to eat for very nice food, which was to go to the end of the  Seef mall, outside and across the road, through another mall and outside that one to a very nice restaurant where they were very right, the food was very nice and the desserts even nicer. Must be one of the more exclusive as the cars parked outside were Rolls, Daimler, Merc - latest & biggest, Ferari, BMW - I am sure you get the drift :P - I still haven't had a decent cup of "hot" coffee here - I stick to the iced ones as at least they taste like coffee but I sometimes try hot just in case.

 

 

(Notice the lamp in the window? I really like it :D)

 

So 1 1/2 hour later we went to work and we had constant visitors stopping by our booth to take the books and pamphlets and ask information about the university. We left at about 9.30pm and Jassim asked if we needed anything like take-away food or supermarket and he once again kindly took us to a supermarket near our apartment and brekkie and snacks were taken care of.

 

Our next working day and every day after started at noon and we went until 9pm every night except for one night which was about 10.15 - people on that night just kept coming everytime we looked like packing up to leave. It sounds like a hard slog to stay that amount of time in a booth, but keep in mind there were 3 of us, and we were in a very large mall, so we all took turns at being there for 2 hours and disappearing for at least 1-2 hours. Jassim was a very nice man to work with and nothing was too much trouble or too hard for him.

 

(Hope you notice Jesse’s weight loss – 11kg :D)

 

When we were having lunch on our second day I received a call from my boss to say that the our allowances had been organised and that Jesse had received his exit/entry visa and would be bringing it with the driver the next morning - he was to be picked up and brought across with the ladies - so any surprise he may have been planning for me was totally ruined :P - as you can imagine I was immediately on the phone to say - "oh you have your visa? How surprisingly quick was that (it was only 2 days)? oh and I hear you are also bringing me money and are coming to stay a night?"......lol - bush telegraph works equally as quickly here as back in Aus :D

 

He arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed the next morning at about 9.30 in the morning and was pleasantly surprised by the size of our apartment. We were also both very amused when a junior lady that works with me in my office (a young 24 year old true Saudi - very lovely) made the comment when she came in - "They are MAKING you stay here? Oh this is very very bad - I have such a bad feeling walking in here! What is PMU's problem? They should put you in the Ritz Carleton near the Seef Mall! Oh this is so very bad! I could not stay here!" - Bear in mind that the Ritz is probably THE most expensive hotel to stay in in Bahrain :D

 

Oh the joys of generation Y's expectations and also factoring young Saudi expectation also kicking in :D Will their expectations be met in a modern world? Or are they setting themselves up for disappointment?

 

We all bundled into the car for work, and when we arrived there was virtually no one about so we headed down for Starbucks coffee. Once people started to arrive at the mall we headed back and Jesse had a good look around - went to the cinema to check out what movies were showing and headed back to our stand. By this time it was lunch time so I decided to take him to a sushi restaurant I had noticed the previous day which was also out through the other mall which he loved and took many photos of as you saw above. He was amazed and really surprised to find that it was a Yo Sushi bar like he used to frequent often in London.

 

 

 

All in all he had a really wonderful time and it was great to have him there - it is the first time he has been out of Saudi since our arrival so he was really happy to have large cd shops to browse in and wireless internett coffee shops to sit at, the shops not shutting at prayer time, as well as catching a stupid movie - Clash of the Titans 3D - I will let him tell you about his experience in the cinema :P ......hehehe.

 

I had even noticed the night before when Jassim stopped for Macca's a Nandos, so that is where I took him for his tea :D but it is a full on service restaurant over here, as in order taken at table, manager coming to find out how the meal is etc etc :D oh and bottomless coke :D

 

Verdict - I really like Bahrain and I am very sure once we get our car that we will be going back there a lot :D