Unexpected Bahrain…

Sometimes things turn up so unexpectedly. Jill came back from her Ozzie sojourn last Thursday morning. As soon as she got back to work she was told that she would be leaving for Bahrain to take part in a marketing exercise in Bahrain’s Seef Mall, one of the original shopping centers in Manama.

So after almost a month of being separate we faced another 4 days of being apart. Mind you this is a bit of a change as it is usually me that goes off gallivanting on international business trips with Jill staying at home. This time it was my turn to stay and hers to enjoy the executive entrapments.

At the same time I had put in my request for a multiple exit/entry visa with our GR (Government Relations) department. I did not expect to get it for a while as there was no particular urgency to it. So I was very pleasantly surprised when they rang me on Thursday afternoon saying that it’s ready to be picked up. The visas are not actually stamped into the passport. They are simply a separate official document which is presented at the border.

Jill had already left the previous day and was really enjoying the experience. I got a call from her boss Rania, saying that she had Jill’s per diem allowance and would I come and pick it up. I also volunteered to take it over with some other PMU material so that was settled.

I was going to leave on the same day but the driver had left earlier because on Wednesdays it can take hours to clear the customs on the causeway. Wednesday afternoon is when everyone heads off to Bahrain for the weekend. So the queues are extraordinarily long. Same on Fridays when all are coming back. If you have not headed back to Saudi by about 1PM you might as well stay there till midnight otherwise you will sit in your car for 5-7 hours.

The crossing is actually easy. As you head out to Bahrain you come to a set of toll gates where you pay SR 20 I guess as an exit tax. Next booth further down is where they check that the car has proper registration and clearance to leave the country. You drive up to the passport control where your visa is checked. One more stop is maybe required for customs check. Usually they will just wave you through. Once past that there is another booth where you have to buy mandatory car insurance for Bahrain. It costs SR 40 and covers 3 days. So all up if there is no congestion you can do the whole thing in about 10 minutes max. The same is in reverse except that you do not have to buy insurance as you already have that for your car in Saudi. (Car insurance is mandatory and you simply cannot get on the road without having it.)

Once in Bahrain things change dramatically. The roads are in excellent condition. Bahrain is only a tiny place so they can afford to pave it all and keep it maintained. All the crazy driving vanishes and its like being in any nice small town. No stunts, no speeding. Lights and cameras everywhere. Looks like all governments learn how to extract felluce from the drivers. Sounds like its culturally universal.

Bahrain is full of cranes with many projects going up and marvelous architecture everywhere. A bit like Dubai really with one difference. Bahrainis can pay for it.

So that was a start to a wonderful weekend. Jill has already started blogging on how it all was and I will give you my side shortly.