Manama

Hi Bloggers,

I've been in Manama (that's the capital of Bahrain, if you didn't know!) for nearly a month now and am getting quite settled in. It's much more sedate than I expected, but that's quite nice actually. It's a bit like a watered down Dubai, much smaller and less stressful, but basically the same kind of things going on.

I was out taking some pics yesterday, but it was a bit hazy for some reason. Surprising, 'cos actually the humidity here is pretty low. It's starting to get pretty hot now. A lot, of course, depends on where you put the thermometer, but I've had one reading of 43 C up to now. Anyway, for this blog I'm just focussing on skyline pics. I'll get better ones up in due course.

One doesn't have that much contact with Arabs on the whole, or if one does it's probably a taxi driver. I must say, they've all been pretty affable so far. However, most workers here seem to be from Kerala, India. Clearly there's some ancient trading connection between the two regions, which still continues through to today. Most waitresses and shop assistants seem to be Filipinas.

The picture on the right is the spectacular Financial Harbour Towers. What I like about them is the way their juxtaposition changes depending on what part of town you're looking from!

Will say more in my forthcoming blogs.

Cheers,
Rob