Two days and two nights in the desert

It’s not a coincidence that Bahrain sounds like boring. I spent less than 48 hours in the country, but I was ready to get out after two.

Upon arrival, I waited several minutes at the baggage claim, hoping to see my blue backpack circle around. I was informed it was prayer hour, so my bag wouldn’t be making an appearance for a while. I began chatting with an American who lives in the tiny Middle Eastern country. “I love it here.” He said. “I make great money, and…” He then trailed off and made no further comments about the place.

He offered me a ride with his driver to a cheap hotel he knew about. It was nice to save money on a cab ride, but a cheap hotel in Bahrain unfortunately meant $60 a night. After tossing my bags down in my room, I walked back toward the lobby and passed an Asian girl along the way.

“Where are you from?” she asked.

“Um, America,” I said.

“I want to come with you. Where is your room?”

“Uhhh, I’m not telling you,” I responded.

“Why not? You already have lady in your room?”

“Um, no. I don’t want any ladies in my room. Thanks.”

I walked away in confusion. I asked the man at the front desk what was good to do around the small island nation. Shopping for gold was the best he could come up with. I avoided his advice and caught a cab toward the tallest buildings, assuming there had to be something happening around downtown. This was not the case. I roamed the streets, failing to find anything interesting. Even the pigeons on the street looked bored. I rode up and down an elevator a few times in an air-conditioned mall. Since I happen to like elevators more than the normal human being, this was the most exciting part of my day. I asked a man if there was a movie theater in town. He told me there was not. I saw the familiar sights of KFC and Hardees, but I was fasting on this particular day, so eating was out of the question. Another cab driver asked me where I was looking to go. I told him I wanted to see a movie. He said he knew a place. He dropped me off at a mall where I found the theater on the second floor.

To give you an idea of the quality of the selection, I purchased a ticket for "Night at the Museum" starring Ben Stiller. The woman asked me to choose a seat on the computer screen. Every seat was available. Although it was the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, this surprised me since there didn’t seem to be anything else to do in this country. I had an hour to kill until the opening credits, so I took a seat at the Chile’s next door. Since I was fasting, I would not eat, but since the day was so uneventful, I decided it was fair to have a drink. As I flipped through the menu, I found no beers, no margaritas, no wine. I was informed this particular Chile's did not carry alcohol. I sipped on an apple cranberry juice and headed into the film. I only lasted halfway through the movie before walking out. I caught an expensive cab back to my expensive hotel and tried my best to fall asleep early. When I woke in the morning that meant it was time to get the hell out of boring Bahrain.