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                                                                        The Middle East

Bahrain is a frequent stop for many expatriates working in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.  With these two countries having no alcohol or clubs so to speak, Bahrain is close enough for everyone to get their swerve on.  There are many places to shop and party.  Normally when I go there, I never take any clothes.  No I do not walk around naked.  I find one of the many stores there selling clothes at a discount and buy what I need.  The clothes are or were relatively inexpensive (or at least they were before the dollar dived against much of the currencies here).

As far as a place to stay, you have many choices of hotels and apartments.  I prefer staying in an apartment.  I stay there because most times, it affords me the option to cook my own meals, provides me more space and privacy.  It has been more than a year since I have visited Bahrain, therefore some of what you might read here may be even more inaccurate than my aged mind remembers.  However, for those out there how have never been there and plan to go one day, maybe this will give you a good starting point in preparing to visit.

If you hold an American passport, you can get a tourist visa upon arrival at the airport.  This holds true for most European countries as well.  However for all those out there who are not US citizens, I would strongly suggest you find out the entry requirements prior to embarking    on your visit.  As I remember more about my  travels in Bahrain, I will try and update this section.  Again, I would              like to  restate that what I say here on my                        site, is by no means an expert opinion on the conditions of Bahrain or any of the                     countries I visit.          Therefore, I                              would urge anyone reading this section to only use what information posted as a                  guide in preparing to visit any of the                        places I have been.  As our illustrious                            leader would say, do not                         let me be the "decider" in determin    ing your trips.  My travel credo is there are                              truly no bad vacations,  only      bad planning of           vacations. Depending   on budget, purpose of travel,      and                                               personal tastes, each tourist   will leave Bahrain with a    different opinion and impression.

If you want to see more pictures of Bahrain, please feel free to use the link in the bottom left corner.  That is where  I  found the the background picture.

http://www.pbase.com/syedsa/bahrai











Dubai is probably the most dynamic place I have visited in the Middle East as far as a pure display of the power of money generated by the oil revenues here in the region.  You do not see it in the form of really expensive automobiles or huge homes (which I am sure they have), but in the amount of construction and investment going into almost every facet of the infrastructure here.  There is a constant building of skyscrapers, homes and condominiums, and shopping malls at almost every turn.  There is also a lot of land reclamation as well.  I am not sure what kind of long term impact that will have on the environment, but it is exciting and awe inspiring to observe.  Everything is geared toward making this area the crown jewel or as I like to say the "Texas" of the region as far as the biggest and best is concerned.  Dubai boasts the world's only 7-star hotel, soon the world's tallest building and is also in the process of building the world's largest mall.  If they could only fix the traffic situation.  I am sure having the biggest traffic problem is not one of the accolades they seek.  However they have a long way to take that away from Jakarta, Indonesia as far as I am concerned.