Bahrain, oh, Bahrain

Here I am, back in Bahrain. Reached Bahrain on 14/1 and started work the next day. The flight here was tiring. Was sitting next to this kid who’s gotta be about 6 years old but was so fat. His arms were the same size as mine (maybe bigger)! And he had a cold, so he kept sniffing and coughing. Annoying! And halfway through the flight, he fell asleep and half of his body and his head was over on my side! Ish! In-flight food sucked. Caught Oliver Twist on the plane though. The show was alrite. Pretty slow and couldn’t really hear coz there were some people a few seats behind who were talking really loudly! Anyway, by the time I got settled in my apartment, it was already 11 pm (Bahrain time). I’d been travelling for the whole day. The apartment was okay. Except that it was missing a fridge! I was like “huh?” I mean, how can a fridge go missing? Anyway, they’ve put in one for me, so all is good.

Living alone is no fun. It’s only been my 3rd day here, but I’m already feeling the loneliness. Everyday, I go back to an empty apartment with no one to talk to. I just eat my dinner and plonk myself in front of the TV. Thank goodness for cable TV!

Took a taxi from the airport to the apartment. Stupid guy charged me 10BD! That’s equivalent to RM100! And the apartment is not that far. Maybe about the same distance from my office to Tropicana. Damn! Thank goodness there’s a receipt and I claim the amount. The guy had the cheek to ask for tips as well :p I made him carry my luggage into the building, though. Anyway, during the ride, the dude started talking to me. At first, it was just the usual stuff like where I’m from, have I been to Bahrain before, why am I here etc. Then came the weird questions. Shocker number 1. He asked if I was married. So I politely said ‘No’. Shocker number 2. He proceeded to ask if I had a boyfriend. So I said ‘Yes’. Shocker number 3. He asked if I loved him. Shocker number 4. He asked if I will marry him. At that point I was getting really freaked out and just wanted to get out of the car fast. Then he asked if I’ve gone sight-seeing in Bahrain. Immediately, I said ‘Yes!’ He named a few places but I said I’ve seen them all. He might just volunteer himself to bring me round!

Anyway, I basically can’t wait to go back home. This is really bad considering it’s only been 3 full days since I’ve been here. Will be going grocery shopping during the weekend to keep me occupied. Will start cooking dinner instead of ordering out everyday. It’s great that the restaurants here all have home delivery service. I go home, order some food, wait for it to come and gobble my food. That’s because by that time, my tummy would be growling massively and scolding me for not feeding it. I don’t eat lunch at the client’s office coz they don’t have a proper lunch hour so I usually just munch on a cereal bar. So I’m basically eating only one proper meal a day. Sounds sad, doesn’t it?

Looking at this secondment on a positive note, I suppose it’s a great experience to have, working in another country with a different mix of people. Being here has taught me quite a bit on the culture of the Middle East and how things don’t go as fast as you would like them to. Their idea of efficiency is not how fast you can finish the work (with quality of course) but the longer you take (ie the longer you stay) the better the quality of the work. Hence the need for me to be here. Honestly, the bulk of the work can be done back in KL. But they need to see someone here since they’re paying for consultants. And since they can afford to pay for us to be here, then that’s what we have to do. Oh well, all for the sake of filling up my CV and gaining international exposure.

Weird encounters in Bahrain:
1 Fridge missing from apartment
2 Freaky taxi driver