Bahrain

Date: February 3, 2025

I left Bengaluru past midnight and after a layover in Abu Dhabi, I am now on an Etihad flight to Bahrain.

Flying to Bahrain window seat — Just an hour later, I could see the island of Bahrain in my sight

For those new to my blog — and me — I grew in the island of Bahrain. Me and brothers, we all finished our schooling, before leaving the island in the early 2000s. I hadn’t been back to Bahrain in 23 years. So why now?

My 1999 school batchmates created a WhatsApp group in 2024 and once the group got large enough, discussions began about organizing a reunion celebration to commemorate 25 years since we graduated. I was initially hesitant as after my Mumbai trip to see Coldplay, embarking on an international trip for a week, was going to cost me a lot. But my friend Jassim encouraged me and told me it would be fun, so I just said “fuck it” and swiped my credit card away.

So here I am, landing in Muharraq, where Bahrain International Airport is located.

Landing in Bahrain airport — My father worked on this airport’s expansion back in the 1990s (airport code: BAH)

Bahrain airport Muharraq — But even Bahrain airport has also got a brand new terminal

Batelco aerobridge Bahrain airport — I smiled when I saw the Batelco logo in the aerobridge 🙂 Batelco is Bahrain’s national telecom operator

My friend had gotten my Bahrain visa arranged beforehand, so I just had to walk straight to immigration.

Bahrain airport arrivals Playstation zone — Honestly, there wasn’t anything exciting to see inside the airport. BAH is nice, but nothing special.

Unfortunately, as I passed immigration and passed my bags through security, I ran into trouble for my DJI drone. As my luggage passed through the X-ray machine, the officer asked me if I had a drone, and pulled me into the security room. I was informed drones brought in from outside Bahrain aren’t allowed. So I was told I would have to collect my drone upon leaving.

The security officer wasn’t rude with me or anything. They gave me a form to hand the customs officer when leaving and collect my drone.

Form for seizure of drone Bahrain — This is what the form looks like. So be warned, don’t bring drones to Bahrain.

As for why Bahrain doesn’t allow drones… the official reason is “security”. The real reason is Iran, their proxies in the region, and some smuggling of drugs via drones. Other countries in the region have accused Iran of the same as per the linked articles.

I was really disappointed I couldn’t fly my drone in Bahrain as I had planned for some beach shots. Oh well, I had to scrap those plans. Anyway, I got picked up by my friend Jassim and we drove to Juffair first to pick up another friend. Please watch the video at the end of this vlog for footage from my journey.

Manama world trade center Bahrain — We drove to Manama, which is where I wanted to stay for the first 3 days. Manama is the capital of Bahrain, and where I stayed for most of my youth.

Unfortunately, my phone’s battery was draining fast from all the video recording. So all I could take were a few photos until I could enter my hotel room and charge my phone.

One of the first things me and my friends did was snack on samosas. Crispy with simple potato filling. Back in the 1990s, a bag of six samosas only cost 100 fils (around ₹10 back then). Now, six samosas cost 150 fils at this place. Not bad for inflation!

Samosa shop Manama Bahrain — For me, these were the gold standard for samosas growing up

Awal Hotel Manama Bahrain — Awal Hotel is where I was staying at for a few days

Bahrain International Hotel back entrance Manama — It’s right behind Bahrain International Hotel, a 4-star hotel

Awal Hotel bed Manama — Awal Hotel is pretty old… but I just needed some place to sleep near where I wanted to be

Awal Hotel toilet Manama — The one good thing about an old hotel — lots of space! The room was big, the toilet was huge, and the bed was huge.

I paid around ₹9,281 for 3 nights, which was okay considering better hotels in Manama all cost much more. Downside, no breakfast at this hotel. In fact, what was shocking to me was seeing few new hotel options come up in Manama even after two decades! Many of the hotels in Manama that were there during my time in Bahrain (until 2002) are still operational to this day.

I was going to be moving to Juffair after 3 days to stay with school friends. Juffair has much better accommodation options offering more modern interiors and better value.

After my friends headed back to Juffair and after charging my phone, I stepped out for a bit because I just couldn’t wait to walk through the area I grew up in.

Mohammadia building panorama — My family lived in this Al Mohammadia building for a year or two before moving to a company-provided accommodation… which I will visit tomorrow

Manama mobile shops Jindol Hotel — Below Al Mohammadia building were mostly mobile shops, from where I took an STC SIM. The price was the same at the airport, so makes no difference — just get a local SIM from the airport

Adhari Hotel Manama Bahrain — Adhari Hotel is another relic hotel in Manama

Delmon Center Manama Bahrain — Delmon Center is an apartment building with shops below

Old shop building Manama Bahrain — One change I noticed is the shops in Manama Souq are all have standardized name boards

Bahrain synagogue House of Ten Commandments Manama Bahrain — This is the Jewish synagogue a.k.a House of Ten Commandments — the oldest continuously operating synagogue in the GCC.

Manama souq Bahrain — Much of Manama Souq looks like this

When I was young, for the longest time, from the late 1980s up until the mid-90s, Manama Souq is where my family did most of our shopping. Be it clothes, shoes, bags, and anything else.

Unitag house World Travel Service Manama — I walked to Government Avenue — the main road that passes through Manama

Manama Post office NBB tower Bahrain — To the left is Manama Post Office and the tall building in the back is NBB Tower — once the tallest building in Bahrain

Bab Al Bahrain Manama — I walked to Bab Al Bahrain, the icon of Manama

Bab Al Bahrain used to be an old customs building because back in the old days, Bahrain’s sea shore was all the way up to road you see above.

KFC Bab Al Bahrain Manama — And right at Bab Al Bahrain is this KFC, a branch that’s been at this same location for decades!

KFC 2 piece meal Bahrain — Although I walked past this KFC hundreds of times, I rarely ever sat inside and ate there. So I did now.

The above KFC meal cost me BD 2.2 (2 pc Original Recipe, regular fries, 7-Up, toum) — that’s more than ₹500. KFC truly has become quite expensive!

Whenever I go abroad, I eat at KFC and McDonalds. KFC, because we don’t get Original Recipe anymore in India. McDonalds, because in India they don’t sell beef burgers.

After lunch, I walked back to my hotel.

Ambassador Stores Manama Bahrain — Ambassador Stores — another long-standing business in Manama. Famous for being a dealer for major music and watch brands.

Merchant House Hotel Manama Bahrain — Left: The Merchant House, a 5-star luxury boutique hotel
Right: The longstanding Standard Chartered building.

Citypoint hotel Manama Bahrain — Citypoint Hotel is a 4-star hotel

Bahrain dinar currency notes design — Back in my hotel room, I sent a photo of Bahrain’s currency — the Dinar — to my parents, so they could see what the current design looks like

The Bahrain Dinar (BHD) is one of the most valuable currencies in the world. 1 BHD is $2.65/€2.25/₹239. After I took bath, I felt sleepy, and took a nap since I barely slept in my flight. By the time I woke up, it was past 8pm.

Turkish Osmen Bey restaurant Manama — There was a Turkish restaurant right beside Awal Hotel

Turkish shawarma french fries Bahrain — I had a chicken Turkish shawarma, french fries, and tea (cost BD 2.4)

For all the claims Turkey makes about their shawarmas (or doner), I honestly didn’t like it that much. The Lebanese do it better.

Manama souq at night Bahrain — After dinner, I walked around Manama Souq again

Souq Bab al Bahrain Manama — This is Souq Bab al Bahrain

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, this stretch was filled with electronic stores, selling mostly ‘Made in Japan’ brands.

Yaquby stores Manama souq Bahrain — Yaquby Stores was one of those flagship businesses here — but they have moved out

Souq Bab al Bahrain night lights — Makes me wonder what the future of this area is going to be like

Bab al Bahrain at night Manama — I wonder all the changing shops Bab Al Bahrain has witnessed

Al Khalifa Avenue at night Manama — I popped into a supermarket beside Bab Al Bahrain

Kitkat Twix White McVities Nibbles — I made a list of all the Kit Kats I intended to buy and for dessert, I tried Twix White chocolate and McVities Nibbles for the first time

Bab al Bahrain Police station post office museum — To the left is Bab al Bahrain Police station, and right is the first post office in Manama — now a museum

I went to the museum but all that in upcoming blog posts.

Here’s the vlog:

Previous post in this series:

Bahrain: Seeing BLR Terminal 2 and new Abu Dhabi airport for the first time

Date: February 3, 2025

Less than two weeks after I finished my Mumbai trip, I embarked on yet another journey. This one… it’s a very special and quite significant trip. I was going to the island of Bahrain in the Middle East… after 23 years! Bahrain is where me and my brothers grew up, and finished our schooling. My father worked there until 2006 and then again briefly in 2016.

On the night of Feb 2, my older brother dropped me off at Bengaluru airport’s new Terminal 2 — a visual stunner!

BLR airport terminal 2 entrance — BLR terminal 2 is easily the most beautiful airport I have ever seen!

Lift to bus station BLR terminal 2 — To get to the bus bay and the counters for Uber and Ola, take this lift downstairs

Inside BLR T2 panorama — The interiors are absolutely STUNNING!

I arrived early simply to spend some time admiring the beauty of BLR Terminal 2. Designed by renowned architecture giant Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM), Bengaluru’s new airport terminal is now used primarily for international flights — but do note — Air India uses T2 for both its domestic and international flights.

Inside BLR Terminal 2 airport — A signature design element of T2 are these hanging garden structures

BLR airport terminal 2 check-in desks — My flight was Etihad — an airline I had never flown before

Inside Bengaluru airport Terminal 2 — I highly recommend arriving early just to appreciate the design of BLR T2

One thing that hasn’t changed was the slow process of security checks. Having to take out all my electronics and re-pack… so irritating! Come on CISF, technology has fixed this problem already!

BLR T2 airport duty free — Once I cleared immigration, I walked through the Duty Free

See the video below for more footage from the Duty Free but nothing special — it’s big on liquor, and I just made a note of prices.

BLR T2 duty free Galaxy Minis — Many of the chocolates were cheaper to buy from supermarkets in Bahrain.

Starbucks BLR airport terminal 2 — You have Starbucks and a bunch of branded stores past the Duty Free

Interiors Bangalore terminal-2 airport design — When you enter the concourse, the impressive interiors continue

080 lounge BLR T2 queue — Look at the lines outside the Zero Eight Zero Lounge! I had Priority Pass but I didn’t wish to waste time waiting in line.

Wolfgang Puck kitchen bar BLR T2 airport — Apart from lounges, you have even more food options here

Cross-laid engineered bamboo BLR T2 airport — Cross-laid engineered bamboo is a distinctive material used across Terminal 2

Bengaluru airport T2 gates — I walked to my gates

Bangalore departure gates Terminal 2 — Quite a lot of gates!

Departure gates art sculptures BLR terminal 2 — I sat near my gate, in front of the art installations, of which there are many across T2

Escalator down to aerobridge BLR T2 — Although the Etihad flight was delayed, I was still very excited

Etihad window seat A321 BLR — I got an aisle seat right at the very front.. and fortunately, had nobody next to me. So I switched to the window seat as I had the entire row to myself.

A new trend among airlines? I noticed there were no in-flight entertainment screens behind every seat. Turns out Etihad had them removed on Airbus A320 and 321 planes to “save weight”. Truth is, it’s cost-cutting measure, plain and simple. Just one less feature to spend on and maintain. And I thought Etihad was on par with Emirates and Qatar Airways.

Etihad QR code e-Box in-flight entertainment — For in-flight entertainment, passengers have to scan this QR code to get a website to load and watch content on our phone or tablet — but it did not work for me

Etihad breakfast in-flight meal BLR to AUH — Give the timing of my flight, meal service was breakfast and it was just average. Chicken sausage, plain omelette in a tomato sauce, fruits, yogurt, and a bread roll.

I tried to sleep but couldn’t because it wasn’t too long before the sun came up.

Abu Dhabi desert aerial view — 3.5 hours later, I could see the desert sands of Abu Dhabi — the largest emirate in the UAE.

I get nostalgic whenever I fly to the Gulf — any GCC country — because they all have more or less the same vibe.

Residential area Abu Dhabi from sky — No shortage of space in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi highway from airplane — We were about to land

New Zayed international airport Abu Dhabi — One of the main reasons for flying Etihad was to see the new Zayed International Airport

New Zayed International airport AUH — The new airport’s inauguration was delayed due to COVID-19

The last time I visited Abu Dhabi was in 2010, when my father worked here. The old airport had given away to a multi-billion dollar new airport designed by the same architecture firm behind BLR T2.

Arriving at Zayed airport Abu Dhabi — I had some time between my connecting flight to Bahrain

Zayed international airport travelator Abu Dhabi — Not just the exteriors but even the interiors are futuristic in design

Inside Zayed Airport Abu Dhabi — Even though the architects were SOM, the design gives off Zaha Hadid’s signature design cues

New Zayed airport interior design — I exchanged some AED my younger brother had since COVID-19, and then just walked around the shops

Zayed international airport arches Abu Dhabi — Check out the video at the end of this blog post for footage I recorded at both airports

Walking to gates Zayed airport Abu Dhabi — After I had seen enough, I went to my gate

Zayed airport waiting gates Abu Dhabi — My Bahrain flight was delayed slightly so I used the time to finish some work

Yas Marina circuit from airplane Abu Dhabi — An aerial view of the Yas Marina race circuit

Etihad sandwich Kitkat nuts in-flight meal — Given the flight was only an hour long, the in-flight meal was just a small cheese sandwich, some nuts, and a KitKat

I bid adieu to Abu Dhabi and the UAE. My arrival at Bahrain International Airport will be the next post because I took even more photos on just day 1. If you want a preview though… just watch the vlog below.

Bahrain: Returning to the country I grew up in… after 23 years

Bahrain: Seeing BLR Terminal 2 and new Abu Dhabi airport for the first time

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