The Kingdom of Bahrain stands out in the Middle East for a number of reasons. I thought I will visit it when an opportunity came along. One did come along recently when a friend moved to the city. The trip however was for 3 days and 2 nights, bit short to get an understanding of the country. But still worth the trip and the break.
Bahrain has always been at the back of my mind. I recall during my childhood reading about Bahrain. It made the news often compared to other countries in the Middle East. It was then the most prominent and international in the Middle East. Together with the city of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital it stood out in media reports.
Much of the news covered Bahrain building its economy, its financial structure and signing various treaties of cooperation with foreign bodies. I recall up to the 1980s and 1990s it was at one time the favoured country among the 6 GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries for the location of MNCs regional head offices. More about Bahrain here.
Some thoughts about Bahrain as a coutry
It is one of the smallest nations after Maldives and Singapore in Asia and has done well despite its size.
One of the smallest economies in the Middle East, easily dwarfed by its neighbours including its immediate neighbour, Saudi Arabia. It only constitutes 4% of Saudi GDP based on 2022 IMF figures. Yet just ahead of Saudi Arabia on a per capita basis.
As the years rolled by two of their neighbours went ahead. UAE with its outstanding cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi and Qatar began to raise their presence and profile.
Currently 16% of its GDP is from Oil and Gas, from a high of 44% in 2000. It’s top growing sectors are accommodation and food services, finance and insurance, communications, and retail.
It has earmarked USD 427M on waterfront development with a tourism focus. That covers 16 new hotels with 3,000 rooms, new beaches, restaurants and waterfront attractions. Plus a USD 221 exhibition centre to be the biggest in the Middle East. To me it plays to their advantage as they have excellent waterfront potential very noticeable as you leave the airport for the mainland. Added to that, the relatively new and impressive airport and their service culture which I will cover more in this post.
Bahrain also has some unusual demographics compared to its neighbours and political stability is always top of mind relative to its neighbours. Not an easy equation for its rulers in view of the region’s dynamics.
Reading up before the trip
As usual, pre-visit casual research on the formalities before leaving for Bahrain was done. The usual essential information in terms of visa, transport from the Airport, the accommodation and places of interest.
One thing stood out straight away. The smallness of the country meant that name of the capital city Manama was less used than name of the country. Unlike rest of the World where capital cities tend to carry an identity of their own. Singapore is similar in size to Bahrain and it does not have a capital.
Nearly everything is similar to most countries in the region with one exception – taxis. Multiple comments in various forums mentioned unmetered rides, and the demand for cash. This despite having mandatory meters and most having other online payment options.
It actually came as a surprise as this appeared as an outlier compared to the region and elsewhere. I had to be prepared. The final advice from the net is to Uber your way. And it turned out to be excellent advice but with a twist.
Arrival
I flew in with their national airline, Gulf Air. An airline which has a long history and seen better days. And like the country it no longer has the type of profile that it had previously had – then a pioneer of the region. Not easy with the likes of multi – award winning Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates Airline which all came later.
Here is an interesting fact aviation wise. Bahrain had the first international airport in the Persian Gulf. A reflection again of their position in the past. It however lost out in capitalising it geographic presence as a key transit point between East and West. The 3 other Middle East carriers did just that.
If you flew from Australia to Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and you did it for the first time, you will have an eerie sense as you head to immigration. Maybe one or two other passengers from the same flight might follow. You then realise that the rest of the passengers are heading to the transit areas to take a break and re-join the flight to the UK and Europe. A country acting as a transit point in aviation routes cannot be underestimated
The new airport terminal however is 3 years old and it is impressive in scale, design, quality of finish and state of the art facilities for an airport. It was better than any existing airport in Australia. It is World class but very quiet, under-used as flight coverage was seriously limited. More intra-region than international. One could sense that the country was trying to capture their past glory with the new airport. A commendable aspiration.
Immigration and visa on arrival
Immigration is outstanding. One of the best that I have experienced. Excellent command of the English language and the fastest visa on arrival clearance ever.
All done by one Immigration Officer who was polite and professional. Few questions asked – how long will you stay, where are you staying and how do you wish to pay for your visa. No filling of documents, no handing over a photo etc. Slightly over 1 minute. And in 3 decades of worldwide travel across 4 continents this was certainly the best both in service and speed for immigration.
The command of the English language with neutral accent by the way is a recurring theme through out my stay. The second recurring theme is how polite and approachable everyone is in Bahrain, both locals and expatriates.
My first taxi encounter.
I proceeded to the taxi ranks guided by directional signs. Apprehensive but somewhat prepared. The rank was organised, lots of taxis, rather new and most were Toyota Corollas. Did I get it wrong, I wondered.
I was pointed to the first taxi by the queue marshal. I asked the driver if he took card he first said yes and then he asked if I had cash. Ah, the social media comments were right. I said no despite having local currency. I had expected this after my research. But still being optimistic, I was hoping for better. He then said he accepts Visa.
He was standing outside his taxi when I approached him and he took my bag, booted it. Presentable, friendly and again someone with a good command of English. He was of Arab decent. He also pointed some landmarks and the places for dining and entertainment along the way. Engaging and helpful.
And it was same with every taxi driver, all were Arabs except for one Indian and a Nepali thru all my rides. Conduct and service was always top tier. It was a mystery.
I landed at night and as we left the Airport for the hotel, the lighted skyline from various buildings is eye catching. and impressive. The Gulf waters and the causeway blended well. It was a nice way to welcome a visitor.
When we arrived at the hotel, the taxi driver politely asked he could add a Bahraini Diner to the bill of 6.7 Dinars. I was happy to as he was sincerely helpful with his information, friendly and pleasant. One of the more pleasant airport to hotel ride.
Ubering
I did Uber (in this case Carrem) after my first ride from the Airport to the Hotel. The taxi drivers were also on Carrem. Every trip was by taxi and it was a pleasure. They were prompt, polite and brought me to my destination. Not once did I get a private hire vehicle.
So why the negative comments I wondered. Some commentators did explain that with a card transaction, the opportunity for tips is much reduced. But it was the same in other countries so why Bahrain?
It appears that the cause is the way Bahraini Dinars are valued as a unit. Each Dinar is close to 4AUD or USD 3.66 at the time of writing. Its is the second highest currency unit in the World compared to the US dollar after the Kuwaiti dinar. It is close to 3 times the value of the US dollar.
As most currencies are well below the US, Euro and UK sterling, most travellers would offer tips with a rough reference to the major currencies. So a 10 dinar tip is AUD 40. So a first time traveller not familiar with the Dinar might give a tip of 10 Dinar not realising it’s value.
The people who make the mistake are first time visitors and the place is the airport where the opportunity to make a large tip is likely. Hence the cash preference for taxi drivers.
Indonesian rupiah has the opposite effect. The fear to hand over 100 rupiah tip has always been an issue despite if converted it came to less than 1 cent in Australian currency. Imagine the anxiety facing a first time tourist or business traveller visiting Indonesia and offering a tip.
Short trip and the blazing heat
As it was short trip, time was spent with the friend and little opportunity to see the sights. The blazing sun and urban landscape with concrete and raised temperatures did not encourage walking. One other feature of Bahrain and in the city, except for the small centre was lack of walking opportunities to see the place and watch the people.
You could walk in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and even Oman and see shops and commercial activities along the way including gardens and parks. Bahrain had a lot of empty plots waiting to developed.
I made a number of attempts to walk on the 2 days I was there even seeking the guidance of the hotel doorman. There was only small convenience store and one cafe nearby. It was the Friday and first day of their official weekend and the streets were mainly empty with the odd vehicle. I had not seen such a sight in a capital city. Albeit it was not the CBD. The cafe as expected did not have a soul. The commercial building behind the cafe must provide the business during the working week.
The CBD and city centre
The city centre was like other cities with vehicular traffic and people from all walks of life. It was bustling and culturally diverse. The roads were excellent and of high standards.
The Souq was large but it did not have traditional feel and look like the souqs in Doha and Oman. It had semblance of shops that you find in many developing countries offering a large range of products, mainly for families and homes.
As I had little time, I made it point to visit Bahrain again, to spend more time on its sights and the streets culture on a later date.
The biggest takeaway about Bahrain was the professional standards, excellent command of the English language and the friendly disposition of its officials and the people of the country.