Bahrain (December 2018)
- While living in Dubai we went for a weekend to Bahrain
- I will recommend a few places that I visited and enjoyed in Bahrain
Main places visited:
- a) Arad Fort
- b) Muharraq
- c) Bahrain National Museum
- d) World Trade Center - Al Manama Souq
- e) Al Seef
- f) Bahrain Fort
- g) Adliya
- h) Al Fateh Mosque
- i) Amwaj Islands - Marissa beach
- j) Tree of Life
a) Arad Fort:
- From the airport we directly walked towards Arad Fort, which offers a nice first view of the city
b) Muharraq:
- Muharraq is one of the old towns of Bahrain with cute little streets and a few parks
c) Bahrain National Museum:
- We learnt a few things about Bahrain especially its huge importance in terms of the quality of its pearls internationally recognized, and how its flag is white and red resembling a red cloth where the white pearls were temporarily storedxxx
d) World Trade Center - Al Manama Souq:
- One of the buildings I liked the most was World Trade Center
- Nearby we had lunch in a seafood restaurant that we really liked: Sheza Seafood restaurant
- We walked after lunch around the area of Al Manana Souq and Bab Al Bahrain
- e) Al Seef
- Al Seef is an area with several luxury hotels with fancy restaurants and plenty of nightlife
- We went to Ritz for a Mexican restaurant with friends who live in Saudi Arabia and came for the weekend
- The place is beautiful and they even have a live Mexican band of mariachis, but the prices are too high for the food itself
f) Bahrain Fort:
- Much better than Arad Fort, bigger and better views
g) Adliya:
- Second day we enjoyed breakfast in this area, where a few local houses have transformed into restaurants and has a very bohemian vibe
h) Al Fateh Mosque:
- On the way to the south we passed by one of the most popular mosques in Bahrain
i) Amwaj Islands - Marissa beach:
- These artificial areas offer a lagoon with plenty of restaurants and cafes, and a private beach
- Even if I dislike the concept of private beaches, the public beach I saw in the city center did not look very nice
j) Tree of Life:
- One of the iconic places in Bahrain is a 400 year tree which survives in the middle of the desert
- The place itself is a bit ridiculous and dissapointing, but the visit to the south is great to understand the reality of Bahrain, full of areas where oil & gas is exploited
- Hope you have some useful information about places in Bahrain
48h layover in Abuja (2018)
- In 2018 I had the opportunity to spend 2 days in Abuja
- Even if there if you can feel a bit of unsafety in the outskirts of the city, I managed to visit a few nice places
Main places visited:
- a) City center
- b) Zuma rock
- c) Gurara falls
a) City center:
- I enjoyed the beautiful National Mosque of Abuja and Millenium park with the local market nearby
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b) Zuma rock:
- With a few colleagues we contacted a local driver to visit Zuma rock and Gurara falls
- The view of Zuma rock while approaching with the car was nice
- If you have a full day you can book a climbing tour but we had just a few minutes to enjoy the magnificence of the rock, which was used in the past as a defensive area by different tribes
c) Gurara falls:
- One hour an a half later we reached Gurara falls
- Even if forbidden, you can swim but I was slightly biten by a few fishes
- Best of the day was to share some random picnic with a few local guys who proudly showed us their fishing of the day
- Even if there are not many touristic attractions around Abuja, I am very glad I was curious to check a few places and I had a very good time
24h layover in Malta (October 2018)
- I had the opportunity of staying in Malta one day due to my job and I took most of it
- I really want to visit this island with time in the future, maybe 4-7 days
- I mainly moved around with buses (for 1.5 euro you can use any buses during up to 2h)
Main places visited:
- a) Bugibba
- b) Valletta
- c) Mdina
- d) Popeye village
a) Bugibba:
- The hotel was near Bigibba, a nice coastal area with plenty of life during the day and popular nightlife
b) Valletta:
- Capital of Malta, always worth a visit
- Views from Upper Barrakka Gardens are great
- And walking around is nice
c) Mdina:
- I prefered Mdina as compared to Valletta
- Its old city is gorgeous
- Mdina is quieter than Valletta, and its surroundings are relaxing
d) Popeye village:
- While I did not pay the ticket to enter to the village itself, the free views from the area are worth it xx
- I had a nice feeling in Malta, despite its heavy traffic
- Hope this post helps :)
Kuwait (November 2018)
- I did not expect much but while living in Dubai I decided to visit Kuwait for two days
- My experience was absolutely amazing thanks to a couple living in Jabriya who hosted me through couchsurfing: Mohammed from Egypt, and Ahlam from Tunisia
Main places visited:
- Kuwait towers
- Grand Mosque
- Souq Al Mubarakeya
- Maybe I was lucky but even with locals I had a much better feeling in 2 days than 4 years in Dubai
- Mohammed picked me up in the airport, and he was hosting a guy from Nebraska as well. We went for fresh juices and a delicious seafood dinner
- We had time to visit Kuwait towers in the evening. Even if they charge to go up, you can choose to visit the restauran for free, or even ask some information and check the menu while having a view and some photos as well. They look very pretty at night constantly changing colour
- That night we went to their home and watch the final of the African cup between the Egyptian team Al Ahly and the Tunisian team ES Tunis,exactly the 2 countries of our hosts
- Next day the guy from Nebraska and me took the bus from Jabriya into the city center. By the way, Ahlam was so nice to wake up early just to offer us some breakfast before leaving
- First stop was the Grand Mosque, and we also got lucky to arrive on time for a free guided tour within the mosque explaining the pillars of Islam, and different aspects of Kuwait and that mosque itself
- Nearby we visited Souq Al Mubarakeya, possibly the biggest and one of the most popular in Kuwait
- We wanted to visit the National Museum, nearby and for free as well, but we found it closed at 12:30
- After this, magic happened... We tried hitchhiking towards Kuwait towers, just 5 km away, and a local guy took us in his car and stopped a bit earlier by Souq Sharq
- There his friend, also local, was waiting in a 1972 Mini and they took us for a ride around the city
- Not only we visited Kuwait towers again literally driving around the pedestrian areas...
- but also they took us to a few different beach areas to have a look...
- ... and inissted on inviting us for lunch!
- When we said we were meant to meet our hosts before I had to leave to the airport, they did not doubt about inviting them for lunch as well
- After lunch Mohammed took me back to the airport
- I am very happy I visited Kuwait, I was very lucky and I still have a great feeling of gratitude towards them
