Dust Graffiti

Saw this driving home couple of days back, someone has drawn pictures through the dust coating on road work barriers. Neat hey. Scarey thing is, this is in the middle of a very busy roundabout where we see daily dented cars. Why walk there? Or was it the road construction dudes getting creative?

View from balcony during dust storm

Remember back at the end of March when my blog showed 3 lovely photos of the view out my front window?

Well today we are going to discuss the difference dust makes.

Check these out - it is a little dusty out there this morning, think I may just hibernate inside with my coffee machine.











right side view












Middle shot, at least the tree is still visible














looking out at sea

Oh so this is what they mean by humidity

Leaving the apartment yesterday morning heading for yet another fascinating day at work I was struck blind as my sunglasses completely fogged up the instant I left the beautiful A/C environment. Hmmm how odd I pondered, must be a hot one but why the fogging? Carried as per usual with my drive to work; ducking, diving, weaving and employing every defensive driving technique known to me finally I arrived safe and sound at work - always a nice feeling! No fog walking from car just whole lot of 'whew it's hot' comments as our small group walked slowly through the now solid heat feeling air. There is that small time zone of dread when you arrive, turn off the car engine and of course the A/C, then realise that yes, personal comfort levels will now plummet as the heat grips you. And I know that it's not even close to being as hot as it will get here yet...........

Now my little routine in the mornings is to unlock office, connect up the laptop, turn on the A/C in the office to cool it down for my colleagues then wander over to the staffroom where we have a REAL coffee machine and get my 2nd espresso hit for the day - hmmmm coffee.... however this morning a new twist - leaving the staffroom walking back to the outside courtyard once again my sunnies fogged, this time taking ages to clear.

And so it begins.

This is the first sign of what everyone here has been warning us 'newbies' about... the humidity, oh dear.

Temperatures in late 40's are one thing (bloody hot actually!) but high humidity they tell us with wise nods is unbearable. Every student has mentioned to me on more than one occasion 'don't stay in Bahrain over summer, it is completely horrible, no one stays...' and other such positive statements!!

According to the weather site it was 75% humidity yesterday morning and while it dropped during the day the temperatures stayed up and I'm starting to understand how it may feel over the next few months.

Best I stock up on water bottles and good underarm :-)

while driving home one day........

.......we spotted this random guy riding a donkey; he took off ahead of all the cars at the traffic lights, just such an unexpected and hilarious sight - man on donkey moving at speed not just during rush hour, but through miles of road works on the main highway between Manama and Saudi........... crazy or brave?

And where was he going?

Where had he been on his donkey?

Don't see much animal life around in Bahrain, so major surprise to see this.

Wasn't the best photo either as by the time I got my act together turned the camera on, fumbled around taking the usual photo of my hand while I work out which way the cell phone camera points..... anyway, at least I snapped him for my memory of Bahrain, even if he is disappearing off into distance. Don't think I'll get employment at National Geographic for wildlife shots.

Wonder if he is going to obey the "go slow" sign - NO ONE else does :-)

Or is this just McDonalds answer to solving global warming? Home delivery on Donkey instead of car. (yes McDonalds delivers here, as does Pizza Hut, Starbucks, etc etc one need never leave the house..............)

Swimming spot

Day out on a boat in Bahrain: This was one of the spots where the skipper stopped for everyone to leap in for a pleasant swim in the sea. I just thought the background was too classic not to capture on film.

Camel riding

Now I'm not sure it is possible to look dignified while preparing to dismount a camel. All very cool and comfy while the lovely animal is moving forward but that whole sudden surge forward, back and down - trying all the while to look cool and pretend you're not remotely concerned about slipping forward over the camel's head ending up dumped in the sand on your head in front of the crowd is not easy. Don't think I pulled it off!