TBK Travels- One foggy morning in the Middle East

Before I moved to the Middle East I thought it had permanent sun and occasional sandstorms but never thick fog! However we had a lot of fog in the early mornings of January and February each year. Like the rain, it brought all the idiots out on the roads. On a one hour drive to the capital, Manama , and back between 5.30 and 6.30 am to take a friend home after the weekend I saw the following:

50% of the vehicles had hazard lights on while weaving in and out of the traffic at speed
cars with high beam lights driving a few inches behind me
cars with one rear light not working so they looked like motorbikes
MOI and Traffic Police vehicles driving slowly with all their lights flashing
People walking in the road in black clothes
Guys filming the fog on their mobile as they drove
Guys crawling along in the fast lane with their Hazard lights on
A guy getting out of his car at the traffic lights to clean his windscreen as his windscreen wipers were not working

I am amazed there are not more accidents. Luckily I drove all over the UK ( 2 hrs. driving a day ) for 25 years and got used to driving in fog, rain. hail and snow. It's very simple:

Reduce your speed
Leave a bigger distance than usual from the car in front
DO NOT USE HAZARD LIGHTS
Use fog lights
Keep headlights on low beam
Check all your lights are working BEFORE setting off
Check your windscreen wipers are working and use them
Put your rear demister on
Check your water jets are working BEFORE you set off and the water tank is full

Fog on Christmas day 2016 from my 24th floor room at the Ezdan hotel, Doha

Fog can look very pretty if you are in a nice warm hotel room above it or at a safe viewpoint looking down on it, as my pictures from Doha and Awali show, but driving like an idiot in it can be lethal.

Fog in Dubai

Within a few hours of our first fog for 2021 the wonderful Bapco Health and Safety Team had issued their annual safety talk on driving in the fog! I was glad to see it mirrored my advice above.

Every year we have fog I am reminded of my second day in Bahrain in Feb 2010 when they gave me a new hire care to drive home in. It was an automatic car , the road had Arabic signs, In Bahrain they drive on the "wrong side" of the road ( compared to UK) and they expected me to make this journey in the rush hour. I was so scared I asked my then boss, Peter, for help! He kindly drove me home pointing out all the landmarks on the way. "These are the BDF Lights and these are the EWA chimneys, and these are the Riffa Palms lights etc.". I tried to memorize everything, practiced driving the car around Awali that night and , as Peter suggested, set off early the next day to avoid the morning rush hour traffic.

As I left my house I realised there was thick fog and I could not see a thing. I stayed calm, drove slowly, counted the sets of traffic lights and finally realised I was at what was then called the Refinery roundabout ( now replaced with a flyover). I counted the exits and signaled and drove down the road until I saw lights and a security gate where I turned in , proudly showing my new ID Badge.

"Hi. I am New here, Where should I go?"

The security man was very polite and managed not to laugh too much.

"Welcome to Bahrain sir. Your badge is for Bapco and this is Alba. You need to turn around. Take the next exit at the roundabout and then you will find Bapco! "

Another reminder on when you can use hazard lights from USA

Special thanks to Peter for his valiant attempts to show me around Bahrain. When I was packing for the Philippines I found some of the many maps he drew for me showing the way to some shop or another.

Peters map circa 2010

My favourite photo of Fog over the Awali Oil field in 2014 from the Awali Water tanks

I always remember Peter's Pipeline road ( because the oil pipeline from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain ran down beside it) and Spinneys roundabout ( because the Alosra supermarket used to be called Spinneys.) Most roads only have numbers, and so people call them after local landmarks

The best was from former colleague, Keith, who typed instructions for me on how to get to Riffa to get a key cut. ( see below) .He had previously given me verbal directions to the Awali gym and I had got lost! This time he made sure he was very clear! I am considering framing them when I get to the Philippines as a happy memory of life in Bahrain.

Keith's chabi email from 2010- I turned up and asked for ""do chabi" and he laughed and said "You want two keys?"

My brother, Richard, tried to help with a gift of a SAT NAV for my 50th Birthday, but they build new roads and reclaim land so fast here it often tells me I am driving over the sea!

Driving in a sand storm in Saudi Arabia

A week later I took another friend home at 5 am and we noticed there was debris everywhere as there had been high winds in the night. This time the sand ( from the dessert and unfinished buildings) and everyone's rubbish was being blown across the road very fast making it hard to see. For those who have not lived in the Middle east they do not use bins, they just throw their takeaway containers, cigarettes, empty water bottles and cans out the windows as they drive. The hazard light mob and all the others who enjoyed driving like crazy in the fog were out in force!

The Saudi website I got the picture above from lists 5 ways to drive safely in a sandstorm:

1. Check before you go out if a sandstorm is forecast ( and do not go out in one)

2. Keep your windows closed ( or the sand gets in)

3. Do not smoke ( it fogs up the inside of the car as the windows are closed)

4. Do not stop your vehicle in the middle of the road ( to take and upload sandstorm pictures and Tik Tok videos to the social media or tweet that some idiot just hit your car from behind in a sand storm)

5. Bizarrely, put your hazard lights on while driving ( illegal in Bahrain but it makes the Saudis easier to identify)

Source: Driving in a sandstorm in Saudi

One thing I shall not miss about Bahrain is other peoples driving or the fog/sand storms!