One of the sad parts of moving to a new home is saying goodbye to all your favourite places and friends. In December, with all my belongings packed and on the way to the Philippines, and all my marking done , I decided to celebrate by taking some lieu days, and an unpaid day, to go and say goodbye to two old Pinoy friends in Dubai.
I decided to go to some favourite haunts one more time (The Green Planet and Miracle Gardens) as well as catching up on my walking, swimming and sleep!
I decided to try
a new hotel this time and found a good rate at the J A Ocean view hotel ( 50 bd
a night for 2 with Breakfast) which is close to where my good friend Pav used
to live, and I used to stay, at JBR / Marina. It’s a great location, easily
accessible by Metro from the airport and on the Tram network and there is a
Water Taxi in the Marina. I love getting around Dubai as you buy a NOL card at
the airport (10 bd) and you can use it on the Metro, Trams, Water Taxis, Buses
and Taxis operated by RTA. If only it was so easy to get around Bahrain!
I finished work at lunchtime on Monday and Corleen took me to the airport clutching my passport, ticket and COV 19 negative test certificate. This time I decided to fly Emirates and having seen friends’ pictures on Facebook queuing outside for 90 mins decided to take no chances and get there early. The Emirates check in was closed and we had to wait outside for 60 minutes! Even though Bahrain’s new airport has been ready since May it still has not opened so in the Post COV 19 world they are boarding one flight at a time. Having got through the security check with my new Titanium hip (another first) I found that only Jasmi’s was open and elected for a healthy salad and a coffee that was so awful I could not drink it.
Then I walked to the far end of the airport where the Emirates flight was scheduled to depart at gate 11 at 5.45 pm. I was just thinking the old Bahrain airport looked scruffier than Kuwait (and that is saying something – see my Blog on my last trip to Kuwait) when they announced the Gulf Air Flight for Kuwait was departing from, wait for it, Gate 13. Unlucky for some! Our flight eventually boarded and took off 30 minutes late after chaotic scenes both at the gate ("Zone C and D only, everyone else SIT" ) and on the plane "Please sit in the seat on your ticket , sir" . We arrived at 8.30 pm and I was so exhausted I just had a taxi to the hotel arriving at 10 pm. The hotel declined my credit card ( to the max due to having to pay my relocation to the Philippines and Bapco refusing to reimburse me ) so I had to pay cash, taking 3000 of my 5000 Dirhams ( 300 out of 500 bd). My room was amazing and a cute waiter delivered a hot and delicious fish and chips which I ate on the Balcony watching the cars crawling up and down "The Walk" 18 floors below!
My Pinoy friends in Dubai, Jeyboy and Erickson work in the Hospitality Industry and on the Sunday before I arrived they sent me their shifts for the week which meant I could see each for 24 hrs during my visit. First to arrive was Erickson who I first met in Abu Dhabi in 2019 . He has now moved to Dubai and was on Night shift on Tuesday, off on Weds and on late shift on Thursday. He came around at 11 am on Tuesday and we had a taxi to Blue Water Island for lunch at Leen's Gourmet where we sat on the first floor overlooking the bay. I had a very healthy lunch of smoked salmon and Chicken and Mango salad with Lemon Mint.
The next day, after breakfast together and a sleep after his second night shift we had an amazing Lebanese lunch on "The Walk" with plenty of Hummus, Lemon Mint, Mixed grill and my favourite Kunafa.
At 3 pm we got a taxi to Green Planet which I first visited with Jeyboy in 2018 . It’s an amazing place with a recreation of a tropical rain-forest in the center. You go up in a lift and then walk round and round as you watch and learn about the birds and animals on the way down. According to their website “With more than 3,000 species of plants, animals and birds, this green oasis is a sanctuary of exotic flora and fauna”
On Thursday we got the metro to the Gold Souq to get some Pasalubong for my anak Jhoanna and then beat a hasty retreat from the guys constantly pestering you to buy silver and fake watches to the Creek where we had a 30 minute boat trip on an Abra.
After a quiet night in the hotel Jeyboy met me at Mall of the Emirates on Friday and then we got the bus to the Miracle Gardens. He first came to Bahrain from Kuwait in 2013 and helped type my first recipe book. Then I visited him in Kuwait in 2015 and I saw him in Dubai in 2014, 2018 and 2019.I first visited Miracle Garden with Thang in 2019 after Jim McDermott recommended it. Miracle Garden is the world's largest natural flower garden. The 72,000sqm park has an impressive line-up of famous buildings and structures completely transformed into colourful flower displays. We walked down the heart-shaped pathway, a popular spot for Instagrammers, and wandered amid floral castles with illuminated nightscapes and full-size houses. It was amazing to immerse ourselves among more than 50 million blooming flowers throughout the different exhibits. There were plenty of attractions to see, with a huge variety of quirky and alternative arrangements.
After I got the bus, metro and tram back to the hotel Erickson sent a KFC delivery for my dinner. Erickson then discovered he was off on Sunday so came for breakfast before we took a walk on the beach and then walked to Blue Water Island for coffee. We got a salad lunch at Carrefour and ate it on the Balcony and then I had a nap and he had a swim. In the evening Erickson did my packing ( mostly dirty laundry and Pasalubong) and then took me for dinner .
When I got back to Bahrain there was an email from the ILM team in Dubai asking how much longer I would be in Dubai as they had only just seen my email reminding them they had promised to take me for a farewell lunch while I was there!
We had our Farewell breakfast on Monday, and for once the hotel was very busy, and then we walked to the Tram and took it to the metro, and then had an hour long journey to the airport. I feared there may be the same chaos as when I left Bahrain but then realised I was in Dubai! We walked straight in, dropped off the bag at the automated self check in counter, and then went to eat in one of the many restaurants. After Erickson left I walked to the SMART gate, scanned my passport and once the camera confirmed I was Neil Porter was straight through for the very long walk to the gate!
The plane was late leaving and two thirds full. After our chicken tika sandwich we landed late. Then there was a massive queue to pay for the COV 19 tests ( thankfully my debit card worked). I got stuck behind an idiot feeding in 40 bd one dinar at a time , in the machine for people who did not have cash. Next there was a long queue at the passport gate ( someone wanted to pay for her visa by Credit card causing a 10 minute delay as 2 passport officers tried to get the credit card machine to work)- welcome to Shway shway Bahrain.
Next we had to queue to register for our COV test , then queue to have our COV test and instead of landing at 4 and being out of the airport at 430 as in Dubai we landed at 430 and got out at 630 ! Poor Corleen had been waiting two hours outside in the cold and dark. Luckily he managed to see me through the window and sent me the photo above! He dropped me off at home and I found a pizza in the freezer and started my 5 days quarantine.
I will tell you all about my Final Christmas in Bahrain in another Blog
All that remains is to thank Erickson, Jeyboy and the staff at JA Ocean view for looking after me so well on my final trip to Dubai
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Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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