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What did I do this week end. I went to Bahrain for the weekend, here the weekend is thursday and friday. I needed a break from Saudi which is very conservative.
Bahrain is a small country population only 685,000 that got into the semi finals of the Asia soccer cup. It was really hot and humid.
Bahrain is very different from Saudi in that anything is permissable. No sooner had I booked into my hotel that the phone was constantly ringing, prostitutes offering their services. These girls come from all over the world to ply their trade, Quite a few used to be teachers. Most of the clients are from the Gulf states and business is usually done at the weekend. I noticed one gentleman in a bar was actually praying with his prayer beads at the same time as negotiating a price with a girl. (That was an interesting combination) Alchohol is freely available, and I was able to get a good Chilean red wine quite cheaply.
Some of the expats that I met seemed to be working in near slave conditions. Ethiopian waitresses and bar maids told me that they received no wages, and had to rely on tips. They were working 12 hours a day seven days a week. A sad life.
There are churches in Bahrain. I went to a Catholic one on friday morning. Most of the large congregation were Indian with a few Fillipeanoes. The interesting thing was that after the English Mass there was one in Arabic, so that suggests some christian influence among the locals.
I will r4eturn there in about 6 weeks when the temperature falls .
One other thing I did was to go and see Michael Moores film
Fahrenheit 9 11. If you like George Bush you will hate it .
If you like John Kerry you will love it. It all depends on your view point.
