It is important to depart for Bahrain early lest you get stuck in the mass exodus. Aftere we crossed the causeway and enjoyed the wonderful view of being surrounded by water, we noticed a large herd of camels on the left. It looked like a camel market. I exclaimed - let's go camel shopping. So my travel companions and I ventured to the entrance to discover a security guard toting a rifle, whom informed us that this was not a public venue, but rather the sheik's private camel farm. We chatted up the guard and convinced him that we were harmless tourists from the US, Canada, Nigeria, Ireland, Sudan, and the Philippines, and he let us in to look at the camels. There were hundreds of camels segregated into groups - females, young males. breeding males, pregnant camels. We then convinced the foreman to let us ride the camels. It turned into quite a coo, gaining access to the sheik's private herd.
Then we ventured on to the Bahrain Fort - an 18th century citadel built by the Portuguese. It was in great condition, and a fabulous archeology experience. Afterwards, we winded around narrow streets in downtown Bahrain to find La Fontaine, a popular restaurant, converted from an old palacial estate.
We finished by going to the Seef Mall to see a movie - Cloverfield, a re-make of Godzilla in Manhatten. Arabs seem to have an infatuation with gargantuan malls, as everyone seems to descend to the mall in the evening. It was a fun day-trip adventure to another country. We got back to Dhahran at about 8pm.
