Now that we have the Gents, vacations and holidays are a bit different for us. Before kids, trips were much more carefree. We're not going to stop travelling and we'd much rather them be with us, but it definitely makes for some adjustments and more planning. Travelling can be costly and it's regrettable if we're not all enjoying ourselves. With that in mind, I definitely feel more aware of the journey during it - how we’re experiencing it, consciously living in the moments, tag teaming C&R so that J and I are maximizing time with them while we're all having fun...awareness is a lot of work. And now more than ever, I’m trying to be aware of as much as possible so I can share our experiences with you all. This first trip to another GCC country was enlightening from a Muslim and Middle East perspective, plus we're always learning a little more about ourselves, too...
People still live in tents in the desert. It’s 2017 and, I repeat, people still live in tents…IN THE DESERT. I suppose it’s kind of fantastic and romantic, right? This really intrigues me and I want to know more about these Bedouins. There may be some desert glamping in our future.
Do you know there are tan, white AND black camels? I'm pretty sure we saw a few camel farms, which may explain the tents as I now understand that some Bedouins raise camels. There also appeared to be much smaller packs of camels roaming free. I’m sure the novelty of these animals will wear off, I know they're dirty and they spit, but for now I still want to ride a camel.
Saudi drivers are maniacs. I thought it was bad in Riyadh but it seems that driving is even more aggressive in the dessert. Lanes are mere suggestions, passing on the shoulder is completely normal, and people make the quickest lane changes into a car length's space. I kept having flashes of Robert Duvall in Days of Thunder saying, "Rubbing's racing." Needless to say, being in a car in KSA, with the Gents, makes me a little uneasy. Driving in off peak hours is much better. It’s experiences like those that make me feel good about the driving skills J picked up in the Army and that I’m not allowed to drive here.
Bahrain is lovely but it's humid AF. I knew it would be steamy, but I’ve never experienced every pore on my body opening up at the same time and sweat immediately pushing out. Understandably the resort was not very busy, which was nice, but I think we’ll return in the late Fall and Winter months when the temp and humidity will be more manageable.
Modesty is more prevalent in Bahrain than I imagined. As much as I like to envision the empowering image of women tossing their abaya, hijab and niqab out the window of their vehicles as soon as they cross the border, the truth is many Muslim women are still completely covered in Bahrain. And these women were sitting outside! I supposed much like how I’ve become acclimated to Riyadh dry heat, these women have acclimated to the humidity? I even saw a few burkinis for those modest women that got into the water. Juxtaposed there were a few Middle Eastern women in bikinis. I didn’t feel so haram in my two-piece after seeing them.
I expected a bit of excess from the locals when it came to alcohol, given that it is available, but there weren’t many Muslims drinking alcohol. In fact, I actually heard some specifically order mocktails. I think the only people that we drinking were the expats, me included. It was really nice to have a Negroni at lunch and wine pairings with dinner though!
Keeping with religious practices, I was impressed with the number of people praying on the side of road during sundown prayer on the drive back to Riyadh. I’m talking vehicle parked, prayer rug laid out and kneeling to Mecca prayer. Legit. Mind you, there were still a lot of cars driving, but the devotion by some definitely made me feel some Catholic guilt. Prayer time is a great reminder for me to pray.
Travelling with friends and their kids you all REALLY like is wonderful. T works with J, and I quickly hit it off with T's wife H when she and their almost 4 year-old boy-girl twins(!) arrived. We've spent a lot time with this family already so it was a no-brainer when T asked if we wanted to go to Bahrain with them. J & T often play golf together, which means us ladies have solo duty with the kids. We took advantage of some spa time and had a one-cocktail, girls night out after the kids went down. I know not very crazy, but these are big deals after kids! I think we going to have to travel with them more.
We learned that 19 month-olds can only sit still for so long without entertainment. I knew the Gents would eventually get bored during the drive. This boredom resulted in C's shrill screaming that pained my heart, and ears. In an out of character move, while I was sitting in the back trying to calm C, J abruptly passes my phone back to me. He’s not keen on using the screen to entertain them and I don’t want to be reliant on it either. We'd been delaying the inevitable. This is an instance when you switch to survival mode and do whatever needs to be done to get through the moment. I quickly went to YouTube and found a 74 minute video of nursery rhymes. STC reception is spotty in the middle of the desert so C was getting frustrated when the video kept freezing. At that moment H rang me, heard C crying in the background and immediately empathized. H usually has an iPad and extra phone with her for their twins. We made a quick pit stop and she loaned us their iPad, loaded with all sorts of videos. I don’t know how people survived without these things. They must have just let their kids scream. C was soon content and R was happy to wake up to see the Curious George movie playing. And yes, this exact story replayed itself on the ride back to Riyadh. Honestly, I don't feel that guilty about giving into the almighty screen. These guys don’t really watch TV anyway so if a little screen time on a road trip makes them happy and quiet, that’s fine by me. Seeing their faces light up watching something they enjoy is reward. I guess it’s time to finally get an iPad though.
The Gents are becoming swimmers! Although they’re both wearing a “Puddle Jumper” they are surprisingly comfortable in the water already. When they see their swim gear now they actually get excited. The older twins, E&E, are really good swimmers, which has already been a positive influence on C&R. The Gents are learning quite a bit from them already – kicking their legs and moving their bodies in the direction they want to go. We barely need to hold them in the water since they can now control their bodies pretty well, rolling to their backs so they can float. They see E&E jump into the water so now C&R are getting brave enough to walk off a ledge to “jump” in, too. It's fun to see what they're picking up from older kids. Now E&E just need to teach C&R to talk or at least interpret the twin speak for us!
On a final note, and funny story, we learned that J is an excellent paddle boarder. He and T went on a minor rescue mission in Bahrain Bay for a pair of sunglasses that fell off H while she was in the pool. J took a paddle board (first time ever) and T was in a kayak to go fish the sunglasses out of the bay. J started paddling, FAST. I’ve never seen anyone move that quickly on a board. Racing T to the sunglasses, J gets there first, jumps into the water and comes up with the sunglasses. I cheer, “Yay Dad!” as the Gents watch. Gallantly, he places them on his face and proceeds to get back on his board. And he falls off. The sunglasses are lost, again! T then swoops in on his kayak, jumps into the water to soon come up with the prized sunglasses. It was much more fitting that T save the day and retrieve his love’s sunglasses though. The friendly competition in chivalry was sweet and such a perfect comedic J moment!
Sadly it was a quick trip, but a good one for us to get familiar with the drive. Knowing how easy it is to get there, I know we’ll be back soon. I’m thrilled to still be learning so much about the culture and people here, to see our little gentlemen develop and grow stronger, spend QT as a family and have good friends to travel with.