New Delhi, India
The plan was pitch-perfect: we had a six hour layover in the Kingdom of Bahrain - a speck of a country located just off the coast of Saudi Arabia - and would go into the Adilya district for dinner and be back in time for our midnight flight to India. We had even been adopted by an adorable expatriate family who offered to drive us into the city on their way home. The border guards had other plans. "No entry," the guard curtly told us. "Even for dinner?" I asked pathetically, watching our adoptive family freely walk towards baggage claim. "No entry. You would have to tear up your plane ticket in order to enter." Damn.
Despite another airport employee's suggestion that we, "wait until the next shift of guards starts and try again," Tom and I decided it would be best not to sneak into a Middle Eastern country hours before our connecting flight (or ever for that matter). Instead, we would try to keep ourselves busy for six hours in an airport the size of your average Macy's. Luckily, as an international hub for many Middle Eastern ports of call, BIA is anything but boring for a fresh-eyed Westerner. Here are my tips if you ever find yourself in the same situation:
1. Watch Other People Watching the Ridiculous Animatronic 'Welcome to Bahrain' Display
Hearkening back to the days when Bahrainians actually fished (versus importing all manual labor as they now do) is the apparently-enchanting Pearl of Bahrain fountain. The two fisherman do the Robot in "It's a Small World After All"-style while pantomiming the action of fishing in the pristine gulf waters. Saudi Arabians especially found this quaint, taking turns snapping photos in front of it. Children mimicked the actions of the fisherman. Oddly, some visitors videotaped the repetitive action for several minutes. Others just pointed and laughed.
2. Discover Burqa Bling
Why should subjugation have to be boring? I was shocked and needless to say intrigued when I noticed many women sporting jilbābs, loose fitting cloaks that cover the arms and legs, bedazzled with more rhinestones than you'd find on a New Jersey prom dress. These cloaks were also on hand at several shops, pictured above. Meanwhile, over at the Duty-Free Lancome counter, women with as much as an entire face and as little as just her eyes were getting lessons in eyeshadow application. The woman working the counter looked as if she was making up for not being able to show the rest of her face by caking layers of blue make-up and mascara onto her bright brown eyes. I pondered the meanings behind all this while applying a sample of Clarin's Gentle Nightcream moisturizer in preparation for a dehydrating plane ride.
3. Watch WWF Over Freedom Fries at McDonald's
I don't care how open-minded you are, it is a total mind-trip to see members of a conservative Islamic family chopping down on Big Macs, slurping down Cokes, all while taking in the latest WWF soap opera displayed on a flat screen television at the front of the restaurant. I was always told that Middle East residents despise all incarnations of Western culture, but the mom in the nicqab's sole concern appeared to be her son's inability to open the ketchup packets without squirting Freedom Paste on her cloak.
In our brief and completely inadequate attempts at learning about Bahrain, we learned that this small nation is considered a more progressive Islamic state. It employs a constitutional monarchy that in 2002 awarded the right for women to vote and hold office. Still, as the women's movement attempts to gain ground, setbacks such as campaigns to prevent women from line-drying their own underwear outside and to prevent mannequins from displaying lingerie undermine progress. As if wearing a burqa isn't bad enough, they want to add the discomfort of wet panties into the equation? Forward thinking? I think not.
4. Shop Duty-Free
Ladies, hours can be spent at the BIA cosmetics area sampling the test creams, make-up and perfumes. For gentleman, there are watches, Ferraris and fine bottles of Scotch for your perusal. Both genders can enjoy the bizarre array of branded "Bahranian Gifts" in the stereotypical forms of stuffed animal camels, flying carpet mouse pads, packaged Turkish Delights, and -most unusually- cartoonish versions of happy women in burqas painted on salt shakers (which we purchased because I didn't think anyone would believe they existed otherwise).
5. Browse the Bookstore
This can easily kill four of the six hours, and should be done in intervals. Excellent chance to guiltlessly read US Weekly without actually paying for US Weekly.
6. Enjoy a $6 Cup of Tea While People Watching
Over my absurdly expensive cup of tea, I complimented a girl on her Chloe bag, watched a group of traditionally dressed young people play a group game with an I-Pad, and made friends with a Somalian baby. It was one of the more interesting cups of tea I've had in a while.
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