Camping - Bahrain style

Camping – Bahrain style

comments 7
Going Out

There are a few things that’s done differently in Bahrain. The (lack of) use of indicators and mirrors while driving is one example. Camping is the other.

Last Friday night I drove out into the “desert” to spend the night with some friends, camping under the stars. Why the quotation marks? Because it was just half an hour away from home, in the middle of some oil fields. Not many. Just a few. And not so much camping under the stars as camping under some epic floodlights, which are a key feature of the camp.

Camping - Bahrain style

One of the four tents we had to ourselves. Pretty sweet!

See, camping is very different in Bahrain. Generally you don’t sleep overnight. Or stay more than 24 hours. You’ll do as we did, which was stay up the whole night, watch the sunrise and then head home to collapse into bed. And it’s generally something done in winter, when the temperature is more bearable outside. I don’t think it dropped much below 16 Celsius.

Camping - Bahrain style

Chasing the “cold” away with a roaring fire.

Then there’s the campsites. Each campsite is owned by someone and they rent them out. Much like owning a holiday home and renting it out for the holidays. Various campsites dot the area which ours was in. Very tightly packed in fact. Our glorious campsite had fully fitted toilets, a kitchen, 4 big tents as well as one tent fitting with a disco ball were our facilities. Oh, and the volleyball court, BBQ grills, speakers and a supply of palettes to be burned.

Camping - Bahrain style

The “disco” tent. The speaker on the right looks like it’s seen some things.

Each campsite is different. With different tents, facilities and prices. Some of them have rules regarding mixed groups. Some don’t.

Our campsite was down in Sakhir (Skheer). Nestled in amongst countless other camps and with a few oil fields littered around us. A nice little campsite where the entire evening was spent talking, eating, drinking and having general merriment. Looking back I’m trying to think as to how we just spent the entire evening doing only that.

Camping - Bahrain style

Watching the sunrise over all the camps.

As the morning rolled in and we patiently watched the sun rise. Within a blink of an eye it was up. Home time.

This was my first experience of camping. If it’s always like this, sign me up for next time.

7 Comments

  1. That sounds like the perfect version of camping to me. Good friends, a fire and get to sleep in your own bed at the end of it. Brilliant!

  2. moviesandsongs365

    Sounds like you had a nice time. Camping in December, now that’s something you only do in the warmer climate 🙂 Great campsite with all those facilities!

    • Yeah, camping in the winter – who’d have thunk it! Should see some of these guys here with their hats, gloves, scarves and winter jackets on. They don’t know what winter is 😉

  3. Cool. Looks like fun. And how pretty, too. I would imagine it is affortable since you are going w/ a group? It also seems romantic *blush* Well, maybe not the volleyball court 😛

    • Yeah, going in as a fairly large group is was very affordable. Think we paid BD5 each, which is about $13 at the moment.

      Ha! Yeah, there’s an air of romanticism to the place I guess. Sitting in front of the fire, wrapped up tight when it did get chilly. Yeah, I get that 🙂

  4. Okay, this version of camping is something I could definitely get used to. Although, I am pretty sure I will still doze off halfway through the night. Merriment experienced in the wee hours of the morning is something I doubt I will get to experience again with my current track record :/ … haha

    • Haha, there were plenty of dozers. And what with all the tents and sofas, plenty of places for said dozers to doze!

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