Back to writing :)

It has been 6 months since my last update here. So many things were happening throughout but I never tried to write anything other than updating my facebook.

I started going to a gym, following a very strict diet plan and lost many inches from my waist. After 6 months I have become 74.5Kg from 81.5Kg. Waist has reduced from 37" to 32" and I feel so good to wear Medium size again. I'm not that wow about it coz i was like this two years back. Still need to work out hard and be back in proper shape. :)

Eid holidays were spent in Dubai as I wasp planing for few months. That was an awesome experience to me. Visiting many places and seeing many things in Dubai, made me so happy.

Jeewani moved to Qatar, Met many new friends, Watched 3D movies, Bought an iPhone, Few new stuff to wear, Got addicted to Family guy and Master Chef Australia, Tried different types of food, Sheesha, Being mad about the driving test, Issues and happy moments at work, Experiencing the attitudes and kindness of people. That's the summary of last 6 months.

Hope to continue writing...Inshaalla!

United Bahrain

It was pretty interesting to be a part of this work. Check 0.57 sec and 1.01 min for a surprise...

Vocals by: Flipp, May AlQasim, Mohammed Janahi, Rashid Hanthal, Hamad AlFardan. Oud by: Ahmed AlHermi. Bass by: Yasser AlBanna. Track Arranged & Produced by: DJ Outlaw. Video Filmed & Directed by: Ammaro Productions. Additional Footage by: Fardan Raffii. Video Editing by: Elements Productions. 

Visit www.ammaro.com for more info

Our lives have turned up side down

Lives of many expatriates have turned upside down due to the unset. The death of a Pakistani, and the injured Bangladeshi guys have frightened the whole expat community. The story behind the attacks against Pakistanis and Bangladeshis is because the Sunni Muslims from those countries have obtained Bahrain nationality for past years. I think the government has taken this step to increase the Sunni community in the country which ultimately made the Shia majority to stand against this procedure.

We have been asked not to go to office or anywhere out of the house these days. The situation is not that bad but still it is better to avoid any unnecessary incidents. GCC Army has arrived the country to help the government to calm down the situation which has made huge arguments in the whole world again. However, we are stuck at home for the send day as well.

We bought some food items, telephone cards, water and few other things to use in case if an emergency occurs. So far the situation is all right but the roads are still empty. Shops and restaurants close earlier than the regular time and people buy things in bulk and store at house. The lives has somehow or the other turned upside down for us.

Here are few text messages I got yesterday. Don’t know how far they are accurate.

“From ministry of interior source: Troops from the GCC’s Peninsula shield military force have arrived in Bahrain to help maintain order and security in the Kingdom. Public are advised to refrain from being out and to always bring CPR for identity”

“Protestors are given a warning & a deadline to evacuate pearl roundabout. Emergency is declared. Army will spread out in every city. Martial law is introduced.”

“Stay at home, keep important food, water, bread, candles, torch, charge the mobiles and listen to the radio” 

Bahrain Unrest Cont.

Sunday was another terrific day here in Manama. Clashes took place in the city in front of Bahrain Financial Harbor when the Police tried to redirect the protestors from there to Lulu, where the Perl roundabout is. There were video footages on YouTube at showing how the Police attacked the so called peaceful protestors and how the protestors counterattack.

Office was dead quite from the morning. Clients were not responding to the calls or mails. Roads were jammed with traffic in the morning. Many offices and shops closed early due to the unrest. We were also asked to go home after lunch. Our accountant Sameer’s cousin was trapped inside University of Bahrain as the anti government protests were making issues at the uni. Anita was worried about the kids as they got very late to come back home after school due to heavy traffic. I heard about the death of one Pakistani guy in the evening. Few other men were also hospitalized due to attacks.

I learnt the fact that the Shia majority has faced difficulties throughout the years as well as how the current ruling family has developed the country. Well its too early to decide which party is right as there are many arguments for and against. The protestors want the ruling family to give up the regime but the Sunnis are supporting the government. Whatever the end result will be, I think it should happen through a peaceful dialog but not through violence like this.

The situation here is bit similar to what has happened in Sri Lanka in 1980s between Tamils and Sinhalese.  Why I’m telling like that is because that time there was a conflict between the two races due to misunderstandings and political agendas. One race wanted to be dominant over the other when it comes to power. Even though the major issues were solved by that time, later it evolved as a terrorist issue which ultimately resulted a dark cloud in the history for 30 years.  As a child who grew up with a war in the country, I have always learnt that it was against terrorism but not against a specific race. It was not an ethnic problem but a war against a terrorist group who wanted to divide the country. But the ugly truth as per many wise people was that the ethnic conflict between the majority and the minority races was the seed of that unpleasant war.

As per what I see here, I’m afraid that the same might happen to Bahrain if people do not try to understand each pothers problems at this stage. At the end of the day, we all are people with different beliefs in mind but with the same red blood in the heart.

Glad to know the friends are safe....

Finally I managed to speak to Sayuri and Susantha ayya today. There are safe and sound away from their home. They live in Saithama, a city close to Tokyo, but have gone to southern area of the country for skating while the earthquake took place. They are now stuck there as the trains are not operating. She said that they felt the earthquake but no major damages to that area. According to her, some parts of the country near the capital, is suffering from no electricity or water due to the situation. She still doesn’t know what has happened to her house in Saithama. Hope everything will be safe with them and all the citizens out there in Japan. I sent a message to all our gang via facebook informing that Sayuri and family are safe. I knew that all my other friends are worried as well.

Further, I spoke to Thamali one of my friend from uni who is now in Japan. Happy to know that she is safe too.   She was very scared and told me that she thought she might die yesterday. the thing is we Sri Lankans have no major experience in earthquakes and I have never even felt a minor one in my life. So this is a total new experience for a Sri Lankan who is there.

We cannot predict the Nature

Another weekend has come. I couldn’t have a proper sleep for the whole week. So after a very long nap on Thursday night, I got up around 12.30pm on Friday with the breath taking news of the Tsunami. After the magnitude 8.9 earthquake in the sea near Japan, 10 meter huge tidal waves have hit the country. It took my mind to the 2004 tsunami devastation in Sri Lanka. What an unpleasant time was that…

While watching Al Jazeera and CNN, I tried so many times to contact Sayuri who lives in Japan. I was so worried as there was no way to know whether her family is safe. After couple of hours we heard that the waves hit Philippines, Hawaii and US main land resulting no major damages. The death toll was to rise up to 1300 by today, the Saturday according to Al Jazeera.

This was the 7^th most powerful earthquake in the recorded history and the worst in Japanese history. I think fortunately the death count was low comparing to 2004 incident due to the proper communication and evacuate system in Japan. What happened back there in Sri Lanka was that we were not aware of tsunami as it was completely new to us. That was the first time in most of the Sri Lankans ever heard the word tsunami including me. So people were so excited to go and experience the sudden change of the sea rather than going away from it. I think every Sri Lankan lost either a friend or a relative in 2004 tsunami. The whole country was like one funeral that time.

One bullet train is reported to be missing in Japan. This is exactly as what happened in Thelwaththa in 2004. I remember the story of how one my cousin sister had a narrow escape from that incident with her child while her husband is still missing.

One of the main issues now Japan is facing is the possible nuclear radiation which might occur due to the failure of the cooling systems in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. An explosion has occurred in on of the plants and Al Jazeera was sowing the white smoke coming out of the plant. The media are talking about the possible results of a nuclear radiation which terrifies the whole world.

You might be in Japan, Hawaii or New Zealand, our hearts are with you... May the world be safe and united for the benefit of all the global citizens...

Travelling by Bus

After shopping, we got in to a bus for the first time after coming to Bahrain. There were two types of buses. One large bus which is similar to the tourist busses in Sri Lanka. The other one is bit small, similar to the regular intercity buses there. 

One very interesting fact was that there was no conductor in the bus. When you get in to the bus, you have to give the money to the driver. I don’t know whether they offer tickets, but we did not get any. (Jeewani told me today that they gave tickets. 6th March) Inside the bus is branded in few ways. Sandwich panes were used to brand the sides, back of the seats and the holding hangers. There is a TV at the front which shows advertisements mainly.

From Manama to Adliya it was 200 phils. Unexpectedly in a country like this, we noticed few sellers going to each bus selling small small things. Well it was interesting that Sri Lanka is not the only country which has those things.

Exploring the city

Last weekend was also spent at home. We tried to go to Budeiya but the roads were closed. The most awaiting trip for last few weeks was postponed again. Sachi, Jeewani and I spent around 30 minutes to find the right bus stop, more than one hour waiting for a bus before we got to know the roads are closed.

Yesterday, we went to Manama to buy some groceries for us. We managed to find the Lulu centre and Central market after walking nearly 45 minutes from Adliya to Manama though small lanes. Those lanes were similar to the cross streets at Pettah in Sri Lanka. There we can find almost everything we need at a very cheap cost. Most of the sales people were Asians at those shops. When a customer passes by they speak in all the possible languages and invites to their shop. Since we were talking in Sinhala while we were walking, they called us in Sinhalese many times. After talking to few of them we realized that they have learnt some words and the numbers to attract the customers, but do not speak our language.

Bahrain Unrest

Situation became very different suddenly after the huge clashes during the first week. There were so many pro-government rallies were organized with the support of many Bahrainis.  Unfortunately they didn’t attract the international media as much as the anti-government protests.

 As it’s expected, BBC and Al Jazeera are only talking about the anti-government protests while the state media only talk about the pro. The crown prince called for an immediate dialog with the relevant parties and took away all the army troops from the Perl round about. The roundabout has become the main centre for these pro-reform protests. 

I got a chance to pass the area couple of time during last few weeks.  A remarkable number of women were noticed at the place. Young men were e waving flags and showing the images of the victims to the people who passed by. Many young people were very active in the demonstrations. A very young woman or a man walking around wearing the flag on the back is a common scene in the city.

Both anti and pro government rallies were organizes in a major scale for last couple of days. I witnessed one pr- reform rally near Central market yesterday. Thousands of people marched together holding flags and making different statements.   

Clashes in Bahrain

Anti government protests which started on last 14th, have affected the whole country. We were warned by many parties about the potential issues prior to the starting date. 24 hour petrol by air and land gave the yellow lights of the upcoming incident. The protests were started on 14th ,the day which marks the anniversary of the Nation Action Charter of the Kingdom. So there was a big rally organized to support the government while there were anti-government protests as well. Finally, 14th February, Valentine’s Day was very warm with full of actions. 

15th was an Islamic holiday. The whole day was very boring since I couldn’t go anywhere due to the protests. After spending the morning and afternoon inside the room, I went to the Andalus Garden for a walk. There were quite a lot people in the garden, doing their regular exercises and sports but the roads were not that busy. Gudeibia police station was crowded. I came back home soon, after getting messages about the problems. Roads in Manama was closed and also all the shopping malls.

Heard about the death of two Bahrainis on 14th and the there was a rumor about the death of the third person on 15th. We don’t have a way of getting proper news as we don’t have cable television as home. Only available one for us at the moment is Channel 55, which shows only the development projects and the government news, again in Arabic. Tried listening to radio, but didn’t work. Only source which I knew was internet. So I started watching and reading Al Jazeera and BBC but I doubt about the accuracy as I know how they acted during the war in Sri Lanka. While GDN and Daily Tribune (Local Papers) were mainly talking about the pro-government rally while the foreign media focus on anti-government activities.

16th was a working day. I went to Sitra in the morning. The roads were peaceful and calm. The centre point of the anti government activities was the Pearl round about. Heard about the peaceful protests at the centre point and in other areas. The environment was warm as there were two deaths. Many people I met were talking about the circumstances which might arise due to these deaths. The helicopters are in 24 hour duty still and the police cars can be seen everywhere.

17th is a shocking day. Heard about the clashes at the Peal round about early in the morning. Almost all the offices and the shopping malls are closed. My meetings got cancelled, and we closed the office at around 12.30pm. Finished the work in the morning while watching Al Jazeera for the updates. According to them, two more are dead due to the army attacks and many people are admitted to Salmania Hospital. But the rumors were saying that it’s more than eight.

The anti-government protests are organized by Shia, the majority with 70% of the total population. They are demanding the Prime minister who is holding the tile for 40 years to resign, Housing and Jobs for all the people and many more. I do not know how far these demands are fair.

The life is becoming very different after the arising of these issues. Internet is extremely slow. Have to go through hell to log in to fb or Google. Last weekend was full of fun and never thought that I will be stuck at home this weekend. Though the protests were expected, honestly I though it won’t drag for days. 

Find Al Jazeera Bahrain blog here

Everything happens for the good

I found this nice story from Harshaa’s facebook profile. This anonymous story tells us the value of positive thinking and one of the great success principals on earth.

There was once a King who had a wise advisor. The advisor followed the King everywhere, and his favorite advice was, "Everything happens for the good". One day the King went hunting and had a little accident. He shot an arrow at his own foot and was injured. He asked the advisor what he thought about the accident, to which the advisor replied, "Everything happens for the good". This time the King was really upset and ordered for his advisor to be put in prison. The King asked his advisor, "Now, what do you think?" The advisor again replied, "Everything happens for the good". So the advisor remained in prison. 

The King later went on a hunting trip, this time without the advisor. The King was then captured by some cannibals. He was taken to the cannibals' camp where he was to be the evening meal for the cannibals. Before putting him into the cooking pot he was thoroughly inspected. The cannibals saw the wound on the King's foot and decided to throw him back into the jungle. According to the cannibals' tradition, they would not eat anything that was imperfect. As a result the King was spared. The King suddenly realized what his advisor said was true. The advisor also escaped death because had he not been in prison, he would have followed the King on the hunting trip, and would have ended up in the cooking pot. 

Success Principle 

It is true that everything in life happens for a purpose, and always for our own good. If you think about it, all our past experiences actually happened to bring us to where we are today, and it is always for the good. All the past experiences make us a better person. So, whatever challenges that we may face today, consider it happening to bring us to the next level.

Find the story here

TGIF Again!

Friday is always a relaxing day for me. Sleeping for a long time, exploring the city, Chatting to friends, Reading something, tiring something new and experiencing the local life are the parts of my Friday schedule. Unfortunately I could not attend to the AIESEC conference as I have to engage with some work this weekend.

I woke up around 11.45 a.m. as every Friday, after a very good sleep. We had lunch at home as Aunty offered us some nice Sri Lankan food made with Sri Lankan curry powder. After few hours spending online and for office work, Sachi, Akila, Jeewani and I got ready to go to City Centre. Harshani, who lives close by offered us a life to the place. It was around 5 p.m. when we left home.

The whole time was full of fun, laughing, playing games and shopping. The game zone at City centre was awesome. Well initially we were lost without knowing what to do, but then started having fun. Had KFC at the food court and then went shopping. It was raining outside when we started walking back home, but not for a long time. We walked back home while listening to Sachi’s horror stories and Jeewani’s ghost stories. Then again few hours at home having an awesome dinner secretly coz we did not want aunty and uncle to wake up in the midnight and scream for us getting late. Lol. Anyway the plan got caught as aunty woke up suddenly but after we finished having a superb dinner time. Anyway last night was full of fun with Sachi, Akila and Jeewani.

I bought a Sony Cyber-shot digi cam from City Centre. Always wanted to buy a small cam, as I need it badly. Well hope that this will be enough to take capture some nice moments, till I buy my professional camera soon. 

The Garbageman

The night was very cold and windy. Azhar and I were sitting at the mosque and he suddenly spoke to a laborer who came that way. That was an old man with an uniform going to clean the garbage bins along the roads. His duty starts at late night and goes till the morning. He didn’t look very fit to work. He was supposed to be at home pampering his grand children and having great days his life, if his life was fair. But unfortunately, it was not.

 Azhar spoke to him in Hindi and asked “Keise ho Bhai Sahab?”  The man was very happy to hear that and he came to us, wished us and said that he was on the way to work.  I saw his innocent eyes were brightened with happiness of two strangers asking him how he is doing. Nobody notices him cleaning the bins at night which allow us to fill them back in the morning with our garbage. Nobody notices him working at night in his old age but only the clean roads in the morning. Nobody wants to ask how he is doing as he is just another garbage man.  He gave his hand to us, waved it softly and wished us the blessing of Allah. I’m sure neither Azhar knew him nor the old man knew Azhar. But, once small question made a normal garbage man feeling so special at that night. I saw it in his eyes.

“We have to go to the level of the people who are lower than us, to see what we have in our lives” 

were Azhar’s words to me. We will realize how lucky we are to have what we have right now when you look at the needy people. We will stop complaining and be glad to our lives instead.

How difficult is your life?

Life is very strange indeed. It is always with ups and downs. Sometimes it’s fair, sometimes it’s not. When you get things easily in life, definitely you will lose a lot too. If you have money, you don’t have happiness. If you have happiness, you don’t have money. If you have love, you may not see that. If you are good in your job, may be you are alone in life.

That is life and we have to accept it as it is. We might complain about what we don’t have in our lives as we can’t see what exactly we have. I used to do that a lot but not anymore. I’m glad that what I have got in my life. I have lost so many things may be because I deserve better in future.

I read this quote once but I don’t remember who has said it.

 “We always say that the life is very difficult. But, Compared to what?”

Nothing is easy in this world. Do you think living the day today life is easy? Leaving the loved once is easy? Studding is easy? Earning and spending is easy? Having a child or becoming a parent is easy? Being happy is easy? Nothing is easy. Everything has its own difficulties and problems. So we cannot find anything easy to compare our lives with and say that this is very difficult that the other. We just have to accept the life as it is and look in to the ways of achieving the best out of what we have.
Picture Source

Celebrating the 63rd Independence Day

Sri Lankan Society of Bahrain has organized an event to celebrate the 63^rd Independence Day of Sri Lanka yesterday. It was very nice to witness the presence of around 1000 Sri Lankans at the event. As what I heard, there are three Sri Lankan societies in Bahrain which are based on Gudeibiya, Budeiya and Rifa.

One thing I noticed was that most of the Sri Lankans who are in Bahrain, have lived here for a long time. If you hear someone says “this is my 7^th year, 10^th year or the 20^th year in Bahrain” well, that is very normal. Don’t know how long am I going to stay in this small country….will see how it comes…

Sachi and I went along with our house owners to this event. The place was at 10 minute walk from home. Aunty, Uncle, Akila and Jeewani joined with us. 

Home Away Home

We moved to our new place on 1^st of February. The earlier place was alright but the new place is better. Sachi and I went shopping to buy the necessities to the new place. We went to “Last Chance” and bought pillows, comforters, two small cupboards, a cloth rack, hangers and many more. We both finished work very late that night but we managed to shift all our stuff to the new place. We couldn’t find a vehicle to shift the bags so had to carry the bags and move them. Three rounds, its Kalas (Finish in Arabic).  After arranging the room till the down, I went to bed abound 3.30 am and got up at 6.30 am.

The new place belongs to a Sri Lankan family and located very close to the office. It’s in the top floor of a 3 story building with an attached bath room. A very cozy and lovely place which makes me feel like home. 

At Cafe Lilou with Rana and Shaila

Sudheera, my good friend who was in the same MC with me introduced me to “Rana” one of his friends in Bahrain. Rana is an AIESEC alumna from NYIT in Bahrain. I met Rana Ali and her friend Shaila Sabt who is the crown holder for Bahrain Top Model 2010 on my second Friday here. They gave me a nice welcome treat, after going round and round and finalizing where to go to have some sweets. lol. Finally we managed to stop at “Café Lilou” at Adliya.

Café Lilou, the sophisticated French café is one of the hot spots in Adliya. It is a great place to spend some time leisurely enjoying a hot coffee, a healthy salad or a delicious dessert.  The exquisite chocolate domes and other sweets which are displayed in the glass cabinet won’t let you go out without tasting one. Café Lilou won the Citi Bank FACT Award 2010 for the Favorite café in Bahrain. This was selected by public through a three month voting process. If you happened to visit there once, you will feel like going again and again for sure!

Had a very nice time laughing, driving though the city and at Café Lilou. Sudda, Rana, Shaila and Café Lilou, Thank you!

Find the Location  

Find Cafe Lilou on Facebook

Koththu at Gudeibia

 Gudeibia is another area which is very close to Adliya. It's also home to many Asians and just five minute walk from my office. I went there today for a walk and dropped in to an Indian restaurant called "Rajadhani". They have many Sri Lankan foods as well. My friend said that the very first chefs in that restaurant were Sri Lankans and still their menu is used by the current chefs. So after a long time I had a very nice Koththu there and indeed it was damn tasty. Though I'm not a big Koththu fan, a cream chicken soup, Chicken koththu, Green salad and Citrus 7up with extra lemon....wow!!!!

Gudeibia is a bit like Pettah in Sri Lanka. Not exactly but a bit similar. Many narrow roads, so many shops with almost everything, busy crowd give the same feeling. It is very crowded and very active even at night. There are few Sri Lankan food cabins are there but still didn't get a chance to visit. Sinhalese name boards and Com bank pennant in Currency exchange centre made me feel like I'm in Sri Lanka. The walls are packed with various kind of notices and small advertisements. Unlike in SL, posters are not popular at all in Bahrain.

BIsB (Bahrain Islamic Bank) where I opened my savings account recently, is also located at Gudeibia. Tomorrow I have to go there to withdraw money as I'm getting my first salary tomorrow. Have a list of items to purchase as I'm planing to shift my accommodation from 1st of February. Keeping my finger crossed for the coming month.

AIESEC in Bahrain

The first thing I did when I came to Bahrain was trying to get in touch with AIESEC in Bahrain. I sent a mail to Ines, MCVP TM and the elect MCP,  replied at the next moment. We met at Costa Coffee at Adliya and had a very long chat on many topics. It was very interesting to know an AIESECer anywhere in the world as you find many things in common to discuss. Ines Baricevic, a Croatian from AIESEC Slovenia is in Bahrain from August 2010.

AIESEC in Bahrain is still very young and has a long way to go. Yes, there will be many practical difficulties when you run the organization, but I hope that Ines will do a great job. Another interesting thing was to find that one of my client is in the BOA of AIESEC.

I’m planning to participate to NatCo 2011 which will be held from 9^th to 12^th Feb and get to know more and more friends. All the best AIESEC in Bahrain!
Find AIESEC in Bahrain in Facebook 
Watch AIECEC in Bahrain on YouTube

At City Centre with Azhar

Bahrain City Centre

Azhar, another new friend I found in Bahrain on my first Thursday here. He is very helpful from the day one as he has 8 year experience in this Kingdom. I though it’s a very long time to stay here, until I met a Sri Lankan lady who is here for last 18 years. Hanging around with Azhar makes me feel comfortable and happy. Always it is very nice to have friends around, who really care as it makes you realize that you are not alone anymore. So thank you brother for the great time and for all the guidance!

Last week I went to Bahrain City Centre with Azhar and his friend. City Centre is the first and biggest mixed-use development in Bahrain offering the best shopping, leisure and entertainment experience to the customers. It is Huge and a wonderful place to be in. All the best brands in the country as well as the budget products can be found here. 

Food Court

City centre is located in Manama, few Kilometers away from Adliya where I live. From there, we walked around the Perl round about, then to the Bahrain Financial Harbor side, then around the Regency Hotel, then to Salmaniya mosque and back to Adliya. Walking in the cold breeze at night for few hours in an unknown city was truly wonderful. 

All the main places are in walking distance to each other. There is no major public transport system here apart from the few public buses which runs time to time. Most of the people have their own vehicle or else they walk or take a taxi.
Picture Source and Website

Exploring Bahrain!

My office is located at Adliya, one of the highest populated areas in Bahrain. Adliya is a main residencial area and loads of expatriates are living there. You can find a lot of Pilipino, Indians, Pakistanis, Bengali, Europeans and some Sri Lankans at Adliya. Due to the easy access to all the facilities and reasonable cost of accommodation, the area has become very popular.  

Another very popular area is Juffair, near the eastern costal side. What is interesting about Juffair is that it was built on sea. The sea was filled with sand and made the ground which is home to hundreds of huge buildings today. Now Juffair’s most expensive luxury apartments, happening night clubs and pubs, various restaurants and hotels are the most crowd pulling points during the weekend. American Naval Base is located in this area and Americans hanging around in the bars and roads is a common scene in the area. Naval Base is one of the main reasons for all the best brands in the kingdom to be in Juffair.

I happened to drop in to a few places in Juffair and Adliya last Week. Bennigans (A nice dining spot and a pub with Pilipino staff), Dublin (Awesome place with a Canadian band), Club at Hotel Riviera (With an unusual pool inside the club), Bed Rocks (The Jurassic Park) and The Buffalo (with very attractive wash rooms) at Hotel California, Club JJ - the Irish pub (Colonial type architecture with a super DJ) were some of them. Dublin and The Buffalo were full of Americans and Europeans and indeed the night was happening there. Club JJ was also interesting with good music.

I went there with Rob and bunch of his friends. Rob is a British, working and living in Bahrain with his family for last few years. We met at one of the exhibitions held at Gulf Hotel and he was demonstrating the awesome Xbox there.  Well, according to him, his job is not normally playing Xbox although he is good at it. lol. He is a member of a business group called “The Round Table” and invited me to join them too. It was awesome to hang around with Rob the super cool DJ Silent Bob (not his current profession), Stuart the super duper Chrysler chap and the crowd at that night. That is what you call absolute fun without absolute vodka but with few beers of course.  Thank you Rob!

Greetings from Bahrain!

Manama - Capital of Bahrain

It's my 3rd week in Bahrain and first time out of the country.


Though I'm always used to stay away from home, alone in my own place, managing everything by myself when I was in SL, spending the very first few days in Bahrain was extremely difficult. Unknown culture, unknown people, freezing weather and Green-less environment made me home sick badly.

I remember how strong I was to leave the country. It was totally my own decision and I was ready for that. But for the first time when I saw the "Fully Brown" Arab sub continent through the window of the air craft, I realized how much I'm gonna miss my own place.

Life in Bahrain is not so different from Sri Lanka. You see so many Asians everywhere. Dining and accommodation are also alright. Food is the same as in Sri Lanka when it comes to the price but the accommodation is bit expensive. Its cold and rain here these days but i heard that the summer is horrible. 


People are quite friendly & welcoming and sometimes you don't feel as you are in an Islamic country. It is very much free culture here. Alcohol, Clubs, Restaurants, Hotels and Huge shopping malls are everywhere. Friday & Saturday is the weekend here, and its so damn happening. you sometimes forget that you are in Middle east.

More to come...
Picture Souce