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.
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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...
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