The Beauty and Bahrain - COVID Travel Chronicles

There are trips we take that have long lived in our minds far before we ever even purchased the flight. Then there are trips that are completely unplanned in the sense that a particular destination was never a consideration in your travel desires. My trips to Bahrain definitely fall into that second category. Now I know what you’re thinking. Trips? As in “you took more than one trip to a place you never planned on visiting”? The answer is, yes. Without dabbling into too many details: I met someone unexpectedly, he lived there, and I was invited to visit. I obliged. Both times. Once during the COVID pandemic.

As I said earlier, Bahrain was never a place I wanted to visit. Hell, I had only heard of the place once or twice before. That considered, I had no clue what to expect. My flight was about 17 hours with a one-hour layover in Dubai. Due to COVID, their borders had just reopened and they were still very strict on tourists. I was required to present a negative covid test before my departing flight and also before leaving the Bahrain airport. The latter costed $160 USD. I had to download a tracking app on my phone to ensure I observed their mandatory quarantine rule until my test results came back. The app tracked my location and required regular check-ins/selfies to ensure I was complying with their rules. After my results came back negative, I was free to move about the country as long as I wore my mask and social distanced.

I initially didn’t post about these trips on the blog because they were unlike the other trips I take. The trip was more about the person than it was the destination. I didn’t take very many photos when we were out, as I wanted to stay in the moment. Also, because I was visiting someone and staying in their home, I wanted to be respectful of their privacy. All of that said, there really wasn’t much to share. But I understand that lots of you love beautiful photos and I had a few of those so, here you go.