Day 1

Well, you’ll all be pleased to know that I managed to drag my ass out of bed in time to make my flight. 3:30am! Ohmigod! I made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare but was muchly dismayed to note the huuaaawge queue at the KLM check in desk. I decided that trying to blag and upgrade would probably just annoy the staff and they’d put a note for the flight attendants to fart in my general direction or something. I was happy to see that the duty free was open at 5am though and Lady Nat was overjoyed – I purchased a bottle of Hendrick’s for her because you can’t seem to get it anywhere else. Well, it is a most unusual gin after all. The flight to Schippol was quite uneventful, except for the point where the stewardess neglected to give me coffee… so I poked her in the back and demanded some though. I don’t think she farted in my general direction after that but there’s no way to be sure.

I spent my 5 hour stopover wandering around, drinking coffee and reading. Has anyone else noticed the annoying habit airlines have of not announcing the boarding of flights though? I was sat right beside the gate and didn’t realise the flight was boarding until the queue was the size of a very large thing. I guess in these circumstances perhaps you should wait until they’re telling you to get on the plane quick smart or they’ll offload your luggage. Maybe that’s why there were so many of these announcements in the airport? There was one for just about every flight.

Once on the plane I had an aisle seat (lovely) and the in-flight entertainment had improved in leaps and bounds since the last time I was on KLM. Movies, movies, movies! Old, new, funny, sad. TV programmes – drama, comedy, documentary. Games. Etc. Etc. Etc. I started trying to watch Easy Rider because it’s on my list of film I feel I really must check out but I’m sorry to say that half an hour in it had really failed to grab my attention. I guess it’s probably better to watch it in the comfort of your own home with the benefit of mind altering substances though. To get in the mood for my Bahrain holiday and the Grand Prix I watched the Disney movie ‘Cars’ instead. It was very good fun. Then I watched a documentary about the effect Islam had on European culture in the middle ages. See – edutainment on the plane. What will they think of next? There’s another documentary I’m hoping to watch on the way back but I can’t remember what it’s about – a history of art I think.

So the flight was entertaining and educational but the food was bloody awful. Out of interest I put down for a gluten free meal and what got served to me was absolutely foul. I’m not sure the gluten full meals were any better but I’m definitely packing snacks on the way back. Maybe I’ll confuse the hell out of the attendants by munching down on a big sandwich half way through the flight. I think when they come along and ask if I’m having a special meal I’ll reply “Oh God, if I have to!”

When we eventually got into Bahrain Lady Nat was there to meet me and as I walked out the airport the heat hit me. Aaaaah. I forgot I was coming somewhere hot. Hours and hours of sucking up plane atmosphere and arriving in an air conditioned airport didn’t prepare me for that wave of hot air that hits you in the face as you go outside. Noice! It was midnight local time but still as warm as a big toasty warm bit of toast. Not so great when you’re trying to sleep but it’s either lie there and sweat or lie there and not get to sleep cos the air con is running. That’s what awaited me at Nat’s house. The bed is uber comfy but I was too hot with the duvet on me and the air conditioning is quite loud. Then the dude in the mosque next door started calling folk to prayer at silly o’clock. I dropped off after that but needless to say, I’ve been pretty sleep deprived since I arrived. Nat let me lie in quite late the next day but I’d been awake until about 6am. Sigh.

The picture above is of the spotty house round the corner from Nat's. Who would live in a house like that???