Author: Mies

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Tales of Bahrain – Burqa

Having booked a holiday to a Muslim country where women wear Burqas had me slightly nervous to say the least.  As some of you may know, my children are very European and not at all prudish, so, I had to instruct the girls to please pack their bikini tops (no topless sunbathing this time…) and some longsleeved shirts and trousers. They could not understand why we would ever need those in the Bahraini heat, but I insisted and they were all packed into the suitcase.
Having gained a few ‘winter pounds’ myself, I was quite happy not to have to ‘show’ it all… so I too left well equipped and with the proper attire.

We arrived at the airport and I couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated by all the men in their white ‘gowns’ properly called a ‘thawb’ or ‘thobe’..the few women we encountered were dressed in Burqas and so my first impression was made.

I came in thinking all men here were evil and women had to be humble and had no rights whatsoever.

As we took our tours of the local shoppingmalls…yes, I admit I have to check those out before any other local sightseeing or museums…I started noticing that there does not seem to be a set of rules about how much of the Burqa outfit you are supposed to wear. Some women wear the complete thing, covering everything even the eyes…well, they have a bit of see through cloth so they don’t trip or bump into anybody as that is a big no no.  (I have to say that I wonder how the men recognise their own wives…do they carry some sort of tracking device ?!) Whereas other women only wear something on their head in the style of Amy Winehouse’s hairdo and skinny jeans look. Another group likes to wear the Burqa dress (abaya), but leaves out any hair or head accesories and then there are women that dress too tartish to even mention…..
Spending the afternoon at the Ritz one day I even saw a Burkini !!! Yes….a Burqa…bikini !!! It looks magnificent ! And to tell you the truth it would have looked better on me than my skimpy, barely covering my rolls, bikini. My only concern was how excruciatingly warm the whole thing looked… how cold it must feel when exiting the water … and also how drenched one must feel when wearing it all day at the pool as it is a one piece body suit type thing. They came in all colours and I have to say it made them look like someone straight out of a Star Trek episode….for those of you of the next generation….I guess Avatar would do too…

The proper every day Burqa’s are by no means plain black. I have seen them embroidered colourfully or even with Swarovsky crystals and diamonds and I swear I even think I saw one that said ”Juicy” in glittery letters on the sleeve !!! 😉
My sister informed me that there are many couturiers who design Burqa’s, it’s just not something I would ever have imagined, but there is a whole Burka Fashion World out there…. !!!

Therefore it is a faux pas not to accompany your beautiful designer Burqa by an even more expensive designer bag. And so a vast array of Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Gucci are trustworthy companions in this fashion ‘marriage’ ( you must pronounce this last word with a French accent for the effect…it sounds more sophisticated that way).

So, once my eyes had been opened to this I observed every single lady in a Burqa with great curiousity and admiration.
I also saw these same women out shopping with their husbands, (now to me that was a very progressive thing, as the ex hated going shopping for clothes with me…) patiently waiting on lounge chairs and of course happily paying for stacks of, what to me seemed useless buys as no one would ever see them wearing any of it. But even so it was all bought and probably worn underneath their Burqa and indoors when home alone.

It has intrigued me tremendously, and I have to say that being someone who feels that a person’s eyes are the doorway to their soul, I found it much more of an intimate experience to often only have their eyes to look at or into, much more so than any low cut top or maxi mini skirt could ever have revealed.

So I will one day leave here with a different view….

Muslim Burqa wearing women are fashionistas and like all women….they love it when the man picks up the tab !!!

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Tales of Bahrain – The Ritz

The Expat life is a very unique one. Slight dissimilarities occur in varying overseas countries through different customs and local habits, but generally expat life is very much alike.

I grew up in such a life of luxury and now once again find myself experiencing it on a visit to my sister who lives abroad. So many memories of it are coming back to me, and being here sometimes makes it somewhat a surreal deja vu.

Vangie my sister’s household help is addicted to karaoke. Every night she retreats into her own quarters and sings the night away. It is a form of stress relief I am told,  …of walking the dog, doing the household chores and sometimes babysitting the kids. She has two of her own as well, grown ups themselves now, as super Vangie is apparently 52 but doesn’t look a day over 40.

My sister and her family are members of the Ritz Club. This sounds horribly posh and in fact is….but it is a very normal thing to do if one lives abroad. It’s part of socializing and enjoying the perks of life overseas. (Not necessarily The Ritz, but any nice club with a pool, some children’s facilities and preferably a beach and good food, will do). The Ritz membership opens only for short periods of time and only platinum members are allowed to join, this to ensure that the right crowd fills the scene of course making it even more desirable. Platinum membership…meaning you have to bring in loads of ‘platinum’ (yes…money) to join. So, now for a week, I too have been a ‘platinum’ member as family of the lucky few are allowed to visit and enjoy the facilities…at an extra price of course….of…even more platinum money! If I would have been Vangie, the household help, I could have gone in for free with my sister, as members are more than encouraged to bring their nannies or maids to tend to the children.

You pay for service, naturally, as fantastic security is standing guard at the entrance, checking every single car with an oversized dentist mirror, which is placed beneath each vehicle for accurate observation, checking for bombs and boobs…(well, they don’t check out the boobs on purpose, it’s just that most women around here dress a bit more conservatively than the beach loving expats).
Once you’ve parked and made your way through security at the entrance door, once again checking for suspicious objects and obvious boobs then you get to sign in properly in a guestbook by the aquarium filled with tropical fish. After that it’s clear sailing to the pool and beach area, where you are treated like His Royal Highness Himself. Men rush to place your sunchairs in the right sunlight, crisp white towels are placed neatly on top of them (two of course as one is so passee). A few minutes later, and I think they time this…another guy rushes over to take your drinks order….only to come back a little while later with drinks and the bill, realising he forgot to take off the 20% platinum discount you get as platinum member….duh…!!!

All morning one wades in the sea and naps in the sun, then at mid day feeling peckish one strolls towards the lunchbar and chooses from a selection of salads, and sandwiches and once again, waiters crowd the tables like eager flies.

After lunch, a brisk walk along the man made beach scenery and then, back to the sunbed for a siesta. Awakened by a frlendly looking man, asking if you would like yet another drink. Which you do, because Bahraini temperatures make you want to rehydrate as often as possible.

At the end of the day, feeling sunkissed and tired from all the socializing, eating and sleeping…one trots down the same path of entry and kindly thanks all those souls that jumped at every request made.
I sometimes wonder if they were genuinely happy to hear us say, ‘see you tomorrow’…. !!

PS. The kids have a completely different experience of this, if you ask them about their day at the beach, they will tell you they went fishing, crab hunting, built sand pyramids (or in our case volcanoe’s) and they loved the hotdogs with french fries and ice  cream for lunch. Naturally leaving out all their fights, arguments and temper tantrums…which in most cases the nannies had to deal with anyway as the parents were too busy doing all of the above. 😉

Stay tuned for more Bahraini tales….

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Somewhere over the Rainbow


As I sit relaxing in the Bahraini sunshine, enjoying the warmth and soft sea breeze, I can hear my kids’ laughter in the distance as they are playing in the clear blue water, I notice several couples. Man and wife, with their children, enjoying a day out together or perhaps even an entire holiday. They look happy, sometimes very much in love still, strolling on the beach, hand in hand kids at their sides. Often stopping to admire their children playing or swimming, talking amongst themselves, enjoying, and sharing these special moments. Moments they created together the day they decided to start and become that family.

Some couples even grow to look alike whilst others just have the same mannerisms. The one thing they all have in common is that recognisable look of sheer pride and joy between them as they watch their biggest accomplishment ever made.

Their children.

The music playing through the lunchbar speakers makes it all even more idyllic and I find myself seeing everything through rose coloured glasses. Thinking all these people are as blissfully happy as this holiday scenery is making them seem. Or maybe….they truly are happy. Maybe… some couples go through life happy to have found each other in their distant past. Is this really the case and what makes and keeps them happy?

It seems so rare these days that I can’t help but wonder if only a few lucky souls are allowed to know the secret formula ?!

From what I can see, it has nothing to do with looks, physical appearance, or size. It’s a strong bond and it’s found within a certain glance they share with one another, unreachable to the outsiders naked eye, yet so apparent and soul reaching. A specific glance only known to them, and exchanged between them.

I lay here admiring it. Remembering what it was like and feeling proud to recognize it. Still at times sharing rare moments of it, but never quite the same. Is it possible to experience it more than once in life? Or is this something shared only within that family circle. Would I be prepared to let someone in to such private “territory”. Risking letting down the newly set up “boundaries” to build new ones creating a new and totally different  “formation” and “configuration”?!

Seeing the world today through these ‘happy’ glasses, feels good and once again establishes hope of what may one day be found somewhere over the rainbow… for now I’m sharing this feeling without the glance, with me, myself and I …. and my own inner soul.  ðŸ˜‰