Banyan Tree

Another Al-Areen development. Banyan Tree Desert Spa and Resort is part of a luxury resort chain in Asia. With other heavenly resorts in China, Indonesia, Maldives, Thailand and Seychelles, Bahrain is the latest unveiled destination. I went to check out the villas which were simply breath taking. The villas are all designed as a traditional arabic court yard house, they are either 1 bedroom for couples or 2 bedrooms for a family, they all have a private courtyard with a swimming pool and a jacuzzi, a majlis, and dinning and living areas. The interior decorations are all orienatal... I especially like the wall fountains at the entrance which produce light water sprinkling sound that is very relaxing. They are pricy I have to say which could get up to BD 1600 (US$ 600) per night.

On another note, there is something about Al-Areen area which makes it very special... travelling to it from Riffa, or Manama or any other city... you really feel like you are travelling somewhere else once you get to Sukheer... which I think is a really nice thing... it really feels like a getaway and an excellent opportunity for people to relax. With all the new developments going on in Al-Areen and around the BIC area... I just hope the desert landscape do not get destroyed because thats whats giving it its special character... the roads needs to be fixed and a proper route needs to be added to Al-Areen and everything... but I just hope that when we go there we still feel like we are in the middle of the desert... and all those new resorts and hotels do fit in the middle of the desert and not make it into something else.

The Lost Paradise of Dilmun

Picture Source

And another place that Bahrainis can be proud of. After the completion of the BIC, now we have The lost paradise of Dilmun.

A £15 million themed water park, "each aspect of the park is based on the history of the Dilmun period, reflected by unique stone architecture / sculptures and encompassing theming works. Over 14 slides and attractions are blended seamlessly to create a desert oasis and garden of paradise for guests to enjoy - spa pools, interactive children's wet play area and family raft ride to name a few. The park will also feature the gulf regions' largest wave pool, the first in the area with a natural sandy beach."

Developer: Al Areen Holding Company
Designer & Operator: Malaysia Sim Leisure Consultants
Equipment: White Water West
Total Plot Area: 77,682 square meters, Water Park area 45,000 square meters

More info here and here

F1 photo

A photo of the start of the Turkish Grand Prix, I found it on Monday 27th of August 2007, in p.10 of the sports section in Al-Ayam Newspaper. What amazes me about the picture is how the smoke and heat of the engines blurs the crowd behind and makes them look as if they were roughly painted on canvas. Another thing is how all the cars are pointing their noses towards the photographer, it would be great if this was a video and I would have one of those 3D glasses that makes everything seems to come out towards your face... this would definitely make me jump.