Running

It is probably more to do with the temperature than anything else but you don't tend to see many runners in Manama! The only times to go running outdoors are really dawn or dusk, some fools are jogging around the HQ at midday but they are few and far between. The only people you see out running are are not local and i suspect that most of them are military types who work on the base.

The other issue is that the scenery isn't particularly stunning for running. There is no greenery, a bit of sand and so the only options are to run along quite wide pavements beside major roads. Having had the embarassment of falling off a kerb with disasterous effects on my foot I am now considerably more careful when crossing roads and more frequently when pavements just disintegrate to a stop.

The response from locals that you meet when out is varied to say the least. Often locals are somewhat wary but most are bemused and will give a smile, if going past the local Indian tourist shops you get a cheery Hello without the usual hardsell and invitations to enter their shops. I have seen small children openly gawping out of the window of passing cars that there is someone so foolish as to be outside taking exercise. Its not as though no one takes exercise as the open sandy areas are frequently the scene of enthusiastic football and indeed cricket matches first thing in the morning or in the evening.

The thing is that that rich Bahrainis exercise in gyms and health clubs and the poorer ones and the ubiquitous Indian and Pakistani labourers get plenty of exercise in their jobs and if they don't they have no time for the luxury of exercise.

The weather will soon be getting to hot and humid to permit much to happen outside so I had better make the most of the weather while I can.