Crystal Cruises' World Cruisers Party in Bahrain

I am so glad to have been a Full World Cruiser on the Crystal Cruises' 2018 World Cruise.  There are some special perks that go with being a Full World Cruiser- one of which is special shore-side events.  We had a LOVELY evening at the Bahrain Bay Harbor.....

Fist, we got all gussied up in "Crystal Casual"- which for me meant a chance to wear my new duds from India!

The architecture around the Bay is simply stunning...

My photographer friend Antoniu and pal Barbara on the red carpet.

Friend Chuck seems caught between two camels.

Barbara, Elisabeth, Ada and I  from someones's cell phone.  I have a great professional pic of my lovely friends as well...that will come later.

Local girls helped the food and beverage team from the ship welcome us with rosepetals.

Finally saw my dear Nina (blue) and delighted to see Amenla (my sommelier) in festive attire.

Oyster shell with my name in Arabic calligraphy ...lovely.

So many artists and lots of yummy food!

The new Four Season's Hotel.   The elevators are on the sides, the rooms in middle, and bar and restaurant on the top floor.

I think this is the World Trade Center.  Note the wind turbines connecting the two halves of the building.

World Cruise Hostess Stacy came in on a horse!!

Elisabeth got to know some of the performer's  families.

As did Ada.

Such a memorable evening.  Good food, great entertainment, and precious friends.  What more can anyone ask for?

Racing in Bahrain

Hoo Boy!  The day I had been waiting for had arrived!

I was going RACING!  Or as close as I thought I'd ever get to it.

One of Crystal Cruises' shore excursions in Bahrain was to the Bahrain International Circuit- which annually hosts the Formula I Grand Prix.  Our excursion included a tour of the facility and a chance to ride in a special 2 person prototype race car- now you KNOW I wasn't going to pass that up!

We debarked the ship, to be greeted by....BAGPIPES?

And it was off to BIC.

Think I'm having fun yet?

Pit lane....

Sigh.  Like a fat kid in a candy store.

Race Control.  Charlie Whiting's desk.

The Big Boss of F1's office during race week.

Yes, please.

From now on, whenever I watch the Grand Prix of Bahrain, I will say "I stood there" when they present the trophies.  I apologize in advance to Laird and the kids and anyone else who might be in listening distance.

Parc Ferme- where the podium finishers pull up after the race.

And then it was TIME to GO RACING!!

And I was lucky enough to catch it on my GoPro.......

Well, not much could top that, but we went by the Welcome Center to see Michael Schumacher's car...

And headed back to the ship to get ready for a grand party that night.  First, though, I got some cool photos of the OTHER sport of Bahrain--Falconry.

Beautiful creature- almost as fast as I was today!!!!!!

Muscat, Oman

It sounds so mysterious...Oman.  The Middle East.

A whole new area of the world was awaiting me.  And with it, a W-H-O-L-E lot of preconceived notions that were pretty much blown away.

First, it's beautiful.

Second,  it's mountainous.  I was expecting desert sands. Mounds of sand.  Not mountains.

This is the harbor landmark- a giant re-creation of an incense burner.  Oman is the go-to place for high-quality frankincense.

Third, it is clean.  Really clean.  Eat-off-the-street clean.  And after India- what a change.

Fourth, it was my first introduction to "Middle East Money".  There's wealth, and then there's Middle East Wealth.  Here below are three of the Sultan of Oman's boats...

So, what did I do?  Well, the best way to discover people and places is in markets--so I headed to the Souq.  Yes, it was more touristy than going to the inland markets, but I loved it..going down the rabbit hole, so to speak, exploring all the side aisles and basically wandering to get lost.

The green piles are not spices, but henna- to be used for everything from hair treatments to mehndi temporary tattooing.

"Artificial Jewelry"???  I learned that meant gold-look costume jewelry that was not made of gold.

As opposed to the real stuff, found in the gold section of the souq.  Serious wealth means serious gold jewelry- which many Middle Eastern women buy as monetary investments in case of divorce and others such life events.  Bangles are sold by the gram, not by the piece.

I never fail, it seems, to find a cook shop.  Look at the sizes of these pots!

Yes, Middle Eastern Islamic women wear abaya- the black cloak worn over the clothes when in public.  But that doesn't mean the cloak can't be festooned with  yards and yards of trim.

I found shawls, scarves, beads, incense--almost too much for the senses in one visit.

Guess it was no surprise I went back twice......