How exciting that Ari agreed for us to get our first and very own Christmas tree together in Bahrain! And I didn't even need to beg (too much) for it either.

I just did what any tactful girl who wants her way would do i.e. keep dropping non-subtle hints of how nice it would be and how it doesn't really feel like Christmas without a tree. Ari's such a good boyfriend :)

For some reason this year I'm really excited and some what obsessed about Christmas!

The carols and holiday music started about a fortnight ago and I have been subjecting Ari to a December long Christmas movie marathon including some childhood favourites "Home Alone" and "The Muppets Christmas Carol", rom coms "Love Actually" and "While You Were Sleeping" and some more obscure ones like "Die Hard", "Bad Santa" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas".

Following a year of no football (or soccer as we know it), last week Ari finally made his long awaited return to the game and low key debut in Bahrain. Look how excited he is putting on his boots!

Playing with the teachers of the St. Christopher's school, it looked like our champion soccer star was a touch out of form but definitely showed heart and glimpses of his former glory days. Harsh critique but true :) Ari's rubber soled indoor boots were no match for the synthetic surface covered with fine sand which made for a good slip up here and there but thankfully no injuries.

A few weeks back I volunteered Ari for a leg in the Bahrain Marathon Relay organised by one of our friends, partly because I knew he could do it better than me but mostly because if he took this final spot, no one would ask me to participate. Phew, dodged that bullet!

The relay is the traditional length of a marathon divided into 16 legs of approximately 3 kms each. We weren't given very much notice so the training was some what last minute but we managed to cover 3kms every day up until race day, which was (shamefully) the most exercise we have been getting for some time.

Ari and I celebrated our one year anniversary of first arriving in Bahrain last week with a big, juicy, melt in your mouth steak from the Meat Co.. Some may know this as the Meat & Wine Co. but given our location they don't much advertise the wine part.

During our dinner we reflected upon our time here in the Middle East, we couldn't decide whether it has gone quickly or slowly but rather a combination of both. Though what we did established together is the fact that we'll stick it out for a while longer.

On a semi-towards-unrelated topic, the other day while I was you-tubing I came across the old Qantas choir ad and almost burst into sobbing hysterics. Ari and I are yet to visit those cities that "never close down" but I assure you our sentiments are still very much the same, we still call Australia home...

Missing you all (even the annoying ones) xo Linda

After a tough morning at the dentist, Ari and I decided to board a dinner cruise along the Saigon river. Entertainment was provided in the form of singing and traditional dance, along with a Euro-Asian influenced buffet, it was a enjoyable night taking in the views of the city lights. A totally touristy thing to do yet fun nonetheless.

We were seated next to a lovely senior Australian couple who Ari ended up providing camera technical support for because the lady didn't know how to use it properly. Isn't Ari the sweetest?


After our cruise, lo and behold we found a shisha place in heart of the city - of course we could not resist. The place was called Beirut Garden, owned by a friendly Lebanese gentleman and had the genuine look and feel of a Middle Eastern establishment. It felt as though we never left Bahrain!

It's a beautiful time of year to be in Bahrain. Perfect and sunny, normal humidity and gorgeous nights, the pool is no longer a warm/hot water reserve and provides refreshing respite. Rewind back three months ago and I can tell you it was the most stinking hot summer I have ever managed to live through, not to mention seriously humid.

The summer sun in Bahrain burns with what feels like the fiery intensity of a zillion suns. Our vacation in Vietnam provided a much needed break from the heat, it was still hot, just a lesser hot than what we were experiencing. Being the weather enthusiast I am, I monitored the changes (or rather lack there of) in the temperature. I can say without exaggeration it never got below 30 degrees ever for a whole three months!


It got so hot that even maintaining personal hygiene was a hazard as showering between the hours of 10am to 6pm mean risking second degree burns because the cold water was scalding hot. The water infrastructure in Bahrain leaves a lot to be desired, it seems very much a cruel prank to burn unsuspecting novice expats who turn the "C" faucet and expect cold water. There was never any cold water!

I did not even dare leave the house to put out the rubbish. Some days were so sticky and humid that if I walked out of an air-conditioned place I was immediately blinded by condensation formed so thick on my glasses it was like walking in fog.

During one of the many summer power outages we sat in the stairwell to have our dinner by candle light as our place felt like a wood fire oven, situated in the centre of the Earth, encapsulated by the sun. Good times!

Hello friends and family, ladies and gentleman and random followers of our blog!
Just a quick post to let you know that Ari and I are still alive, well and kicking. I know I've been extremely naughty not posting for so long, what can I say... I've been lazy and somewhat busy believe it or not and I'm happy to announce the self imposed blogging hiatus is over.

Watch this space over the next few days, I'll gradually to bring you up to speed with the remainder of our Vietnam adventure from July/August. We are looking forward to seeing everyone when we come home for Christmas and thanks for all the kind wishes and love received for Ari's birthday.

Here's a picture for proof of our existence from a BBQ we attended last week. Also I've opened the commenting to allow non registered users so feel free to leave us comments, feedback or questions, we'd be happy to hear from you all.

With love from Bahrain, Ari and Linda.

It was a nice intimate class with our reasonably well English spoken chef Nhu Luyen. She took us through step by step preparations of the dishes, also explaining where we could find the ingredients and what to look for when purchasing, quite insightful. I made a mental list of all the things we needed to get in Vietnam before we left for Bahrain as we still haven't managed to find the Asian grocers yet, number one: rice paper for rice paper rolls!


After each course we sat down to sample the delights we had each prepared, served with the traditional accompaniments and iced tea. An overall relaxing (and filling!) way to spend the afternoon, it was well organised and professional and we even got printed copies of the recipes to take away with us. I would highly recommend the course, although maybe a bit too basic for die hard masterchefs but fun nonetheless :) They also offer a guided market tour with their morning class where a chef will take you through Ben Thanh Market, we didn't get to do that but it did sound interesting.

Pho for the first time in six months! For those of you who are pho inexperienced, it is what I like to think of as the pinnacle of Vietnamese cuisine, one of my most favourite comfort food and sadly unavailable in Bahrain.

It always surprises me how food can transport you back to places in time and regardless of how long it was ago, still manages to instil such clear recollections of fond memories. Eating this took me back to when I was little and every weekend without fail mum would take us kids to have either pho, pork rolls or Maccas for lunch, our special weekly treat before Saturday school.

The smells reminded me of all the times mum would lovingly slave around in the kitchen for hours to make a vat of homemade pho that we would eat for days then freeze to have at intervals over the coming weeks. How awesome is that!

And though she's still far away (technically closer now we're in Vietnam), I know while eating this bowl of simple, yet tasty beef noodle soup that I love my mum and that she is the absolute bestest! Have a bowl of pho today! I know I can't wait to with my mum when I get home :)

This is Ari and Linda reporting from Vietnam, holiday mode sequence initiated!

While waiting for them to add the finishing touches to the garments (trimming loose threads and opening button holes) Ari went and blew the bank by splashing out on what was meant to be a AUD1 buzz cut but he was so impressed with the cut he tipped them double :) You'll notice in the pictures above he went pretty short, shorter than I'd ever seen it, I'd say maybe the length was greater than zero but less than 0.5.