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Visited the 2022 Formula 1 Bahrain GP: Overall experience
Batelco are the best seats. You can see the cars doing high speed & as it is elevated, you can also see the other parts of the track.
BHPian ajmat recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Bahrain is a small island off the Arabian Peninsula. It is much more socially liberal compared to other Arab states but it is still conservative. It is linked by the King Fahd Causeway to Saudi Arabia so the Saudis can visit and have an entertainment outlet. Riyadh is 4 hours away. Jeddah is roughly 9-10 hours. Qatar is located close as the crow flies so a ferry service could be viable but the current GCC posture on Qatar means this will not happen. Flights to Doha are pretty convoluted.
Manama is at the top Northwest tip. Sakhir, where the F1 action happens, is the green patch in the middle.
So the questions were - How do you get there? What do you do in and around Manama? What else is there except for the F1?
Beyond oil and financial services, Bahrain is also known for Pearl fishing and Diving at the Southern tip of the island. However, we did not look into this. This guide focuses on going for the F1 and what you can do in between.
So how did this all start?
It started at the end of Feb - Viddy calls!
"Let's go for the Bahrain F1"
"How do you go about it?"
"Leave it to the homeless (a long-standing joke) moderator's travel agent"
To cut a long story short, the homeless mod's agent was charging excessively for the visa and the hotel options looked dodgy. I did a quick check and found we could do this easily on our own, hence this Ready Reckoner on what was required.
Believe me - It is a lot easier than going to the Buddh Circuit in many ways. Air tickets apart, costs are reasonable. The authorities pull out the stops for a painless experience. From landing to getting to the track and back - it's simple!
Three of us - Viddy, RobiMahanta and myself took the plunge. Also in the fray was fellow Mod Suhaas who was either getting lost or missing now and then (at least his travelling group were!) and of course, the Homeless Moderator Navin who came to listen to Eric Clapton and so happened to see the F1 and visit family and become a Vegan on the side.
So what does it take to enjoy a few days of the F1 Weekend?
Get the tickets
Buy them directly from Bernie or Liberty.
Where are the best seats?
The track has various elevations and is a very technical track.
Batelco - The best seats - You can see the cars at speed and as it is elevated, you can see the other parts of the track. The diagonal line marks where we will sit next time. It's also less of a trek compared to the University stand.
The University stand (marked by the arrow) is where we sat. You see turn 1 and some of the other parts of the track as marked by the square.
- Block 1 - A section (Right of Arrow) - you see mainly the turn.
- Block 1 - C Section - you see the turn and the acceleration into the DRS zone.
- Block 2 - (Left of Arrow) only the DRS zone.
Around the seats stands - Portocabin toilets are decent. Gets a bit manky on race day but tolerable. Food stalls only serve snacks and overpriced cold coffee and there are queues. A little expensive so best you bring your own snacks. Keep it in your bag and only take it out once inside the stand. Water bottles are not allowed on the stand so you need to pour water into a cup.
Get the Visa
It is free of cost - A month or two before the race, you need to select the Formula 1 Visa - It's valid for entry up till the race day and for two weeks duration only. Apply and then you get notified. Do take a printout.
Book your flight tickets
Your options are:
- Air India - only via Delhi - long and convoluted route but comfortable.
- Emirates - expensive (at time of writing) and long layover.
- Air Arabia - Cheap, minimal time but uncomfortable - seats do not adjust, I made a mistake in selecting an aisle seat and was constantly disturbed by the constant trolley service. Flight is during your deep sleep zone. Full of pilgrims returning and they bring on an excess of hand baggage. Best tip - Empty your bladder, snag a window seat and sleep. Layovers are short but the flights get delayed by an hour to ensure transfers happen. We arrived in Bahrain one hour late and reached back to Bangalore two hours late. Note - Before leaving Bangalore -you need to get an "ok to board endorsement" for Rs 500 each - i.e upload your passport, visa and vaccination certificate to some travel agent portal and tickets get assigned an "OK to Board" status.
- GulfAir - Direct - best option but they were not flying yet.
Do prepare and print a hard copy of your Air Suvidha before you depart Manama. It is required to be handed in at your arrival in India. Airlines check this. Create it before you depart or get it printed at the hotel. Alternatively - for 500 fils - you can print at the airport by scanning a QR code and sending it to a travel agent via Whats App or 3 BHD - they will fill up the form and print it out.
Book Accommodation
Accommodation is reasonable. Three of us booked a 3 bedroom executive apartment in the Marriot which could easily hold 6. We paid around Rs 30000/day overall and it included a good breakfast. We started the day with a big breakfast and managed on snacks during the day.
Some apartments don’t serve breakfast and if you are in the Juffair area - you need to go a long way to get it. Our lost mod - Suhaas found it difficult to find breakfast at first. We stayed in the Juffair area. There are some steakhouse/Irish bar places around but not many options for breakfast except for Starbucks. The workaround is to locate an apartment near a supermarket and buy provisions for a quick breakfast. The Juffair mall has some cheap Indian options and plenty of fried chicken (very cheap that you wonder why you came all the way).
Since most flights arrive in the morning - do ask for early check-in!
View from our Hotel
At Manama Airport
Be prepared to show your tickets to the immigration office - on your phone. They give you a thumbs up and welcome you in. They had special queues for F1 visitors.
Us 3 waiting for the airport. I changed a little money at the airport. Like all airports - the rates suck. Plenty of options in Malls and other shopping areas. Some of the bigger shops accept foreign currency at reasonable rates.
Getting from Airport
To avoid local scams, use Uber - Book in the airport terminal using airport wireless as the roaming takes time to activate. Normal cabs have surcharges etc which add up!
Entertainment around Manama
Nothing much seems to be open during the day. Everything wakes up at night. The town only comes to life in the evening.
There are no street attractions. Things are conservative on the outside but a lot goes on within - i.e. all entertainment is within buildings so you need to get in and explore.
Adilya is the place. Traffic is thick at night from Thurs to Sunday. Full of Saudis drive in to do what they cannot do during the week. You see a lot of classic cars in the area. Some clubs allow you through reservation. We walked into a club but it was too noisy so decided to camp in the Mexican Restaurant downstairs.
Food
Lunch - Recommend CoCo's in Aldiya but portions are big - It suited us as we just flew in and had skipped breakfast!
For folks on a budget, some shwarma places are open around the corner. For local food - recommend Al-Abraaj Adilya.
https://www.tripadvisor.in/Restauran...aj-Manama.html
Outside of Aldilya - there are some food trucks in empty spaces. After the Qualifying and the Show, we tried a takeaway from one of these at 11 PM- it was very average though.
Driving around
One's IDP needs to be validated by their authorities so not worth it unless you are there for a while. Uber is the best although a little expensive but cheaper than car hire. Only time you might consider a car - is if you want to spend a lot of time at the track.
Taxis are available. Uber is the best and comes within minutes. A lot of them are driven by Malayalis. Mainly Camrys, Kias and Sonatas - we did get an Accord and a Ford Flex though.
There are cabs outside the malls but there are scams like fixed prices etc. Local authorities do strictly demand that you go by the meter. Stick with Uber!
Weather
Of course, it's hot in summer but what you do not realise is that Nov-April, it is very pleasant during the day but freezing at night. 17 degrees but the sea breeze makes it colder.
Continue reading ajmat's experience for BHPian comments, insights and more information.
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