One Night In Bahrain II

It was 12.15am when the telephone rang. I was half asleep in front of the television in my hotel room.

"My friend, what are you doing?" It was Alex's voice.

"I'm watching television."

"Would you like to go out? I'm going to get changed now and you wait for me downstairs in ten minutes."

"Okay, See you later." The moment I accepted his invitation, I had no doubt about his sincerity.

I was waiting outside the hotel when I saw Alex in T-Shirt and jeans. He was making a sign so that I followed him to a nearby restaurant-bar Havana. He had an appointment with his Philippino colleague and best friend Robert whom he wanted to introduce to me. They both ordered beer. I preferred an orange juice. Alex demonstrated his gentleman care for me by wrapping around the glass with a tissue paper so that when I held it, my hand would not get wet.

Robert looked like one in his late 30s or early 40s. I was surprised when he said,

"I'm already a grandfather. Do you believe?"

"Really?"

I thought he was joking until he took out his wallet and showed me a picture of his two-year-old granddaughter.

"When I was nineteen, I was already making babies!"

Alex added,"It's true. He got married very young."

They planed to bring me to the concert of a Philippino band. We left 'Havana' and got into Robert's car. Alex was playing some Philippino music with his mobile phone. We went to the first place but the ladies' night was just over and there was nobody in the nightclub. Next, we were heading towards another place.

Robert asked me,"Do you like hip-hop? I love it."

I teased him,"You may be the first grandfather in the world who loves hip-hop!"

We reached the second Club F1 where we were bombarded by music and smoke of cigarettes. Musicians were singing in a screaming manner while playing their instruments; Ladies dressed in tight clothes were dancing in ecstasy while guys were holding their waist. It was a totally different world from what I had witnessed outside the club since my arrivel!

"You like dancing?" I asked Alex.

"I used to dance a bit but no longer now. I just enjoy watching."

"Do you often come here?"

"No, just once a month. People need to relax sometimes."

When we got our drink, he again took a good care of his female friend by using a tissue paper to wrap my glass to absorb cold beads.

Most of the time we were just watching the concert. When we wanted to say something, we almost had to shout because of the loud music. Robert left us half an hour later to look for his wife. Alex and I stayed until 2pm, the official closing time of the club.

When we came out and walked into the streets again, I was a bit lost between the two worlds which were so unfamiliar to me...