Postcard from Bahrain

No one was really sure quite what to expect of this first visit to the Middle East, but it's proved far less of a culture shock than anyone predicted. There's a McDonald's or KFC on every street corner, and the inevitable Hard Rock Café is just outside my hotel. Finding a beer is not a problem.

The city of Manama is a busy, bustling place, and the backstreet markets are great fun. Hottest item for visitors are genuine Saddam-era Iraqi banknotes. Their only value now is as souvenirs, and it doesn't take long to bid the sellers down to about 50p a pop - not bad for a fun conversation piece next time you go down the pub. The infamous US deck of cards is also available, although the 'Made in Taiwan' message suggests that the packs are not originals...

There are many impressive modern buildings, but I don't think many people will be going away with an impression that Bahrain is an attractive place. Anything that isn't covered in concrete constructions is bare scrubland, and there's not too much for the tourists to gawp at, either in terms of old buildings - that is anything much older than the 1970s - or more natural sights.

As we were led to expect, the Sakhir circuit is in the middle of nowhere, although nowhere is a lot bigger than you might imagine. There's nothing much going on in any direction, and there's won't be many complaints about noise from the neighbours.

The venue itself is of course spectacular, if a little soulless. Against expectations everything seems to be finished and working, even if a little painting was still being completed on Thursday.

The security aspect remains a concern to many. We were told that there would be heavy presence around the track, but you see more cops on the way into Monza. A strong VIP turnout is expected on Sunday - including Prince Andrew - so one assumes things might be a bit more obvious by then.

It's too early to say much about the track itself, but already the tight hairpins have claimed a few victims as drivers have tried to find the braking limits. The first corner seems impossibly tight - and it follows what must be one of the longest straights outside Indianapolis - so action is guaranteed there on Sunday.

At first it's a bit strange having a venue without grass, but for those with longer memories it wasn't quite such a shock. We've had plenty of circuits in the past where there wasn't much green around - Paul Ricard, Jerez, Dijon and the dreaded Caesar's Palace spring to mind. The connection with history was strengthened when the TGP historic cars took to the track for the first time. Somehow it didn't seem strange to see a Williams FW07 or JPS snaking through such a backdrop.

There was a lot of talk about sand before we came. However, the track is surrounded not by the golden stuff of Laurence of Arabia legend, but white dust and rocks. It has been windy so there is plenty of potential for the stuff to get onto the track, and when Alex Wurz drove the safety car around on Thursday, he left a trail behind him.

An early support race session on Friday did much to clean the track, and in first F1 practice it seemed to be no worse than the first day muck we see at Hungary and other tracks. After the first session the drivers didn't seem to have a problem, although Juan Pablo Montoya noted that any trip off line will be risky. And not many people will be on line during the run down to the first corner...