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It may be some time, but we shall return
There was a commotion on the buses yesterday and it was down to one thing. The previously free service now costs 1 dirham (around 53 cents) per ride and, from the animated conversations between passengers and driver, we gather the change was unanticipated by others than just ourselves. We had earlier been told that the free service had been due to end in December, but had been given a three month extension. That took us until March at least, or so we thought. We wonder how long it will be until the priority seating for ladies becomes a victim of the times now that passengers pay for their ride. Will a blow be struck for equality?
Kaelene has observed how fortunate Marty is to travel with her, as he is often prompted to sit in the ladies’ section on the bus if there are seats to spare. Lucky too that he is allowed on the ladies and families section of the beach. Our now-regular treks to the public beach have been enhanced by the discovery that entry to the ladies and families section costs 5 dirham per head, rather than the 10 dirham for the area which allows entry to single males as well as others. As the old saying goes, what we lose on the buses we make up for on the beach.
There are a couple of observations we should make. One is about the source of the food we have been buying: lettuce from Jordan, spuds from Saudi Arabia, local cucumbers, Syrian tomato, Egyptian herbs and, for a treat, meat from New Zealand or Australia. Truly multi-cultural. The meat is all Halal, not a pork product in sight, and the real find a drink made of freshly squeezed lemon blended with mint. Perfect when chilled.
The other observation is about the excellent quality of Aljazeera news on cable television, particularly pertinent given that Sky Television in New Zealand refused to add that channel on the claim that there was no consumer demand. Instead, it added Fox News to its repertoire.
We have booked a rental car and, on Thursday, plan to head to some of the Northern Emirates, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah, and to the Musandam Peninsula of Oman, and then down the Gulf of Oman as far as time permits.
There is no telling what internet facilities will be available so, as Captain Lawrence Oates once famously predicted, “we may be some time.” Unlike Oates, however, we intend to incline towards General Douglas MacArthur’s refrain, “we shall return”.