A boring subject you might think and one I wouldn't normally be inspired to write about, but my first trip to the beach for a run this weekend was a memorable one.
I started beside The Chedi (a fancy hotel on the beach front in Muscat) and proceeded to run up towards the airport. I ran for about 25-30 minutes until I reached a ton of people kite surfing. I then sat down for a much needed rest and to watch the kite surfers for a bit. When I set off to run back again I soon realised I had got a bit carried away with myself with the outward bound leg. There was a decent wind that day, hence all the kit surfers, and my return leg was running straight into it. I think I lasted about 10 minutes when my unfit legs, the wind, and the sun had got the better of me. So I started to walk the remaining distance.
After about half an hour I could sense I wasn't too far from where I had parked my car, another 5 minutes or so, when I saw a group of 4 Indian men walking towards me. This isn't unusual in the Middle East. They are usually building site labourers who come to the beach to either perve on any unsuspecting women in bikinis or to swim in their underpants! I noticed one of them was taking everything out of his pockets and giving it to one of the others. I could then see he had started to alter his direction to meet me coming the opposite way. Now, for a split second the thought went through my mind that there was no one else within a good kilometre of me and this guy (backed up by his buddies) was about to deck me for my iPhone. I then remembered I was in a pretty friendly country in the Middle East where there is almost zero crime so his intentions were probably friendly. As he got closer he smiled and held out his hand. He said hello, shook my hand and asked me how I was. His next words were 'Can I have a picture?' I said of course and went to the guy holding the camera to get it from him, thinking that he was asking me to take a picture of the 4 of them. Nope, he wasn't, I had clearly got the wrong end of the stick here. The guy with the camera was waving his hands at me as if to tell me to move back, so I turned to the one who had greeted me and laughed 'of me?' So there I was in between two of them, posing for a picture.
Who knows what use or enjoyment they'll get from a picture with me, but if this happens again.......... I'm asking for a fee.
I started beside The Chedi (a fancy hotel on the beach front in Muscat) and proceeded to run up towards the airport. I ran for about 25-30 minutes until I reached a ton of people kite surfing. I then sat down for a much needed rest and to watch the kite surfers for a bit. When I set off to run back again I soon realised I had got a bit carried away with myself with the outward bound leg. There was a decent wind that day, hence all the kit surfers, and my return leg was running straight into it. I think I lasted about 10 minutes when my unfit legs, the wind, and the sun had got the better of me. So I started to walk the remaining distance.
After about half an hour I could sense I wasn't too far from where I had parked my car, another 5 minutes or so, when I saw a group of 4 Indian men walking towards me. This isn't unusual in the Middle East. They are usually building site labourers who come to the beach to either perve on any unsuspecting women in bikinis or to swim in their underpants! I noticed one of them was taking everything out of his pockets and giving it to one of the others. I could then see he had started to alter his direction to meet me coming the opposite way. Now, for a split second the thought went through my mind that there was no one else within a good kilometre of me and this guy (backed up by his buddies) was about to deck me for my iPhone. I then remembered I was in a pretty friendly country in the Middle East where there is almost zero crime so his intentions were probably friendly. As he got closer he smiled and held out his hand. He said hello, shook my hand and asked me how I was. His next words were 'Can I have a picture?' I said of course and went to the guy holding the camera to get it from him, thinking that he was asking me to take a picture of the 4 of them. Nope, he wasn't, I had clearly got the wrong end of the stick here. The guy with the camera was waving his hands at me as if to tell me to move back, so I turned to the one who had greeted me and laughed 'of me?' So there I was in between two of them, posing for a picture.
Who knows what use or enjoyment they'll get from a picture with me, but if this happens again.......... I'm asking for a fee.
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| The kite surfers |
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| Fishing boats on the beach with The Chedi in the distance |
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