TBK Travels , week 12 , Muscat ( when TBK turned 61)

                              

I saw this quote on the internet a while ago . On 18 September , when I turned 61, alone in a hotel in Muscat I realised the impact I have had on so many people over the last 61 years. 

                            TBK ( with Bell's Palsy) is 61 years old!

I had assumed that no longer having a home or postal address I would not get any Birthday cards this year and planned a quiet day alone at the hotel . I  soaked up the sun, walked, swam, and started the long process of getting fit and healthy again.

                               Setting off for my early morning walk

I awoke early , as usual , and checked my email and social media accounts. The Philippines are 4 hours ahead of Oman and the UK 3 hours behind ( I think) so when I woke up at 4 am my inbox was full!

There were over 200 messages by the end of the day including a lovely video from my "anaks" in Palawan which you can see on TBK You tube page ( A special day) . 

            

                 Grecil and Jhoanna in Palawan sent a video (edited by TJ) 

I had e cards from all my old work colleagues going back 40 years including Jim McDermott, Brian Worthington, David / Lynda Green and Mark Johns . There were emails and messages from Khalid Abdulla and Mohammed Neamat amongst other of my early ILM delegates in Bahrain. Robin in Italy who went to school with me at Epsom when I was 13 and Nadya in the UK who I met when I was 16 also messaged me. 

                  Nadya, my girlfriend when we were both 16 years old 

There were greetings from many of my Thai friends in Bahrain and Pattaya and Muscat . There were messages from Patrick's family in Germany, Bahrain and Fujairah. Gerda and her friends , Kenny Pastilles and Glenda  sent messages from South Africa, Pav wrote from Canada .

                           Miss Andrea and my Kuya Coco also sent messages

In Bahrain  Rakesh, the Janitor from the Oil and Gas Academy, Miss Andrea and Barry from the English team at the Academy also wrote. Shawn messaged and my old boss Peter Conway wrote from Wales and Richard Atkinson from Shoreham, as well as Keith Gardener from Turkey. 

My brothers emailed from the UK and there were also videos from Chester and Grecil in the Philippines, Mama Jam in Austria , Corleen and Coco in Bahrain and several others.

I even had a present - from Mama Jam in Austria, the man behind HOPE, a charity I support in Palawan. He wrote to say:

" Founders of friends of HOPE just got the first zoom meeting. And we have discussed to include honorary members and you are one of them. We will send you more details soon. Enjoy your day kuya"

This was a wonderful gift recognizing my donations to the charity since 2017 when I started sponsoring Aimae at Aberawan Elementary school . In 2017 I attended my first HOPE event at Aberawan and then in 2018 at Sibaltan and 2019 at Manlag. Each year we gave gifts to more kids ( Tsinellas, reading and writing books,  Colouring pens and toiletries) starting with maybe 100 kids at Aberawan up to 400 at Manlag. I involved all my friends and we had donations from Hazel in Bahrain and Ran and the team turned up to help MC, pack the gifts, hand out the gift bags and food and generally give the kids a great day. Last year I also took my "Pinoy Family" ( Jhoanna, Making, Elay and Althea) and we had a wonderful day out.

My matalino Anak Aimae at Aberawan Elementary school , who I sponsored through HOPE since 2017

So to all of you- Thank you so much, I really appreciate you remembering my special day

So , how did I spend my birthday this year? 

                TBK at 61! Swimming at the Crowne Plaza in Muscat

I actually celebrated on 19 September when my Pinoy friend Mark here in Muscat had a day off. He arrived by taxi at 8 am bearing gifts, and my laundry! We had breakfast together ( you can see more pictures of the day on TBK You Tube page with a vlog TJ edited for me which will be posted later today. 

 

                 My flowers from Mark, and a nearly naked pic for Zaid

Then we did some shopping as I needed some new sportswear for when I go to the gym in Salalah . When I return to Bahrain Anis has arranged a fitness assessment and exercise and diet plan from a gym he uses in Arad, with 2 months membership .

Next stop was the other Crown Plaza , an iconic hotel in Muscat, perched on a cliff top, and the only hotel with a private beach. (Crowne Plaza Muscat)

 The other Crowne Plaza in Qurum , Muscat , Oman - where I first visited in 2010

Here I had a arranged a day membership so Mark and I could sunbathe, swim , eat , and walk and swim on the beach before we watched the sun set. We had excellent service all day and as the kids had gone back to school the hotel , restaurant and pool were deserted. 

From the Crown Plaza we headed by taxi to Al Mouj ,or The Wave, which is a retail, restaurant and marina popular with locals and expats alike. ( Al Mouj- The Wave) 

               The birthday boy with his Seafood Chowder at Shakespeare

I did some research and found there was a Shakespeare & Co restaurant at the Wave.  Chester first introduced me to this brand, which started in Dubai, in Doha 6 years ago. My friends at the Academy in Bahrain told me about the one at Zallaq springs and I had two farewell lunches there. The one in Muscat was the best of the lot and , for the second time in the day we were very well looked after by an excellent Philippine waitress. There are now 50 Shakespeare & Co restaurants and of course, you can order their food through Talabat ( https://www.shakespeare-and-co.com/)

                   Source : http://www.muscatmutterings.com/2016/03/taxis.html

                                                Accessed 20.9.21

Finally we had a taxi back to the hotel- this one was a 1978 manual gear box car with seatbelts that did not work, no meter and a driver who had no idea where the hotel was! I just managed to squeeze in between the empty bottles and rubbish that filled the back of the car.  As it slowed at every hill I really thought we were going to have to get out and push. The Omani taxis may be driven by locals but they really are appalling. The drivers argue over fares, accuse you of short changing them , beg you for more money as they have "families to feed, Habibie" and have no idea where they are goin. Then when you get there they send you to get change so you can pay them! I was relieved when Mark messaged me to say he had finally got home safely after dropping me off. Another of their tricks to be aware of is they give you their mobile number ( "So you can call me when you need me Habibi") and then get you to do a missed call. After that you get daily WhatsApp messages from them ( I had one at 5.27 am yesterday from Khalid asking if I needed a taxi!) . At the hotel they sit in a pack in the lobby and quiz you when you walk past as to where you are going and when you will next need them. In the end I started taking the lift from my room to the Lower ground floor to avoid them!

      

    Marhaba, the tourist taxis in Muscat- always parked outside the hotel door

It seems I am not the only one disgusted by the rip off taxis here ( second only in the world to Manilla airport taxis). I read on the blog "Muscat Mutterings" written in 2016 that:

"There was quite a lot of news coverage last month over the Taxi situation here in Muscat, and the rather incredible defence from local taxi drivers that having meters would be bad for business. I had intended to write about it at the time but got busy and didn't have the time. Turns out I've been having a bit of insomnia lately so I'm using the fact I'm awake in the middle of the night to tap out some thoughts on this.

This story in the Times of Oman reported a Mr Suleiman Al Jardani, speaking on behalf of "around 500 Orange taxi drivers" who stated that meters are not desirable, since with current rates it would be too expensive for passengers, which he fears would lead to a loss of customers.

Really?

How many of you reading this, as presumably at some point in time being a taxi customer, have not wanted a meter in your taxi? I think the Taxi drivers are missing the point here. The RATE can be changed, if it's too high and people can't afford that, then the rate would be adjusted. What we're talking about here is a uniform price to everyone. I'm a white guy, and I can tell you that for me to take a taxi from outside the Habana sports bar to my house... in Ghubra (before the Chedi lights) that 5 minute cab ride will cost me RO 5... after having bartered down from RO 10.

I know full well that this ride shouldn't really cost me more than a rial but I pay it because I have no choice. I get gouged. The only time I can get my head around the taxi drivers not liking meter's issue is when they have multiple customers in their vehicles and want to charge different amounts for different customers. That's a bit more of a head scratcher, but basisa buses running up and down the highway are basically buses and not taxi's anyway, and as for taxi car's doing multiple fare's in one go... one fare per car.... more fares for more car's.

Source : http://www.muscatmutterings.com/2016/03/taxis.html  (Accessed 20.9.21) 

                  In one of my new sports tops having breakfast in the sun

I crawled into bed at 10 pm and slept soundly until 6 am! The next day I just swam and lazed by the pool and caught up on some chores ( sending the next lot of laundry, washing some dirty clothes, updating my spreadsheets , writing a second round of post cards and so on. I chatted to a snake in the hotel grounds ( snake today, Palaka in the pool yesterday , birds everywhere- they should turn the place into a wild life sanctuary) and had a Caesar salad for lunch with Cajun Prawns and a bottle of chilled water, fruit and yogurt. 

                                 Healthy breakfast in the sun

The rest of the week was very routine, getting up at 4 am, having coffee, taking my blood sugar at 6 am, going for a walk , breakfast at 7, swim at 8 am, more chores ( I updated my SSRV application learnt some Cuyunon, wrote to my Anaks, transferred money from the UK to Bahrain and so on then lunch at noon, and a sleep in the afternoon and then dinner and bed. 

           Thai lunch in the sun- fishcakes and salad washed down with water

The good news is that I got a little browner , a little fitter, I lost some weight, my blood sugar went down and finally after two weeks my Bells Palsy disappeared! I was really happy with this as everyone told me it would take between 3 weeks and 9 months to go. Once again thanks to Gilbert for his accurate diagnosis by Facebook form Bahrain and telling me to go to hospital quickly. Then to Dr Dalia and the team at Aster Al Raffah hospital for their fast actions, tests and medication and for not admitting me to hospital and ruining my vacation. She was also a great source of places to go in Muscat!

 

              Ready to pack again for the final two weeks of my vacation

After my final check on Thursday morning with Dalia at the hospital Dr Khalid , my faithful taxi driver , took me shopping at Mall of Oman for some winter woolies for Salalah. Then we went for lunch at the best restaurant in Muscat ( according to Trip Advisor)  CHAR- Al Kharjiya Street, Shatti Al Qurum W Muscat, Muscat 113 Oman) . Then I packed my case ( and extra bag- decided to pay for extra baggage up front this time when I checked in on line yesterday!) 

So concludes week 12 of my vacation with just 2 more to go

Check back next Friday to see how I got on in Salalah

Until then this is The British Kabayan signing out saying , in Tagalog:

Kita Kits ( see you soon) and Ingat Palagi ( take care)