Oman: sunbed etiquette

Thick low-lying cloud in the early morning gave way to crisp sunshine that was perfect for a day at the Dive Centre. Every sun bed was in use with the exception a few which had been audaciously reserved by a group of German tourists with towels. While taking notes on this story, I recalled the same practice being performed by Ann last Friday morning – there must however be an acceptable duration of unmanned towel reservation.

With the sun at maximum strength, shelter was sought under a palm tree where Mrs M nagged her poor father about the need for exercise to improve muscles forcing John to pace up and down in waist-deep water just to get some peace. He received a gold star for good work.

After a day of essentially horizontal activity, everyone seemed to require a snooze back at the house while I went to the Muscat Book Exhibition to look at books. It is rather quaint to see that some people still use these blocks of printed paper.On my return, I had five minutes to don some dining slacks before we headed out to the Mumtaz Mahal. The restaurant was packed with customers trying to talk over the musicians that wailed in incomprehensible yet melodic tones. The food and service were excellent, although we now have even more leftover boxes filling up the freezer.