Back to the Mall

Yesterday evening I again dropped my Dirham (EUR 0.20) in the cash-box on the bus which took me out onto the Breakwater so that I could re-visit Marina Mall.

It has grown to twice the size it was when I left three years ago. And there are many more inviting cafes and restaurants. Marble everywhere, of course, and in one corner a line-up of luxury stores in a proximity which is not that different from Maximilianstrasse or Theatinerstrasse in Munich... Vuitton, Bulgari, Chanel, Armani... all the usual suspects.

Since in the Sandlands yesterday was the first day of the Eid holiday the Mall was very crowded. Even the lowliest construction workers from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were able to enjoy a rare day off and many flocked to the Mall. Happily I saw no sign of any discrimination against those who are euphemistically called 'bachelors'.


This contrasts with what I noted when I visited the beach on Friday. There strict security denied to wearers of shalwar kameez the possibility of access to the shore. Presumably these young men were to be protected from the awful sight on Beirut bimbos sunbathing in their teeny-weeny polka-dot bikinis.

On the positive side, there was an upside in respect of security. There was a lifeguard on his or herhigh chair every hundred metres along the beach. And there were more of them on jet-skis patrolling just offshore.