Tonight I decided to be brave. Oman allows hotels to serve alcohol and there is an English Pub in my hotel. Since I missed St. Pat's day in Kuwait, I thought I would stop in for a Guinness and see what happened. Walking in, it was still early but other than the two female Filipino bartenders, I was the only woman. The pub had was mostly empty and the patrons were English, Scottish, Italian, and the random Egyptian. Normally I'm not this brave but I really wanted a Guinness. I sat down and ordered my pint. As a woman, I was somewhat invisible so it allowed me to observe what was the norm for this hotel community.
I noticed that the bartenders shook hands with all of the male patrons at some point. No one shook my hand even though the male and female bartenders were Filipino. While I was the odd person out, it was not an uncomfortable situation. I was the only person drinking Guinness. Everyone else ordered Stella, Grolsh, Fosters, or Kilkenney. There is a big group here from the UK. I didn't figure that one out but they are having a party tonight outside. I think it's an award function or company party of some sort.
A foursome from Scotland walked in and they drew all the attention. One of the men was dressed in his finest kilt (and he looked good) and the women were in stunning cocktail dresses. I looked pretty normal and secure on my barstool at this point.
It took 45 minutes to drink my beer. During that time, I made the mistake of zoning out and staring into space. As usual, it turned out that I was staring at someone. He bought me another beer. Luckily, this being the Middle East, I could simply say "thank-you" drink my beer, and make my escape. It was a fascinating insight into how Europeans travel here all the time but most Americans have never even heard of Oman or it's capital Muscat.
Bravery has it's rewards. I have something new to think about and a good hour to remember in Oman.
I noticed that the bartenders shook hands with all of the male patrons at some point. No one shook my hand even though the male and female bartenders were Filipino. While I was the odd person out, it was not an uncomfortable situation. I was the only person drinking Guinness. Everyone else ordered Stella, Grolsh, Fosters, or Kilkenney. There is a big group here from the UK. I didn't figure that one out but they are having a party tonight outside. I think it's an award function or company party of some sort.
A foursome from Scotland walked in and they drew all the attention. One of the men was dressed in his finest kilt (and he looked good) and the women were in stunning cocktail dresses. I looked pretty normal and secure on my barstool at this point.
It took 45 minutes to drink my beer. During that time, I made the mistake of zoning out and staring into space. As usual, it turned out that I was staring at someone. He bought me another beer. Luckily, this being the Middle East, I could simply say "thank-you" drink my beer, and make my escape. It was a fascinating insight into how Europeans travel here all the time but most Americans have never even heard of Oman or it's capital Muscat.
Bravery has it's rewards. I have something new to think about and a good hour to remember in Oman.
No blog photo of the beer? I guess that might have drawn attention to you, as most people in the Middle East probably do not take pictures of their beer.
ReplyDeleteMost people most places don't take pictures of their beer.
ReplyDeleteOB
Well they don't take pictures of their been in Omani bars at least.
ReplyDelete