My walk to work is quite an adventure sometimes. Not an Indiana Jones adventure or even a Peter Rabbit adventure but an adventure all the same.
This last week, it's been very cold - not North Pole cold (ok, enough of that cute little literary device) but cold enough for the good folk of Rabat to be swathed in duvet coats, scarves and hats. So I get quite a lot of sideways looks (and worse) as I stride down the boulevard in shorts and a cotton zip-up. Do any Moroccans own shorts? In the nearby park, all the walkers and joggers are bundled up in full shell suit, headscarf and hats whatever the weather.
So I'm negotiating the (laughingly named) pavements - they love putting in concealed steps, inclines and holes. Question: why are pavements so wide in Rabat? So that owners of effing great big 4 wheel drives can park them comfortably on said pavements.
As I stroll past the King's golf course which, although it is never used (his highness prefers jetskiing), is in pristine condition thanks to the small contingent of greenkeepers daily looking after the course. I wonder if HRH doesn't play because no one asks him. If I had his mobile no I'd see if he was up for a game sometime.
There are piles, nay mountains, of household rubbish all over the place (except around HRH property, of course). There seems to be one wheelie bin for a whole street. Consequently, the residents just chuck bags of rubbish next to the bin and, between the cats and scavengers, the contents of the bags find their way up and down the street. But here's the amazing part, it all gets cleaned up fairly regularly! Imagine our binmen picking up rubbish not only not in the right bin but not in a bleedin' bin at all!
Another adventurous walk to work. Well, a bit adventurous.
This last week, it's been very cold - not North Pole cold (ok, enough of that cute little literary device) but cold enough for the good folk of Rabat to be swathed in duvet coats, scarves and hats. So I get quite a lot of sideways looks (and worse) as I stride down the boulevard in shorts and a cotton zip-up. Do any Moroccans own shorts? In the nearby park, all the walkers and joggers are bundled up in full shell suit, headscarf and hats whatever the weather.
So I'm negotiating the (laughingly named) pavements - they love putting in concealed steps, inclines and holes. Question: why are pavements so wide in Rabat? So that owners of effing great big 4 wheel drives can park them comfortably on said pavements.
As I stroll past the King's golf course which, although it is never used (his highness prefers jetskiing), is in pristine condition thanks to the small contingent of greenkeepers daily looking after the course. I wonder if HRH doesn't play because no one asks him. If I had his mobile no I'd see if he was up for a game sometime.
There are piles, nay mountains, of household rubbish all over the place (except around HRH property, of course). There seems to be one wheelie bin for a whole street. Consequently, the residents just chuck bags of rubbish next to the bin and, between the cats and scavengers, the contents of the bags find their way up and down the street. But here's the amazing part, it all gets cleaned up fairly regularly! Imagine our binmen picking up rubbish not only not in the right bin but not in a bleedin' bin at all!
Another adventurous walk to work. Well, a bit adventurous.
Sounds like the Cairo I knew 20 years ago; but there, the rubbish was never cleaned up. It was incongruous to watch beautifully-attired Egyptian women in dainty shoes leaving their apartments and daintily picking their way over the detritus of years to get to their car.
ReplyDeleteIn the winter months, I felt it necessary to don a light pullover against the slightly cooler desert breezes. My Egyptian colleagues would arrive, just as you describe, in overcoats, woolly hats and scarves, through which their eyes could only just be made out, and huffing and blowing against the cold they perceived.
It's all relative!