Images of RAHRC, borrowed from PDORC website
Thanks to such friends I wangled an invite. Went there Wednesday night to see 2 tribute bands playing - of the Eagles and U2. Dinner and a drink included all for 15 rials pp [~$40]. After a few bottles of South African bubbles, and at just 5 rials a bottle can you blame my indulgence?, they sounded as good as the real thing. A blast was had by the roughly 800 people there.
Possibly the safest rock concert I've ever been to. Loads of kids, and a great mix of Expats and Omanis, all getting stuck in to the bar and shakin their rumps as only middle aged white folks can.
Excellent. And a great way to celebrate Obama's victory too. I watched his speech, and was struck by how impressive this man is.
Next night, it seemed all of Muscat was there to watch a great display of free fireworks. Masses of Omani teens, all scoping out the opposite sex and flirting. Very Cute. And a really great show. Thanks PDO! (and friends)
I have the opportunity to join the PDO club and was actually wondering about its regular contingent.
ReplyDeleteSince PDO is a national organization, I thought that most members of the club were Omanis.
My family and I are what one would call expats, Americans at that (though the latter is probably not such a bad thing as of late).
Thus I was leaning more towards the Interconti for my family's daytime recreation while I'm slaving away at the office or the oilfields.
The best thing for me is probably to visit both places and make up my own mind. Until I get the chance to actually do that, yours and your loyal followers' thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
boxster,
ReplyDelete(disclaimer: I've been regularly going to PDO club for some 20-odd years).
Intercon probably beats PDO club in terms of polish, but PDO club definitely has a better (in that it's private) beach + surroundings. There's a certain charm to the club as a whole that you won't find at Intercon (this is only my opinion of course).
You will find Omanis among the regulars, but far outnumbered by the expats, who are more outdoors-y (to borrow american phrasing) as you probably know.
It is for the above reason (at least, when I was in high school) that the PDO club was/is a plum location for an Omani teenage date :)
-Omani in US
Wednesday Night: What a blast!!! Great all round event... if only tickets were as easy to get for thoer PDO events to us 'ousiders'....
ReplyDeleteThursday.... couldn't get in but saw from a distance... great entertainment...
Bring back the old beach club 2 doors down from PDO... ;-(
Boxster
ReplyDeleteI think for the price you can't beat PDO - better beach (private, bbq, women can wear bikinis without too much staring), regular events as describes, and cheap drinks, food, diving, tennis and sailing.
Lots of very westernised Omanis too, so great for meeting locals. But probably a slight majority of the active members are Expat.
Intercon has a great gym and an OK pool. But expensive food and drink, and more expensive fees.
Why not.... both! You can afford it, I'm sure.
thank you all for the very insightful responses
ReplyDeletesounds to me that the PDO club has a more authentic feel to it and a membership there carries a certain status symbol ;)
The PDO club is increasingly Omani these days - not a cause for complaint, but the days of it being an 'expat' club are gone. European-type expats only dominate the some of the sports 'sections', including sailing, diving and tennis. The pool and beach (especially at weekends and evenings) are now very popular with Omani families, and is therefore becoming ever more overcrowded, with all of the problems that go with this (lack of parking, loud music, litter...).
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, its not all roses at the PDO club.... Below is an email that is doing the rounds..
ReplyDelete-----------------------------
Last Thursday during the PDO fireworks a young girl was gang raped in the men's bathroom at the swimming pool. Members of the gang guarded the door while the crime was taking place.
The event is public / anyone has access to the event.
Management of PDO knows about it but since the 6 offenders where probably local or known to them, everything is being 'hushed' and 'not spoken about' ....
We cannot let this happen. So only by letting people know and 'do talk about it' something will come public and something will have to be done by the police.
Please let people know.
----------------------------
Dont know if that is true or not, but it's certainly disturbing if it is true.
This is sitting on the PDO RC club bulletin:
ReplyDeleteThis note is to clarify the situation regarding an e-mail which has been circulating since yesterday alleging that a very serious incident took place during the fireworks event at the PDO Recreation Centre last Thursday.
This e-mail was the first time that this matter came to the attention of PDO Management, and was immediately forwarded to the Royal Oman Police for investigation. We have also offered to provide all support we can to ROP in their investigations. However, we reiterate that we have no further information regarding this alleged serious incident other than the e-mail.
If you have any useful information regarding the allegation, please contact Mohammed Al-Ghareebi, our Security & Emergency Response Manager on 24670009. He can also be reached on his e-mail address: Mohammed.Ghareebi@pdo.co.om
No CCTV cameras at the club?
AL, Boxster
ReplyDeleteYeah, got it last night. Am just checking what's going on before post. It doesn't check out yet.
But its a very scary story. And if true, devastating for the poor girl.
Watch this space.
i though the Management of PDO are human & they will react immediately because she might be one of there children
ReplyDeleteAny way I wonder if incident was true & the beasts who did are expert, do you think they will be charged!!!!!
Lets hope the story is a fake & the aim is to refer to the locals as beasts ز
Do you mean "expat" rather than "expert"? If this really happened and the guys who did it were expats, it should be relatively easy to deal with. If they were Omanis...
ReplyDeleteBtw, if anyone covered anything up I have no doubt it would have been at the lower levels (security gurads etc). It is inconceivable that PDO management would even think of covering something like this up.
And that is why it is called Omanization..
ReplyDeleteI need ONE ticket to this weekends STAMPEDE party !!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteCan you help me out ?! Thanks