It’s No Picnic On Road
WHERE he came out of? How come I didn't see him? Where did he come from? Our friend kept asking us with deep shock as his body sways and blood trickles down from his forehead onto the ground after his brand new Hyundai Tucson was hit in broad daylight by a 1,700kg Cherokee running at a speed of around 120km/hour while he was turning on a straight road.
The road to Al Ashkara is long but you know us (Goenkars) our trips are never complete until we throw ourselves in or at least a stone in the water. So on the second-day of our excursion we headed further down from the tip of the Arabian Sea to this coastal village and came upon a long stretch of untidy but relatively unspoiled beach with clear green water and gentle waves. It is here that when some of us were attempting to pull out an unsporting saloon car of one of our members who was lured into the sand for some unknown reason we heard the sudden cheeEEee... dubbbb!
Looking at the damage to both 4x4s, it’s a miracle that all survived with some serious injuries on both sides. It was a horrific sight, but unlike in India where people make swift judgement in such cases here during our six-hour wait at the site, clinic and police station to get everything fixed we didn’t see a single finger pointing or heard a negative comment from the four young Omanis who were in the jeep nor from their acquaintances who later joined them -- other than of course some murmurs of us ‘Hindis’. It was a very civilized affair. May be partially because the material loss is reimbursed by the insurance, but then what about the pain, the blood, the stains on my t-shirt -- the memories of it will be indelibly etched in our minds, thankfully with no ‘I like it’ option.
The night before the accident we went to Ras al Jinz to watch the turtles we were lucky to see two giant turtles one laying eggs and other busy disguising her nest by throwing sand with her flippers. I didn’t give much thought to them then but after this incident I think turtles are fascinating animals, they seem to know something about life that we don't. They are very security conscious, when danger approaches they immediately pull their head and feet into their shells for protection. Of course we can’t put our whole body in the shell and roll away like them but can learn few things from them like: develop an instinct to stick to the track/rules (turtles follow the light of the moon bouncing off the water to return home from the beach); Slow down and do not get driven by hare-like behavior; Be self-controlled, alert and focused and not get distracted by cell phones or other electronic pets while behind the wheels because the Pacman ghosts are expanding the limits of their virtual existence and are now prowling the streets.
Take care so we can find you on facebook.
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