06 MusCAt DAilY MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009

nAtion

BOOKSHOPS

Borders 24558089

Family Bookshop, Qurm 24564391

Madinat as Sultan Qaboos 24600084

Oriental Islamic Bookshop 24835665

Turtles 24696217

House of Prose (used books) 24564356

mUSicAl AND THeATricAl

ASSOciATiONS

Associated Board of the Royal

Schools of Music 99440441

Muscat Amateur Theatre

Judith Razek 24562511

Muscat Singers, Kate Clarke 99473709

RAH Music Ensemble

Katherine Cole 99272417

ArT gAllerieS

Al Madina Art Gallery 24691380

Bait Muzna Gallery 24739204

Omani Heritage Gallery 24696974

Omani Society for Fine Arts 24694969

Raj Relics 99329842

Yitti Art Gallery 24564297

FlOriSTS

Bella Rose, CCC 24566766

Caravans, Al Asfoor Plaza 24566795

Sadaf Flowers, MQ 24602123

The Flower Shop, Sabco Centre 24560043

The Little Flower Shop 24603383

mAllS

Al Araimi Complex 24566180

Al Asfoor Plaza 24564686

Al Harthy Complex 24564481

Al Khamis Plaza 24562791

Al Wadi Commercial Centre 24564782

Capital Commercial Complex 24567351

Centrepoint 24698988

Jawaharat A’Shatti Complex 24692113

Khimji Megastore 24708075

lulu Hypermarket

Barka 26886855

Bausher 24504504

Darsait 24701401

Al Burj complex

Seeb 24423771

Sohar 26843040

Markaz al Bahja 24540200

Muscat City Centre 24558888

Qurm City Centre 24470700

Sabco Centre 24562761

TrAVel

Airlines

Flight Information (24 hours) 24519456

Aeroflot 24704455

Air Arabia 24700828

Air France 24562153

Air India 24799801

Air New Zealand 24700732

Biman Bangladesh Airlines 24701128

British Airways 24568777

Cathay Pacific 24789818

Egypt Air 24794113

Emirates Air 24404400

Ethiopian Airlines 24660313

Gulf Air (toll-free number) 80072424

Indian 24791914

Iran Air 24787423

Japan Airlines 24704455

Jazeera Airways 23294848

Jet Airways 24787248

Kenya Airways 24660300

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 24566737

Kuwait Airways 24701262

LOT Polish Airlines 24796387

Lufthansa 24796692

Malaysian Airlines 24560796

Middle East Airlines 24796680

Oman Air 24531111

Pakistan International Airlines 24792471

Qatar Airways 24771900

Qantas 24559941

Royal Jordanian 24796693

Saudi Arabian Airlines 24789485

Singapore Airlines 24791233

Shaheen Air 24816565

SriLankan Airlines 24784545

Swiss International Airlines 24796692

Thai Airways 24705934

Turkish Airlines 24703033

TOUr OPerATOrS

ABC Tourism 24582663

Adonis Travel and Tourism 24693371

Advantage Travel and Tours 95220095

Airborne Travels 24479295

Al Azure Tours 24602537/

96920271

Al Hashar Tourism and Travels 24836100

Al Hasn Araimi Travel 24799966

Al Raya Tourism 92282533

Alwan Tourism 24594002

Al Maskry Tourism and Travels 24595241

Arabian Sea Safaris 24693223

Arise Travel and Tours 24605825

99642291

AST Tours

Muscat 24571311

24/7 99484003

Salalah 23298085

Bahwan Travel Agencies 24797405

Caravan Tours Muscat LLC 24707072

24/7 98404145

Desert Discovery 24493232

Desert Thunder 95555153

Eihab Travels 24683900

Elite Travel and Tourism 24485020

Empty Quarter Tours 99387654

Explore Masirah 25504442

Gulf Leisure 24693561

Gulf Ventures 24559985

Kanoo Travel 24700249

Khasab Travel and Tours 26730464

Mark Tours 24786882

Mezoon Travel 24796680

Nomadic Adventures and Tours 99336273

Oasis Tours 24499922,

99440441

Oman Geo Tours 24600914

Oman World Tourism 99252680

Orient Holidays 24478902

Palmera Travel & Tourism 24498580-14

Shanfari Travel and Tours 24786916

Sumahram Falcon 95774166

Sun and Sand Tours 99373928

Sunny Day Tours, Travel and Adventures

Steps Travel and Tourism 24488891

Tour Oman 24799966

United Tours 24787448

Zahara Tours 24400844

AccOmmODATiON

Muscat

Al Bahjah Hotel 24424400

Al Bustan Palace

InterContinental Muscat 24764000

Al Khuwayr Hotel Apartments 24478171

Al Madina Holiday Inn 24596400

Al Maha International Hotel 24494949

Al Fanar Hotel 24712385

Al Falaj Hotel 24702311

Al Qurm Resort 24605945

Azaiba Hotel Apartments 24490979

Beach Hotel 24696601

Bowshar Hotel 24491105

Coral Hotel Muscat 24692121

Crowne Plaza Muscat 24660660

Crystal Suites 24826100

Golden Tulip Seeb 24510300

Grand Hyatt Muscat 24641234

Haffa House Hotel 24707207

Hotel Muscat Holiday 24487123

Hotel InterContinental Muscat 24680000

Majan Continental Hotel 24592900

Marina Hotel 24711711

Midan Hotel Suites 24499565

Mina Hotel 24711828

Muttrah Hotel 24798401

Nuzha Hotel Apartments 24789199

Oman Dive Center 24824240

Park Inn 24507888

Qurm Beach House Hotel 24564070

Radisson Blu Hotel Muscat 24487777

Ramee Dream Resort Seeb 24453399

Ramee Guestline Hotel 24564443

Ruwi Hotel 24704244

Safeer Hotel Suites 24691200

Sheraton Oman Hotel 24772772

Shangri-La’s Barr al Jissah

Resort and Spa 24776666

The Chedi Muscat 24524400

The Treasurebox Muscat Hotel 24502570

A-Z listinG

M Najmuz ZafarMuscat

Parking problems in Muscat are

not new, but the latest one to

bother residents is the over-

crowding and encroachment of

open spaces in residential areas

by lorries.

While Ghala often has many

heavy tankers, this is to be ex-

pected as the area is home to

warehouses and mechanical

shops and is therefore likely to

have heavy traffic and large vehi-

cles parked up. Less explicable is

why areas such as Azaiba and

Ghubra, home to many affluent

residential areas and commercial

establishments, have long been

subjected to this parking scourge.

“I live in Azaiba, in an area where

a big plot is lying vacant adjacent

to our flat. This plot is being used

by lorries and big tankers for

parking. Many families live in our

building . The children like to go

out and play around in the park-

ing lot and it gets quite dangerous

with these heavy trucks always

entering or exiting the area,” said

resident Aftab Umar.

He added that this also hap-

pens in a lot of other residential

areas, as there are simply not

enough open spaces to park

these big lorries. “Why can't

there be a designated area or

spaces for parking such big vehi-

cles? Why is it that they have to

find parking spaces in residential

blocks? It is not only a health haz-

ard, but also an eyesore because

our area looks like a junk yard, as

at times lorries are parked there

for months.”

Even areas such as Wadi Kabir

and Muttrah are not spared as

sewage tankers and other

medium sized heavy goods vehi-

cles fill up the parking spaces

designated for cars or use any va-

cant plot adjacent to residential

complexes. “I think it's a little in-

timidating to always see heavy

trucks next to our building. It

raises concerns of security for

children who sometimes go out

unaccompanied,” said Madhu

Kapske, who lives near the Lulu

store at Darsait.

There are also those who think

that the Ghala area should be

made more tourist-friendly, as at

present it is full of heavy lorries

and criss-crossed by dusty roads.

Talal al Maskari, who runs a

technical services company from

Ghala, thought that it was an

industrial area and that most

people who visit Ghala, or stay in

the hotels there, are on short

business trips. “When we moved

into the Ghala area it wasn't this

crowded. But what can you

expect when all the warehouses

are located here,” he said, adding

that previously multi-storey

buildings were not allowed, but

now buildings can be constructed

going up to 12 floors. This new

development, he feels, will help

the area grow into a commercial

hub and attract many business

properties that are at present

thinking of relocating from the

Ruwi commercial area.

Muscat Municipality ann-

ounced last week that it is

considering constructing parking

bays to overcome traffic jams

caused by haphazard parking of

vehicles all over the city. Chairing

Muscat Municipality Council's

fifth meeting in its fourth year, H

E Eng Sultan Hamdoun al Harthy

said that officials have conducted

studies for constructing parking

lots for taxis and other vehicles.

trucks in residential

areas cause concernResidents are concerned of the danger posed to children by lorries parking in residential areas

I am a resident of Azaiba and live

behind Safeer Hypermarket. We

have a serious issue which is a

matter of great concern for all

the residents of the area.

For almost a month now we

have noticed that forklift trucks,

long trailers and heavy vehicles

are being parked in an empty

residential plot near our block of

flats, which is next to Ministry of

Legal Affairs.

The movement of heavy duty

vehicles day and night, seven

days a week, and constant park-

ing beside our flats has reached

the point where we are left with

no choice but to bring this to the

attention of the media and con-

cerned authorities.

It is a matter of worry, espe-

cially when it comes to ladies

and young children, as the driv-

ers of these lorries and trucks

sleep in their trucks and chit-

chat loudly while sitting outside

their trucks.

Due to their constant pres-

ence, we can’t even open our

windows or our curtains, as our

bedroom windows are exposed

to the side where these drivers

constantly move.

Through your newspaper, I

would like to bring to the atten-

tion of the ROP and Muscat

Municipality that being Omani

ladies, our culture does not allow

us to expose ourselves to this

chaos.

Therefore, I feel that the

drivers must move to deserted

areas where they can park their

vehicles, rather than parking

next to our houses where ladies

and children reside or play

outside.

(Name withheld on request)

DAilY DileMMA

Lorry drivers are disturbing us night and day

What do you want?

Many go through life upset, disappointed and

sad because they feel that they are not achieving.

They are simply not clear about what they want.

Imagine it to be equivalent to driving a car not

knowing where you want to go, and therefore

whichever path you choose really makes no

difference.

Have you ever seen a marathon runner begin

a race without knowing where the finish line is?

Have you ever tried to get a bull’s eye with

your eyes closed and not knowing where the

dartboard is situated?

Many go through the world saying there is

more to the life that they currently live. When I

ask them if they know exactly what they want, the

majority look at me with a blank

face. Some start to tell me a few

things they want to be, have, do

and give. However, it’s obvious within 30 seconds

or so that not many actually take the time to sit

down and ask themselves a potentially life chang-

ing question, “What do I want?” The majority

spend more time planning their summer holidays

or doing their hair in front of the mirror than they

do planning their life, asking this very important

question. The images in their mind are hazy. A

hazy image in the mind is like going through a

continuous desert storm in life.

Many have an illusion of what they want, but

actually don’t know it for sure, because to do so,

requires them to have taken the time to actually

ask that question and spend some time thinking

about the answers. Until you have a crystal clear

image in your mind, you will find it tough to nav-

igate through life’s challenges in order to reach

your destination. Every achiever and every winner

is clear about what they want from the word go.

I pose this question to you, grab a piece of

paper (or a couple) and write down your answers

to, “What do I want?” This could be who you

want to become, what you want to contribute to

your society, what you want to achieve, what you

want to have. It can be anything, it’s your life.

Don’t expect to get it right and completed in

five minutes. In fact, this could take days, if not

weeks of you constantly asking yourself, “What

do I want?” and thinking it through.

What you might have thought as important

may not be, and vice versa, now

that you are thinking about it

seriously. You will come to a

point where you know that you’re clear about

what you want. As you go through life, this vision

can take a life of its own, with you the creator

of it, modifying it to suit what brings you the

most happiness.

When you’re clear, you will move without hes-

itation. When you’re clear, you move with

purpose. When you’re clear, challenges are noth-

ing but cobwebs that go away as you bolt

through. When you’re clear in your mind, you

visualise reality.

You are in charge of your life. Find out what

you want and set out to get it.

Have a winning week.

A MuscAt DAily cOluMNist

Results in life -

ChoiCe oR luCk?

Kevin Abdulrahman

Kevin Abdulrahman is an in-demand leadership development and performance acceleration speaker

and trainer

WHAT DO YOU WANT?

You can e-mail him on kevin.abdulrahman@apexstuff.com