Walking in Abu Dhabi.

The weather has become much nicer in the evenings. The obligatory walk with the dog is now a much more pleasant stroll. Now that we have relocated back into the centre of Abu Dhabi I find myself within walking distance of some shops. Rather than driving for miles I can walk to a nearby supermarket, and as long as I haven’t overloaded myself with purchases I can comfortable tote them home again. Interestingly as I walk home I pass by a little refurbished Baqala corner store.

 I see SUV’s pull up and honk the horn. Too lazy to even get out of their car! The attendant comes out and takes an order for chippies or soft drinks and retrieves the items for the driver. One day while I walked past and watched this reoccurring behaviour the passenger opened his window and dropped an empty can onto the street. The car was on the wrong side of the road so this wasn't the curb. Of course there was a rubbish bin beside the shop but that would have involved walking.

So while I am getting into the season and enjoying myself with the clement weather, I get to witness another class of people who have forgotten their civic responsibility and who have lost the ability to put one foot in front of the other. They can only move their feet from side to side to step on a pedal.

It is a shame because there is not that much of a chance to exercise in Abu Dhabi. We need to make opportunities. I work in a two story building with two slow and tired lifts. There are wide and welcoming stairs beside the lifts but very few people take the opportunity to stretch their legs. I relish the chance to get off my butt and get the blood circulating, and those stairs hardly count for anything, but the sheep crowd around the elevators and cram themselves in only to reach the next floor after me, no matter what direction we are going.

I like the new Baqala corner stores, the prices are on all goods now and the ability to actually be able to move amongst the shelves is convenient. The requirement to upgrade these groceries has been a good project. Since they are neighbourhood stores it just seems such a shame that more people don’t walk to them.