Road to Oman

by Pam

Blue Mosque, Istanbul

Doug left for Oman and for the next few weeks, I’ll be keeping an ear open for the phone or computer to ring and checking the Internet for updates. I discovered that the Oman Laser World Championships have a really good website with live coverage. More like live blogging but I’ll take it:

http://omanlaserworlds2013.com/eng/

Doug tends to have unique, one of a kind, ‘you can’t make this stuff up’ experiences. He booked his trip through CheapOAir and I had to wonder if he’d make it to his destination. So far, flight delays, multiple aircraft mechanical failures and missed connections left him with an overnight stay and a day in Istanbul instead of on a coach boat watching the first day of the open worlds. He has the clothes on his back, a recently purchased toothbrush and razor and has been at the mercy of the airlines to take care of him.

When we Skyped last night he was wearing his “Canadian” lapel pen on his t-shirt and was ready to hit the streets of Istanbul squinting like a pirate trying to see out of his bad eye with a view that looks like a wavy, Arial Narrow font. He held up his makeshift map written on a napkin with the main attractions a friend said he just had to see.

First stop, a 17 year old kid wanting to learn English comes up and talks to him and they’ve been best friends all day. The kid has been his personal tour guide taking him all over the city. With Doug’s luck, they’ll exchange email addresses and the kid will grow up to be someone quite remarkable and he and Doug will still be good friends.

Hopefully, he’ll make it to Oman by Day 2 of racing and start sending up some news and pictures.