Walking Myself Sober in Dubai

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Daily writing prompt
What are your favorite physical activities or exercises?

My favorite physical activity is walking. Put one foot in front of the other and then repeat. Ten thousand times! Or more, if you’re in the mood. There’s nothing better than good ol’ walking. And I can prove it.

I’ve gone on some pretty long and interesting walks. Once, I was working on a boat that was docked at Dubai Maritime City and we went out into Dubai looking for some beer. A friend of a friend had told a friend of a friend about this place where you could get cheap beer on the down low. It was the part of Dubai that doesn’t make it into the marketing brochures of travel agencies. The buildings were concrete blocks that looked more like soviet suburbs rather than capitalist skyscrapers, except that they were in the desert instead of snow.

We walked into a building and were met with trash strewn all across the floor. It was like taking a turn and ending up in an Indian slum. We walked up a flight of stairs that had no rails and looked unfinished. We knocked on a door. An African guy opened the door and let us in. There were other Africans lounging around inside on mattresses on the floor. One side of the room had 3 or 4 refrigerators humming away. We walked up to the guy sitting across a small wooden table on a pastic stool and asked for their cheapest beer.

I think we got Red Horse beer from the Phillipines. It was only while making the payment that I felt a little bit of trepidation. Although, I don’t think trepidation was warranted. Even gangsters know about brand image management. If they start robbing their clients, they’ll soon have no clients. Friends of friends will tell the friends of their friends.

We went back to our ship and had a party. That red horse is some strong beer. I think I was pissed half way through my second can. Whenever the party got over, i.e. we ran out of beer, I decided to go for a walk. I don’t know what time it was, maybe 2 am, when I stumbled down the gangway on to the jetty. This section of the port was pretty laidback. All the ships moored there were on some kind of layover with not much work going on. So I took a nice walk in the chilly air all around the docks of Dubai Maritime City, drunk on Philipino Red Horse beer, that I had bought from some African dudes.

By the time I got back, I was as sober as a judge. Which is why walking is the best form of physical activity. It is the only exercise you can do while drunk!

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