Never step anywhere close to Qurum City Amphitheatre or Mumtaz Mahal hotel on a weekend. Chances are that you may get stranded in a traffic snarl between Omani Women’s Association and the Amphitheatre. With Qurum park renovation works going on in full swing, there is a steady movement of heavy vehicles almost till midnight daily. Last Thursday, I went to watch Bappi Lahiri’s show at around 7.30pm, and when I decided to return home at 9pm, I was struck in the traffic for nearly 45 minutes. With no cops in action, some enthusiastic people took the lead and managed to get mess sorted out. Hats off to their spirit. The snarl was mainly due to huge lorries, carrying slabs and ready mix concrete, moving in and out of the park. Sadly, there isn’t enough parking space for people visiting Amphitheatre, and most of the time, people end up parking haphazardly.

Thursday was very eventful for me –– it started with a crappy live show, then the traffic snarl, and to top it all a never-ending line at McDonald’s drive-thru at CCC. I somehow managed to convince my Kids Meal-loving daughter, and scooted from the place with an assurance that I will comeback the following day to fulfill my promise.