Birthday Party on the beach!

To have your birthday on 1 April is always a risky business to organise a birthday party. You always have the possibility that no-one will come as they might see it as an April fools joke. So I've decided to have a party a bit later in the week. The idea of my very own beach party meandered in my thoughts for a while now. As my birthday was approaching, I thought maybe this is the right time for something different than your average house party. I went through the tick-list in my head and the scale topple in my favour.

Al Uwainat Beach - Sohar, Oman

Whatsapp messages sent to friends - checked, decision over the venue - checked, ready to party - checked!
As South Africans we love a "braai" - barbecue. Therefore there was no other choice than to have a nice braai on the beach. Those people who know Oman, would agree that buying wood for a barbie is quite an expensive story due to the small amount of trees. Luckily one of my friends had some in stock and he was able to bring some wood for our bonfire. For the braai we used charcoal.

The bonfire before the party

I'm very privilege to have friends that are very good cooks. They offered to bring my favourite salads on this special day. From potato salad with bacon and egg to coleslaw, that tasted yummy. My other friend made another South African favourite - pap / porridge. Put a nice piece of meat to the mix and every person attending will smile from ear to ear.

One of the highlights of the night was a red velvet cake two of my friends baked and cheerfully decorated. Red is a bit of an understatement, because due to a lack of red colouring, they used my favourite colour - blue. So we called it a blue-velvet cake. It was absolutely delicious and we even ate it before the main meal was ready.

Many Omani people passed by during the night and could not really comprehend why this Saffas are "braaing" on the beach. Maybe it was the camping chairs, maybe the bonfire or just the smell of deliciously cooked meat on a fire.

It was a very memorable birthday party and definitely one of my favourites!

A big thanks to everyone who made this a memorable birthday!

Ma’a salama (Goodbye in Arabic)