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Key Perth Green about to do a cliff dive
see the guy behind him on the higher cliffWadi Shab
'Wadi' means 'dry river bed' (Wadi Shab is actually a wet river bed, a beautiful emerald green oasis in the desert).
Wadi Shab is wadi in Oman and located between the capital Muscat and the town Sur, Oman.
It has at least seven pools of emerald green water and is studded with boulders. One of the pools is in a cave where light streams in dramatically from above and there are fantastic echoes heard when one swims in it.
Eventhough all guidebooks say you need a 4WD to get there...you can easily reach it in a regular car...thanks to the backbreaking road-construction (courtesy of practically free labor from India/Pakistan/Afghanistan).
These workers situation is so bad, and the government does not do anything to alleviate the situation. Most of these workers flock from the subcontinent (poor farmers/laborers) to the 'gulf' with hopes for a better life for their families they have left behind back home. There is a huge racket going on in bringing these unwary, naive workers to these coutries: they are promised big salaries so they end up selling all their land/house/farm back home in India, take out a big loan to cover the
cost of their visas/ plane ticket to come to places like Oman and U.A.E.
After they get to these gulf countries reality sets in:
-they are not paid even half of the salary they were promised
-their passport is taken up by their bosses so they can't leave to go back home.
-they've sold everything they own back home in India -so going home w/o any money is not even an option for many.
-three months worth of salaries are held back by their bosses so they are not tempted to flee the worksite.
-while the rest of the country takes a break from 1pm-4pm everyday (hottest time in the desert countries)...these construction workers are made to work thru the intense intense intense heat. (it really felt like i was stepping into an oven everytime i went outside of the car even).
-many of these workers often faint from heat exhaustion, and basic medical attention is not even a consideration.
-they live in housing quarters of 7-8 guys in a room no bigger than most of our living rooms and still barely make enough to send back home to their wives and children back home in India.
And
Why?
Especially a nation like India, with all this brain power would be forced to go build roads in the middle of nowhere for the thankless Gulf countries?
I'm telling you...its time we seriously discussed the idea of a 'One child per household in places like India/Pakistan'. Less mouths to feed means less stress on the head of the family to kill themselves in a desert environment struggling everyday to make ends meet!
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The waterfall.
If u swim to the end then hike a bit then swim through the river again u can get to a opening in the rock face about 30cm wide and if u manage to swim through it theres cave with a water fall... Another note in regards to "with all this brain power would be forced to go build roads in the middle of nowhere for the thankless Gulf countries" ...mislead by their own wealthy people back home is the impression i got when speaking to these workers.... just something worth thinking about b4 pointing the finger.