Salalah, the beautiful


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Middle East » Oman » Dhofar » Salalah
May 30th 2014
Published: May 31st 2014
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"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"
"Exactly! Silence! No beeping!"

One of the things we noticed about Salalah, and one that speaks volumes of the people there, was the complete lack of beeps. No cars honking, nobody tailgating you and flashing their lights trying to run you off the road. People were very content to wait and to let you find your way. I tell you, if you have not experienced a daily commute in the Middle East, you don't know how touching this small token of hospitality is. We commented constantly about it, like when we would go around a roundabout three or four times trying to find the right road. Or when there was some kind of procession on the major freeway at night, there were no beeps - people waited their turn to pass. Same thing going up and down the steep mountain roads behind trucks - if you were lucky to get in front of them, yay, otherwise people knew that it was only a matter of time before they could pass. I tell you, it was amazing.

Anyway, apparently I was the only one who worked Thursday, but left early and joined my friends to watch X-Men before heading to the airport for our direct flight from Dubai to Salalah. Jamie had a car come get us (as a perk on her credit card); unfortunately, traffic was atrocious. We made it and got on the small flight to Salalah. Upon landing we were quickly stamped in, following a declaration fill-out, and went to get our rental car: a Nissan Pathfinder. 4WD baby! Because it was night and google maps seems to not have updated with the city improvements, we were quickly lost. Fortunately, we stopped and Addi met multiple friendlies eager to helps us find the way.

We did and somehow, some way, we found our beach front hotel. Seriously, you drive onto the sand and park in front. It was about midnight at this point and entered a pretty dark 5-storey building. Yes, it was the right place and we were quickly checked in. The rooms were immaculate and nice, with a balcony overlooking the Indian Ocean. I looked forward to listening to the sound of waves crashing during my well deserved sleep (sometimes I miss Ventura so much!). So, I put down my bags and plopped down on my bed. And promptly popped right back up - hardest mattress ever. EVER!!!

Yes, so I woke up the next morning in pain. I literally opened my eyes at 7am and jumped out of bed like something bit me - it hurt so bad. Jamie came to get me for lunch and tried to massage my neck and stretch me out, which helped, but it was still awful. We had a free breakfast; when we first walked in, after the shock of realizing we were totally alone, we thought we had a choice of papaya, watermelon, basic hummus with bread, olives, white bread, and cereal with milk which had been sitting out for who knows how long. Not terrible but we both thought we'd have to get some snacks for the day. Fortunately, the guy came up to us and asked how we would like our eggs. They were fantastic! Scrambled with tomatoes, onion and green chillies - my favorite!

Then we headed northeast towards Taqah. Our first stop was to see Wadi Darbat. Seriously proud of ourselves for finding it right away (our hotel gave us much better maps). It was beautiful. You climb up a steep hill then drop down into this valley, which is flush with vegetation and water during the monsoon season - not now though. Now it is pretty brown and bare. We saw tons of camels and donkeys and cows, and very very few people. There was only one other car of tourists we saw (Indian) and then the Pakistani guys who sold us a 20 minute paddle boat ride in the stagnant water. You aren't allowed to swim here because of snails and some kind of disease they carry. So, we paddled down the creek and saw lots of camels... who decided to cross and swim right in front of us! Amazing!!!! Just amazing. There were also some very colorful birds and fish - beautiful! When we returned, after waiting for all the camels to cross, the boat guys wanted to take a picture with us so they would be "the most popular guys" in Pakistan. Too fun!

Then we headed back out and tried to find where the waterfall would be, where there was supposed to have some kind of butterfly glen at the bottom. Unfortunately, it was just too dry. So, we climbed back up to the saddle and decided to harass the camels hanging out in the shrubbery. There were so many but they had pretty good views. I can't believe how many camels we saw, and this was just the beginning.

Next we head to try to find the Anti-Gravity spot. This, sadly, was a bust. We could not find it anywhere. On the way we actually found a random turnoff for a road to the beach. And it was a beautiful private beach - like the perfect camping spot!!! We passed through a police checkpoint and headed up to the road we thought it was on, which looked to be a newly constructed road with lots of road cuts, switchbacks, and drainage control - awesome! After not find the spot, we went to Tawi Atayr, which is where there is a cave and sink hole. The book said we needed a guide, but there were lots of signs and once we parked, there was a path straight there. Pretty self explanatory. And man was it deep! It was after the friday midday prayer time, so it seemed like a lot of guys were heading this way to hike and hang out. We didn't go down, but got some good views from the top. Unfortunately the pictures do not do it justice.

Next we drove to the Tayq Cave, which is a vast network of limestone caves. Yet again we were the only people at this well pointed out site, with parking and trash collection. There were tons of goats wandering around, who were eventually called up by their herder. Again - just huge! A huge, huge canyon with caves showing in the walls and a massive rock slide down the way. Seriously - amazing! Who knew!

After this, we made our way back down hill, stopping in a bakery for some cookies (or biscuits, if you will...), then headed back to our hotel. We changed and went to the nearby Crowne Plaza for dinner. Oh my god, service was slow. My tomato juice was good, but my salmon was tasty yet strange. The desserts were okay. Ultimately, it was a nice resort, but I think our budget hotel was nicer (except for the beds!!!). They did have a very nice pool though!

Afterwards, we went to the Frankencense Museum and Archaeological Park, which is open later in the day. We parked and went to get our tickets and he said 2 rials (about 20 dirhams or $6). We thought for each but he said, no just for our car. Awesome! And this is the first time we paid for any of the sightseeing (aside from the paddle boat, which was 5 rials). Anyway, the museum was beautiful. It was very well maintained and pretty with lots of information. The guards were friendly and, of course, it was not crowded. Seriously, beautiful. There were different sections. We visited the History Hall, which talks about the history of Oman, spread of Islam, and focusing on the Frankencense trail and trade. They had a very cool section of a Falaj, which is the way they tapped the groundwater supply in the mountains and disperse it to the people. Later, we went to the Maritime Hall, where they had lots of replicas of their many types of ships through the years and information on how ships found their way.

After the history hall, we walked along the path while the sun set and found ourselves in this amazing ruin of a former town, Al Baleed. This was amazing and we actually were a little sad not to see it during the day. It was beautifully lit at night, for sure, but we had lots of questions that would be better answered to actually see it during the day.

Anyway, a very fun and productive day. It is strange there are not more people out seeing the sites- the weather is amazing right now and there is so much to do. Salalah is extremely beautiful and amazing. I highly recommend it for a weekend. More to come tomorrow....


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31st May 2014

Wow!
Ok, I'm all caught up now, and WOW! I want to be like you when I grow up! :) This trip looks amazing, despite the hard mattress and lack of finding things that were supposed to be there. Miss you!
1st June 2014
Camels actually swimming!!!

NO SWIMMING
Pity you couldn't swim here due to snails of all things. Seems camels don't read or don't care. Sink holes...limestone caves...silent beaches and deserts. Oman seems full of delights.
1st June 2014
Camels actually swimming!!!

Oman
A great day for a swim.

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