Blogs from Muscat, Oman, Middle East - page 2

My cycling (and a bit of other stuff) trip didn’t get off to the best start when my bike failed to depart Heathrow on the allotted plane. To be fair Heathrow was completely mobbed, and probably had been so for the last week or so, it being Christmas Eve when I travelled out. Luckily I was booked to stay in Muscat for a couple of nights, not that far from the airport, so the fact that Gulf Air don’t deliver late baggage was not nearly as inconvenient as it could have been. So day 1 was a case of Plan B. As I crashed out on Christmas day at about 9.30pm, having not touched a drop of alcohol (usually unheard of in my case!), I was up bouncing around by 6am. I popped on my trainers ... read more

We’re tired, in the wrong time zone, and the weather app says that the temperature “feels like” 43, so we decide to spend most of the day relaxing by the pool and on the beach. As I make my way out of the sea up onto the sand, it’s a bit hard not to notice a crab the size of a small dog. I suspect it wouldn’t have too much trouble chomping off one of my feet with a single snap of one of its gigantic claws, so I decide that maybe that’s enough swimming in the sea for today. I take the opportunity to read up on the history of Muscat. The ever reliable Wikipedia tells us that there’s evidence of a settlement here from as early as 6,000 BC, and it seems that the ... read more

Oman: a delighful diversion On this trip (to the Middle East) we were confronted with expensive options that travelled via Europe. The alternative was a more direct route using multiple legs. The latter were daytime flights (our preference) being Australia > Malaysia > Oman > Jordan. Instead of using Oman as an overnighter, we decided to stay a little longer. As always, if you want to see the picture in a larger size, just click on it. Day 1 - May 3: Arrival As the plane descended to Muscat (capital of Oman), the dust haze of the Arabian peninsular gradually gave way to a rocky, parched desert. The bright blue of the ocean contrasted with the beige and brown of the landscape. From the air, there was no evidence of green anywhere! At the terminal, we ... read more

today the arcadia is leaving the gulf of aden and heading into the red sea. for the past few nights we have been traveling at top speeds of 21 knots making sure to outrun pirate ships. these pirates are not like jack sparrow, they are from somalia. we all had to partake in an anti-piracy drill. everyone with outside cabins had to go into their corridor and sit on the floor away from their cabin door. and if you had an inside cabin they were to stay inside with the door locked. it was a chance to see who all of your neighbours are. we have had armed guards on board and are being escorted by the royal navy. at dusk the promenade deck is closed until dawn with the guards keeping watch. they have rigged ... read more

Am Mittwoch haben wir Sehenswürdigkeiten in Muscat besucht. Zuerst waren wir in der Grand Mosque. Diese war sehr sehenswert, aber kleiner als die Moschee in Casablanca. Dann waren wir im Royal Opera House. Dort haben wir auch an einer Führung teilgenommen. Dann sind wir zum Stadtteil Mutrah. Dort gibt es am Hafen eine Corniche und einen Souq. Im Hafen waren die beiden riesigen Yachten des Sultan und zwei Fregatten aus Australien und Spanien. Hier habe ich auch mit einem Mitreisenden einen Kaffee getrunken. Dann sind wir weiter zum Sultanspalast. Dort sind wir außen etwas herum gelaufen. Zuletzt sind wir zum bekannten Hotel Al Bustan Palace. Dort könnten wir die große Lobby betrachten. Am Ende sind wir zum Hotel zurück gekehrt und ich habe einige Dinge am Computer erledigt. Insgesamt macht die Stadt einen sehr entwickelten und ... read more