Blogs from Oman, Middle East - page 11

DESERT ROAD TO DUBAI TO HATTA We have certainly improved our worldwide knowledge on our retirement travels and a visit to Oman has been no exception. We have visited a couple of times before, mainly to renew our Dubai visas to enable an extended stay with our family living there. We have travelled a few times overland to the border post at Hatta/Oman, a five hour round trip through the desert - a quick way to renew our 30 day visas but a tiring day. MUSANDAM PENINSULAR A much more comfortable option was when we travelled overland with family and friends to Musandam. A mountainous Omani peninsula projecting into the Strait of Hormuz - a narrow entry into the Persian Gulf. Although part of Oman it is entirely separated from the rest of the country by ... read more

Day 13 Sunday 31st January 2016 Up early for the long drive North, a little bit nervous as we still couldn’t get positive confirmation that we could drive all the way to Duqm on the coast road and saw a report of an avalanche taking out the road. From what we have already experienced the signage on Omani roads is pretty bad and we would be depending on it being a bit better for this leg. Checked out of the hotel at 8 .15 and hit the road and had no trouble escaping the confines of Salalah. Followed the same route as yesterday, passing Al Baleed and Khor Rouri without any problems, and then about 9 we got to the town of Mirabat. As with nearly everywhere in Oman, there is lots of roadworks ... read more

Thursday, Jan. 28. Muscat, Oman. Sunny, clear skies. 22C Jane - Went right (when facing harbour). Wonderful walk along the corniche (harbour front). Beautiful public gardens and walks. Ended up at the huge frankincense burner. There is an amusement park just below it, but it was not open. Walked back to turrety thing, missed the fountains. Wandered through Souk. OMG! So much fiddle faddle. There were a couple of things...a vase made of camel bone...too expensive, did not even try to bargain; and lovely hand woven 3D hangings with semi-precious stones. Unfortunately, there was not one that I wanted to take home, wrong size, wrong colour, so did not even ask the price. The chests were interesting, but all from India and we are going there. Alas, nothing to remember Oman by. Stopped for refreshment and ... read more

Wednesday 12 January: Muttrah Port Muscat: after breakfast we got off the ship around 10.30am and left the port for a look around Muttrah Souq which was entertaining and then a quick look for the building that had housed the branch of Eastern Bank that I’d opened in August 1970: amazingly still there though the Bank is long gone. We took a taxi to “Old” Muscat to see what had happened to the Bank building there – where it stood is now the car park of a grandiose Government building. It seems as though most of the original town of Muscat (the area inside the walls) has been demolished and rebuilt as Government offices and ministries. We took an interesting tour around an old house that has been restored as a museum: had a look at ... read more

Geo: 23.6065, 58.5881Esta vez no tomamos ninguna excursión, caminamoshasta el Hypermercado LuLu, al llegar a la puerta de Muscat se acabó la banqueta y tratamos de cruzar una autopista a pie, un buen samaritano se orilló y jos dijo que estábamos locos, se ofreció a llevarnos hasta al hypermercado y nos dijo como regresar tomando un camión. Luego fuimos al McDonalds, y tratamos de ir al Museo de la las Fuerzas Armadas del Sultán, pero cerraron a la una. Caminamos de regreso por la zona menos turística de Muscat. En la noche fuimos de regreso al Souq y como está prohibido caminar en el puerto tuvimos que esperar como media hora para que llegara el shuttle. Y una japogringa se estaba poniendo muy loca por tener que esperar y que le hacía perder su valioso tiempo. ... read more