Archives for January 2011

Getting the wide angle.

Here are two panoramic photos Sarah took while we were in Muscat. Click them to view a bit larger.

Here’s the city:

And here’s the beach:

xo, jill

Seeing it all.

Our second day in Muscat we took a taxi over to the old part of town, aptly named: Old Muscat. Our first stop was the Muscat Gate Museum. (I hope you weren’t overwhelmed by that Wiki entry.) The museum is located inside the gate and features a ton of information typed up on large posters. We didn’t stay too long.

Next we walked over to the Bait Al Zubair Musuem which was much more interesting, and crowded. The displays featured a lot of weaponry, traditional clothing, and a miniature version of a village. Outside the Oryx Caravan was on display.

After the museums, we zipped over to the Palace. Not a bad place to live, I suspect.

Having seen nearly all the tourist attractions, we were ready to overpay to visit the beach.

Although the price was steep, we didn’t complain too much considering the beautiful views.

The rest of our trip was spent sitting and chatting at a broken fountain and making our way to the airport.

xo, jill

night’s nice, night’s nice.*

After dragging ourselves away from our afternoon naps, we ventured out for a meal. We ate dinner on the roof of a hotel along the waterfront. Writing that now it sounds a bit more glamorous than it actually was…

Sarah took these night photographs of Muscat. (Except I took the one of her).

And here’s where Sarah, knowing I’m a afraid of heights, told me to go to the edge and look straight down. I gasped. She laughed. Friend.

xo, jill

*from Night’s Nice by Ed and Barbara Emberley

And so soon.

Are you sick of reading about Oman yet?

Way back when I thought I’d be spending National Day in Beirut and not Oman, I awoke with a marvelous idea! Sarah and I should go to Muscat together!

I proposed my plan: We spend a couple days in Muscat before I fly out to Jordan. This way, I’d have another adventure to fill my time and Sarah would get to take a trip (her husband didn’t get vacation time).

Turns out… we ended up in and around Muscat for National Day, and Sarah’s husband did get vacation time (which allowed them to take a super fun trip to Thailand). After the facts changed, I was a little less excited about our three days in Oman’s capital (but still super stoked to spend time with Sarah). What can you do?

We arrived at our hotel after a crazy taxi ride. Ok. I’ve been in some pretty wild taxis… zipping here and there, speeding like whoa… this was completely different. He may have been sleeping. He may have been drunk. Who knows. He also may have been rotating between driving on the turtles and driving right smack in the middle of two lanes. Sarah and I tried to hold a conversation but mostly looked at each other incredulously laughing.

After eating a falafel across the street and chatting with an Egyptian man about how Kuwaitis are actually Jew-Arabs because they love money so much (he talked, we scowled), we decided that two nice girls really shouldn’t be out on the street at midnight. Good night, Muscat.

The next morning we ventured out to hit all the major tourist sites. Took about an hour. No really. If you come to Muscat, bring your 4×4. There’s not too much to do for pedestrian travelers.

Our first stop was the souk. Inside vendors sell everything from pashmina scarves, to incense and spices. The ceiling and stained glass were especially enchanting. Having seen most of these items on offer other places, we didn’t indulge.

Instead we took a pleasant walk along the Corniche…

…and ordered delicious milkshakes.

Having checked another major attraction off the list, we visited the fish market. Gross. Gross. Double gross. We arrived a bit late in the day as far as fish selling goes so the stockpiles were fairly low. I didn’t take any photos but I did nearly slip and fall on the slimy fishy floor. I cannot imagine.

At this point we had visited 3 of the city’s major attractions and deserved a nap. I didn’t realize how tired I was until waking up hours later just in time for dinner. Day 1: finished.

xo, jill

I tried to get too clever. *

Sarah took these beautiful panoramic photos during our National Day camping trip. I almost forgot to share them! [click on them to view larger]

Deep in the wadi.

The enticing hanging moss!

(a similar photo is featured in the Oman Off-Road Guide and everyone who visits cites this photo as their inspiration)

A smidge outside of Muscat.

The Hajar Mountains.

xo, jill

* see, I moved the “O” in Oman to the end to create rhyme. Yeah?

Enter the goats.

After waking up next to a donkey and eating breakfast, we continued in the car towards Muscat. We reached the Oman Dive Center with plenty of time to lunch and play. While the others went off to snorkle, a little bout of anxiety kept me on the shore. I guess I haven’t grown out of my trepidation of getting my eyebrows wet just yet.

After the dive center we drove just a bit further down the coast to Yiti Beach. We set up our tents just as the sun was setting. You really can’t beat a campfire in the relaxing evening contest. When you add phosphorescence in the water, that’s pretty cool too.

The next morning we woke up to… can you guess? Goats! When Mike’s shoe went missing the goats were our first suspect! Fortunately, the shoe turned up and the goats’ reputations were spared!

Sarah and I each took a brief photo walk to appreciate the beautiful setting.

After plotting our course, we began the long drive back to Abu Dhabi.

xo, jill