Muscat, Oman

Ops Jalan Sakan (Mission: Travelots) - UAE and Oman, Spring 2009
Part 7

April 6th, 2009.

As early as 9am we were already out of our hotel in Muscat and was heading towards Muttrah Souq. While searching for parking we decided to drive along the corniche and check out the view. We finally found a parking spot (note: get your coins ready, you need to buy parking coupons at a machine) and walked towards one of the few restaurants that was already opened for business. The restaurants along the corniche serve typical fare that would attract arabs and westerners alike : Fast food like burgers, hot dogs and pizzas, much to the delight of my children :)
After a quick breakfast, we entered the souq.

The souq was a bustling place, but I was relieved to find that the shops were quite well arranged, not arranged in a maze like Khan El Khalili (Cairo). Shops in the souq sold all sorts of souviner items, from wooden frames (for pictures, mirrors or windows), to statuettes (camels, elephants, cats, etc), to urns made from all sorts of material (clay, brass or silver, painted or embellished with glass beads or precious stones), to perfumes, to embroidered skull caps, to t-shirts, to shawls, to textiles, to khanjars (the curved daggers), to all sorts of boxes and containers from metal or wood with mother of pearl inlays, and there were also the ocassional knick-knack store that sells cheap made-in-china items.



Coming from Saudi, I have seen most of the souviners sold in the souq, but I suppose if this were your first visit to the middle east, you would be spoilt for choice.
I would suggest:

Khanjars - the curved dagger usually made from silver, either on it's own, or readily framed. This might cost you a tidy sum of money (prices are usually more than OR100, depending on it's size and decorations), but if there's one thing that is a symbol of 'middle east', the khanjar would be it. If you are not ready to invest in the real thing, you could always buy khanjars in other forms, i.e. smaller replicas and as key chains.

Silver items - be it jewellery, coins, incense containers or pill boxes. Oman is renowned for its silversmiths. Silver is sold by weight though, and prices fluctuate, and they are not cheap. A small pill box about the size of your thumb could cost about OR2.5(SR25). Bracelets with semi-precious stones would be about OR10-OR25.

Camel figurines - comes in all sizes and adornments. Some even have small camel bags with mock treasures tucked in , on them. Price vary, depending on material (wooden ones cost less) and of course size.




Middle Eastern teapots - my husband's favourite. You can get them in either brass or silver, but the brass ones looks more traditional. Try to find one with the distinct pointed spout and a pear shaped body. You get bonus points if the bottom of your teapot has a stamp in arabic (this means it wasn't made in china or india or indonesia).

Embroidered Skullcap - the trademark of an Omani man. These skullcaps are distinctly Omani. They come in different colors and different patterns. The handmade ones are more expensive and can cost from OR8 up to tens of Omani Riyals, but you can get machine made ones that costs as cheap at OR2 riyals. One size doesn't fit all, so measure the person's head before you come to Oman if you're planning to buy it for someone else.

Dish-Dash - the traditional Omani male robe. In Saudi, it's called a "thaub". This comes in different colors and materials and you can even find one that matches the color of your skullcap, but white is traditional. I don't know exactly how much this will cost, but I am assuming that it's almost the same as in Saudi, so a comfortable cotton dish-dash would cost around OR3-5, depending on the material and tailoring.



When I got bored (and confused) of looking at souviners, I enjoyed the souq's architecture. It is quite a stunning building, with exposed rafters decorated with carvings, middle eastern chandeliers with colorful glass panels and 2 'courtyards' covered with stunning stained glassed domes. The colorful domes are decorated with pictures of traditional middle eastern items like the khanjars, teapots and jewellery. The courtyard provided me a much needed respite from the calls of the shop owners to step inside and check-out their wares.



We left Muttrah Souq to meet up with Taufik's Omani friend for lunch. Mohammad lives in Barka (an hour from Muscat, and he drove all the way to meet us!), and he doesn't know any good Omani restaurant in Muscat, so he brought us to a Turkish seafood restaurant instead. Seafood is really fresh in Muscat, and the fish are exported even to Saudi. We were treated to fish that were grilled and also fried, and they were all so yummy. The fish was served with a starter of lentil soup (my first time trying this, and I loved it!), and the usual side dishes: arabic flat bread, rocket salad in balsamic dressing, hommous (chikpea and tahini dip), spicy dip (i dont know the name) and rice. Suffice to say, we were stuffed!



After lunch, we followed Mohammad's car to Al-Bustan Palace Hotel, which boasts a really grand architecture, but we couldn't go in to look because there was a ministers' function going on. So, we drove on to Qantab instead, a small fishing village nestled between mountains. It was quite amazing to drive up and down along the mountain road, to first see nothing but rocks, go around a turn to suddenly see this little village with its stark white houses against the blue of the sea and sky. We spent a few minutes here because Taufik wanted to see if he could find a vantage point where he could take a picture of the Al-Bustan Palace Hotel. We picked a few interesting pebbles and Izani managed to get himself wet before Taufik came back, dissapointed.



We followed the signs to Shangri-La's Bar Al-Jissah Resort and Spa (picture above), which is a beautiful beautiful hotel that I'm sure I could never afford to stay in.
By that time, it was already a bit after 4pm, and Mohammad needed to go home to pick up his wife from school (she's a teacher), so we said our thankyous and goodbyes, and parted ways.



We headed to the other side of town, to the famous Sultan Qaboos Mosque, for solat.
Sultan Qaboos Mosque is huge (the biggest in Oman) and grand, you could see it from the highway. It is a relatively new mosque, built in the 1990s.
It is reputed to have the biggest chandelier in the world, standing at 14 meters tall. It also has the biggest single-piece handmade carpet in the world, which took artisans 4 years to make over a million knots, using 28 different colors of vegetable dyed wool. The intricate detailing on the main dome alone is mind boggling.



The toilets were modern and very clean and well maintained, and the best part is the ladies prayer hall is actually a huge hall, in it's own building, so unlike most mosques I've visited in the middle east. We had to walk a bit to get to it from the ablution rooms, but we walked under grand arches and crossed a marbled courtyard lined with shady green trees that added to the already peaceful atmosphere, so we didn't mind.



After solat, we did a little grocery shopping for the next morning's breakfast. We were still quite full from lunch, so we decided to have a light dinner, and the kids were screaming for 'civilized' food after days of eating traditional fare, so we stopped at a McDonald's :P
Thus ended our trip to Muscat, for the next morning we left early for Dubai, with a short detour at Rustaq and Nakhl.

---

Useful Information:
The accomodation we stayed in was nothing to shout about, but it was one of the cheapest accomodation we found in Muscat. We rented a two-bedroom apartment in Darsayt, a very convenient location for it was just a 15 minute's drive to Muttrah Souq, and has a hypermarket close by. Rooms were okay, but the water pressure was a little bit low, and I discovered too late that the oven doesn't work. The electric stove worked, but they did not provide pots/pans (nor plates & cutleries), so I had to use a baking pan (came with the oven) to 'fry' nuggets for breakfast.

Nuzha Hotel Apartments
http://www.safeerhotel.net/english/nuzha/nuzha.htm .
Two bedroom apartment OR50/night, room only.


Next: Muscat to Dubai.

Nizwa, Oman

Ops Jalan Sakan (Mission: Travelots) - UAE and Oman, Spring 2009
Part 6

April 5th, 2009.
We left Al-Mintirib, the small town bordering the vast desert of Wahiba Sands, at around 10am and reached the town of Nizwa at around 12pm. By that time, the adzan for Dzuhr prayer had been called, and most of the shops in the souq are closed. In one of the souviner shops that was opened, though, we coincidently met with one of our friends who happened to be holidaying with his family. Zarul and Kak Rosnah had just come from Muscat, and they were spending the day in Nizwa and Al-Hamra. Zarul had hired a local guide and from him we found out that the souq is closed from 12pm to 4pm, just like in Saudi :P Since the souq is closed, we decided to have lunch with Zarul's family in a restaurant on the outskirts of Nizwa.

After lunch we said our goodbyes and safe journeys to Zarul and his family, and we returned to the center of Nizwa. We performed our solat at the nice Nizwa mosque that had a not so nice little shack at the back as an excuse for the ladies' mussollah (prayer room). After solat, we decided to explore the Nizwa fort. Fortunately the fort was open till 4pm. I can't remember how much the entrance fees were, but they were not expensive.



Nizwa fort is bigger than its facade presents. Inside there are several stairs that lead to the different levels of the fort. On the ground level is the courtyard with stables and such. There's a basement level with storage rooms and a prison. The mid-level houses the kitchen, sitting rooms and bedrooms with secret hiding places. Then there's a rooftop where the guards would sit and look out for approaching enemies.



The fort had quite sophisticated defense mechanisms, with secret peepholes to view who's at the door, to hot oil/water/date syrup channels that runs from the roof to the entrance to scald enemies, and trap doors on the stairways that gives way and plunges unsuspecting intruders into deep wells below. Looking out from the fort to the date filled valley surrounded by mountains, I could imagine why someone would guard Nizwa like a precious jewel.



I'm sure Nizwa has a very strategic historic significance, but meh.. I'm not Lollies... you can go read her entry on Nizwa, if you want to know :) All I could think of is what the blueprint of the place must've looked like, how they constructed the place with all the channels and trapdoors and wells and hiding rooms. I imagined what life in the fort must've been like in those days. I wondered what noises and smells must have wafted around when it was bustling with all the different activities, both military and mundane.



The Nizwa fort also has a small museum that displays artifacts on daily Omani life, from how the falaj works (i.e. how water is pulled out from wells or springs and distributed along channels to irrigate the plantation), how metal smiths forge their wares and the different potteries and weaved items. It was interesting to note that much of the traditional way of life is still practiced in Oman today. I also got an idea of what souviners I want to get ;) tee hee.



After exiting the fort, we had a drink while waiting for the souq to open.
The souviner shops sold a lot of pottery ware, and I would've gotten one of those earthen water jugs, but I kept thinking of how it might break on our drive home (we still had 4 days to go), so I decided not to. Taufik got another teapot for his collection and Ihsan bought some stamps and a postcard to mail to his Nenek.



By the time we were done browsing and shopping (more browsing than shopping), it was almost 6. We had promised to drop by a friend's house for dinner in Muscat by 7:30pm, so we decided to make a move.
As with any highway in Oman, the view was breathtaking.



As we reached Muscat, we had our first view of 'modern civilization' after several days of seeing traditional houses and unspoilt nature. We waited for our friend at a McDonald's and encountered a traffic jam on the way to his house. Sutan and Fatimah treated us to a wonderful dinner, and we regtretfully had to say goodbye at 10pm to head to Nuzha Hotel Apartments in Darsayt.

Next: Muttrah Souk, Sultan Qaboos Mosque and around Muscat.

Wahiba Sands, Oman

Ops Jalan Sakan (Mission: Travelots) - UAE and Oman, Spring 2009
Part 5

April 4th, 2009. Evening.

This was the part of Oman that I was most anticipating about.

After leaving Wadi Bani Khalid, we drove for about 30 minutes to the town of Al-Mintirib, where we had an appointment to meet the driver who will bring us into the desert to the camp. Sukhairi had to hire the shuttle (4WD plus a driver) because his car is a 2WD, and we will just follow his 4WD. We only took what was necessary for an overnight stay, and stowed the rest of our luggage in Sukhairi's car which will be parked and left in Al-Mintirib.
After a quick toilet stop, we drove deeper into Al-Mintirib, which already sits at the edge of the desert, to enter the Wahiba Sands, a vast body of nothing but orange sand in the middle of Oman.

Driving to our camp was actually not as challenging as our previous desert driving in Qatar and Saudi. The sand was quite compacted, providing enough traction for the tyres, even for a 2WD. Perhaps it's because many vehicles have driven through this route before us. But at one point, we did have to climb over a huge dune , and that portion of the drive would necessitate a 4WD.
Along the way we passed a few bedouin tents, Al-Raha camp (another site that provides overnight accomodation, but in concrete rooms covered with palm leaves) and miles and miles of orange sand dunes.
After about 45minutes or so of driving through and up and down sand, we finally reached 1000 Nites Camp. At the really rustic reception (a concrete desk, a concrete bench, under fronds of date leaves), we were served with really strong arabic tea and halwa and dates. We were then brought to our accomodation for the night, a room fashioned out of a bedouin tent, but equipped with the very basic modern amneties (bed, bathroom, lights).



The tent is made out of thick wool, and ours was right under a tree.
Arriving that afternoon, I found it to be quite hot and stuffy, so we had to open up the 'window' (flaps that are secured by a metal hook), but I was sure it would be very nice when it gets colder that night. They had laid 2 extra mattresses for our kids.



The tent had one big main beam in the middle of it, supporting the roof (also wool) and several smaller and shorter beams at the edges of the tent, supporting the walls, which gives it its distinct shape. The edges of the roof and the walls are then secured together with big metal pins. The floor is laid with carpets which are quite comfortable. The tents are equipped with lights, but they only turn on the generator in the late afternoon and switches it off at around 3am.



Fortunately, the bathrooms were not bedouin bathrooms :). They have proper sit down toilets and sink and shower with complimentary toileteries. The pipes run hard water though, so it tasted a little salty (definitely not for drinking) and there is a little sign that says "We are in the desert, please conserve water" :)
The bathroom is open air and ours was partly covered by a tree, which provided somthing to look at while you... uhm... whatever. Taking a shower under the blue skies really reminded me of shower times in my late grandmother's open air bathroom.

After a quick solat, we headed for the dunes which was just in front of our tent, to watch the sunset.



As usual, the kids found little trouble in climbing up the dunes, but I found myself huffing and puffing not even a quarter of the way. Izani was a little frustrated coz he kept sliding back down, so we went up via an alternative and relatively easier route. Even then, it was still a challenge, and Izani kept saying "I cant do it.. help me" and I had to motivate him (and indirectly, motivate myself) to keep on going and Izani's triumphant "I did it!" when we finally reached the top is as much a boost for me as it was for him.

Izani and I decided to stop halfway to where the rest of our party were because the wind was too strong and being that high among that much sand, we had sand blown into our eyes. Taufik, who had gone ahead with the other kids, managed to take the picture shown above.
Coming back down the dunes was much easier :)
Anis lost her faux crocs, though.

We went back to our tents to wash up, change, solat and get ready for dinner.



Dinner was served buffet style in an open air (but roofed) majlees. The food was really good (or maybe we were just really hungry after dune climbing). They served briyani rice with lamb or chicken curry, an eggplant dish, the usual salad and yoghurt, arabic bread, and they also had grilled meats - lamb kebabs, chicken wing and lamb chops. For dessert there were fresh fruits, halwa and a really yummy custard dish. They put canned and bottled drinks in two huge freezers in the majlees and you can take whichever you prefer.
While we eat, we were entertained by two men playing the traditional middle eastern guitar (gambus) and singing traditional songs. One of the songs sounded so much like zapin, a type of traditional music popular in the southern states of peninsular Malaysia, that we almost got up and dance :)

After dinner, we hung around the majlees just chatting about the plan for the next day. The two families exchanged riddles but my kids keep coming up with toilet ones, so then we played the 'shopping list' game. Someone starts with saying "I went to the market and bought ..." (the first item), then everyone else take turns to say "I went to the market and bought ..." (the list of items said before) and add their own item to the end list making the list longer and longer and more difficult to remember.
The night breeze started to get stronger and colder as the night progressed, so we decided to end the games and walked back to our tents and retire for the night.
We were lulled to sleep by the sound of wind and crickets.
Izani fell off the bed a few times. tee hee.



Early the next morning, the first thing Ilham and Ihsan did after brushing their teeth was ask if they could go on the dunes on the pretext of searching for Anis's shoes.
After doing my morning routine and getting dressed, I went out to find them tirelessly climbing up and running down the dunes, only stopping at intervals to have a drink of water at the bottom. They said they couldnt find Anis's shoes. I wasn't suprised, because the wind blew pretty hard yesterday, and it would've been buried under tonnes of sand by now. Plus, they werent really looking anyway.

I walked around taking pictures of dead bushes, sand dunes and insect trails on the sand (pics on my flickr).

At around 7, I called Ilham and Ihsan back to tent for their shower and woke up the rest of the clan for breakfast. Ilham and Ihsan snuck in a game of 'Who could toss a stick the farthest' while waiting for everyone else to get ready.
Anis had to walk to the majlees barefoot, as she did the night before for dinner.



On offer at the buffet breakfast was cereal, bread with assortment of jams and butter, arabic bread with foul, sausages, and eggs cooked any way you want.
There was a bedouin woman selling souviner items and trinkets while we were having breakfast. Items were quite expensive but I understand why, because they were all handmade by her. Even a small square of wall hanging must have taken her months to complete.
She was very smitten with Izani because he kept coming to her and ask "What you doin?". Before she left (because it was starting to drizzle), she gave Izani a string bracelet (2 for OR1). I offered to pay, but she said it was a 'hadiah' (gift). Izani was so happy, and he wore the bracelet every where he went. (I dont know where it is now though, I'm sure it's somewhere around the house).



We left 1000 Nites Camp at around 9 because dark coulds were beginning to gather and there was a light drizzle and we didnt want to be caught in the desert in the middle of the rain. We need not have worried though, because as we were driving out, the drizzle stopped and the sun started to come out.
The drive out was more exciting that the drive in, because we had to go (more like, slide) down a really steep dune before going on the compacted sand route again.



We got back to Al-Mintirib by 10am, retrieved our luggage from Sukhairi's car, refilled our tyres and gas tank and headed towards Nizwa.

Thus ended our unforgettable adventure in the Wahiba Sands of Oman.

---

A friend of ours had spent a night at 1000 Nites Camp in the deserts of Wahiba Sands when he came to Oman in December and looking at his pictures, we were inspired to do the same. Initial research and inquiries led me to a package tour that would cost us OR120 per person. The package would include transport from Muscat, a visit to Wadi Bani Khalid, a bedouin camp, a night in the desert at Al-Raha Camp, then the next morning a drive along Sur-Muscat highway. At first it seemed reasonable, especially for a once in a lifetime experience, but after considering that we will be coming from Nizwa, not Muscat, and that we have our own cars to think about, and that we would have to pay for 8 persons ... erks... we sought other (cheaper) alternatives.
My googling led me to emptyquartertours.com, which allowed me to book a tent for each of the families, and a 4WD for Sukhairi's family, for less.

Useful Information:

1000 Nites Camp
http://www.emptyquartertours.com/nightcamp.htm
Double tent OR67/night, OR7/extra person/night (Child under 5 free)
Price includes dinner and breakfast, freeflow of water/juice/soft drinks.
4WD shuttle to/from camp is OR45/car
They also have a car escort service (In case you want to drive on your own, but dont know the way) OR20/car.


Next: Nizwa

Wadi Bani Khalid, Oman

Ops Jalan Sakan (Mission: Travelots) - UAE and Oman, Spring 2009
Part 4

April 4th, 2009. Daytime.

Before heading for Wadi Bani Khalid, we needed to stop by a supermarket to buy supplies. We had planned to barbecue some chicken for our lunch at the wadi, after having a swim. Taufik bought some charcoal and a griller, but could not find any raw chicken. We ended up buying some half cooked barbecue chicken, along with some rice.
Again, the road signages in Oman guided our way to our destination, because most of the roads do not appear in our GPS.

We drove up spectacular mountains and then down again until we reached a small town. At first we were not sure if we were even at the right place, but we just drove on again, past houses and date trees until we reached what looked like a road washed out by a small stream. We followed a local truck to cross the stream for a bit, until he turned around and told us something like "Khamsin" or something and pointed to a gravel road ahead of us. We guessed he meant the wadi is about 50meters ahead of us on the gravel road. We thanked him and drove on, and sure enough at the last turn, we were greeted by two huge green pools of water in the middle of lush date trees. Judging from the white range rovers parked along the road, there were quite a few tourists who were already there ahead of us.
Getting off the car, we were greeted by the croaking of frogs, something that I haven't not heard in a very very long time. I cherished the sound then, oblivious to the premonition.
We unloaded our 'supplies' (food, water, tents, mats, a change of clothes and towels)(oh and cameras) from the car and proceeded to climb the steep path up to the top of the wadi.
Part of the concrete walkway leading up to the wadi was destroyed during the typhoon in 2006, so we had to carefully cross it. The dads took turns to carry over kids, supplies and wives.


The rest of the path is still intact though. Looking forward to swimming in cool waters flowing fresh from the mountains, we lugged our supplies and walked up with some other tourist. Everyone was carrying something, even Izani, who had to carry the aluminum griller (the lightest item). Halfway up, a few boys about 7 or 8 years old asked us in broken english if he and his friends could carry our stuff for us (for a fee). Of course we said yes and lightened the load for some of our smaller children.
Our stuff looked big and heavy for them but when I asked them "Bas?" (Okay?), they said they were okay.
(Omani children not in pictures)



Along the sides of the paths are date plantations that are irrigated by the waters flowing down the wadi. The water is chanelled down narrow canals called 'falaj'. Even though I've seen it many many times (even in Saudi), I am still amazed at how a seemingly barren and dry land could become so fertile with only a litte supply of water. Masya-Allah.

The water flowed in a steady stream along the walkway and at points, it flowed across the walkway and we had to walk through the mini waterfalls. The amount of water we saw was not as much as we expected, but we were encouraged by the stories from travellers before us and the urging of the young porters that the pools at the end of the long walkway is nice.
One of the porters stopped by his house (which nestled in a grove of date palm trees) and emerged with a shopping trolley, which he then used to carry the more bulky and heavier stuff (our juice & water and the mats). He happily pushed the trolley while half-walking, half-running, singing some arabic ditty. Several times along the way the trolley toppled over, which amused me, but agitated Taufik a bit :P



We finally reached the end of the walkway, but saw no pools. Apparently the pools were much further up and you had to balance yourself on the concrete canals to go up. The dads and kids decided to go check out the pool, while Kak Faridah, Izani and I spreaded a mat under a mango tree and had a chat with the porters.

With my limited and broken arabic, I asked them their names, "ma ismuka?".
"Muhammad, Saeed, Ali" (or something) they answered.
Saeed, in particular, was very chatty, and seems to be the leader of the porters, always shouting instructions to the other boys.
"Mafi madrasah?" I asked. (No school?)
"No, school closed" Saeed answered, "raining, teacher say go home".
"Where rain? Mafi rain!" I teased him.
"Madrasah kalam ingleezi?" I asked (School speaks english?)
"La.. arabiya" he said.
"Where learn english?" I asked, getting into my habit of imitating another person's way of speaking.
"here" he said, pointing up and down the walkway, indicating that he learnt english from the tourist whom he carried bags for. I was impressed :)
"masya-Allah!", I gave him a thumbs up sign, "Anta, *points at him and his friends* ukhwat, au sadiq?" (You, brothers or friends?)
And he went into this long explanation how they are friends but Ali's father is his mother's brother and their houses are just next to each other in that grove of date trees.
The boys threw Saeed's sandals up the mango tree to retrieve young mangoes and offered us some, but they looked too green (thus sour) to me. Saeed and Izani also tried to chat and share a sour mango.


Taufik came back and reported that he saw pools, but the water was kinda stagnant and to his alarm, he also saw leeches! Erks...
So he decided to camp at one of the spots we passed by on the way up.
Hearing this, Saeed exclaimed "Lahaulawalla!!" (err I dont know how to translate this, but it's usually used to express frustration or tired of something), which made me laugh :D mainly because it was also my sentiment.

So we all walked back down the walkway, searching for the perfect spot to pitch our tent. We found the perfect spot, but it was a bit away from the walkway and had to then search for a safe way for us to bring the kids and our stuff to the perfect spot.
The porters helped us carry our stuff to the picnic spot. For their trouble and patience, we gave them each some juice and water and a bag of marshmallows, on top of the OR1 that Taufik paid them.
They sat on the bank of the walkway, drinking juice and munching on marshmallows while watching us pitch our tent, start a fire for barbecue and our kids going for a splash.



Our kids didn't spend too much time swimming, mainly because even though the sun was shining bright, the water flowing down the wadi was really really cold! They were also getting hungry and thirsty. Furthermore, the kids that were snorkelling saw many many frogs. And not just frogs, frogs spawning! With trails of eggs behind them.
Eyew.
It's a good thing we bought half-cooked chicken, because it didnt take that long before we could have lunch of rice and barbecue chicken, which tasted so yummy after such a long walk and wait.
We had promised to meet up with the driver who was going to bring us into the Wahiba Sands at 2pm, so as soon as everyone had finished their lunch, we packed up and carried all our stuff and trash down the walkway back to our cars.



Even though Wadi Bani Khalid was slightly dissapointing because there was not as much water as we imagined there would be, the interaction with the local boys and the adventurous experience was still enjoyable to me, and I am sure both of our families will remember this picnic spot for a long time.

Next: Spending a night in the desert!

Ibra, Oman

Ops Jalan Sakan (Mission: Travelots) - UAE and Oman, Spring 2009
Part 3

April 3rd, 2009. Evening.


We still had another 3 hours drive ahead of us before we reached our accomodation for the night. We did not want to drive at night because even though the larger highways are well lit, the smaller roads are not. Tarmac retain heat very well, therefore are warm and comfortable rest areas for wandering animals, especially camels. You DO NOT want to encounter a camel on the road at night. Especially when the camels are as black as the night itself.
We reached the town of Nizwa at around 5pm and we got a peek of the Nizwa Fort and the souq surrounding it because the GPS told us to drive that way even though it was jam packed with people. I took the opportunity to call the accomodation and tell us what time we were estimated to arrive.

The GPS brought us through really mountainous road that was like riding a rollercoaster at times. Too bad my pictures didnt turn out so good because it was getting dark. We had to drive on really winding and dark and empty roads to reach Ibra (not to be mistaken with Ibri, which we passed earlier in the journey). It was quite creepy and scary, because not only did Taufik need to watch where the road is going, he also needed to watch out for any huge obstacles in his way (read: camels).
We finally reached Nahar Tourism Oasis at 7:30pm and was very happy to find dinner waiting for us.

We were served halwa muscat and dates with hot arabic tea while we wait for them to bring out the buffet items.
'Halwa muscat' is a type of sweet unique to Oman. The closest thing to it in the west would be Turkish delight (except it's not rolled in powdered sugar) and the closest thing to it for malaysians, would be dodol. The difference is that halwa muscat is very very fragrant, from the spices and rose water used in its preparation. It's almost like dodol spiked with arabic perfume. In fact, i felt as if I was biting into the ample flesh of one of the fragrant arab women I often pass by at the mall. It is really an acquired taste.
Dinner was quite good, or maybe we were just really hungry. They served rice with lamb curry, fried chicken, salad, and this really nice fried eggplant dish.
After dinner we were directed to our rooms. It was a little bit away from from reception/restaurant area, so we had to drive a bit there.





I had booked two 'Omani House Suites', and they were just as the name implies, the suites were fashioned and decorated, I assume, just like a traditional Omani house.
Our suite had a long living room with a settee made of wooden cabinets with cushions on them, a cabinet with a TV (with a sattelite decoder), a small coffee table for two, and a smaller side table with an electric kettle and tea/coffee making sachets. Two single beds are situated in an enclave in the 'house', with an antique looking side table and a mirror on the wall in between them. The closet was also an old looking cupboard. The bathroom, fortunately, was not old looking and had hot water :)
On the walls were old potteries and an antique looking shotgun.
I slept that night looking up at these rafters and wondering what the phrases mean..




The next morning we got to see what we didnt see when we arrived that night. Our room was surrounded by rocky hills! There was even a lookout point on a hill behind our Omani house where we could climb up and look at the view. This picture really does not do justice to the scenery.



Looking at the surroundings of this 'hotel', with its traditional concept and antique decorations, I see a potential of it being a tourist attraction. We were the only customers there that day/night, however, and I don't know why it is so. Perhaps the location is not conducive? Ibra is situated right in between Wadi Bani Khalid and Muscat/Nizwa, and it is only a 2-3 hours drive between them. Perhaps people would rather drive straight through to these locations instead of stopping halfway at a small town.
I am glad that we spent the night there though, because it gave us a chance to leave and reach Wadi Bani Khalid earlier than if we were to stay in Muscat or Nizwa, especially since we were travelling with children, who can be unpredictable in their punctuality.



At the hotel's Al-Kous Whisper Restaurant, we were served breakfast of arabic bread, sausages, foul (beans in gravy), scrambled eggs, coffee/tea and juice.
After taking pictures of the old doors near the restaurant and the tented majlees (middle eastern sitting room) and settling the bill, we left Ibra and headed towards Wadi Bani Khalid.

More pictures on Facebook Photo Album: 2009 Spring Road Trip - Oman : Ibri, Bahla, Jebel Shams, Ibra

---

Useful Information:

Nahar Tourism Oasis
http://www.emptyquartertours.com/nahartour.htm
2-bed Omani House Suite OR38/night, OR5/extra bed/night
They also have rooms.
Price includes dinner and breakfast, freeflow of water/juice/soft drinks.
Clearly the cheapest acommodation during our trip.

Jebel Shams, Oman

Ops Jalan Sakan (Mission: Travelots) - UAE and Oman, Spring 2009
Part 2

April 3rd, 2009. Day.

After breakfast (around 10am) we left Al-Ain and headed for the UAE/Oman border.
Getting out of UAE took longer than expected. We had to fill up a form for each person and pay an exit visa. By the time we were done, it was almost noon.
Next we had to go through the Oman immigration. The dads took care of everything while the moms and kids hung around the beautiful immigration building. Taufik said they looked at a person's work permit before issuing a visa. If you're a mere 'technician' or lower, most likely your visa would be rejected. I guess this is a way to control illegal immigrant workers. At the customs, they could also be really strict. From what I read, if you're a non-muslim they'll check for liqour, since UAE has no restrictions on alcohol. When it was our turn, the custom's officer's girlfriend/mom/someone called on his mobile and he saw we were muslims, so he just looked at our visa receipt and waved us through. tee hee.

By the time we entered The Sultanate of Oman (trivia: one of only 2 sultanates in the world)(Pop quiz: what is the other one?), it was half past 1pm, so we decided to hurry on to Ibri for lunch and break for solat. We couldnt really drive so fast because like UAE, Oman has a lot of stationary radars placed along their highway. Furthermore, the road from Al-Ain to Nizwa is not really a big highway, but a two-way lane.
The scenery during the first part of our journey was mostly flat rocky land with a few orange dunes and trees that resembles the ones in Africa. As we pass Ibri and drive towards Bahla, mountains started to appear. By the time we reached Bahla, the road started to wind and ascend as we drive into the mountainous region.



Bahla is a really small town, but it is home to the Bahla fort, which is an official UNESCO heritage site and currently going under restoration. We couldnt go in, so we just took pictures of it outside. It looks huge, bigger than Nizwa Fort, I'm sure it'll take more than hour to walk through it.
We pressed on to Jebel Shams instead.
The signages for Jebel Shams are quite clear, so you can't really miss the junction to turn into the mountains. Just a few minutes from the juction, you are greeted by the majestic mountains of the Jebel Al-Akhdar range. I dont know if it was the weather or if it was the region, but the air here was very clear and cool. The view of mountains and more mountains were fascinating to us who have seen nothing but piles and piles of sand in Saudi. Some parts of mountain range have deep gashes in it , as if God had traced a finger through it, and in these valleys you could see some vegetation. It was really amazing to see how plants could survive in the rocky terrain that was seemingly barren.



On the way up we reached WadiGhul, which looked like a dry river bed, but with a very fertile plantation nearby, you could imagine the water flowing through in the wetter seasons. On one of the cliffs, clung the brick (rock?) houses of the town of Misfah (i assumed). As you can see from the picture below, it is quite a spectacular sight to see these houses on the steep cliff, with the lush date and herb plantation right below it.



We stopped for pictures and was greeted by 3 boys who were selling key chains made of braided colourful wool yarns. We politely said "La, Shukran" (No, Thankyou) and the boys respectfully stepped away but still watched us take pictures. They were barefooted and looked no more than 10 years old and were really fascinated with Izani. I asked for a picture and they obliged, and Taufik gave them all the change we had in the car. One of them offered a keychain, but we didnt take it, hoping the next tourist would buy it from them.



We saw some people in 4WD inside the wadi, and some people hiking, and I'm sure it would be really nice to be able to do that, but unfortunately, we did not have time to do that :P
We drove on towards Jebel Sham (Another half an hour according to the signs) along ascending road that snaked up the mountain.



For a place that looked remote and barren, the road up to Jebel Sham is quite liveable, as evident by the number of houses we passed by. I am guessing most of them raise goats, because I saw several houses with pens, and several people walking with what looked like goat feed balanced on their heads. We even passed by some people picnicking among the rocks and trees in one of the valleys.
When the road started to look very steep, we decided to turn back, because our friend's car is not a 4WD. Our car was a little delayed because Taufik slowed down to let a boy cross the road to run after his soccer ball.
Taufik stopped by the soccer 'field' (because there weren't really any grass, just rocks) and I stuck out my head and camera and asked, "mumkin? *points to camera* wahid?" (May I? One?) and they were like "Okay!".
I wanted to take a picture of them playing football, but the boy who had chased after the ball excitedly called out "Sabr! Sabr!" (Patience! or Wait!) and that gave them time to assemble and pose. :D



I gave them a thumbs up and a "Shukran!" and hurried off to catch up with our friend. As we drove off, one of the boys yelled "Barcelona!" and I just raised my hand in acknowledgement, because .. er.. I dont really watch professional football :P
Taufik stopped for another time to take a picture of this handsome fella:



Aparrently, this is one of the many wild mountains goats that roam freely in this area.

We reluctantly left the road to Jebel Shams to head towards Nizwa and onward to Ibra.

To be continued : Ibra