As accommodations are a bit expensive in Muscat (the capital of Oman) and since I've so far had good experiences couchsurfing, I found a lovely couple that was willing to host me. Again, looove this organization! The couple was actually out of town and would be arriving after me, and instead of "fend for yourself until we're back" they left me the key and said "help yourself to anything!" LOVE IT!! They were actually hosting another American girl who grew up in Michigan and was this brainiac that went to Harvard to get 2 masters degrees and is now doing a doctorate in Syriac Christianity at Yale. Wow! She was a former nun and actually has dreams to be a nun again. Never really hung out with a nun before, so that was new!!
Liza (the brainiac/former nun) and I pow-wow'd sightseeing our first full day, and not just to say we did only sightseeing, we did sightseeing in literally 115 degree heat. Wow! There is nothing like just dripping in sweat I tell ya, ew. One of the bigger sites, and in my opinion, one of the "must-see's" of Muscat is the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. It took something like 6 years to build, and it was built to commemorate his 30 years of reign. So as is typical of the Middle East, when you build something, you don't just build it... you go all out! Inside is the 2nd largest hand-made Persian single-piece rug IN THE WORLD! It's 70x60 meters and weighs 21 tons. Wow! Not if that wasn't enough, there is also a Swarovski crystal chandelier which is just spectacular and I couldn't stare at it enough. Pictures don't do it ANY justice. The complex was squeeky clean and loved all the Indian influence with the ceramic tile decor. Just amazing!!!
We also ventured mostly around (not in) the Al Jalali Fort and Al Mirani Fort as well as the Al Alam Palace:
Mostly to take breaks from the heat to sit in some A/C, and of course to learn something, he he, we went to the Bait Al Bogh and Bait Al Baranda museums:
And also, as brilliant as we are, we decided to walk about 3K, again in the 115 blazing heat along the Mutrah Corniche (beachfront) to sightsee and take pictures (while dying of heat, mind you!):
Above is no, not a cruise line. It is actually the Sultan's PERSONAL yacht! Isn't that crazy!!!!!
TRIED to get to the Gate Museum which was supposed to be interesting, but typical Middle East, said it was open, but really wasn't because no one was there to let us in. Oh well... still had nice views!
All these forts, palaces, Corniche, and museums was all in Old Muscat, and of course we can't forget about the Mutrah Souk, which is basically a market with everything from jewelry to baskets to souvenirs on sale. It was actually mostly locals and it was really neat to see the daily life as well as them just hanging out on a typical weekend afternoon. Nice!
After this loooooooooong HOT HOT HOT day of activity, we took John and Jen, our hosts, for drinks and snacks, which was nice! Saw the Barcelona vs. Manchester United Champions League final at the bar! Woo hoo... yea Barcelona!!
So then the next day, I did 2 scuba diving tank dives, which was funny because again (happened in South Africa and Bali), I was the only person diving. Not to say I don't mind 1-1, but it's just funny. The visibility was pretty good, 20ish meters and we saw several moral eels, butterfly fish, lion fish, giant lobster, a turtle (so cute) and lots of other cool things. It never ceases to amaze me the underwater world!
After the dive I was just milling about the dive shop writing in my log book, here comes along these 4 men to get info about watersports. Well, again, as life and especially travel brings along unexpected adventures, these funny guys ended up being my buddies for the rest of that day and the next day. What a funny bunch! I went from hanging out with a nun to hanging out with, no joke, pirate defenders! They are all ex-military and in security, and literally, they fend off with guns and everything that is a threat to ships. How interesting is that! So of course when you get an Englishman (which, by the way, almost looked and acted a LOT like an older Mike Myers), a South African, and 2 Scottish people, you can imagine what the day looked like... booze, booze, and more booze. I'm not a big drinker, so fortunately I had the distraction of the Aussies who I was staying with and happen to be big drinkers help keep things going! From about noon to about 8pm (yea! Got to see a nice sunset!) we hung out there and then took the party back to John and Jen's place, and that was fairly entertaining. Let me just say I was almost re-living The Hangover movie with a couple of incidences (no worries, no Mike Tyson or tiger! But yes, a missing person!). We just had a lot of fun drinking, dancing, listening to everything from Pink Floyd to Abba to Rolling Stones, ha hah!
Above: John, Troy, Phil, Patti, Jen, me, and Chris -> a great bunch!!
They ended up crashing there and we all woke up early to go wake boarding! Troy (South African) happens to be this avid wake boarder and convinced Jen and myself to take a go of it! We were all excited and basically get to the shop.... no one there. La de la... wait a bit. Someone finally shows up, "5 minutes" to see what's going on, "5 minutes" to get the boat, "5 minutes" to find the wake boards. Let me tell you, patience is a virtue... especially when you have someone who was excited as a little kid to teach novices! We FINALLY get on board and out we go to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the mountains and clear waters of Muscat! It was just fun being on a boat with good company! As casual and unprofessional as this Center was, they not only let Troy drive the boat, but the guy was no more than 17 years old, wanted to do it himself. Ha ha! So Jen goes first and she got up all right, BUT couldn't turn the board to a side position. I was nervous watching her, especially listening to all of Troy's cues. When it was MY turn lo and behold, by some miracle not only did I get up on the first try, but instincts prevailed and I was able to ride!!! The pic is AWFUL and I swear I did stand upright for a few minutes! But then came a sharp turn, and off I fell and let me say, it wasn't pretty. My bum and side are still sore! It was REALLY fun though and I hope to pick it up more! I left it at that, didn't even go again, and then the boyz went, Phil and the boat driver, and both of them couldn't get up. Hahah! Girl power!!! They later blamed it on "equipment malfunction," but whatever, we got up!!
Above is Troy, the pro....
Then me, the novice...
Then Phil! haahahah!
So there you have it! Sometimes, well, many times, it's not the sights that make a trip special, it is the people that you meet and the fun memories. The location, the yacht club, was nice, but it was them that made it so special! They all were actually trying to convince me to stay longer, to change my flight, but as I have a lot of last minute stuff to do (pack, re-pack, organize) for my flight back home to Chicago, I couldn't. Would have loved to though!!!
Above: The yacht club beach
Muscat is small, but what I liked about it the most was that the Sultan makes a point to preserve tradition and a lot of the architecture is very Arabic... and beautiful! It's unique in that there IS oil here, but it is the "cheaper" oil.... so they don't have as much bank as the neighboring countries like U.A.E. and Saudi. Although it is somewhat modern, it's not over the top like Dubai and not as dumpy as Bahrain. Even the women don't have to wear abaya's (the woman burka), they wear a colorful version of it that almost reminds me of a sari. Also here every job sector has to have a local working for them... so ALL the taxi driver's are Omani and all the companies have to have some kind of employment by an Omani person... I think that is pretty cool. There is also a huge Indian/Bangladesh/Pakistani population, not so much Philipino like there is in Dubai. I found the people super super nice and friendly! And VERY susceptible to charm, which Jen told me... no joke you can sweet talk them (more in the sense of telling them how much you love their country, etc, and then say you are in a taxi and they will take you more places than what you've paid for). Nice! And of course, it is a beautiful country with picturesque mountains, and nothing can beat a city by sea AND mountain!
That's it! My last last last last last last last hurrah! Next stop.... CHICAGO! Am excited, yet also nostalgic that this trip of a lifetime is ending. But I have an exciting chapter ahead of me, spend the summer enjoying the city and then starting a new life in Dubai come September!!
