Tuesday 3rd June 2014,
Hi All,
Where do we begin...one country down..6 days and air flight # 6 tomorrow morning....a bit shattered now but this is the 1st internet we have had so have to make use of our time...to begin...Oman...what a place but oh the heat...constantly 45 degrees every day...we reckon we have been drinking approx. 8 litres of water each, each day...it really was draining whilst climbing steps of old forts etc and escaping to air conditioning all the time is not what we enjoy but a must in this part of the world...but we reckon our body must have had the best detoxification ever! A few facts about Oman...land area bigger than France and Italy together with a population of around 4 million with over 3 million tourists a year...drive on the right hand side of the road and petrol is 25 cents a litre!! And speed limit 120 km per hour...our driver did 140 km per hour on the main highways which are superb in Oman...Roads being built everywhere in fact so much building everywhere....they pay no tax, no inflation and no unemployment...free education and free medical...we couldn't get over the beautiful houses, even away out in the middle of no where...the Omani's all strive to have their own home and they have the most decorative with fancy tiles, gold and oh the gates into their properties...mostly houses in white and everything in concrete because of the heat....we can honestly say we never saw a slum area, no graffiti, no rubbish...really quite an incredible place in fact they have won for several years now the 2nd cleanest city in the world after Singapore but we think Oman should have the 1st place, a truly impressive place and very hospitable people....BUT...we can see there could be problems down the track as Indians employed everywhere along with the folk from Bangladesh...the Omani's will never let them own anything but the immigrants are doing all the work and oil is providing the money....power...we've never seen a country with so much power...what looked like Eiffel Towers everywhere going through the mountains into remote villages providing them with power...also enormous desalination plants and we queried if the sea level was dropping but they say it is increasing...their weekend is every Friday and Saturday...
And so we flew into Oman and our driver, in his white robe and Omani muslim hat,  met us at the air port with his big 4 wheel drive...this was to be our camel for the next 4 days....we didn't realise we would have our own vehicle and driver but it is the only way to see Oman as we spent most of the 4 days off road....Gary Wade you would have loved it....I must say on day one as we crossed the mountains on this goat track I was a bit out of my comfort zone...so many big rocks that could have come down at any moment and no where much to pass other vehicles..luckily not too many..everything is closing down now for 2 months...they close down for the summer as it is too hot!! So that worked in our favour having our own tour...first morning out from Muscat, a beautifully manicured city, Suliman took us to the grand Mosque for a walk around the outside...their sabbath so we couldn't go inside...then we went to the Barka  fish market right on the Gulf of Oman...yellow fin tuna everywhere...fish very cheap here and plentiful...Also great fruit and veges at this market  and the flavour of things here superb being ripened in the sun....
The we drove on to the 17th century Nakhal Fort where we spent time exploring in the heat!!!! Then we drove on to the old village of Nakhal famous for its warm springs....
Then we went off road and stayed off road for the rest of the day.....they say this is the best off road driving in Oman but it was hair raising and when there is water in the Wadi it is good for bashing...we had quite a bit of water to go through but nothing really deep...stopped for a photo shoot at Bilad Sayt which is just like Stanley Chasm and Simpsons Gap in outback Australia...then we drove on to Jabal Shames "Mountain of the Sun" the highest peak in Oman of 3009 meters....then we came back on to sealed roads to go to the 2nd Grand Canyon in the world....so much like the Grand Canyon in the US and I didn't even know this one existed...and so this was to be our stop for the night at a resort away up in the mountains overlooking the Grand Canyon...lots of younger folk there as they all come for the trekking...sadly we didn't have time for trekking and I had left my stick back in Dubai but we did do a short trek in temps still at 44 degrees even though it was late avo', to another viewing point in the canyon....
Day 2 we drove off road to a little village to another viewing point in the canyon before continuing off road to the oasis city of Nizwa...and another 17th century fort for us to explore in the heat!  Then we went to the Nizwa Souq but oh so hot as no air con in these places....and so on to Ibra to view all the old houses now in disrepair...just ruins and really crumbling as made the old construction way of approx 100 years ago...the old mud bricks nothing like the bricks and mortar of today...and so then on to our bed for the night...we were to stay in a camping ground but closed because too hot so we went to this awesome little place in the desert and had a cabin for the night....the water out of the cold water tap in these places is hot hot!!  When we arrived they greeted us with Omani coffee and dates....the food has been very good in Oman...the dates are just beautiful and lots of papaya juice freshly made! Mostly buffet breki and dinner which is good as one can choose what they want and for lunch our driver would always stop around 2 pm and we would have a sandwich...always at a coffee shop but nothing like our coffee shop in fact they don't seem to serve coffee, just sandwiches and they are always hot sandwiches!! All Indians working at this camp and what hospitality...they served us dinner at an outside table as so hot in their tent dining room but really no bugs to worry about....they did a great selection of veges for us and barbecued chicken....BUT.....before dinner Suliman took us out into the desert doing crazy wheelies in the desert and drifting on the sand dunes whilst we waited for the sunset....we were joined by a lovely Swiss couple who had hired their own 4 wheel vehicle having been to Oman before...that's what a lot of people do once they have sussed out Oman as it is a very safe country....Suliman didn't think Marcel's driving would be up to it in the desert so we met them at a village before the desert began, deflated the tires on both vehicles and then they followed us as there are no road signs out there...just tracks everywhere but we had a lot of fun, the 5 of us....we had a great sunset but unfortunately the photos don't do it justice...it was very windy and Michael now has some sand in the camera....
Day 3 we were up early again...every morning we left camp at 8 am but we were usually up at 6 am or before as it was so good for going exploring in the early morning.....the doves cooing at this camp were lovely....and so we continued driving in the desert and went to one of the Bedouins tents...no one home but they had left coffee and dates for us so we went in and made ourselves at home...Suliman calls there every time he is in the desert so they leave things prepared whilst they are out tending the camels, goats etc.....we had to laugh though as in this tent they had rabbits and they had put big field tiles under the sand as the rabbits burrows and their carpet over the top of the field tiles....we did more driving in the desert...it really is an ocean out there and then back into a village and reinflated out tires....one certainly needed a guide out there as there are no roads and no signs...ones GPS wouldn't be of much help...then we drove on to Wadi Bani Khalid, one of the beautiful wadis in the country...Marcel and Hilda (our Swiss friends) went swimming and said it was beautiful but I am still nursing my ear and I don't want to risk infection as it is still very tender!!  Then we drove on to Sur, another city in Oman and went to the Dow museum and then on to the Dow boat building yard...again all Indians but what craft...the 2 boats being built at the moment take 12 months to be completed and are being built for the Quatar Royal family.....and what ornate boats they will be...beautiful craftmanship...then we drove down the coast to our bed for the night...a great resort sitting on the cliff top above the Gulf of Oman...nice outside area but you couldn't use it...every time you went outside it was like stepping into an oven....coming into Dubai last night with temps of 35 degrees seemed quite cool after 45 degrees and plus in Oman some days!!
Day 4...we were to go and walk in another Wadi but I asked Suliman to take us back to Muscat so we could see a bit more there before flying out....a good highway to Muscat but oh no he had to take us off road again and so we were closer to the coast...beautiful clean water...stopped off Quriyat a fishing village between the lagoon and the sea....then on down to Muscat and we went to the fish market and then the Souq, a museum explaining all the regions and different culture in Oman, past the Opera House etc...so many beautiful buildings in Muscat...and then to the airport for our 1 hour flight back to Dubai...got into Dubai at 6 pm and no one to meet us...Michael spent 1 1/2 hours on the phone trying to sort the problem...the very night we were on a tight time frame..to cut a long story short we got to bed at 10 pm to be up at midnight to be picked up at 1 am for our flight to Ethiopia...
Now in Ethiopia..arrived here at 8 am this morning...shattered and again no one to meet us...and so more battles at the airport trying to find the company we had booked with...we have the feeling this is going to be Africa...confusion...when we arrived this morning we didn't exist to them and it seemed like the company we had booked with didn't exist either.....and so with really no sleep last night we are shattered but I had to do this catchup...we still haven't met our guide for tomorrow and apparently we have to leave our hotel at 4.30 am to go to the airport for our flight to Lake Tana....Ethiopia has been a bit of a culture shock after Oman...rubbish and poverty everywhere, chaos on the road, hotel no hot water, we had to turn that on...all the simple things but so frustrating when one is so tired.....time for me to have 40 winks now and hopefully Michael will add some photos....currency in Oman very strong...1 Rial is worth US$2.63 and now in Ethiopia we have the Birr and there are 19.6 Birr to US$1...
Thanks for all your comments...just finally met our guide for the next 7 days...going to be so different to Oman...every car here has a ding in it...such a contrast to life in Oman....Best Wishes to you all....M & F