OMAN!!

This is the blog entry everyone has been waiting for...

First let me just say that Oman was spectacular. We had a wonderful time and were so happy that Mama and Papa could join us for such a memorable trip.

Okay, here it is...Mama and Papa on camels! Yes, it really did happen and we all are pretty glad we were not part of Lawrence of Arabia's army! Riding a camel is not exactly comfortable and the launch and dismount were quite tricky!


We all took a brief ride along the beach in front of our hotel and checked it off the list in my guide book of "Things You Must Do in Oman."

We left London very early on Saturday 11 April. We had a little BBQ get-together on Friday night with some of our London friends so Mom and Dad could meet them. That last glass of wine (for me and Mom) and scotch (for John and Dad) probably wasn't the best idea. But at 6:15 a.m. our car arrived and we were off. The flight was very uneventful and after a brief touch-down in Abu Dhabi we landed in Muscat, Oman at 9:30 p.m. We received help from the tour company to secure our entry visas and then we were off to the Shangri-la Al Waha Resort. The Al-Waha is one of three hotels on the resort property. It's the family-friendly one. We checked in and promptly put the kids to bed. Then Mama and Papa joined me and John in our room for a toast, to our week in Oman.

Rather than give you a day-by-day synopsis, I will go through the 10 essential things to do according to the "Oman Checklist."

1. Spot Some Dolphins
We did this. We joined a group from the hotel on a boat one morning and after many tears and listening to Kate screaming, "he's going too fast" we found our way to schools of dolphin. There were dozens of them and they were swimming all over and jumping! It was really spectacular to see. After watching the dolphin for a while the boat traveled back towards the resort but first stopped at an area where people were snorkeling and we saw giant turtles. It was a great way to start the day!






2. Wait For The Turtles
We tried to do this. Watching the nesting turtles lumber up the beach to lay their eggs and then make their way back to the sea is supposed to be really amazing. We put our names on the "list" to be called by the Turtle Ranger at our hotel and did get the call to join him at the beach in front of the Al Husn hotel - the furthest beach from our rooms...oh, and the call was at midnight. Hmmmm....do I wake up the kids and call Mama and Papa and trek everyone to the furthest beach on the resort...nope! We took a pass on this one. The call came after our first full day and the kids were wiped. We asked to be called again but no call ever came. The nests were all labeled and the hatchlings were not due to emerge until May. The only other way to guarantee seeing any of this nature in action was to book an overnight camping trip on the beach of the Ras Al Jinz Turtle Sanctuary. Hmmm...Papa camping on the beach....pass.

3. Ride a Camel
Check! Here are pictures of the rest of us. Owen was not very excited about camel riding...he wanted back to the pool and lazy river stat! Meanwhile Kate kept singing to our camel..."hey Mr. Camel I'm riding on your back..."




4. Tame the Wadis
Wadis are dry gullies carved through rock by rushing water and one is supposed to take a half-day or overnight trip on an "off-road" tour. Just the description of this told us it was not the place for three small children or Mama and Papa. We were better off in the lazy river at the Al Waha!

5. Explore Muscat's Past, 6. Sultan Qaboos Mosque, and 10. Get Lost in Mutrah Souk
We managed all of these in one morning. Thanks to our tour operator (Zahara Tours) we booked a private tour with a driver and a guide.

Our guide "Prem" took us first into the Grand Mosque. Ordinarily non-Muslims and not allowed inside mosques but the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque allows visitors to admire its Islamic architecture. Not surprisingly, Mama found it quite interesting that in the main prayer room 6500 men can pray together. However, in the women's prayer room only 650. Apparently there is a point system and women get more points with Allah if they stay home. Mama had a few things to say about that point system.



Next we went to the fish souk. A very "smelly" (thanks Kate and Owen) stop, we wandered through the fresh fish market and witnessed the hustle and bustle of an Arabic market.



Then it was on to the Mutrah Souk, one of the most interesting souks in the Gulf. Small streets, almost like alleys, line the market with stalls selling household goods, shoes, frankincense, jasmine, scarves and traditional Omani clothing. One of the shops had a ball outfitting Jack and he had a grand time as well. He insisted that we buy his whole outfit..."Mom this is great for show and tell!"


After nearly four hours of touring we decided to skip the Bait al Zubair Museum as we were all ready to return to the comforts of our pool-side chaise lounges and our new friend Kyaw Thu...more about him later.

We also skipped #'s 7 (Discover Nizwa) and 8 (See Sinbad's Sohar) - both included long car rides and knowing our kids, John and I felt this wasn't worth the time or effort on this trip. They enjoyed the half-day into Muscat and we didn't want to push too much culture on them. This was their vacation as much as ours and they were much happier building sand castles, riding down the lazy river, going to the "Little Turtles Club" and playing in the pool.

We did participate in "Omani Night" and are so glad we did. The hotel offered this night to guests in order to experience traditional Omani food, music and dancing. The kids dressed in their new Omani sportswear. It was a beautiful night and everyone went for several helpings at the buffet tables! We got a true taste of Omani culture without leaving the plantation and we all enjoyed that.




We also met some new friends from Chicago of all places! The Storey Family currently lives in Surrey, about 40 minutes outside of London. Our connections to Chicago, however, were frightening. We share many mutual friends due to Brian Storey attending Indiana University and being best friends with Frank (Boots) Stone. Needless to say, we had a lot of laughs with the Storeys and look forward to seeing them again in London


Kate was especially pampered. I'm afraid she will have a certain expectation on future holidays. The server by the pool who took care of us took a serious liking to Kate. Kyaw Thu is from Burma and he made it his personal mission to keep a smile on Kate's face, whether it was a fresh apple juice, an enormous bowl of strawberries or a plate of melon - her wish was his command. Mama kept tipping him and then feared he would think it was her dowry!


We had the best time just being together and with Mama and Papa: playing in the pool; having lunch at "Assira" (the pool cafe); taking rides down the lazy river; building sand castles on the beach; watching the crabs on the rocks; the Little Turtles Club; afternoon drinks - milkshakes for the kids, mojitos for Mama, big beers for Papa and Coll, frozen vodka lemonades for John; our buffet breakfast every day, grown-up nights out; and overall just relaxing.










Oman was the best trip! We had an absolute ball. It really was a trip of a lifetime and we were so happy that Mama and Papa shared it with us...thank you for going with us!

The kids liked it so much that they each asked to bring pictures from our trip to school on the first day of summer term for their "What I did on holiday" presentations.

في صحتك!