I fear it has been a very long time since my last post, so I am writing two posts to make up for it- sorry in advance, once again it will be a very long post. Hopefully the pictures will keep you entertained!
Its seems this trip has turned into half work and half time off due to the copious Omani holidays between October and December: I'm not complaining! The break I will be describing in this post is Eid AlAdha, for which we had a full week of holiday. Freddie, Wil, Tom and I chose to spend some of the time given back at Tiwi and Wadi Shab exploring. Were kindly invited to join some of the younger teachers and their group of friends which was a really good laugh.
We smoked shisha on the beach....
Swatted hornets......
It was really refreshing to hang out with people my own age, and to meet some people who came down from Dubai to camp and talk about their experiences of being expats in Dubai. We also spent a day at Wadi shab; and during the journey there we saw the remains of the Eid celebration- piles of dead goats- urgh!Wadi Shab was excellent, I hope to add some photos later as our friend James brought a water proof camera. I will try my best to describe the amazing scenery! A wadi is normally a dry river bed, but if you walk far enough into one you will find deep pools of water as well as narrow openings in the rocks leading to cavernous places where you can climb up waterfalls and jump into the deep water below. After our previous visit to the Wadi I really wanted to try and climb the waterfall and make the 20ft jump over the ledge and into the water from the top. After Tom helped me climb up, all the guys jumped off, and I was left shaking and terrified peering over the edge. Wil had to come up and lead me down to a smaller jump, so it turns out and I am massive weener when it comes to heights- I must take after Mum. Anyhow, after a few hours swimming through the wadi, and the huge anticlimax of my chickening out, we decided to head back to the beach. Because there had been rainfall a few days before, the felaj (a man-made channel to bring fresh water from the wadi down to the town) was flowing beautifully so we decided to try and ride it back. This was unsuccessful and ended with a muddy bum, but still it was fun to follow the channel and see where it led.
Its seems this trip has turned into half work and half time off due to the copious Omani holidays between October and December: I'm not complaining! The break I will be describing in this post is Eid AlAdha, for which we had a full week of holiday. Freddie, Wil, Tom and I chose to spend some of the time given back at Tiwi and Wadi Shab exploring. Were kindly invited to join some of the younger teachers and their group of friends which was a really good laugh.
We smoked shisha on the beach....
Played on inflatables.......
Swatted hornets......
And got very sunburned......
(we are now 2 weeks later and I am still shedding skin-eeeew!)
It was really refreshing to hang out with people my own age, and to meet some people who came down from Dubai to camp and talk about their experiences of being expats in Dubai. We also spent a day at Wadi shab; and during the journey there we saw the remains of the Eid celebration- piles of dead goats- urgh!Wadi Shab was excellent, I hope to add some photos later as our friend James brought a water proof camera. I will try my best to describe the amazing scenery! A wadi is normally a dry river bed, but if you walk far enough into one you will find deep pools of water as well as narrow openings in the rocks leading to cavernous places where you can climb up waterfalls and jump into the deep water below. After our previous visit to the Wadi I really wanted to try and climb the waterfall and make the 20ft jump over the ledge and into the water from the top. After Tom helped me climb up, all the guys jumped off, and I was left shaking and terrified peering over the edge. Wil had to come up and lead me down to a smaller jump, so it turns out and I am massive weener when it comes to heights- I must take after Mum. Anyhow, after a few hours swimming through the wadi, and the huge anticlimax of my chickening out, we decided to head back to the beach. Because there had been rainfall a few days before, the felaj (a man-made channel to bring fresh water from the wadi down to the town) was flowing beautifully so we decided to try and ride it back. This was unsuccessful and ended with a muddy bum, but still it was fun to follow the channel and see where it led.
Later we returned to camp to find the road (a very loose term) to the camping spot only passable by 4X4 and so rather than park and walk, Tom and I decided to try and drive around and come at it from the other direction. Not the best idea given that Tom doesn't have a driving licence and I only had prescription sunglasses with me! When night began to fall and we were driving around the wilderness, I was squinting through the sunglasses to try and see any immediate and deathly drops while also trying to find our way back. Note to self- always carry glasses! Anyhow, eventually we turned back and after around an hour ended up back where we started- with Tom driving the last section due to the vision situation- phew! We spent the rest of the evening happy to be alive, eating kebabs off the campfire/BBQ, and drinking copious amounts of GandT.
I spent the rest of the holiday recuperating and wondering around Old Muscat, as well as preparing for Mum and Ed's visit....
Ominous photo of dusk at the Sultan's Palace
The boys outside the mosque in Muscat
Lights over the gate into old Muscat for the 41st Omani National day!
Mum and Ed arrived at 9AM on the 11th of November, and it was so good to see them! There were forecasts for rain but it seems they brought the sunshine with them :). We did a whole variety of things but I think one of the most unusual was going to the World Cup qualifier between Oman and Australia. Having seen the Australian team at mum and Ed's hotel earlier in the day, we decided to support the Aussies. The tickets were free (having been bought up by the phone network Nawras) and it seems that Omani's don't like free stuff as there were only 2 sections of the stadium full- one of expats and families and one for Men. The video and pictures below show how empty the stands were. It turned out to be a very bizarre evening, especially for my visitors who had had little sleep on their overnight flight. When we arrived Mum and I spend the best part for an hour searching for ladies loos only to discover (after endlessly being pointed to different ends of the Sultan Qaboos Stadium) that there were none. Eventually a lady commandeered a guard to stand outside the men's loos while we ladies went in, needless to say it was a close call! The game included an absurd amount of time wasting and some wonderful theatrics from the Omani side- including a player being brought off the pitch on a golf buggy writhing in pain, only to run back on as soon as the buggy left the pitch!! I couldn't believe how many times they brought a golf buggy on the pitch for the most minor thing!
The famous golf buggy....
Lisa, our loud and proud Aussie friend!
Oman had a surprise win of 1-0 and the fans went mental. From the turnout at the stadium I thought that none of the kids at the school would have seen the game, but in fact they all saw us in the stands on TV and told us the next day!
For the rest of Mum and Ed's short trip, we spent time in old Muscat, Muttrah Souq (see below for Ed's traditional Omani Dish Dasha) and the school itself. It was great to show them where I live and introduce them to some of the kids and staff who I am fond of. It was also nice to have a break from chicken and rice in the cafeteria every night, and we ate at some nice places- my favourite was the Marina hotel in Muttrah, on a terrace overlooking the port and serving the most delicious kingfish straight from the sea! Ed was happy because they also served beer. Their hotel was lovely, and included a novelty which Ed was used to but I was fascinated with- a bar IN the pool that you swim up to! Ed had a rum punch and I had a pimms whilst Ed told me about his favourite holidays- it was a very enjoyable evening and one I will remember for a long time.
Omani Ed!
Mum and Ed in Old Muscat, behind them is the Jelali Fort.
Ed in a traditional Omani palm frond house.
I was really sad to see them go, but so happy that I could share my experience with them and show them all the places I love going to. Mum strategically planned the airport drop off so that neither of us would have time to get tearful, a very shrewd move!
Surprise of the Week: the sudden increase in mozzies as the weather has cooled a bit.
Discovery of the Week: One application of suncream is not enough for the whole day!
Next Blog- Dressing up for National day and Al Hoota cave!
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