Al Bahjah Hotel Seeb

<br><br>I love boats. Always have. I joined the Navy when I was 18 and even that didn&#8217;t put me off. My first foray into &#8216;boating&#8217; was when my Dad picked up a couple of old, leaky canoes and we spent a good while in the garage, stinking of resin and coughing up fibreglass. Eventually they were ready to hit the water and, miraculously (sorry Dad!), they floated. Even the 3&#8217; of ½&#8221; timber glassed into the keel to stop the thing flexing ...

Summer has officially arrived............and it&#8217;s a strange affair. Throughout May the temperature was slowly creeping up, but as it was only a degree or so at a time it kind of went unnoticed. Right up to the point that you left the house, walked through the pizza oven and got into the car. <br><br><br>Just when we thought it would just keep getting hotter, until the birds fell from the trees ready cooked and nasal hair crinkled with each breath, June arrived. May ended with an ...

Not a great start to the day...no sleep...It. Is. Noisy. Wh**e is that peaceful tranquil Oman I was expecting? This bit isn't! Our housing complex is next to the main road - our house's location could be worse though; we're adjacent and a bit furth** in, at least we not right by it (I'm being positive!) - we're not far from the airport and the Omani Air Force have been playing with their jets (well, not at midnight obviously). Oh, and Colin's snoring ...

... fuss has been about. Although I do have a cup of 'home', as Lois put it perfectly! So all is good...we're getting there. I'm just thinking about Neighbour - it's taken her some time to settle and I don't think she's there yet.   The garden needs doing...it is dry!...there are olive leaves everywhere....but some beautiful pink flowers...the tiniest bird keeps landing on some of the orange flowers (don't know the name...if anyone recognises the picture ...

... up at the right time for us.   Neighbour had a friend round for tea who lived a few doors further down. Her daughter goes to F's school and is also in Reception. They enjoy camping and 4x4ing so there is a social circle already. They are South African and have been in Oman for three and a half years; we had a good chat about the state of South Africa and where it is heading. I told her I wanted to go back and she ...

Well, I've been here just over two weeks and I can honestly say it has been................interesting. I love waking up and opening the curtains to a clear sky every morning. I enjoy never having to wear a jumper. I can go for a swim every morning, walk on the beach every afternoon and eat outside every evening. The friendliness and good humor of the Omanis is infectious. It has to be. Their love of beurocracy can be ...

... had a watering hole for camels, and had a number of other visitors. Nasser took a break to pray, and then we had coffee and dates. En route, we discussed the changes in Oman, what my country was like, politics, development, education (Nasser was working on his Master's) and employment, and even what a plane ticket and week's visit to Canada would cost. When I dropped him off two hours later, I thanked him for one of the best and most memorable afternoons of my life, and I meant it.

I was up very early the next morning. It was a bit frustrating waiting for Rachel to get her act together. There was only one room key and it didn't seem fair for me to leave with it. I spent the time watching Nip/Tuck and updating my now woefully behind journal. Due to the heat we really couldn't go too far. We had already figured out that most businesses close down during the hottest part of the day. We would have to go back ...

... has a wonderful walkway with some statues. Families were all over the place strolling around and enjoying the cooler air. It was cooler that it was during the afternoon, but it was still hot and thick. It felt like we were swimming through the air. In Jordan everyone starred at us. Here, it was if we were not there at all. I'd grown used to the stares and being ignored was ...