Al Shiraa Hotel Apartment Muscat

... Lots of shops with leather and jewelery and fabrics. It was quite lovely and we didn't get hassled by too many different vendors. Once you said that you weren't interested they basically left you alone. The city was absolutely clean and there are fines if you drop any rubbish. Such a contrast to Cairo. The locals were very friendly and a lot of them spoke English, which always helps. The port is surrounded by rugged hills with no ...

I've made a few friends that I'm sure (well, hoping!) will become quite firm. One Mum took me to the nursery as her son goes there. She invited me for a coffee in the shopping mall but I couldn't make it as we were getting my resident's card... But even if I don't make firm friends here for a while, there are always people around looking out for us and whom we can talk to. The house still feels and looks like a holiday home ...

... wide. Our group sat on one side (Stewart from US Fish and Wildlife Service, Rob Baldwin from ESO and Five Oceans, and Fareed and Said with ESO), and the ministerial people on the other side. Folks from the Ministry included the Director General, and their section heads for Biodiversity, Coastal Zone Mgmt, Nature Reserves, and Wildlife. Rather than it being a flat table, it had a raised portion in the middle that only allowed you to view from ...

... vision coloniale de l'Iran (je charrie un peu) m'étais-je imaginé possible de rester dans un village avec des bergers et des chèvres afghanes. S'il fut bien un enseignement progressivement (donc superbement) dégagé de ce voyage, c'est bien le caractere bourgeois au sens intellectuel du terme de ma personne. Perdu au fond du Liban comme dans le train Turque, pourtant jouissant comme jamais de cet environnement si nouveau que je d ...

... and the Souks (outdoor markets) where we negotiated some deals for local gear. I picked up a 1864 Silver Dollar for $1.40 that Google claims is worth $900. What are the odds that's fake? Yeah, I know. 99%. Anyway, great weekend. Check out the picks. Just amazing how the mountains rise up out of the Gulf of Oman. The whole Arabian Peninsula was under water at one point, and until you get to about 800 feet above sea level in ...

... on a slightly longer route through the border at Al Ain, further to the south, for a bit of variety. We were sad to leave Oman behind, but know we will return as often as possible - the lasting impression we have is that it actually feels like being in the Middle East, wich is rather nice. The people were very friendly and the pace of life quiet and relaxed. The drive was spectacular, mountains of all varieties of coloured rock, large and looming. Almost no ...

... since tourism is still developing. Buildings are almost all white, roads are wide and clean, signage is Omani with much English to match. It is divided into several quite distinctive regions, including the Old Town, whose boundaries are marked by gated walls which enclose the area around the port, the Sultan's palace and the harbor. Several forts guard the entrance to Muscat harbor. There are few high-rise buildings, encouraged by ...

I had just transit in Oman with my family and Galileo tour travel. Just info: The different of time in Oman and Indonesia, Time of Oman is 3 hours later than Indonesia (WIB). When I would go to Indonesia in my arrival. Trip to my country (Indonesia) was need time during 10 hours from Muscat (Oman). Thanks Galileo tours............

... time it wasn't only us. There was a British family and an American family. The British guy was wearing the most ridiculous outfit I have ever seen (no worries I got a picture of him). He was wearing pink plaid pants and a pink striped shirt. He looked outrageous and he kept nearly falling overboard with excitement every time a bird flew by...we were dolphin watching! We saw about 150 Spinner dolphins. They were much smaller than I had thought they would be but they ...

... scene, going back into the bay. Blood and guts were flying everywhere as locals did their shopping. Right next to the outlet were some kids having a swim....ewww! Outside the old city and a short cab ride away, was Qurum Beach. We got dropped at one end and pretty much had the beach to ourselves, bar some locals and a fat, sun burnt red German couple. The beautiful beaches were fairly devoid of people whilst we were there, but unfortunately the green coloured waters were less than ...