InterContinental Al Bustan Palace Muscat Muttrah

This morning I slept in till about 9ish and had to hustle a little as to make breakfast by 10:00am.  Oops!  There was still coffee but it was hard to find a clean table but we did find a place to sit and eat.  Today's agenda was the Souk in Mutrah along with the Corniche and then to see the city of Muscat. The drive didn't take long and we were able to find a parking place not to far away.  By the time we got there, it was already 43'C!!!!!  Let me tell you, I felt it ...

... sizes and states of repair, a legacy of the Portuguese. We were keen to reach Muscat before dark but dusk was approaching as fast as we were, which made finding the hotel a little tricky. We managed it after a couple of wrong turns and were greeted at the Crowne Plaza hotel like royalty. Even the duty manager (Cedric, French) came rushing out to inform us we had been upgraded to the executive club and in our room was an enormous fruit basket, bottle of wine ...

... he told me that. To make matters worse, he let his friend start driving, and started drinking a large quantity of beer. As a Muslim living in the UAE, probably without a liquor licence, there is no way in heck he should have been doing that. It was illegal, and from his own religious standpoint, immoral. But I was pretty much horrified when he offered one to the driver. The driver said, "But I'll only have one". Right, and there are no ...

After nice long naps and much needed showers dusk had arrived and we were ready to explore Muscat. There was a sign pointing towards the old town of Muscat that noted that it was 4 km's away. That didn't seem too far so we decided to check that out. Muttrah has a really nice water front area. On the street side there are stores, restaurants and the souk. The side agains the ...

... to this grocery store in Muscat not far away from my hotel and put enough food on the counter to fix me a few meals. The man working there engaged in a very friendly conversation, which is so typical of Omanis, and we chatted for a while when he asked me where I was from. He was so delighted I was from Canada that he categorically refused that I paid for the food. I politely declined his offer, explaining I could easily afford it but he insisted. In a final ...

... marble... 3 floors... just like a mini-palace. I was also very happy to see my puppy again. I wonder if she will snuggle with me tonight. But more importantly, she remembers who i am and was very friendly and cuddled with me on the couch. So i am here for 2 weeks, before i head back to Calgary. I hope to enjoy Muscat, and take day trips out to Dubai. -Rob

... was always the same, "Why???" When I finally got to Muscat -- weeks later I might add -- I immediately understood their universal reaction: there's really very little there. The town sits in a small cove surrounded on three sides by quite steep mountainsides. Two 17th century forts, orginally built by the Portuguese, sit atop rocky outcroppings on either side of the tiny harbor. Beneath them along the water's edge, a palace, an exercise in Disney-esque kitsch, dominates the ...