Intercontinental Hotels Intercontinental Muscat

Walking around the Central Business District of Muscat today, for a moment I thought I had been transported back to Road Town. For those of you who are familiar with Road Town in its current state, you will know that this is not a compliment. A collection of large concrete buildings recently thrown up, (though the ones here do at least have a little style), surrounded by packed car parks, and roads choked with traffic!<br>Maybe that is what always happens when prosperity and modernity ...

... with its corniche and harbour, form the north-eastern side of the city. Up in the mountains, forts built by the Portuegese from the 16th century remain now serving as cell phone tower spots. The food was a high point on our trip. We indulged in the different shops that offered shawarmas (either lamb or chicken). One place in particular was the Initiqah Coffee Shop which offered roasted chicken and lamb, hummus, shawarma, kebabs, and fresh ...

... promoting tourism. They held a discussion on sustainable tourism with a number of different environmental stakeholders from the country. We heard a presentation by a consultant hired by OMRAM (he was from England and is Director of the International Center for Responsible Tourism) and then participated in the round table discussion after the presentation about opportunities and challenges for creating sustainable tourism in Oman. Many of the issues discussed ...

... football heroes here in Oman. Right now the Arabic Football Cup is taking place in Oman and people here are just nuts about this sport. Oman has managed to get themselves to the final and every night there are cars, buses, taxis and god knows what driving around the city honking their horns are cheering. Let's see what happens on Sunday when the final is taking place. Viktor finally ...

... faudra revenir, des éléments que je n'ai qu'évoqués lorsque non-oubliés. Je reviens sur l'un d'entre eux, tellement parlant que l'omettre serait masquer ce qui, en Perse fait pour beaucoup figure de souffle organique ; j'entends la place, l'image et la situation de la femme en Iran comme révélateur extraordinaire de l'état du pays. Il faut evidemment ouvrir la réflexion par l'éradication des clichés : j'ai croisé moins de burkas ...

... off at White Beach for a quick dip into The Gulf, before taking a wrong turn and a long detour through rough terrain before meeting the highway again. We were all lost in our own thoughts as we headed back into Muscat and I was running over the days events. It was a fantastic day. After quick showers and freshen ups we all headed to Al Ghalal pub in the Intercontinental for a cold beer before cocktails and dinner at Trader Vic's.

... must have Islamic elements, nothing over 3-5 stories high - and all white. The geography consists of steep bare hills with wadis (dry river beds) running through and around them, and in the wadis are the buildings, all white washed. Very attractive and most unusual. The odd fort protecting the harbours add their charm too, and the city is covered in picturesque gardens and roadside plantings. After watching the men make their way to the mosques and taking in ...

Well, I was supposed to go to Muscat this day, which would have renewed my visa and given me a grand old time with my friends...but the cyclone has forced us to call off. I should refer you to my entry on the Maldives: I'm here only in spirit. Some of the American study abroads were going to go camping, and some of us were going to go to Muscat to do touristy things. I was planning on meeting up ...

... she is with him as she apparently is not short of a bob or two. Anyway he says he´s not complaining and just living the dream! I´ve clearly never met the guy however I already know that I´d like and respect the dirty (and lucky) old beggar... He seems to have a bit of a track record with the younger ladies as about 10 years ago he was married to a 20 year old Filipino girl who was meant to be stunning. She worked in their corner shop, close to the local ...

... afternoon. After dinner we went to turtle beach. It's a turtle conservation area n you need passes to enter. There were lot of people from around the Europe and some Arabic. The ranger explained us that Oman is a famous place for green turtles. Every year during this season you can find lot of them here. They grow up to 4 ft long. Believe me, I actually saw them and felt they are larger. They eat some vegetation and even jelly fishes. Then we followed the caravan to reach the ...