Novotel Seeb Muscat

... Caramel bar worked a treat.


Between then and now I’ve been on/in a fair variety of boats. I was ship’s company on HMS Ark Royal (I was occasionally allowed on the bridge, but under strict orders to not touch anything - I was aircrew after all). I sailed the Canary Isles on a 55’ Nicholson (as foredeck crew, again presumably to put me as far away as possible from anything breakable). I had a few forays on a Contessa 38 until the skipper ...

... 51°C (55°C indicated on the car). The following morning, the temperature had dropped to a paltry 37°C and all was well. Right up to the point you left the house, walked through the turkish bath and got into the car.


37°C isn’t bad, but allied to 75% humidity, it gets a little uncomfortable. Walking from the car to the aircon comfort of the shopping mall you see people everywhere doing the expat shuffle - trying to look cool and in control whilst glancing over the ...

... to have got loud**...or maybe it echoes more around the tiled and marbled house!!!! I came back upstairs at 2am but set up the duvets in Callan's room. He has been unsettled, und**standably. He's been up 2 or 3 times the last couple of nights, so I'm now paranoid he'll get up and wake Colin (who has an early start) and not see me on the floor. Then I'm worried Freya would come in looking for me and wake Colin. So really not much sleep to be had ...

... On more than one occasion I have found myself smiling, walking out of whatever office I was visiting, going out to my car, rolling up the windows, and shouting at the top of my voice. Arguing would produce an understanding shrug, banging the table would prompt a kindly smile, and storming out would only get you to the back of the queue. Maybe an example would help. Obtaining a Resident's Card. When reading this. please ...

... views of palm trees and cliffs surrounding my vision, thinking that at this point in time I could not think of a more perfect place. It was a true oasis. However, we weren't alone for to long as a bunch of nosiy boys decided to show off jumping in from the rocks above. Hiking back out, with a wet white towel wrapped around my head to keep me cool, we came across a large tour group heading into the Wadi, and we were glad ...

... side, tailgaters and plenty of trucks - still, the drivers seemed less inclined to leave their safety completely in the hands of Allah than those we are used to round Dubai. Around Sohar, the bull-fighting capital of Oman (yes really!) there were lots of trucks carrying large Brahman bulls, I guess on their way to or from a bullfight......plus a few wandering donkeys here and there. And at regular intervals our first sightings of the famous Omani forts in ...

... they could have helped out a stranded student who goes to a school partially owned by the Sheikh. Instead, they drove off. I guess they must have just been really bored. Later, another car pulled up and the guy told me he'd take me to Dubai city. The only problem was that he made a number of stops to fetch one of his friends and other silly stuff. As if that weren't unnerving enough, he repeatedly told me not to be afraid--which I wasn't ...

... local food that I didn't even know existed. They all wanted me to get the best food there was. And the whole time I stayed in Muscat, I never paid for a single meal. My new friend would insist on paying for me every time. Here's a good one. One night that I was staying in a hotel decent enough to have a kitchenette in my room I decided I was going to cook myself something. After months of traveling you get real sick of restaurants no matter how good they are. So I ...

Dear lord the middle east is hot. And really really humid. I went from Athens to Bahrain, which was like 30 degrees celsius with like 70% humidity.....all the way to Muscat which is like 35 degrees celsius with like 75% humidity. Gah. *i'm melting....melting...* But other than that it is very pretty here. I met up with my parents and their place is fantastic ...

First, I live in Muscat -- and have done so since October 1988. I remember when I first got here and before I had bought a car, colleagues were kind enough to show me around and take me shopping. Having seen photographs of "Muscat" before I arrived, I was anxious to this exotic looking town, once I realized that the university where I work is located on the westernmost edge of what I learned was known as the "Capital Area" or the "Municipality of Muscat." The answer I got for my ...