Safeer Hotel Suites Muscat

... cove. Freya and Daddy went snorkelling, while Callan pretended he was cruising in Monaco, smiling at the imaginary ladies and waving to the landlubbers (also imaginary).


Natalie seems to have found her spiritual home, diving off the boat, floating in the warm water, then walking along a deserted beach.


We had a brief heart stopping moment when the main ...

... be in its infancy. The infrastructure is very modern - the immediate Muscat coastline is traversed by 4 lane highways and good highways also head to the major towns across Oman. The airport is modern and being updated, there are 5 star hotels and large shopping malls (much to Maddie's delight). You can drink the water from the tap (yeah) and even buy alcohol (yeah!). Let me explain the alcohol rules more. Muslims are not allowed to buy alcohol, but expats are - if you are a ...

... s amusement. They meet once a month. I wasn't interested at first as I thought it would be the old women meeting place but apparently there is a broad spectrum, old, young, native and expat. Callan's swimming has come on incredibly. His confidence doubled in a week. He is now jumping in and kicking up to the surface on his own. The main thing for me is that he is actually lying on his back - he hated doing that in the pool at ...

... wait, as the bags go round and round on the carousel. But they don't show. After days of anxious gathering of stuff for the trip and much effort to squeeze 3 weeks worth of formal and field clothing into too small a suitcase, the bags don't show. The gifts for our hosts, my sport coat and tie for tomorrow's meeting with the ministers, and virtually everything else - all gone missing. More soon, as I sort this all out. David

... done to them by knife wielding locals that left us in no doubt that yes, they were dead. Then a few hours ago, in a final last-ditch bid to feel like 'real' attraction visiting tourists, we left our hotel room with the intention of visiting one of the two forts overlooking the city, something we soon gave up on once we got a good look at the hills the forts sit upon and the digital thermometer we found yesterday, the one which today was ...

... visas immediately, and made our way to pick up our rental car. The young man at the desk was asleep with his feet up, but after a few minutes we were able to wake him up and from then on he was extremely helpful and friendly. This would be our experience throughout our time in Oman. Our 4x4 was brand new, manual shift, and very powerful - Carlo was pleased to say the least! Our hotel was basic, but clean and well-placed for getting to the mountains.

... But the weather is very pleasant now - days of 30 degrees with cool nights of 20. There is supposed to be some rain between now and the end of January - not much sign of it so far but I keep looking. We were treated to a day at the Rugby 7's by Emirates airlines last weekend and it was quite fun. I had never seen the 7's before and you certainly need to be fit to play, a good game. The ground was quite small (but in true Dubai style it will become a housing estate ...

... crew was attentive and the boat included 2 toilets. We took a short video of the beat of the waves and our rock-and-roll cruise. Mystical Muscat 4 hours $54.00 After a few delays some ladies had to return to the ship for proper attire. Due to Muslim tradition, men and women's necks, leg and shoulders should be covered; shorts are never allowed. We then were transported by air-conditioned coach through the exclusive Omani ...

... the dumb jeep is white! I did fine. Most of the drive out there over the Jebel is all on dirt roads that were uber steep and twisty. We had to be in 4 wheel drive the whole way nearly and there were all kinds of Jebel Donkeys coming into the road and stuff. Erica loves the donkeys! We stopped to have dinner on the edge of this little cliff just outside of the Jebel. As I was setting up our foldy chairs I noticed a sea turtle swimming in the water below us. He kept ...

We have found Dubai to be a little too commercial and a bit unfinished as it's basically a huge construction zone. Being so close to the Sultanate of Oman we decided to take the opportunity to see a little more of the Middle East and caught a bus across the border. The previous night in his dorm room Rick was chatting to an Egyptian gentleman about his family and where we had traveled. The man was helpful in giving us directions to the bus station as we had tried asking ...