Salalah Hilton

... take exit stamp on passport from Dubai border check post. They will not ask you to take exit because until oman checkpost is a free-to-go area without visa. And oman checkpost will come after about 40 kms. If there is not exit stamp they will send you back to Dubai checkpost to take exit. Exit fee is dh25 per passport. Oman visa is 2 riyal per passport. Must buy oman car insurance. Must carry car Mulkia (car ownership docs) and ...

... twenty kilometers from the city of Salalah. Oman is one of the oldest countries in the Middle East as it became a country in 1560 AD. It is ruled by Sultan Qaboos as a monarchy with a democratically elected Assembly. Unlike Dubai the country of Oman is improving the country's infrastructure while trying to maintain the uniqueness of its history and culture. And it has lots history as a very early center of the spice trade with Frankincense and a key gateway to the orient ...

... say about it. We were provided breakfast... Toasting our own bread, dusty bananas, and a little papaya didn't quite fit in the price bracket to me. Because I and about 9 others were bumped off the morning flight, instead of properly seeing the Royal Stud in Salalah, we were given the 50 cent tour where they pulled out about 6 horses and paraded them past in the gathering dusk. We were scheduled to spend hours there and instead had ...

Arriving at in the Southern Omani town of Salalah, we were not exactly sure what the town had to offer us. Apart from the hottest sun ever there is a lot of dry stuff here. We decided quickly that we needed a cool vehicle to cruise around in along the Omani coast. Abdul at the car rental agency offered us a turbo Hyundai Accent in three different colors which we glady accepted. The car does not only look cool, but it is ...

... privacy is prized and the women with their children would just move away. We stopped at 2 frankincense trees and were able to get some of the white sap that runs from cuts in the trees. The guide had said you could ingest it, mainly by putting a dried lump into a bottle of water, but Ed tried eating it and it was sticky sticky sticky. He finally managed to dissolve it and get it down. He won't be doing that again. We ...

... the locals though. We spent the day heading towards the Yemeni border - stopping at the Mughsayl blow-holes on the coast and then on to the tiny village of Rakhyut, down a long wadi onto the beach. Apart from the camels and cows, Steph spotted the mountain rose and loads of frankincense trees. We restocked our supply of frankincense in the local suq in Salalah. Visitors beware. Another day and a half here, then back to Muscat. Next week, we're cruising up to Musandam!

... the mountains and he is laid to rest here. His footprint can be found in the rock just outside the entry to the tomb and it is believed that he was 11 feet tall. The little open air building attached to the tomb was the original mosque and carved into the wall you can see where you used to pray facing Jerusalem and the "new" addition of the wall where you now face Mecca.....prayer rugs are on the ...

... wet and very green and the GCC nationals and residents flock to cooler climes. We found that we were two of only a small handful of westerners. traight to the pool and to seek out the swim up bar...but no today they had a public holiday (Assession Day), which is on Thursday in Dubai and of course that meant dry bar...no swim up bar during the Kareef too! What is a girl to do when one can't partake in a Pina Colada ...

... the trees die. The trees are very slow-growing-and thus very vulnerable. We were able to see two trees-two that are protected now from the camels-and our guide sliced away a piece of the bark, showing how the resin is collected (the resin oozes out of the cut in little beads, eventually crystallizing into small balls that are then harvested). The Frankincense crystals are added to water to improve digestion and strengthen one's constitution, and they are burned to ...

... out port call in preparation for the ship's departure to india. On our way out of port, the beautiful scenery went some way to compensating for the many nights of light sleep due to the weather. The many fjords we passed were simply breathtaking and blended into the golden sunset as we sailed out to sea. The next week took us through the English channel, along the spanish coast into the mediterranean through the straight of Gibraltar. Seeing the ...