Sur Plaza Hotel

... of charm as it has retained most of its authentic atmosphere and history. The country has a handful of hotels and has not suffered from overdevelopment. The capital city of Muscat is one of the most beautiful capitals in the Middle East ...

... whatsoever and there is an old fort overlooking the port. There are only a few patches of greenery around nature strips. When we got back to the ship by shuttle again, we found that a lot of people had complained about the distance that the shuttle traveled, and we all had our money refunded. Some docks don't let people walk anywhere on them and they supply a free shuttle to the gates. I had picked up a cold a few days ago and we all have to ...

... failed to re-start when we were wanted to set off home, but it was soon resolved with a bit of priming and some words of ‘encouragement’.


Another minor problem on the way home was not being able to refuel at the marina - apparently they don’t take credit cards on a Friday. Go figure.


All in all a successful first family voyage. We ...

... their teens. Oman, a Sultanate, is a relatively liberal Middle Eastern country - at least compared to Saudi. It is mostly desert, it's lower portion makes up part of the 'Empty Quarter'. It has a beautiful coastline with a mountain range pierced by deep wadis and a sprinkling of green oases. Oman is striving to keep up with the likes of Dubai in terms of modernization but is not to that point (at least in terms of the excess). Tourism is being heavily developed, though seems to ...

... hotel, which had everything you could ask for: A/C, a fan, satellite TV, and even a refrigerator. Everything except a clean bathroom. **sigh** Muscat is an important port-town in the Gulf of Oman as it attracts foreign tradesmen and settlers. Since the self-appointment of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan of Oman in 1970, Muscat has experienced rapid infrastructural development that has led to the growth of a vibrant economy and a multi-ethnic society. It ...

... Mosque , is indeed very grand,and very large and quite a wonderful place to see and experience. It is only open until 11am to the non Muslims, and essential to have head, arms, legs covered for ladies. We spent over an hour seeing both inside and out, wonderful stone ,marble and tiled work. The whole of the Koran is carved into the stone work. Our driver , whose name I never quite grasped had a lots of knowledge to impart as he showed us around. Then to the Sultanate ...

... une petite nation, la traitant elle et ses habitants comme on le fait avec un jeune enfant ou un petit chien. L'Iran c'est si charmant!, et puis ces habitants, quelle gentillesse (alors que dans le fond ils ont peu d'argent et un regime préhistorique). J'ai moi même reproduit ce schema intellectuel les premiers jours, m'attendant à me faire inviter à la maison à tous les coins de rue et m'émerveillant de fait devant les similitudes ...

... but still a site of naval heritage (albeit in decline). Swung past the dhow yards and a reconstructed dhow on display in what looks like the start of a museum, then to the wharf -- by which I mean beach. Let myself get talked into a buzz around the bay in one of the fishing boats; little 3 person boats or so. I know nothing about anything oceangoing, and as a consequence of this (due to my life growing up in the prairies), consider anything that floats on water ...

Ras al Jinz is located about three hours away driving south of Muscat. The place is world famous for the giant green turtles who come lay their eggs on the beach. They come once a year and the season last for about a month. We were right in the nesting season so my friends from the Netherlands and I decided to make the trip down. The green turtles come to a 50 km (30 miles) long beach stretch to lay their eggs. The beach is now ...

The University sent me in a taxi throught the desert to what looked like a deserted town or village. This was Sur. A step back in time. I asked the 'driver' so..where is the town. Is this it? I don't see anything I said...where are the businesses.... Where is the University?