Muscat, Oman Oct 2012 Eid

Since we’ve arrived to Abu Dhabi, almost anyone we spoke to has raved about visiting Oman. 

So for Eid Al Adha, a Muslim holiday in October (a nice 4 day weekend), we decided to fly to Muscat, Oman with another family, which are becoming our travelling “mates”.  Michael is from Australia, Karen from South Africa and their children Logan and Imara.  Logan, 3 years, shares the same birthday as the twins. Imara is just a year old and is such a trooper. Kids get along great as do the adultsJ Michael was a good person to travel with as he is in the ship building business and frequently is in Muscat for work. 

A little information about Muscat and Oman, courtesy of Wiki:

Muscat is the capital of Oman. The metropolitan area spans approximately 1,500 km² (580 sq mi) and includes six provinces called wilayats. Since the ascension 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. The rocky Western Al Hajar Mountains dominate the landscape of Muscat. The city lies on the Arabian Sea along the Gulf of Oman and is in the proximity of the strategic Straits of Hormuz. Low-lying white buildings typify most of Muscat's urban landscape, while the port-district of Muttrah, with its corniche and harbour, form the north-eastern periphery of the city. Muscat's economy is dominated by trade, petroleum and porting.

Muscat's economy, like that of Oman, is dominated by trade. The more traditional exports of the city included dates, mother of pearl, and fish. Many of the souks of Muttrah sell these items and traditional Omani artifacts. Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has been central to Muscat's economy since at least 1962 and is the country's second largest employer, after the government.

The currency is called Omani Riyals and its conversion is approximately 1 riyal to 2.4 Canadian dollars.  Overall, we found Oman to be slightly more expensive than UAE.

It was only a one hour flight but due to the busy weekend, the airport was pretty crazy which resulted in the kids having to hang around for over an hour....thank goodness for IPad!  

Although Oman is known for its mountainous areas and is great for desert camping, we decided that our first time in Oman would be a little less adventurous and we’d stay in a hotel.  We stayed in Crown Plaza, a nice hotel that is perched on a hill that has a beautiful view of the ocean and beach.  Also like most hotels in the gulf, it came with all the amenities that one would need including 4 different restaurant options.  The kids enjoyed the pool and we were a short walk down a flight of stairs to the beach. It was an absolutely wonderful holiday because we were able to plan our activities around rest times needed for the children….who am I kidding, for all of us!

You can’t go to Muscat without visiting the Muttrah area, including the corniche and the old souk.  We toured the Souk in Muttrah. It was quite big and interesting. Carmen of course came away with a souvenior and the kids got some trinkets as well (including Trace’s new local attire).  It is nice having some keepsakes of our travels.  While at the souk we saw some goats being walked away. We understand that goats are sacrificed as part of the Eid celebrations, so we weren’t sure if these goats were going to be part of the ritual. We wanted to follow and check it out, but decided against it….probably would have been too much for the kids to see….

We spent one day at the Shangri La hotel. It is a beautiful resort up in the mountains just outside of Muscat. We had lunch there and then snuck into the resort amenities. J  The kids had fun at a spray park and then were able to take a sunset camel ride on the beach. Trace was not convinced, but it happened so quickly that he couldn’t argue and ended up really enjoying it. Logan, however, could not be convinced! Rafielle is the more adventurous one, so didn’t need any convincing and we could hear her laughing as they trotted off.

The highlight of the trip was a dolphin viewing excursion. About 5 km off the coast of Muscat was an area known for schools of dolphins.  Hundreds of dolphins were jumping and playing about. Our guide figured about 400 dolphins were in the area and the population can be doubled at other times of the year. These dolphins were much smaller than a typical dolphin. They are called spinners as they are often jumping and spinning out of the water. The boat ride also took us along the Mucat coastline. It was very pretty and I can remember thinking that life is good, however, by the end of the trip, life was just too hot!!!! Everyone needed off the boat before we started getting sick! Yes, even Carmen was too hot!!!!

Another highlight was a hike up Riyam Park.  Karen and Michael are adventous people and had researched this “easy” 2km trek. It was literally on the outskirts of the city so we agreed to go. Well, it was a lot more than a little trek and mommy had a few near heartattacks with the kids scaling rock faces and shimming down boulders. It took about 2 hours to go the 2km, just to give you an idea of the terrain, but it was awesome and the kids did great…all of them, including baby Imara in a backpack. The kids sang songs and I think they had to be so engaged in their climbing that they didn’t have time to complain about being tired or bored. It was beautiful as we completed the hike at sunset and walked through town as the call to prayer began. The kids ended the trek with an ice-cream treat, which they were thrilled with and the adults, well, we must have been in the right mood because our night didn’t end with the trek, it had only just begun! It ended in the hotel pub much later. We have a funny picture of the baby monitor on the bar, of course, unable to pick up reception, but making us look like responsible parents! We did check on the kids sporadically…honest!!!! Sleep was pretty much guaranteed for them after the day they had!

It really was a great trip and nice city. We do want to go back to Oman again, but next time we’ll try the camping and do some more hiking in an area called Nizwa….especially now that we know the kids can manage the trekking!

Patiently waiting in Muscat airport

Awesome dolphin watching

Parenting 101

Look at Rafi, she's being brave!