Day 21 - Muscat
Last night on the way home my brother and I kicked around the idea of driving to Muscat for the day. He was there last week on business and he couldn't stop talking about how beautiful the drive is. Not wanting to pass on an opportunity to add to the stamp collection in my passport and the currency collection in my wallet, I agreed to a day trip to Muscat.
Muscat is the capital city of Oman, a country to the east of the UAE. The city is about 450 kilometers (270 miles) from Dubai, and the road lived up to its billing. We set out around 6:30am while it was still relatively cooler and found very light traffic on the road. We drove out through the city and into the desert, where the vista of reddish rolling sand dunes was broken up by little green splashes of scrub bushes and the occasional tree. Less than an hour into our drive we found ourselves in the "mountains" of Hatta, the border city. There at the border we paid for our entry visas and continued our journey.
My only impression of Oman dates back to the mid-1980s when we lived in Al Ain. Next to Al Ain was the oasis town of Buraimi, a sleepy Omani enclave surrounded on three sides by the UAE. We would often drive through Buraimi to get from one side of Al Ain to another. Back then, Buraimi was a bit of a backwater town, off the beaten path and missing much of the refinement of Al Ain.
Much to my delight, Oman proved to be every bit as updated as the UAE is. The wide, clean roads welcomed us and the ornately decorated roundabout intersections reflected the local pride of those who built them. About 30 minutes past the border we entered the seaside town of Shinas, home of a fort built nearly 200 years ago and attacked by the British in 1840. I talked my brother into pulling into town to see this fort. The fort was not much more than four walls and four towers at the corners enclosing a gateway. There were a couple of rooms along the walls, and one gate for entry. Not much to see but it did serve to remind us of the kinds of things Mom would take us to when we were younger.
As we continued down the coastal road we could see the Arabian Sea to our left, and date orchards to the right. It was neat to see rows and rows of date trees, some full of fruit and others having been harvested. We arrived in Muscat at about 11:30am and began driving around the city. We found our way to a waterfront park and the tiny fishing village of Haramel before deciding we were hungry.
Driving around for lunch we finally ended up at the Chedi Hotel, a beautiful seaside location. My brother had heard of this place and it came to him highly recommended. The restaurant featured three kitchens, all in plain sight of the diners. There was a hot foods kitchen, a cold foods kitchen and a dessert kitchen, each with their chefs preparing the different menu items. After a pleasant dinner we headed over to the Muscat City Centre, a shopping mall owned by the same group as the Deira City Centre of Day 1 fame. There we had a Cinnabon and a cup of coffee. Nothing unusual in this mall, but I did notice a chocolate fondue stand which was new to me.
After a little more exploring we headed back in time to catch the sunset over the mountains near Hatta. When we arrived at the UAE passport control, processing was as smooth as it was in the Dubai airport. My passport was reviewed, stamped and returned to me. No entry fees, no exit fees, no problem. It is clear that the UAE is doing all that it can to attract western tourists, and I'm fine with that. We arrived at home about 6:30pm, and decided to head over to one of my brother's favorite places for comfort food - Dubliner's.
By the name alone you would be correct to assume that this is an authentic Irish pub, filled with the ambience and menu of the Emerald Isle. He ordered his usual Fish & Chips and I ordered the Beef & Guiness Pie, chunks of beef in gravy baked in a flaky pastry bowl. And yes, I did get some vegetables to go along with it. While there we took in some Olympic platform diving. We quickly became proficient at scoring the dives, often predicting exactly what the judges' numbers were going to be and loudly voicing our objections when theirs were lower than our scores. It was surprisingly dramatic as the Chinese diver who went last executed a near perfect dive to snatch the gold medal from the Canadian diver who was in the lead over the last two dives.
After logging nearly 1000 km (621 miles) today, I am exhausted. Tomorrow is church and I'm looking forward to that. Talk to you then.
Blessings,
Khalaf.
Muscat is the capital city of Oman, a country to the east of the UAE. The city is about 450 kilometers (270 miles) from Dubai, and the road lived up to its billing. We set out around 6:30am while it was still relatively cooler and found very light traffic on the road. We drove out through the city and into the desert, where the vista of reddish rolling sand dunes was broken up by little green splashes of scrub bushes and the occasional tree. Less than an hour into our drive we found ourselves in the "mountains" of Hatta, the border city. There at the border we paid for our entry visas and continued our journey.
My only impression of Oman dates back to the mid-1980s when we lived in Al Ain. Next to Al Ain was the oasis town of Buraimi, a sleepy Omani enclave surrounded on three sides by the UAE. We would often drive through Buraimi to get from one side of Al Ain to another. Back then, Buraimi was a bit of a backwater town, off the beaten path and missing much of the refinement of Al Ain.
Much to my delight, Oman proved to be every bit as updated as the UAE is. The wide, clean roads welcomed us and the ornately decorated roundabout intersections reflected the local pride of those who built them. About 30 minutes past the border we entered the seaside town of Shinas, home of a fort built nearly 200 years ago and attacked by the British in 1840. I talked my brother into pulling into town to see this fort. The fort was not much more than four walls and four towers at the corners enclosing a gateway. There were a couple of rooms along the walls, and one gate for entry. Not much to see but it did serve to remind us of the kinds of things Mom would take us to when we were younger.
As we continued down the coastal road we could see the Arabian Sea to our left, and date orchards to the right. It was neat to see rows and rows of date trees, some full of fruit and others having been harvested. We arrived in Muscat at about 11:30am and began driving around the city. We found our way to a waterfront park and the tiny fishing village of Haramel before deciding we were hungry.
Driving around for lunch we finally ended up at the Chedi Hotel, a beautiful seaside location. My brother had heard of this place and it came to him highly recommended. The restaurant featured three kitchens, all in plain sight of the diners. There was a hot foods kitchen, a cold foods kitchen and a dessert kitchen, each with their chefs preparing the different menu items. After a pleasant dinner we headed over to the Muscat City Centre, a shopping mall owned by the same group as the Deira City Centre of Day 1 fame. There we had a Cinnabon and a cup of coffee. Nothing unusual in this mall, but I did notice a chocolate fondue stand which was new to me.
After a little more exploring we headed back in time to catch the sunset over the mountains near Hatta. When we arrived at the UAE passport control, processing was as smooth as it was in the Dubai airport. My passport was reviewed, stamped and returned to me. No entry fees, no exit fees, no problem. It is clear that the UAE is doing all that it can to attract western tourists, and I'm fine with that. We arrived at home about 6:30pm, and decided to head over to one of my brother's favorite places for comfort food - Dubliner's.
By the name alone you would be correct to assume that this is an authentic Irish pub, filled with the ambience and menu of the Emerald Isle. He ordered his usual Fish & Chips and I ordered the Beef & Guiness Pie, chunks of beef in gravy baked in a flaky pastry bowl. And yes, I did get some vegetables to go along with it. While there we took in some Olympic platform diving. We quickly became proficient at scoring the dives, often predicting exactly what the judges' numbers were going to be and loudly voicing our objections when theirs were lower than our scores. It was surprisingly dramatic as the Chinese diver who went last executed a near perfect dive to snatch the gold medal from the Canadian diver who was in the lead over the last two dives.
After logging nearly 1000 km (621 miles) today, I am exhausted. Tomorrow is church and I'm looking forward to that. Talk to you then.
Blessings,
Khalaf.
