Arabian Excursion Day 4: Farewell to Oman and Hello Again, Dubai!

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Leaving Oman

I am leaving Oman today, but before doing so I would make one last stop at the Grand Mosque of Sultan Qaboos, his gift to the nation marking his 30th year on the throne. It is beautiful from the outside – simple, clean lines in the uniform color of sand. Inside, however, is quite a different story.

After snapping pictures of the courtyard and the traditional Islamic archways, I make my way inside the main prayer hall. Can you say “bling”? Firstly, it houses the largest carpet in the world, a Persian rug made specifically for the hall measuring 70m x 60m. It even extends to cover every nook and cranny on the sides. Non-Muslims are allowed to visit in the morning between prayers, and we step on the blue visitor’s carpet.

Then there’s the chandelier. Hanging from the central dome is a humongous crystal chandelier, flanked by numerous smaller ones around the hall. The inside of the dome is gilded in intricate Islamic designs, shown off further by the light eminating from the chandelier. The words wow, bling, and kitsch come to mind. But it IS grand. I leave Muscat satisfied that I have finally entered a Mosque in an Islamic country, especially one as grand as this.

Arriving in Dubai

This time around the arrival in Dubai was smoother than the last. We actually got a gate so we could step off the plane directly without having to wait for the bus. The immigration procedure was simple and I was out of the airport in no time.

I wanted to stay on the beach for one night, so I booked for a night at Le Meridien Mina Seyahi in the Marina area. While there were some issues about my room reservations, I was upgraded to a club room with a magnificent view. The Palm Jumeirah is right in front of me, and the Marina Club right next to the hotel. I set up my tripod and the big Canon cannon, and start taking pictures of the construction sites on the Palm. The beautiful blue of the water works well with the green of the hotel garden area, and I’m happy to have chosen the hotel based on Time Out’s Dubai guide.

Around 4pm I decide to go down to the beach and test out the water. It is very, very clean but very, very cold. I stop when I am knee deep and go back up the beach.

Dinner was at Tang inside the hotel, but that is the subject of another blog posted previously…

Arabian Excursion Day 3: Omani Coast and Wahiba Sands

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8am early start today as I will be out for a full 12 hours, combining 2 excursions into one. Saif has returned to be my guide again. Must be the tip I left him yesterday…

As we leave Muscat, we encounter detours as there is lots of road construction going on. Saif explained that a few months ago the flash floods coming through the wadi had been severe, and washed away lots of road sections throughout the country. We would be seeing a lot more of this throughout the day.

First stop if Quryiat, a small fishing village not far from Muscat. It’s quiet, with a couple of dozen small fishing boats on the shore inside the small half moon bay. As one would expect, there is an old watchtower on one end of the bay. The atmosphere is so laid back and serene as I sit underneath the gazebo…listening to the waves washing up on the beach, and the seagulls looking for a meal…I really didn’t want to leave this place.

We continue along the coast, but Saif decides to take a “short cut” as he wanted to take advantage of the new highway that is being built. We end up going through more than an hour’s worth of very rough terrain, including being in a dried wadi where we really had to fully utilize the capacility of the Toyota Landcruiser. It was quite some time before we found ourselves back on paved roads again.

The obligatory next stop is the so-called Bimmah Sinkhole, a natural hole carved into the rocky ground that has a mixed flow of salt and freshwater year round. With the terrain and the turquoise water, I am reminded of the volcanic lakes of Kelimutu on Flores in Indonesia. Unlike Kelimutu, the water here is fresh and clear to the bottom, and I can see schools of little fish swimming among the seaweed and moss. It’s a wonderful sight. Unfortunately we are in the dry season, so there isn’t enough water for me to go for a dip.

We continue along the coast on a rough, unpaved road. Interestingly, we are running parallel to the new highway that is partially completed. The half of the project from Muscat to Tiwi has been given to a Turkish company, while the section from Tiwi to Sur is being done by a Chinese company. We try to drive on the completed sections, but most of the road remain closed despite having been completed.

This section of the coast is really beautiful, with rocky cliffs and white, sandy beaches along the way in little alcoves. The water is shows many graduated shades of blue. The contrast is striking.

The first highlight of the day is Wadi Shab, a green riverbed close to the village of Tiwi. After driving for hours in the barren canyons, the welcome sight of the mountains opening up into a green valley, with palm trees on both sides and lush, green riverbed is a godsend. One gets a hint of how people in the desert must feel when they catch sight of an oasis. I quickly take in my picnic lunch here while Saif goes off for his lunchtime prayers. Numerous other visitors pass by on the way into the depth of the canyon, and by the time I am done with lunch, none had returned. I make my way inside the canyon, but can see no end to the meandering wadi. Where did all the other people go? There must be something deep inside that captivated them, something so nice that makes people unwilling to leave the place. Unfortunately I am running out of time, so I double back to the car and move on.

Incidentally, the Chinese are constructing a bridge to cross the gap at the opening of Wadi Shab. As I started my trek inward, I see a lone Chinese construction worker taking a break. He looked longingly in my direction, clearly homesick and overjoyed at the sight of a fellow countryman. He has been here for 20 months, a long time to be away from home. I promise to chat upon my return, but did not see him as I returned to the car.

Further along the coast we make a brief stop at Bibi Miriam’s tomb near Qalhat, a simple structure that has stood here for several hundred years. Details are sketchy and even Saif does not know much, but it appears that Bibi was a rich daughter who, centuries ago, broke with tradition and received a proper education.

We finally reach Sur at around 2:30pm. This is one of the largest cities in Oman, yet it remains a quiet coastal fishing town. We park along the Corniche and I walk to the beach, admiring the clear water. How nice it is to have such a clean beach right in the city. I think of San Sebastien and the clear water inside that beautiful half-moon bay. The water is cold and I decide not to jump in completely, wading only knee-deep with camera in hand to snap a few shots of the beach front.

With only a couple of hours to sun down, we quickly make way to the Wahiba Sands. Other than the Empty Quarter, this is the largest area of sand dunes in the country, stretching more than 100km at its widest point. The area is famed for its golden sands with the reddish tint. We arrive at the entry point around 4:30pm, an hour before sunset.

Saif first takes me to the dwelling of a Bedouin family he knows. We are invited into the reception area for guests, and offered a small cup of coffee and some dates. Saif pours coffee from an old thermos (and not a traditional Arabic coffee pot) and there are dozens of flies buzzing around the dates, but I accept the offering out of courtesy. I hear the mention of money in the exchange between Saif and the hostess, and know that I should purchase a token handicraft for the privilege of the visit. After about 20 minutes (which unfortunately is precious time wasted today) I pay 2 Rials for a simple woven bookmark without bargaining.
Now I have a little less than 1 hour before sunset. I tell Saif to drive to a spot for me to take pictures, making sure that we face the right direction away from the sun. We don’t have much time to go far, and settle for something close.

The sand here really is golden, with an orange/reddish layer on top and a paler base. The reddish top layer makes for excellent photographs as it contrasts with the rest of the area, appearing as a highlight on top of the dunes. I relax and enjoy sunset over the dunes. It’s been 8 years since I last watched the sun set over the Mingsha Dunes(鳴沙山)in Dunhuang (敦煌), China.

Just before leaving, I catch sight of a camel calf suckling on its mother.

Saif takes me back to Muscat, flying at between 120-140km/h on the highway. Before he drops me back at the hotel we visit a traditional shop selling halwa, the national dessert which is basically a jello of dates, saffron, cardamom, nutmeg and other spices. I try 3 different varieties and settle on buying both the cheapest (which is the most common and my favorite) as well as the most expensive (yellowish in color from the saffron). I am happy.

For dinner I am too tired to venture out. I polish off the huge chunks of baklawa as well as other Arabic desserts purchased from Lulu the night before, and decided to stay away from baklawa for a long time going forward as I’ve just OD’d on it…

Arabian Excursion Day 2: Omani Forts

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Left the hotel before 8am today for my tour of Omani forts. Oman is a country dotted with watchtowers and known for its classical forts, so I wanted to get a cultural perspective on the country. My tourguide Saif speaks excellent English, and seems very knowledgeable about the world economy and clearly has done some homework on Hong Kong and Asia.

First stop was Nizwa, the fourth-largest city in the country. I walked through the Nizwa souq but it wasn't very interesting. The Nizwa Fort sits next to the souq, dominated by its large round tower. Like most other forts in the country, this one continues to be under restoration. Climbing to the top of the tower gives a commanding view of the historic town settlements with its date palms. We see trap doors in the stairwells and openings through which hot honey would have been poured on the enemy. Pretty interesting.

Before moving on, we passed by a food shop selling a local delicacy whose name escapes me. It is a variation of shwarma, but here the meat is mutton kebab instead of sliced. It is delicious and help push back lunch time by about an hour or so.

We make a quick stop at Al-Harma, one of the oldest villages in Oman. Here the houses are built Yemeni style although certainly not as elaborate as the ones in Sana'a. There is a large date palm planation giving a good contrast in colors.

Next stop is Jabrin Castle, where we go through the maze and look for every hidden nook and cranny. Of particular interest is the date store, where grooves are made in the floor to enable the date juice to flow through an opening in the floor to the storage vats. We pass by rooms still decorated with handcuffs, some with iron bars on the windows.

On the way back, we pass by Bahla Fort - a UNESCO World Heritage site currently under major restoration for the next couple of years. It was built in 1500 B.C. and was protected by surrounding walls which look like a mini version of the Great Wall of China. Unfortunately I was not able to go inside and can only snap a few pictures from outside.

A word about modern Omani architecture: there are no skyscrapers, even in the capital. Most houses today are still built in the traditional Omani style, with maybe 3 stories and niched tops bearing resemblence to the country's forts. Most are whitewashe or colored like the sand. The most interesting feature is the water tower on the roof. As you trvel across the country, you realize that most are shaped like the round tower of a fort, and come either in white or sand to match the house. It's actually very cute.

Lunch was a disaster. I was dropped off at the Falaj Daris Hotel in Nizwa and led to the buffet. While there were local appetizers such as hummus and fatoosh, all the hot dishes were Western. The saving grace was the desert - ummali - a pudding with milk, raisins and nuts.

I had dinner at a very local eatery in Qurm. The fare was decided Lebanese and I had a very thin mutton shwarma along with fatoosh and vine leaves.

Shopping here is not as big of a fasttime as neighboring Dubai, so it's not surprising to discover that the malls are rather small. However, it has been quite a while since I have seen shopping centers so tiny and poorly stocked. I had to get myself to the Lulu Hypermarket near the hotel to finally see some scale, and real shopping buzz.

Arabian Excursion Day 1: Muscat City

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After checking into the Grand Hyatt Muscat, I napped for a little since I didn’t sleep well on the plane. For lunch I asked the hotel concierge for a recommendation, and was directed to Bin Ateeq, a chain of restaurants serving local Omani food. Apparently it serves Omani traders and in typical fashion, I am directed to a private room where I sat on the floor to eat. It's an interesting experience since the big room was only for me, whereas the other customers all came with family or people from work, judging by the amount of shoes left at the doors.

To get a quick sampling of the food, I ordered the yogurt salad (similar to other Middle Eastern cuisines), cuttlefish with coconut curry (sounds very Asian), and a mutton stew with rukhal - a local bread variety. Mixed fruit juices seem to be the thing to do in Oman, so I ordered one up. The coconut curry wasn't as Thai as I initial thought, and was more Indian in flavor. The stew was very interesting, as the rukhal has been boiled in the stew is now soft but not yet mushy. I leave feeling satisfied. There is a McDonald's right in front of the restaurant, but I decide to wait for another opportunity to try the local specialties.

The afternoon's itinerary includes Mutrah, the old port of Muscat, as well as the old Muscat city itself. I start with the Sultan's Place in Muscat, which is a fanciful and colorful creation, probably done in the 70's (which seems to fit the time that Sultan Qaboos started his reign). It is situated inside a bay and is flanked by the Al-Mirani and Al-Jalali Forts, making its defense fairly easy. A series of 20mm guns, painted red and black, face the bay as a warning to intruders.

The gardens surrounding the palace have immaculate lawns and are strewn with colorful morning glory in various shades. The Sultan sure loves his flowers. In fact, Muscat's highways are lined with these colorful flowers and watered during the blooming season.

A short cab ride and I'm in Mutrah, where I was dropped off at the Corniche and admired the view of the beautiful harbor. The sun is going down now and the warm light on the rocks looks wonderful. A flock of seagulls hang around the water's edge in search of food. The Sultan's private yacht is docked here, behind a beautiful dhow moored in the middle of the harbor. I take an easy stroll along the Corniche and soak in the atmosphere.

After a while I duck into the Mutrah Souk - the traditional market. I am instantly confronted with shops selling all types of goods - perfumeries selling traditional, intense scents in expensive crystal bottles; spice traders with their frankincense wrapped in small plastic bags and large sacks of green henna; clothing stores which either sell the traditional white robes and hats worn by the men, or the black chadors worn by women. None appeal to me, not even the frankincense that I was determined to buy here. Time to return to the hotel.

Dinner was a non-event, as I took in the buffet dinner at the Grand Hyatt cafe. I'm still beat from the previous night and sleep early, in preparation for the expeditions of the next two days.

Flying with Emirates

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Last night I flew with Emirates for the first time, on my way to Dubai and Muscat. I must say that I was very much looking for the experience, as I had high expectations given Emirates placed second in Zagat's survey on international airlines for economy class. Well, I have a lot to write about now, after the experience, although I kinda got more than I bargained for. Here is a very long account of what happened...

I was running a little late before my departure, as I spent some time cleaning my camera equipment. I decided to take a cab from home to the airport, since I was worried about my pre-booked left-hand-side window seat being cancelled if I checked in a little too late. My cab driver had never dropped anyone off at Terminal 2 (and I had never checked in there myself), so he got a little lost. I finally had him drop me off in front of the escalators from the parking lot to the building, and rushed up to the counter.

I probably arrived around 55 minutes before the flight, just a couple of minutes after airlines would normally release any pre-booked seats. Emirates farmed out their ground handling to Jardines, and I was obviously facing someone very inexperienced (maybe even a trainee), since it took her 3-4 minutes just to find my reservation, even though I handed her a print out of my reservation. There was a senior ground staff from Emirates kinda looking over her shoulder.

After finally finding my reservation, she proceeded to tell me that I was getting one of the last seats on the plane. I pointed out to her the fact that I had already had a window seat reserved, and for her to please check. Apparently the seat has been released and is now occupied by someone else. What's more, she informed me that it is the airline's policy to release reserved seats 1 hour before check-in counter close. Since check-in counters officially close 50 minutes before flight departure, she is effectively telling me that I have to check-in almost 2 hours before flight time to keep my seat.

I made it clear to her that I thought this was ridiculous. Most airlines will keep your reserved seats and only release them one hour before flight time. I mentioned this to her, and her reply was "But this is how we do it here." Wonderful. I looooove that line. A customer is giving you feedback to let you know that your competitor is doing something better, and you are not performing up to his/her expectations/standards. And what do you do? Tell them that you don't give a damn coz things ain't gonna change around here. Everytime someone says that to me, I have to urge to reply: "...and this is how you just lost a customer!"

After seeing me throw a hissy fit, she manages to find a window seat for me that was originally taken by the crew. Unfortunately it is on the wrong side of the plane. I had wanted to be on the left side to get a view of the Dubai coastline as we approached for landing. Now I'm going to miss that view. Nevermind. At least I have a window seat with a view.

But wait...after issuing me my boarding pass, she suddenly wasn't sure she could release that seat to me. So I'm left standing at the counter while she figures this out. By that time she handed me back my boarding pass, it had taken more than 20 minutes to check me in, and the time now was only 35 minutes before departure. I will now have to haul ass to get to my gate on time.

I am now on board in my seat. The cattle class seats on Emirates look a bit skinny at first, fitting 10 in a row on a 777-300ER. But as had been advertised for the last 10 years, they do have the best entertainment system of any airline, even in cattle class. They boast 500 channels, and based on a quick glance I would say that they are not lying. And all AVOD, too!

But minutes after I sit down, I start drawing comparisons with my cliche about China - that it's all about the hardware. Yes, the AVOD system is nice, but can't they do something about the flight attendants?! Most of them (especially the women) have very poor attitudes and are frowning most of the time. Emirates hire their crew from all over the world and I counted Brits, Thai, Korean, Indonesian, Filipino, Arabic, Hongkie among the ones walking around on my flight. But they are very poorly trained, and inefficient.

Meal service. At one point I counted 4 carts being pushed by flight attendants on one aisle in the back half of Economy. This sort of traffic jam wouldn't happen on other top airlines like CX or SQ. And they serve their bakery items cold! I had a cold (as in just came from the fridge) dinner roll, and cold croissants (again fresh from the fridge) for my breakfast!

The only good thing about the in-flight experience (other than the AVOD system) was the starry sky within the cabin. When the lights are dimmed at night, the ceiling of the cabin appears like the milky way with pinpoints of light shining through. I supposed that it, along wit the wavy desert motif on the sides of the cabin, is supposed to evoke of sense of being in the desert under starry skies at night. Very romantic.

OK, there's more. We finally landed in Dubai, on time. I now have 2 hours before my connecting flight to Muscat. No problem!

Dubai Int'l Airport is constructing an extension terminal where they will park all Emirates flights. For now they don't have enough gates to accomodate all the flights coming in, so we park on the tarmac and wait to be offloaded. After everyone has gotten up and waited for a few minutes, we are informed by the captain that they don't seem to have one of those mobile staircase thingies to enable us to get off. So we wait. And wait. Finally, people in front seem to start moving. But the process grinds to a halt time and again, as there also seems to be a shortage of buses to transport offloaded passengers.

By the time I get off the plane, 35 minutes or so have passed since landing. Finally I am on the bus heading to the terminal building. But there seems to be a huge traffic jam on the tarmac. The bus makes its way around the airport slowly, but gets stuck. Somewhere along the route, the bus driver decides to start playing an explanation/apology from Emirates about having to bus us in due to a lack of gates. Fine, at least I now understand. But the message keeps playing in a loop since Mr. Bus Driver forgets (or did he?) to turn it off. I probably ended up hearing the darn thing more than 10 times by the time I got off the bus.

And what time did I get off the bus? More than 1 hour after I land. Can you believe this?! It takes me more than 1 hour just to get inside the terminal! This is unheard of anywhere else in the world! And what's more, I have to go through security check immediately again, which takes up more time. By the time I am through and having quickly grabbed a bottle of Evian to quench my thirst, I am 35 minutes away from my connecting flight departure time and have to run for the gate again!

But I'm still not home free. I go through the boarding gate for my Emirates flight to Muscat (which, incidentally, happens to be the farthest gate from where I entered the terminal) only to find that I have to board another bus to get to the plane. Wonderful news. Thankfully this time it took only a few minutes to get to the plane, and I board quickly.

Unfortunately, some of my fellow passengers got stuck (either traffic jam or they couldn't find a bus to ship them in). So I sit in the plane and wait. What's more, even after all of the passengers have boarded, we still couldn't leave because we were waiting for some baggage to arrive so that they can be loaded on the plane. I find out a few minutes later (since I have a window seat directly above the cargo bay) that my suitcase is among this last batch of bags. Imagine that it has now been 2 1/2 hours since I landed, and my bag finally made it onto my connecting flight...

I'm glad that I finally had a chance to fly Emirates, and that I finally had a chance to transit through Dubai Airport. But after this experience, it will probably be a long time before I would think about doing either again...

Can't sit still...

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I just can't sit still at work today. Flying tonight for my trip to UAE and Oman. Very much looking forward to seeing Dubai and being in the Middle East for the first time. If time permits, will be blogging and posting pictures at night.