FOR OTHER SIGNS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, CHECK TOM'S BLOG
Monday 6th January
Karina had thought of hiring a car and we could drive to the Omani desert for the day. Unfortunately Jose still wasn't feeling his best since the day before, so while Karina and I spent the morning relaxing by the pool, Jose stayed in bed resting.
At lunch time, Karina and I went to lunch to our favourite place- Nanna's restaurant, then back to the hotel.
"Massages Head and Foots" - a sign seen near the hotel
AL-MOUJ
In the late afternoon, with Jose feeling better, we caught another taxi who took us to Al Mouj, a fancy newish suburb near the international airport. The waterfront suburb, emcompasses residential, hotels, commercial and leisure, with an 18 hole golf course, a 400 berth marina and the beach. Foreign property owners can obtain residency visas when they purchase here.
 |
| The sun was setting on the way to Al Mouj |
 |
| Karina and I in front of the Al Mouj sign |
Wide promenades, lots of eateries and high-end boutiques, but not many people around.
 |
| Apartments and boutiques |
 |
| A for Al Mouj |
The marina with 400 berths
We walked around the area, all the way until the last building surrounding the marina. Lots of people walking, running, young families with kids, kids skating or cycling....it all look so relaxing and safe and a wonderful area for kids. |
| This sculpture in the kids park |
 |
| The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque at night |
Oman Avenues Mall
Jose was feeling better and hungry, but felt like Nandos chicken and we couldn't find one in the area, so we called a taxi and went to Oman Avenues Mall (which was a 30min walk or a 6 min drive from our hotel). It's one of Oman's largest malls, inaugurated in 2015.
 |
| Christmas decorations were still up in the shopping centre |
The menu was totally different from the Australian menu. Karina went for the beef skewers and Jose and I went for the chicken burger with chips.
Signs:
Peri-peri: a spice so nice, it's been named twice!
A platter shared is a bill divided. Sharing is the Nando's way.
Inexperienced? Check out our peri-ometer. We ask you to start low and work your way up!
It was about 9,30pm when we caught a taxi back to the hotel.It was time to pack our bags and leave things almost ready for the following day.
Tuesday 7th January
Bandar Al-Rowdha Marina
After breakfast at the hotel, we left our hand luggage in storage in the hotel, and took a taxi to the Bandar Al Rowdha Marina. This was Muscat's original marina at the foot of the Al Hajar mountains.
The purpose was to have a little cruise around the coast, to use up the few hours we still had before our late afternoon flight.
We bought tickets from Raheeb Marine Tours for a 1 hour coast trip.
Apart from the coastal tours, they also do fishing tours, dolphin watching tours, snorkelling tours, sunset tours...
It was just the 3 of us and a skipper.
On the way to the boat we saw turtles, lots of tiny fish and the ever-present seagulls.
We had a short stop at a couple of locations to take photos.The stopped near Shangri-La - a 5* resort by the seaside at the foot of the mountains, Yitti Beach, and other secluded beaches, another resort of Jebel Sifah.
 |
Yitti beach
|
We thought those indentations in the mountain were old caves, but it turns out they weren't.
On the way back we went past the Sultan's palace and forts next door to it.
 |
| Sultan's Palace |
We really enjoyed our short coastal tour, and seeing the mountainous coastline from the sea.
Back at the marina Karina ordered a taxi to take us to the hotel, and while he waited a few minutes, we collected our bags and then he drove us to the airport.
After passport and security control we had a late lunch at one of the airport eateries.
And soon we were airborne on the Salam Air flight way to Qatar, where we arrived
1 hour later around 7pm.
 |
| Salam Air airplane |
 |
| Leaving Muscat |
The bright lights of Qatar on the way to Karina's house
In 1970 when Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said came to power in 1970, Oman only had 10km of tarred roads. He set about developing the country's infrastructure by making sure that the oil and gas revenue benefited the domestic economy, and now there's a great network of paved roads and two modern airports. A rise in the country's standard of living ensued.
More recently, industrial manufacturing companies, agriculture and tourism have become important components of Oman's economy.
He also sought to showcase Omani's culture (men and women proudly wear their traditional dress) and style, with many grand buildings like the Opera House, the Grand Mosque and the National Museum of Oman being built.
The Sultan also invested in educating its people by instituting free University education and the State pays for bright students to go and study in German universities. English is now the second official language.
Healthcare is also free and apparently very good.
Unlike other Middle Eastern cities like Dubai and Qatar, Muscat has no high-rise buildings. The city was clean, crime rate is very low, the Omani's were happy, humble, friendly and curious about other cultures. They were also proud of their heritage and country.
We saw many people from Asian countries working there, specially in hotels, restaurants and construction.
Sultan Qaboos had overthrown his father, and took control of the country in 1970, as in his words "he watched with growing dismay and increasing anger the inability of his father to use the new found wealth of the country for the needs of its people".
He obviously served his people well, as he's still talked about with love and respect.
He was the longest serving leader in the Arab world at the time of his death in January 2020, having ruled for almost 50 years.
He left no heirs and in his will he nominated his first cousin Haitham bin Tariq Al Said as his successor. He had served in Sultan Qaboo's cabinet as Minister of Heritage and Culture.
In his first speech Sultaan Haitham promised to uphold his predecessor's peace-making foreign policy and to further develop Oman's economy. He also changed the "Basic Law of Oman" to grant citizens and residents freedom of expression and opinion. He removed a law that allowed the state to monitor private phone conversations, social media and mail, and granted the freedom to practice religious rites according to recognised customs, provided it does not violate the public order or contradict morals.
It seems the country is going in the right direction.
