04 Jun Oman – An adventure travelers dream come true

Oman – somewhere far from here.

I love deserts, I love traveling in the Middle East, and I had an itch to get another authentic travel experience – i.e. one where you’re the only tourist around and relatively few things are catered towards flocks of idiots with cameras around their necks. Oman seemed perfect.

After 18 months back at work I needed to get out again. I was able to bring my first American boyfriend along with me on this adventure. Props to him for agreeing to go to the Middle East during Ramadan. I was worried bro was going to be hungry.

Arrival

I arrived at around 6am in Muscat from Munich.  I got in line at immigration and immediately my heart sank when an agent was reviewing passports in advance of reaching an officer.  I watched as he flipped through each page of every passport looking for suspicious stamps.  I googled this multiple times but maybe it was just bad timing?   I had Israeli entry and exit stamps in my passport.

I walked across the border into Jordan so I had actual stamps in addition to the border cards distributed in Tel Aviv.  Everything I read said Israeli stamps are not an issue in Oman, thus I elected not to get a new passport.  Bad idea. The U.S. embassy had moved to Jerusalem the day before causing uproar in the region, so again, maybe it was just bad timing or policies had changed, regardless, lesson learned.

I held my breath when it was my turn.  Unsurprisingly, he stopped at the page with Israeli stamps, looked at me, smiled and said “please wait a moment.”  I was eventually moved out of line and after about 20 minutes the agent returned with two officers and they escorted me to a nice sitting area to discuss my “travel habits.”

As this as happening I mentally reviewed all the reservations I could cancel and what I was going to tell my travel partner ….. he was still in the air and I was dreading telling him when he landed I was denied entry.

I’ve been profiled and relentlessly questioned before so I put on my dumbest face and smiled a lot and answered every question.  I could tell he was trying to get me to make a mistake by slipping the same three questions in over and over.  How long was I staying in Oman?  What’s my full date of birth?  Where was I staying in Muscat?

After he was satisfied I wasn’t lying, I was asked to produce paycheck stubs to prove my job was real, I did this online.  Next, I was asked to produce printed reservations – not in email – by a stroke of luck I had printed my car rental agreement, and my half-day Muscat walking tour voucher.  He did a final review of my passport, visa, gave me a once over and said thank you and sorry for the delay. He advised me to get a new, clean passport, and wrap my head outside of Muscat.  Sure thing dude.

All I can say is this is why I’m glad I do e-visa in advance. I can’t say for certain if I didn’t already have my visa if I would’ve been granted my visa on arrival.

For reference, Israeli and Arab country stamps can be problematic at immigration when you’re entering one or the other.

I felt like a criminal hustling out of the airport. I got to my rental next and was on my way to Muscat.  I walked out into the searing heat, cruised to the capital city, and checked us into our hotel.

Muscat

Muscat is a very relaxed, modern city. We stayed in the Grand Hyatt, it was indeed grand and very elegant – right on the water and had the smell of spices and humidity floating in the lobby air.

The city itself is spread out with the old city being the main drag.  On the first day we drove to Muttrah, tried to pay for parking when parking was free – we can’t read Arabic, and got lost in the souq.  We quickly discovered Oman has a siesta way of life and everything shuts down from around 1pm – 4pm to nap.  I knew this was the perfect country for me.

The second day we took a half-day group walking tour.  However, since it was off-season and approaching Ramadan, it ended up being a private tour.  We had an outstanding guide, and our first stop was the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.  {I want to note here that we had unbeatable hospitality and treatment the entire way, Omani’s are extremely hospitable} 

The grounds were stunning, pristine, immaculate, and absolutely blisteringly hot.  After the tour we were allowed to ask as many questions about Islam as we wanted in the learning center.  We were greeted with cardamom coffee, dates, and fresh water.  The Imam’s took all the time to answer all of our questions, and provided us with literature in English.  I had been in an Islamic learning center in Turkey, but I was glad to have the experience once more.

On our last night in Muscat we ate camel with rice, and then visited the famous opera house.  It too was stunning.  We walked the grounds, the mall, and picked up some $15 coffee biscuits for breakfast.

This opera house is so famous I got an eye mask with it emblazoned on it courtesy of Oman Air.  Honestly, I wouldn’t fly them again, but I have the eye mask in my nightstand now.

 

Wahiba Sands and the Desert Night Camps

The next day, Ramadan started.  We weren’t sure what the story would be with food and water so we made a stop at a massive supermarket called LuLu’s to stock up for our next destination in the desert.  Again with the language barrier, I wanted 2 pieces of baklava from the bakery but they took that as 2 kilos…..Oman is not cheap so we had a lot of pricey baklava to eat, along with pita, hummus, water, and other various snacks.

About three hours outside of Muscat, you leave the balmy coast and head into one of the biggest deserts in the world.  We exited the highway to Wahiba Sands,  left the clean roads behind, and rumbled over desert ground, rocks, and the occasional oasis.  

We stayed at the Desert Nights Camp, the only 5 start camping experience in Oman.  Sat literally in the middle of nowhere are 28 tents, one dining room, a rec room, and endless dunes.  Camels roamed around the desert at all times, we watched gorgeous sunsets, and enjoyed the remoteness of the camp.

The camp had a few creatures – bats, beetles, and very loud birds.   That is about as much nature as I can handle, yet I still felt secure in our tent.

We rented four-wheelers one morning and cruised the mountains of sand.  It was exhilarating, I felt free, authentic, like I was living my life uninhibited.  The dry heat beating down on me, dust in my face, I sped up at the cliffs of the dunes and stopped for camels as they grazed.

One of the main attractions in the area is the Wadi Bani Khalid – an oasis in the desert where you can swim and hike.  We had a tough time finding it, despite it being well-marked on the map and with signs along the road.  We ended up about 20 miles away in a small town.  We asked some locals where we should be heading, he directed us, while his son stared out the back of the window in shock at these lost Westerners . 

When we finally arrived, we arrived not to the oasis we had seen in countless photos, but a completely flooded out riverbed.  There had been flash flooding the previous two days, and after about 20 minutes after we finally arrived we were told to turn around and GET OUT because it had started to rain again and it was not safe.

That experience was slightly disappointing, but I like to think what we encountered was the exception and not the norm.

On our way out we pulled over in a small village to listen to the call to prayer.  We didn’t stay very close to any mosques during our trip and any chance we got to stop, roll down our windows, and listen to the muezzin sing the call to prayer, we would sit in silence and soak it in.  I closed my eyes and said the sound reminded me of good food and calmness.

Our last night we dined outside under the stars and I felt so happy to share my passion for travel and adventure with someone else.  I was glad to share my true self, the one that comes alive in a foreign land. 

 

Jebel Shams and the Grand Canyon of the Middle East

I didn’t know much about the resort I had booked – Alila Jabal Akhdar – only that it had great views and was on a mountain near a canyon.  What I didn’t realize was that it was the Grand Canyon of the Middle East and we would be perched right on the cliff of the vast canyon.

As we slowly climbed the mountain and took in the sights, and the occasional goat, I thought each stop of this country was proving to be just as unique as the next. 

We checked into our luxury resort with no intention of leaving.  We went to the spa, laid at the pool, hiked the grounds, and just enjoyed the quiet and the views.  I have never been to a more quiet place in my life, I don’t remember hearing birds or crickets chirping.  It was just silent all the time.

The food at the Alila was some of the best food I have ever had – pomegranate labnah, lamb shuuaa, goat pide, and the worlds best hand cut french fries.  I would say the treacherous drive to the top was worth the food alone.

As we packed up to leave the Alila I was sad to leave.  The hotel, the people, the views, they were truly once-in-a-lifetime.  Even if I tried to go back and recreate it again, it would never be the same. 

 

Shangri-La on the Arabian Sea

I waited my whole life to stay at a Shangri La and my first world problems come into play here – I was most disappointed with this hotel.  It didn’t have the charm, character, or hospitality that all of the other stops did.  The views were stunning, but I can’t say I would recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Oman.

This was one of our shortest stops and I am glad I only booked us in for a few days there.  Even though the hotel wasn’t what I imagined we still were able to swim in the warm water of the private beach, act like kids in the lazy river, and watch turtle hatchlings run to sea.

We departed Oman sad that our incredible adventure in this less traveled country was over.  We boarded our short flight to Dubai and we were off.  

If this blog wasn’t long enough, read more about the tactical parts of Oman or check out the full photo gallery here.