A calm and peaceful evening at work, we were just 5 of us on
the floor and I waited restlessly to get back to the hotel - mainly for 2
reasons - I was bored and the AC in office was too much for me ;) While Tom was diligently working hard to cover up for a day's delay, I was lost in thoughts thinking
about this beautiful city and the really sweet people I have met in these 2
days. It was 6:30 PM and I was done for the day, I knew my brain was saturated
and so I decided to stop working and did a few funny things like opening the
drawers of the desk I was sitting at, walking a hundred times to the water
dispenser to fill water and almost everything I could think of to kill my
boredom. While I opened the drawer, I saw a few postcards with famous tourist
places painted on them, I was looking at them and trying to make a mental list
of places that we can visit over the weekend. During this time, we had a kind
gentleman from Jabalpur, India who was attracted to our cubicle by the pack of
Mysore Pak lying on the table. He quickly jumped in, took a piece of it and
with a big smile on his face he said - "the value of these delicacies is
what people here don’t know". The happy look on his face showed how much
he loved and enjoyed eating the Mysore pak. He walked back again a few minutes
later and saw some of it left in the box. He did not hesitate to take that
last bit and walked away with a smile and thank you. In a few minutes, more
than half of the office was dark, as the lights worked on sensors, i.e. no people
in an area = no lights in that area. Since Tom and I were working, our bay was
completely lit with all the lights.
Thursday evening (when the weekend begins here) 3 PM we were
back to the hotel. After a fruitful day at work, we decided to get back early
and relax for a while. We reached the hotel and had a 20-minute discussion
about the work done and decided to take the weekend off for ourselves. We
rested for a while and stepped out at 6 PM to head towards Matrah Souk – a very
beautiful colorful market in Muscat. We booked a taxi with the help of one of
the hotel receptionist (who was a Gujju, yea I was very happy to meet a Gujju
in Muscat) and it costed us 6 OMR from our hotel Park Inn by Radisson to Matrah
Souk.
We reached there in about 20 minutes and it was a spectacular sight – so
bright, vibrant and colorful that for a few moments we were lost in thoughts
and were unable to decide which way to proceed. After a few minutes, we decided
to proceed and started walking in the narrow lanes of this local market – we
saw lot of gold, silver, ather, perfume, cosmetics, clothes, incense burners, Incense
Sticks and many food shops. Many of them were owned and run by local Omanis but
an equal number of them were run by Indians (from Kerala especially) and Tom
being from Kerala did all the talking at the shops we stopped by. In fact, Tom
found his Keralite friends almost everywhere we went – at our office, malls,
markets, coffee shops, petrol bunks and every other place. We spent more than
an hour walking through these streets, stopping by at some shops and just
enjoying the place. After 8 PM we decided to walk by the harbor which was so
beautifully illuminated by the numerous lights on many huge ships.
It was a peaceful walk along this harbor like Marine drive in Mumbai (but with much lesser number of people 😉).
We spotted the Al
Mirani fort from this walkway and decided to visit the fort during the weekend.
Both Tom and I enjoyed the freedom and peace within while we walked here and
continued to walk without realizing the time or distance we had walked. After a
while we checked google maps to find our way back to the hotel and then
realized it would be best to go back to the market area and get a cab back from
there. As we reached the market, we immediately saw a cab driver who agreed to
take us to the hotel for 6 OMR and we reached the hotel within no time. Since
it was Friday the next day (weekend here) we decided to wake up at leisure and
have a late breakfast 😊
It was a peaceful walk along this harbor like Marine drive in Mumbai (but with much lesser number of people 😉).
My weekend here started with lazing around, having a big
breakfast and lot of relaxation. It was 11 AM when we finished our breakfast
and we decided to go see the fort as the mosque we wanted to see (Sultan Qaboos
Grand Mosque) was closed for visitors on Friday. After getting back to our rooms
we called off that plan and decided to step out only in the evening and stay
indoors till then to avoid the sun. I chose to do my favorite thing and slept
right after breakfast for 2 hours.
Friday evening – 6 PM while we were walking around the Muscat
Avenues mall behind our hotel, our host in Oman sent a text asking if we were
ready. He offered to take us to the Muscat Festival going on in the city at
multiple locations. We were a little hesitant as it was weekend and we would be
interfering in his personal or family time, but since he insisted we agreed to
go to the festival with him. We were very grateful to him for the wonderful
hospitality we had been receiving starting from day 1 in Oman. The hospitality
that Omanis offer is incomparable to any other place I have seen. In India we
are very happy and sometimes proud of our hospitality, but Omanis can easily
beat us in this. Every minute that we were out our host ensured we were
extremely comfortable and were enjoying our time in Oman. I had no words to
express my gratitude as I knew, had I been in his place it would have been
difficult for me to do the same if I had a guest in India. It was almost like
he had taken charge of both of our happiness for the duration of our stay in
Oman and in case we did not enjoy this time it would be an insult to him and to
the place. He did his best to make every moment of our stay here a pleasant
one.
At 6:30 PM we exited the mall parking and headed towards the
first venue of the festival – Naseem Gardens. We saw some traffic on the way
which was mainly caused due to an accident, but it was cleared soon. There were
a good number of cars going towards the festival. It was well organized with
the police helping with the traffic regulation and despite the huge crowd there
was no problem in getting in. There was a nominal entry fee to enter the
festival which again our host did not allow us to pay and whenever we offered
to pay he would refuse kindly & say – “Please, you are my guest”. As we
walked in, the excitement and curiosity inside me was building up and I
couldn’t wait to see what this beautiful festival had to offer. The first thing
we saw was a group of children performing on stage – 3 cute little girls
dancing to an Omani number. We watched them for a few seconds and then headed
in. Next, we saw a mini amusement park – with at least 10 land rides and a few
water rides for children. The smiles, laughter and joy on everyone’s faces here
was so pleasing. Everyone from children to adults were enjoying themselves to
the fullest, children running around with candies in their hands, parents
either running after them or relaxing themselves on the mats that each family
had got with them and spread on the different areas of the garden. We saw some
beautiful glimpses of fireworks, circus, live stunt shows of motor bikers
riding in a metallic sphere and spent a few minutes enjoying a live music
concert in the local language. We walked into the small stalls throughout the
garden where clothes, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, toys, chocolates, traditional
sweets and lots more was sold. While walking through these stalls, I was lost
in some of my fondest childhood memories of how much I enjoyed these local
melas with my friends and family. It was surprising to see that though India
and Oman are miles apart there were so many similarities in the culture – the
family-oriented culture we see in India was a common trait here as well. In India women work in various sectors and Oman also is seeing this
change where many women are coming forward to work and support themselves and
their families financially.
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| Sultan Al Qabos Grand Mosque |
After having a good time for an hour, we walked out towards
the car, with some delicious traditional sweets of Muscat and lots of colorful
memories of the festival. We thanked our host again for the wonderful
experience and headed to the second venue of the festival which was a showcase
of best bikes and bikers in the city and their skills. Unfortunately, we were
late for this and so we drove to a restaurant nearby, which had many vegetarian
options (as chosen specially by our host who ensured that I get to eat the best
food even though my food options were restricted to vegetarian only). We spoke
a lot about our cultures, working hours, work culture and our host
shared some stories of his two children, while we drove to the restaurant – The
Grill House. He also inquired about various pay scales in different domains in
IT as he was looking at hiring some people from India to start his own IT
business here. We were happy to exchange information and get to know more about
each other’s culture while we enjoyed the yummy food at this restaurant. After
a beautiful evening and dinner, we got back to our hotel with our stomach full
of great food and heart full of memories of this mesmerizing place and the most
beautiful people.
Saturday evening at 5:30 PM after another relaxing day at
the hotel we took a cab to a nearby beach – Al Quram Beach.
This was open to
public and was located very close to our hotel. We reached the beach and walked
inside till knee deep water. The weather was extremely pleasant and so was our
experience. We spent some time here sauntering in the water, talking, laughing,
clicking pictures and enjoying ourselves until sunset. The beach was calm and
peaceful with a small number of people around. After sunset we walked out to
Starbucks to grab a cup of coffee and got back to the hotel by cab (costed us
3 OMR). We decided to try some of the local cuisine for dinner and hence walked
to a street near by which had a couple of restaurants. We chose cloud express
and enjoyed some of the tastiest local food (fatayers – which looked like pizza
– A must try!!) which was available both in veg and non-veg options.
3 working days of the week flew by and Tuesday evening Ammar
offered to drop us to the hotel. While we were on our way he said I’ll take you
to a place that you are going to love. I was eagerly waiting and within a few
minutes we reached “KAMAT“. Back in India I would have never been so excited
about going to KAMAT for a meal or snack, but when I saw it here, I was
extremely happy and excited to indulge in the delicious Indian vegetarian food
we were about to eat. Ammar told us that he studied in India and he ate at
Kamat whenever he missed Indian food. We were quick to order and had a number
of Indian dishes on the table – Pav bhaji, masala dosa, sev puri and the best of all - pani puri 😊
I enjoyed every bite of the food and for once I enjoyed the luxury of being in
a restaurant that offered everything vegetarian :) We had long conversations
about work, India, Oman, our hobbies and many random things that we connected
on. Well, like I said earlier, people in Oman are great at their hospitality
and Ammar’s company just strengthen this belief 😊 We ended with Desserts – Ladoos, Ras Malai
and Gulab Jamoon – just the perfect way to end an amazing meal!! Ammar drove us to our hotel and while going to
bed I could feel my stomach smiling and saying thank you for the yummy food 😊
Next morning when we reached office, Sangeetha offered to
take us to a Krishna Temple nearby, Tom and I agreed instantly. We visited the
temple and a church opposite the temple and thoroughly enjoyed the time spent
here. She drove us back through a different route which was full of mountains
on both sides - a very serene scene, indeed! We couldn’t continue for long as we had a call scheduled at 10.30 AM and had to reach office in time for the call. I was very happy to visit the temple and church and got back to work with a great sense of fulfillment. We thanked her for taking us and she very kindly reciprocated the thank you saying that she was planning to visit the temple and it was because of us that she finally visited today.
Thursday morning – just like a Friday in Bangalore, was a
relaxing start of the day to welcome the weekend. We reached office and did a
couple of meetings till lunch and then went with Abhilash for lunch to Sarvana
Bhavan! Again, a brilliant meal with authentic south Indian food 😊
I couldn’t be more thankful to Abhilash for offering to take us out for lunch. We had a great time and as we walked out of the restaurant he checked if we had a little time to take us around for a drive and we very quickly responded with a big YES 😊 He drove us to the city’s most beautiful view points and harbors.
We stopped by at some of the places to click a few
pictures and a few other we just drove by. He also took us to the very famous
Muscat Palace – another beautiful monument! We saw the Shiva temple of Muscat
but couldn’t enter as it was closed during this time (around 2 PM). We
thoroughly enjoyed this drive which was an impromptu decision and were
absolutely amused by the spectacular views the mountains & sea offered to add
to the beauty & charm of this scenic city!
I couldn’t be more thankful to Abhilash for offering to take us out for lunch. We had a great time and as we walked out of the restaurant he checked if we had a little time to take us around for a drive and we very quickly responded with a big YES 😊 He drove us to the city’s most beautiful view points and harbors.
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| Beautiful view from harbor |
Friday morning was another lazy morning with late breakfast
and lot of relaxing time
planned for the day. We decided to visit another venue of the Muscat festival that was closer to our hotel – Amrat Park. We booked a cab from our hotel – for 6 OMR and to our surprise the drive to the venue was like driving in the Ghats sections. Both Tom and I enjoyed the drive and were happy with the decision of visiting this venue of the festival. Well, the festival was almost the same as the other venue we visited last weekend, however we had a nice time walking around and experiencing the local culture. We shopped a little and while we were deciding to get back to the hotel we tried some of taxi apps used locally – Oman Taxi and Marhaba cabs. Marhaba cabs was a savior as we could get a cab easily, it was not very expensive (as compared to the hotel cabs) and the cabs were neat and tidy. After 2 weeks of staying here we realized we could have used this app earlier as well. Nevertheless, it was a lesson learnt. We ended the day with some great food at Muscat bakery – suggested by our food expert Ammar. We enjoyed pani puri and masala dosa and guess what, I also spotted Ajma Ghatia at the bakery – Gujjus I tell you, they did not leave Oman as well!
planned for the day. We decided to visit another venue of the Muscat festival that was closer to our hotel – Amrat Park. We booked a cab from our hotel – for 6 OMR and to our surprise the drive to the venue was like driving in the Ghats sections. Both Tom and I enjoyed the drive and were happy with the decision of visiting this venue of the festival. Well, the festival was almost the same as the other venue we visited last weekend, however we had a nice time walking around and experiencing the local culture. We shopped a little and while we were deciding to get back to the hotel we tried some of taxi apps used locally – Oman Taxi and Marhaba cabs. Marhaba cabs was a savior as we could get a cab easily, it was not very expensive (as compared to the hotel cabs) and the cabs were neat and tidy. After 2 weeks of staying here we realized we could have used this app earlier as well. Nevertheless, it was a lesson learnt. We ended the day with some great food at Muscat bakery – suggested by our food expert Ammar. We enjoyed pani puri and masala dosa and guess what, I also spotted Ajma Ghatia at the bakery – Gujjus I tell you, they did not leave Oman as well!
Next day started early in the morning as we had decided to
walk to the Sultan Al Qaboos Grand Mosque (that was about 4 Kms from our
hotel). The visiting hours at this mosque was 8 AM to 11 AM every day except
Friday. We finished breakfast at 7:45 AM and started walking towards the
mosque. On our way we stopped at a small shop called Tea Time for a tea/coffee
break and by 8:45 AM we reached the grand mosque. The view of the mosque from
the main road during the day was not as impressive as the night view – which
was way too beautiful to be described in words. There was something very special
about the way the lights were placed in each monument in this city which added
to their beauty during night.
We continued to walk in and at the entrance, there was a lady
who checked my attire to ensure I was adhering to the rules of the mosque –
full sleeves shirt and head covered with a scarf or dupatta. Both the men & women had to
adhere to the dress code of the mosque to be able to enter and in case it was
not appropriate, they rented out the required attire at the entrance at a
minimal price. After the security check we proceeded forward into the mosque
and were welcomed with water fountains at multiple places, a variety of
colorful flowers and a lot of greenery. We first sighted the woman’s prayer
room and under the impression that Tom will not be allowed in we skipped that
to go see the rest of the mosque. We continued to walk inside a pathway which
was like a square corridor around the main prayer hall of the mosque. All the pillars
here were beautifully decorated with various Islamic mosaics. At one end of this corridor was a staircase of
about 20 stairs. We climbed up and got a better view of the entire structure.
Next, we walked into the men’s prayer room – which was open to everyone during
the visiting hours only. The men’s prayer room is very well known for its huge
central chandelier and when we entered we knew exactly why it so famous.
It was
huge, very well-lit and was simply stunning. There were couple of other chandeliers
as well and the entire set up added to the majestic look of the prayer room. We
were asked to leave our shoes outside the prayer room and while doing so I
noticed a board which had a few instructions to be followed inside including -
children under the age of 10 are not allowed. We saw many Holy Qurans placed
inside wall niches in the men’s prayer room. While we walked from here we
realized that Tom should be allowed in the Women’s prayer room and hence we
went there next. This was a smaller room and less majestic as compared to the
men’s prayer room but was also made with a lot eye catching intricate designs.
Both these prayer rooms had a very peaceful and calming effect in which we
dwelled as we left from the mosque.
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| The Royal Opera House - view at night |
Our next plan for the day was the best part of the trip –
Snorkeling in Bandar Khayran (a coastal town in northeastern Oman). At 11.15 AM
we had a representative from Sidab sea tours waiting for us at the hotel lobby.
We drove through the beautiful city with a lot excitement and reached the spot
by 11:45 AM where we were to board our speedboats. We were asked to wait for 15
minutes for the others to join us. While we were waiting we enquired about the
scuba diving courses PADI offered and the prices for each of them. After a few
minutes we got into the boat with 4 other people (one couple from France and
another from Austria). We spoke for a short while before the boat took off and
once we started the journey each one of us just enjoyed the ride and were
filled with a lot of excitement.
While on the boat, we had water splashing on
us slightly as the boat drove through the high currents in the sea. Every time
the boat did a small jump all of us would unanimously shout out of joy and
laugh out loud. It was a wonderful journey and I enjoyed every bit of it. We
reached a sea shore for snorkeling and our driver handed the equipment to us. We all jumped in with the equipment on and
since this was the first time for Tom I was hoping he enjoys this experience.
As soon as I jumped in a sense of serenity embraced me. After a few seconds of
adjusting my mask I was lost in watching the corals & fish and even playing
with them by swimming in their direction. It felt like we were playing hide and
seek, and I enjoyed this game for the entire time I was underwater. I loved the
freedom of swimming in any direction I wished to. We enjoyed 45 minutes of
snorkeling with the most beautiful & colorful coral reefs and fish, after
which we headed back to the speedboat. The speed boat had a tiny changing room
and our driver offered us apples, cake, water and soft drinks as we started our
return journey on the boat. Again, just like scuba diving this was a beautiful
experience which filled me with an ultimate sense of calmness, joy and bliss. On our return journey everyone was so
overwhelmed with joy that we did not talk a word but chose to linger over the
experience we had just got. We reached the shore, waved good byes to everyone
on the boat and walked towards the van that was going to drop us at our hotel.
Throughout this entire journey of 3 hours I had no control on my smile and it
just wouldn’t stop even for a moment 😊
The coming week was our last week here and we had a couple
of milestones to complete at work before we left for Bangalore. Everything was
executed as per our schedule and we were ready to wrap up by Thursday. We had a
couple of meetings planned with different stake holders here during the week
and most of our time was utilized in preparing for these meetings. Few evenings
we went out with our colleagues in Oman who offered to take us to different places
like Ruwi street (a busy street for shopping) and many others, which ended with
dinner at well-known places for local food.
Thursday evening, it was finally time to bid good bye to the
wonderful team here and thank them for the time and effort they put in during
these 3 weeks just to ensure that we enjoy each moment of our stay in Oman. We
packed some dates to take back home and by 4 PM we started from office. The
entire team came to see us off and before we started we clicked a few selfies
to carry the mesmerizing memories back with us. We waved good byes to everyone
and started towards our hotel. I enjoyed my last day of stay in the hotel by
relaxing and lazing around with a little of packing to get ready to leave by
1:30 AM to airport. Our flight to Bangalore was scheduled to depart at 4:20 AM
and that pretty much meant no sleep night 😉
While we were on the airplane I had a whole list of all the
wonderful places we visited, the beautiful people we met, the enchanting
monuments we saw and the most delightful combination of nature (water and
mountains) we were amidst for these 20 days, running endlessly in my head. I
was filled with gratitude and couldn’t be more thankful to all the people for
the all that they did for us. We had a huge bag of clothes & chocolates,
but had a much bigger bag of the most beautiful memories of Muscat 😊
Things to do in Muscat ( Since I was on an official trip, this is not a comprehensive list, but will still list out a few)
1. Get an international driving license and drive around the city to experience the best of Oman - Abundance of nature - Mountains, Valleys, and Sea all around you. Hiring a self - driven car is much more economical than taking cabs.
2. Visit Bandar Khayran and Daymaniyat Islands for scuba diving and snorkeling (Swimming is not a mandate). Sidab sea tours arranged this very well for us, with pick up and drop facilities from the hotel.
3. Definitely try the local cuisine - humus and pita, falafel rolls, fatayers, shawarmas and all the non-vegetarian local dish (for all the non-vegetarians - Omanis local food is a feast)
4. Camp overnight in the desert (Dunes by Al Nahada) to enjoy the ultimate experience of being in a dessert. Also try quad biking in the desert.
5. Drive around the city and stop by the beaches - Al Quram beach was a pleasant one
6. Take a walk inside Matrah Souk to enjoy the local culture
7. Visit the Grand Mosque ( Sultan Qabos Grand Mosque) and Royal Opera House and get mesmerized by the beautiful architecture and art work all around these majestic monuments
8. Talk to the Omanis and enjoy spending time with them as they are one of most beautiful people at heart and extremely welcoming.
9. Many places will offer you local tea and dates - go for it without a thought and also bring home the yummiest dates with you.
Things to do in Muscat ( Since I was on an official trip, this is not a comprehensive list, but will still list out a few)
1. Get an international driving license and drive around the city to experience the best of Oman - Abundance of nature - Mountains, Valleys, and Sea all around you. Hiring a self - driven car is much more economical than taking cabs.
2. Visit Bandar Khayran and Daymaniyat Islands for scuba diving and snorkeling (Swimming is not a mandate). Sidab sea tours arranged this very well for us, with pick up and drop facilities from the hotel.
3. Definitely try the local cuisine - humus and pita, falafel rolls, fatayers, shawarmas and all the non-vegetarian local dish (for all the non-vegetarians - Omanis local food is a feast)
4. Camp overnight in the desert (Dunes by Al Nahada) to enjoy the ultimate experience of being in a dessert. Also try quad biking in the desert.
5. Drive around the city and stop by the beaches - Al Quram beach was a pleasant one
6. Take a walk inside Matrah Souk to enjoy the local culture
7. Visit the Grand Mosque ( Sultan Qabos Grand Mosque) and Royal Opera House and get mesmerized by the beautiful architecture and art work all around these majestic monuments
8. Talk to the Omanis and enjoy spending time with them as they are one of most beautiful people at heart and extremely welcoming.
9. Many places will offer you local tea and dates - go for it without a thought and also bring home the yummiest dates with you.
