The flight to Oman was long, over seven hours. We drove through Muscat in the dark and could only sense the barren mountains before entering the gate to our hotel. We enjoyed a midnight meal before finally climbing into bed after one o'clock in the morning. We were ten hours ahead of central time and feeling the combination of our hectic schedule and jet lag. Thankfully, we scheduled a relaxed and restful day. We visited the suq in the old part of Muscat, one of the Sultan's palaces and, a museum. The suq is a one stop shop, clothes, groceries, the all important frankincense (the smell of burning frankincense permeates the city) gold and, tourist junk. It turns out that Paula is a good haggler.
The Sultan's palace is a good example of the contrast between the old and new throughout Muscat. The beautifully landscaped Palace is flanked on both sides by sixteenth century fortresses. It seems that structures are sixteenth century or, less than ten years, nothing in between.
We visited the National museum but snuck out and returned to the beautiful hotel for lunch and a two hour nap on the beach.
The weather was ideal for a nap, warm sun with a cool, ocean breeze. We awoke in time to shower and dress for a wonderful traditional Omani supper.
While our visit was short, we had many open conversations with a number of Omanis. The people are friendly, open, and warm.
We are currently in route to Palau after visiting Nepal and Bhutan: wonderful people and places. I will start on those blogs post haste.
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Location:Somewhere Over the South Pacific
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