Oman Wrap-up

The Great : Where do I start :

• Mohammed;
• Mohammed’s family;
• Snorkeling with Faisal;
• Sleeping under the stars in the desert;
• Trekking and swimming in the fabulous wadis;
• Omani hospitality;
• Omani generosity;
• Omani arts and crafts and Omani gold and silver;
• And finally, Mohammed again.

The Hidden : The whole country is hidden. Really. There are only a handful of tourists who visit the country every year, and the vast majority come from Dubai and only stay in Oman for a few days. Unbelievably hidden.

The Overrated : Castles and forts in Oman. You should certainly visit a few of them, but we found castles and forts in Oman to be quite austere in comparison with their European counterparts. Don’t expect richly ornate castles or you’ll be disappointed.

The Ugly : The scourge of developing nations, plastic. Muscat is very clean but in small-town Oman, plastic bags and plastic bottles are everywhere. Goats become ill from chewing and swallowing all this plastic. The government is aware of the problem, and awareness campaigns are underway. Finally.

Other observations :

• Oman is covered with ancient ruins. An unexpected detour can take a whole cultural twist.
• There are at least a dozen different types of mangoes available for sale in Oman. They come mostly from three countries: Oman, India, and Pakistan. We had a mango tasting session, and I can tell you that not all mangoes are created equal!
  
• When you visit Oman, you’ll have to adapt to the Omani time schedule. And the Omani time schedule says that nothing should be opened between noon and 5 PM. So you may not want to take a break while sightseeing but you’ll have to take one anyway. Why? Because life literally grinds to a halt: all shops close down and streets become deserted. Small villages become eerie, almost like ghost towns. The though part is finding what to do during these 4-5 very long hours. Ideally you want to flee the very hot temperatures but air conditioned shops are closed down. As I said it can be very hard to entertain yourself during Oman’s brutally hot afternoons.