Onward…to Oman

Last November, I (Ethan Stranger) took a trip to Muscat, the capital of the Arabian country of Oman for the Thanksgiving break,  (Check out the inside of the Hotel I stay at, Picture: Bottom Left Corner, pretty fancy, huh, also here’s the backside of the Hotel (Picture: Bottom Right Corner). Fancy too, huh?

Upon arriving in Oman and settling down after arriving at our hotel, we got a chance to view the city of Oman (Pictures: Bottom Center), I admire its peacefulness and beautiful views, it remained me during my time in Doha, Qatar, and Dubai (read more about that in my “Navigating Nepal” Post)

 

One of the most fun things I got to do while in Oman was going out to sea (Pictures: Bottom Center), what was supposed to be a dolphin tour (did see some, but they didn’t do a lot of jumping out of the water like dolphins should do, plus the pics didn’t turn out that great), thus it just turned into a regular boat ride until we found the perfect place to go snorkeling, managed to see some sea turtles, a parrotfish, huge beds of sea urchins and when it was all done, I remember the boat guy handing us granola bars and My Mom and I would give some to the fishes in the sea (turns out fish love granola, so I’ll remember when going fishing in Juneau, to use for better fishing bait). Upon returning, I spotted this Pufferfish off the harbor bay…   

The citizens of Oman should consider giving their country nicknamed “Goat Country”, as no matter what we drove around, there were millions of goats everywhere (Pictures: Bottom Center), I was hoping to see some of the wildlife that lived within the mountains and deserts of Oman (Like “Cape Hyraxs, Arabian gazelles, Oryxs or Ibxes”), even while snorkeling, I was hoping to see a Dugong within the sea, but no luck there, thus the only speculator wildlife of Oman I managed to witness was just under the sea, I mean, if My folks and I stayed a bit longer than the usual Thanksgiving break, then maybe we could’ve explored other parts of Oman and then from there, could’ve spotted more wildlife of Oman (but it’s fine, who know if there will be a next time), thoug highly doubt it (trips like these are like one of those “once in a lifetime opportunity kind of a deals”), similar to my trip to the Galapagos (but that’s another story).   

There were a few other animals (like some Donkeys and this Camel, Pictures: Bottom Center), but this was all taken at a local ranch (the camel was at least, but the donkey were as loose as the goats). 

Other enjoyable moments of this trip were walking alongside the coastal beachside (not far from our Hotel), to the right is where the crowds were usually, but over on the left side, it was an enjoyable walk, spotted some tiny crabs, this bizarre-looking baby Pufferfish (it looked almost fake to me, as the eyes looked like google-eyes, you decide), spotted the usually shorebirds and as we walked further down,  I remember seeing some fishermen from a nearby village who used only a string of fishing line (no fishing pole) to do there fishing. I always enjoy walking along the coast, probably because where my Grandparents used to live in Juneau, I enjoyed walking to the end of the road where I got a good view of the seaside, where I would skip rocks and spit seals poking their heads out of the water or just enjoy walking for fun, the coast is a great place to get some rest from all of the stress I’ve been through.

(Click to enjoy the relaxing theme of “A Summer Place”)

On Thanksgiving Day instead of a Turkey, I had some delicious Seafood Pizza (Picture: 

(and now for some tunes to go with the rest of my Oman Pics) 

Our last day in Oman had an interested surprised not from our Hotel itself, 

As it involved these fishermen (Picture: Bottom Center), how often do stay at a Hotel near the beach and find fishermen fishing over there and you would not believe what they’ve caught.. 

Besides your avenge fish, these fishermen hit the jackpot with their catch of the day (Pictures: Below), for not only they caught fish, but they managed to capture a Pufferfish (Pretty sure they let that fella go, as Pufferfish are too risky to eat) and a ton of stingrays (not sure if you can eat them, I wouldn’t wanna risk it), I’ll never forget seeing this Black Cat (whom I nicknamed “Quicksand”), due to her shy nature, she couldn’t sneak a fish from the fishermen, so out of the act of kindness, I gave Quicksand a Fish’s head, in which she ran off with before hiding in the bushes (to scare to come out on her wn to get more fish), thus I brought Quicksand a little fish (I’m sure the fishermen don’t care much for the small fry they’ve caught)  

In conclusion, I actually had a good time in Oman, it was very different from my time in both Dubai and Doha, Qatar (despite both places being located within a desert, and yet people are able to find a way to thrive). Had I spent a bit more time in Oman, I could’ve explored this country (maybe even some of the wildlife that is found mostly in the mountains), plus the Hotel was nice (though I had to share a room with Mom’s parents, yeah they were on the trip), while on the way back, My Mom’s Dad has a problem with his leg, so we were to cut in line when we were at the airport heading back to Hyderabad (lucky save, for I hate waiting in lines).   

I highly doubt there will be a next time I visit Oman, so I guess I feel lucky in visiting countries that not many have the chance to go visit, but only time will tell if I do return, Highly doubt “Quicksand the Cat” will be waiting for me if I do return… 

(Ethan Stranger and Nautro Sign off) Cue Music: