I’m getting really slow at keeping this blog updated. Our omani experience happened in November last year (2023), and I couldn’t find the time to post this story earlier. Again this was a country, from which one we did hear many stories, but we had absolutely no clue what to expect.
As for ourselves, I think it was the first time where we could really feel the deep presence of the muslim religion. We’ve been to Turkey, Morocco, UAE, Malaysia, … where we would get in touch with the mentioned religion, however in Oman, everything felt stricter, and it was even harder to get in touch with people in the street, especially with women.
It was an eye-opening trip, with positive experiences, but also less pleasant memories.
First steps in Oman. What have we got ourselves into?
I remember our first hour in the country. Landing at the airport, and heading towards the immigration office. Vanessa and I, we remembered passing through Muscat’s Airport before. But we had no clue what to expect.
As we were standing in a waiting zone (there were 3 different zones), we were the only Caucasian people. Most of the women were covering their face, and we got lots of curious looks. As we passed through the border officer’s check, we noticed that they weren’t joking around, questions were strict and on point, and somehow my girlfriend had issues with the fingerprint device, and the officer started to get nervous. We definitely felt like aliens in Oman within the first minutes.
As we were heading to the rental car company. Only limited communication, no smile. The guy couldn’t find the car keys, and we already regretted booking our car through SIXT, as it felt like additional costs (scam) would occur through out our stay in Oman.
After checking the car for scratches, we left the airport in the small crappy car. Just outside the airport, was a police check. I lowered the windows, gave the officer a smile, … an akward moment of silence, the officer wouldn’t talk. So I asked him “Can we drive?”, which seemed like an unexpected question for him, as he smiled back, gave me a nod.
As we were leaving the airport zone, towards the city center, we were driving on several highways, deserted at night. No cars. However hundreds of speeding cameras. Gosh! Lots of controls, in that country. At night obviously nothing seemed nice. We didn’t see any colors, only the flashing neon lights of closed shops. It could just get any better!
Our first day in Oman.
Our hotel was a little bit outside of the city center. It took us 20-30 minutes to reach Muscat’s center by car. The hotel was posh, offered good service, and all the employees (80% of them were from Bangladesh) were super friendly and helpful. The only downside was the distance from the center, or maybe that we had a shitty car (a tiny Suzuki car, with a bad AC).
Next to our hotel, was a shopping mall, which we visited on our first day, as we were looking for a lunch place. We read online, that we should respect the dress code in Oman (especially women). So I went shopping for long pants, as I noticed that absolutely nobody was wearing shorts in that area of the city. Most women were wearing a face cover. It felt like we were the only “white” tourists in the neighborhood.
I gotta mention though, that during our first hours, where everything seemed strange, new, different, … we had absolutely no issues with the locals. They were all super friendly, even though there was almost no contact with the Omanis, the shopkeepers, or restaurant businesses, were showing their most welcoming faces.
Food was excellent! Obviously, most restaurants, were Arabic oriented: Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, and Indian, … lots of spices, biryanis, humus, falafel. Just amazing!
Mutrah Corniche
The Mutrah Corniche was the main attraction, we knew about Muscat. It’s the first photo or sight you see on Google’s photos, once you start searching for “Oman”. And indeed it’s a beautiful boardwalk along the shore, surrounded by white buildings, mosques, and many locals.
The souk was less pleasant, as we were the main target for countless salesmen, waiting to do some business with all kind of local crafts. The usual hassle, once you step inside a bazaar.
Nice to see, but not enjoyable. The shops along the mainstreet weren’t very inviting either. We were wandering around town, during mid-day, apparently, it’s more lively at night.
Mutrah was nice to see, but we had higher expectations. The road to get there was kind of more spectacular than the village itself.
On the way to Mutrah or driving back to Muscat, you can stop by the Yiti viewpoint. The view is worth the stop.
Nizwa.
On our second day, we visited Nizwa. On the way to Nizwaa, we had a stop at Birkat Al Mauz. Birkat was ok, it had the feel of everything you’d expect of an Omani village. The village is surrounded by palm tree fields, and there’s a part of the village, where you can visit the ruins of clay houses. There’s a lovely coffee house right next to the ruins. The spot offers some lovely backgrounds for photos.
It takes a couple of hours to make it to Nizwa. On the road, you won’t witness too many tourist sights. It’s a lot of desert obviously. And you will meet hundreds of speeding cameras on the highway, so you gotta respect the speeding limit. As already mentioned, we weren’t driving a fancy car, so it was tiring to make it to Nizwa.
After we arrived in Nizwa, we figured out, that there wasn’t that much to do. The fort is definitely photogenic, I guess it’s the spot where most tourists want to take some photos. The bazaar is also much nicer than the one in Mutrah. However driving 2 hours to Nizwa, actually felt like a 3 hour drive.
I guess making it a road trip journey in Oman and changing the hotels while you’re moving, would be the best choice. As distances are relatively long. So we were driving more than 4 hours, just to make it to Nizwa and driving back to the hotel in Muscat.
Muscat Center
We spent some evenings in our neighborhood around the hotel. It was a lot of strolling through the shopping malls and choosing one of the endless options for the right restaurant. However, there was no music in the street, not even Arabic music, where people would dance to, or enjoy their tea with music in the background.
We were missing the noises of western countries or other Asian countries, which were quite lively at night.
So we decided to take a taxi and drive to the well-known Tiki Bar called “Trader Vic’s”, it took us around 30 minutes to get there. They had a salsa band playing live music. The cocktails were great. At least we had the feeling of being “on holidays” in the evening. Food, drinks & music.
The next day, we explored that area of Muscat during the day. It was our favorite spot, as there was a nearby beach, where could watch some tourists having a bath in the ocean, the locals weren’t dressed in traditional clothes, everything seemed more laid back. But still very quiet for a capital.
Royal Opera & Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.
The two most astonishing buildings were the Royal Opera and the Grand Mosque. You have to check the Grand Mosque's opening hours online, as they close it for Muslims at a given time. If I remember correctly, it was only open to tourists in the morning. It is definitely a must-see while in Muscat.
The Royal Opera and its main plaza in front of the building, are truly beautiful, especially during golden hour.
Both places are the most photogenic spots in Muscat in my opinion.
A short visit to the emergency.
Our daughter felt sick during our first days in Muscat. We thought we could beat the sickness with some painkillers, but after two days, we noticed that the fever wouldn’t go away. So we decided to visit a doctor at a nearby hospital.
While waiting for the doctor, and filling out some paper forms, in a room packed with many patients waiting their turn, we expected the worst: long waiting hours, and the probability of getting a doctor, who wouldn’t understand English. But surprisingly, a patient wouldn’t stay longer than 5 minutes at the doctor’s cabinet. 30 minutes later, it was our turn, and the doctor helped our daughter, who was suffering a tonsils infection. The doctor’s visit, including the anti-biotics, cost less than 15$. We were relieved that she was feeling better after the first intake of medications.
A night out in the desert.
A night in a desert camp, was most definitely the highlight of our trip. It was the first time that I ever experienced being surrounded only by sand dunes. As far as you could see, only sand. We stayed at the Alsarmadi Desert Camp. The manager and owner of the camp, called Said, was super welcoming, and made our stay unforgettable. Almost a year later, he visited us back home in Luxembourg, as he remembered that we were living in this tiny country. So on his way to Belgium, he decided to stop by for a coffee. Unforgettable as well! :)
After booking a night stay at the Alsarmandi Desert camp through Booking(dot)com, we instantly got a message with the details, how to proceed and how to get there. We exchanged phone numbers, and we were told by WhatsApp where to meet up, how long it would take, and any other useful information.
We drove towards the closest town of the desert, where we would meet Al Farouk, a young gentleman with a big smile, who took us to the camp with a 4WD-Jeep. The ride took about 15 minutes.
As our daughter was sick, it was a last-minute booking, and we arrived kind of later than expected. But everything went fine in the end. Arriving at the camp, we could feed baby goats, which was a lot of fun for Valentina, but also for ourselves. We had some time for ourselves, wandering around the tents (our home for a night), to take some impressive photos of the surroundings.
The tent where would sleep, was magnificient as well. It felt like being stuck in a desert fairy tale. Everything was super basic, but done and decorated with love. And I was impressed, that we had a private toilet for ourselves, outside of the tent.
We didn’t book any additional desert tours or activities, as we already arrived late, and knew we wouldn’t do any tiring things, as our daughter was still recovering. But she was doing just fine, and had a wonderful time in the desert as well.
In the evening, all the tourists would gather around a fire, baking some bread over a fire, being taught some local dance moves, and having a nice but basic dinner.
A pretty cool experience! Said and Al Farouk were the nicests Omani people we met during our whole trip in Oman, and because of them, we thought that there would still be a lot to discover in a country, where you kind of gotta dig to find the hidden gems.
Oman isn’t a country I’d visit every year. There’s still a big difference in culture, and behavior, from where we come from. We gotta pay attention to how to act, how to dress up, and how to communicate with people. Some of the fully covered religious women aren’t allowed to talk to male strangers, and men mostly started a conversation with me, instead of my partner. What I was mostly missing was the festive and entertaining vibe at night. We did enjoy the vibe at the desert camp though.
At the supermarket, for example, sometimes it was funny but also nice to see that the younger generation wearing a burka (fully dressed with a face cover) complimented my tattoos. Men and women. I guess they kind of know and see online what’s going on in other parts of the world. And by giving compliments, they show their appreciation for something that isn’t common in their own country.
Most of the Omani people we met were always super respectful, which makes it a recommendable place for traveling.
Thanks to Said, I think we gotta turn back one more time. It was an eye-opening experience, and despite a couple of annoying things, it still remained a great trip in the end.
Check out my photo gallery of Oman. The photos speak for themselves.