Road Rules

" When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

-Yogi Berra (1925-)

- Oman's interior region is painfully lacking in towns. This sign gives all the info needed.

Apologies for our lack of “blogging” of late. Our school year has just come to a close, good friends have moved on and we are currently preparing for the summer. As well, we went to a Proclaimers concert (which we treated as if they were U2), attended Oman's World Cup qualifying games vs Japan (very sweaty) and made another trip to Dubai (for winter clothes!).

Amidst all of this movement, the temperatures have continued to reach mercury levels we are both unfamiliar with and our heads have begun to spin. Before everyone journeys out on the road for your summer vacation we wanted to explain the road here in Oman.

Oman’s roads are a new addition to the country. As recently as 1970 the country had one paved road running from the Palace to the airport (at least those are the rumours). With relatively inexpensive gas and a population that appears to enjoy owning vehicles new roads are being built by the minute.

This blog is mainly dedicated to an aspect of roads that few in North America are familiar with – the Roundabout. Functionally speaking, they are designed to slow traffic at converging points and allow vehicles to flow in and out of these points with little inconvenience. Realistically, they are the points where traffic races into and out of playing multiple games of chicken and expressing our undying love for our fellow travellers in several hand gestures.

Here in Oman the Roundabout is also used as an avenue for civic pride. The middle of the Roundabouts are decorated with giant books, fountains, etc. Some of the best are included in this blog. Enjoy and be safe on the road this summer.

-Nothing like a giant, glowing lump of Frankincense to say "turn left". Ruwi.

- Anyone got the time? Salalah.

- Sadly, no Mad magazines in the pile at the Book Roundabout. Nizwa.

- Coolest Roundabout. Fort,clock,cultural painting combination. Bravo Nizwa exit. Seeb.

Golden Jugs. Very popular photo op. Muttrah.

- Re-creation of Sinbads boat. High points for creativity. Near Al Bustan Palace, Old Muscat.

We are off to Africa next week and will try to blog while travelling. If not, have a great summer where you are and we'll be back in August.

Searching for new treasures

"Goonies never say die!"
-Mikey (Goonies character, 1985)

We have just completed our first week of days all over 40 degrees. It has inspired us to hide in the air-conditioned house today and finally get out this overdue blog.

Since our last post I have returned from another trip to Cairo. This time it was with our track team that went to the regional meet to compete against teams from Africa, Southern Europe, and the Middle East. The team did extremely well and it was a great time meeting people from all over the region.

Since returning to Muscat we have tackled a couple of things on our "to do" list. Wadi Shab is an exceptional wadi a few hours down the east coast of Oman. We have heard numerous accounts of its beauty prior to Cyclone Gonu of last summer. Since we can't vouch for the stories from the past we headed down to find out the present day state.

Navigating the drive down the coast is easy - ocean to your left and a wall of mountains to your right. Funneling down the coast, just before the town of Tiwi, the mountains break and Wadi Shab bursts through the mountain wall and displays its palm fringed floor and tourquise waters. A breathtaking site that we understand was even more phenominal before the storm. We parked the car and hiked in.

We trekked on the wadi floor, with the towering rock walls straight up on either side. Starting in sand and through palm trees, the journey continous over barren rock and around pools of spring water. The rocks get more and more important as water greets you on all sides. As the water gets deeper and deeper it became obvious we needed to dump our bags and swim on. Finally, our dog paddling got us to "the key hole" - a tiny opening in the rocks just big enough for the top of your head. Struggling through this dark, "aqua tunnel" we emerged into a huge cave complete with plunging water falls. It felt straight out of the Goonies. Only One Eyed Willie's pirate ship was missing and of course Sloth, swinging down saying 'heeey you guuuuys'. That woulda been cool.

As we hiked out of the wadi we realized that you sometimes forget where you are in the world. We passed two gentlemen and exchange pleasentries without raising an eyebrow, before realizing they were walking their donkeys, carrying their rifles and probably wondering why we were dressed so funny. What a great place.

Closer to our home here we also wanted to check out the The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. We pass it at least twice a day since its right next to our house on the way to work. The Mosque is said to be one of the finest in the Gulf and the Sultan went all out, including the worlds largest handmade carpet. What the Great Wall of China is to "Greatness", the Grand Mosque is to "Grandness". Sparing you the numerous impressive details the 416,000 square meter complex can house 20,000 worshippers at a time. None of which would leave saying, "good golly, if they had just spent a bit more on the marble floors this place really would be grand." Rest assured, its pretty grand.

We have been spending our evenings firming up our details for our summer vacation. We will be spending nearly 2 months in Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. We are very excited and already starting to count the days down.

We think of our friends and family often and wish you well in your corner of the world.

A smugglers paradise

"Solitude never hurt anyone. Emily Dickinson lived alone, and she wrote some of the most beautiful poetry the world has ever known... then went crazy as a loon."

- Lisa Simpson

The past few weeks have been filled with Tina spending all of our hard earned Rials on a shopping weekend to Dubai and me hiking and camping in the cool air of the mountains. This past week was our school's Spring Break ("spring" at 40 degrees?), and we set our sights on Oman's isolated northern region - Musandam.

Musandam is a strange piece of Oman as it sits totally detached from the country on the other side of the UAE, as the southern point of the Straight of Hormuz. Go ahead, get out an Atlas. It's there and it's strange. This unique geography has leant itself to a curious history and an isolated development. The rocky cliffs plunging into the sea create fjords and give this region the name of "Norway of Arabia". Very little blonde hair, no high taxes and a complete absence of cross country skiing-Biathletes may call this reference into question but the fjords are impressive.

Until only a few years ago the only way to reach these hardy people was by boat. Evidently, those wily Iranians have been motoring over on small boats (Iran is a mere 45 km away) and bringing illegal cigarettes with them. In exchange they return with a boat load of goats and the task of arriving home secretly. The smugglers are still around today and this "what trade?" exchange has appareantly been going on for many, many years. I guess things would really get complicated if the goats started smoking eh? The gig would surely be up then.

We spent our nights camping up in the hills in the interior of the area. The air was cooler there and the tiny villages we past on the vertiguous dirt road were facinating. Our first encounter with a scorpion prompted us to move sites our second night and we ended up in an Accacia forest. Our days were spent walking through villages, checking out the fort and taking a Dhow boat ride through the fjords. Several dolphins trailed our boat during the trip and we even had the 'privilege' of snorkelling with Jelly fish. We have safely determined that the sting of a jelly fish here is the same as at home. I'd be glad to tell you that I bravely pee'ed the sting off my own body but sadly I didn't have the stomach for that and merely waited out the pain. A good story was missed.

The interesting geography of the area, the multiple border crossings, the stunning scenary and the eclectic mix of individuals that made up the area combined for a memorable spring break. As a final note on the people of the land, the men are famous for carrying a "Jeerz" with them. In the rest of Oman, it is my understanding, that older distingushed gentlemen walk with a walking stick ("camel stick") that signals a certain status. Here in Musandam, the wooden end of the stick is replaced by a sharp medal axe head. It is for work, protection and "keeping kids in line". Classic. I have found a new addition to my teaching strategies.

The Frankincense trail

" Who do you think you are, the Queen of Sheba?"

-UK and Canadian saying, implying the person thinks that they are of great importance.

Since our last blog entry Tina and I have been tangling through the day to day events that keep us all “busy”. Finally we decided to take off with our friends Lucas and Tenielle and head south to the city of Salalah for our 4 day Easter weekend.

Along the northern coastline of Oman is where the vast majority of the population lives. The Muscat area contains the masses and the settlements trickle off in the either direction until you hit the UAE in the West or coast too rugged to settle in the East. South of Muscat there are the long, jagged Hajar mountains running from east to west slicing the country in half. Beyond this range is a desolate, unforgiving desert plateau that stretches for nearly 1000km until it plunges abruptly into the warm ocean at the southern tip of Oman. Where this plunge occurs is the site of the ancient city of Salalah.

Although many have never heard of Salalah it is famed as the alleged home of the Queen of Sheba, the bearer of Frankincense, among the most important trading cities in ancient Arabia, and host of one of the most important wars that nobody has heard of. Admitedly it may not have massive international appeal but it was enough to hook us.

To locals the main draw of the city is the summer monsoon season of constant rain bringing beautiful green hills and vegetation sorely lacking in the rest of the region. As much as we laughed at the idea of this “draw” it really was quit amazing to see vegetation, water and green again. As a side note ruining the serene setting by yelling "Canonball!! Everybody in!!" and plunging into the water, doesn't go over really well with the locals. Who knew?

The first day was spent exploring east of the town. We drove through secluded bays filled with white sand, tourquise water and dolphins chasing schools of fish. In one of these bays lies the site of the Queen of Sheba’s palace, where she controlled the sale of Frankincense in the south with King Solomon in the Holy Land to the north. We continued along weaving around countless wandering camels, passing through sleepy coastal villages, enjoying the green lushness of a flowing Wadi, and finally hiking over the large sand dunes and enjoying the clear ocean that awaited us on the other side. With the increase in traffic at a previously isolated spot I think the local fellas enjoyed us as well. In fact two low flying helicopters flew by as we swam. Everyone was very poilte just very interested. As much as it pains me to admit, I think neither Lucas nor I were of any interest at all.

The second day was spent journeying towards the Yemen border. Taking in Jobs tomb, Frankincense sites, active blowholes and beautiful scenery we forgot one important item. As we climbed through the mountainous coastline that leads to Yemen we became painfully aware of our low supply of gas and the complete lack of places to fill this need. After one Army checkpoint we had to head back as it was clear we’d be out of petrol quite literally in the “middle of nowhere”. Since it was illegal for us to cross at the border anyways, the only thing we missed was the chance to get turned away by a surely border guard. Another time.

Our final day was spent in the town itself and we filled our time walking through the fruit plantations, eating at huts, strolling along the beaches and through the frankincense laden markets. In the market they have a strange combination of frankincense stores, perfume stores, and gun paraphanalia stores. I guess you want to smell nice when you're shooting stuff.

It was in the market that a man bumped into Tina and he was wearing no shirt, a sarong, a large traditional knife on his waist and carried a rifle on his shoulder. Upon further review, he gets the right of way. Naturally, our Aussie mates pulled out their knives and said, "You call that a knife? This is a knife". (Ok, so Paul Hogan wasn't with us but it would have been great) We saw several old men carrying rifles with them around town and these are the Jebali men from the surrounding hills.

It was these men that fought for their independence from a British-backed Oman in the 1960’s and 1970’s. This began as a local fight but the rebels soon began being trained by the Russians and the Chinese Marxists of the time. Many theories abound but a well recognized theory is that the communists of the time wanted control of Oman through this battle so they could control the Straight of Hormuz. The Straight of course, is the mouth into the Persian Gulf. Speculation spins wildly from that point but it has been called a “crucial but forgotten conflict” of the cold war period. We four sun burnt tourists posed no such threat.

In the coming weeks we will enjoy our Spring break that may take us to the Nothern point of Oman, Musandam.

Hope everyone had a nice Easter break and that spring has "sprung" for you wherever you are.

In the desert, the mighty desert…

For all the toll the desert takes of a man it gives compensations, deep breaths, deep sleep, and the communion of the stars.
-Mary Austin

Since you have last seen me I have become a desert expert… or least I should be. In December, I finally got to run up and down and roll around giant sand dunes when we traveled to Wadi Rum, Jordan. This is something I had wanted to do since I can remember, maybe not advisable with the hard contact lens I wear but I nonetheless loved it! Now under my belt are several other journeys to the dunes in Oman known as the Wahiba Sands or Sharquia Desert including both Joel and my parent’s visits.

My true desert experience though came along due to the fact that the High School was short on female chaperones for its annual ‘Discover Oman’ four day field trip week. I, temporarily forgetting my ‘immense’ fear of teenagers, eagerly agreed! The trip I agreed to chaperone along with one other male teacher was known in the High School as the ‘camel trek’ and was the most popular trip to go on!


We set out the morning after Joel’s parents left. We drove about 45 minutes by 4X4 into the sands (about 2.5 hours from Muscat) when we came upon our ten camels and 3 guides awaiting us and there we were quite literally dropped off the middle of the desert. (The 4X4’s were gone before we could say … ’I change my mind…’).



The first part of the trek (where ½ the kids rode camels and then they alternated mid-way) was 6 km to our night’s first camp. To say I think camels are one of the most interesting animals to photograph and watch is an understatement (ask Joel – we still stop on the highway every time we see one); traveling with us was also two young camels (~1 yo) that walked along beside their moms. Camels make the most unreplicatable noises and their lower lips bounce up and down as they walk.



I learned how to read the dunes to tell where the sand was a bit crustier so I wouldn’t sink too far in. It really is an art to walking in the desert; I wore my running shoes the whole time and am still removing sand from them! However others preferred to walk in their socks or bare feet.




Our first night we set up Bedouin tents to protect us from the chilly desert air (~ 3 degrees Celsius at night) on the top of one of the 32 major dunes that travel north/south and span what is the Wahiba Sands. (Check it out on Google Earth – it’s amazing to see from above!) Our food and tents were brought to our camps by trucks and the camels slept several meters away on the other side of the dunes from us, their Bedouin caretakers by the fire.


The next three days we trekked up and down three of the major dunes (~ 25 km) and stayed the second night in one of our Bedouin guides camps (he and his extended family live in ~ 3 huts year round). The treks up the dunes were tiresome and you feel the sun beating on you, but the excitement of reaching the top of a dune to see what awaited you on the other side kept you going. Once on the top of a dune, you could cool yourself by running down the other side and letting the wind air you out!






At nights, we listened to Bedouin music by the guides, made Arabic bread in the fire (similar to making Bannock) and of course told ghost stories. The good thing about doing so much walking in the sun was that the kids were usually so tired that this shy, soft spoken chaperone didn’t have to tell anyone to be quiet or worse ‘Get out of the Boys Tent! They were great; everyone was super at drinking plenty of water and applying lots of sunscreen!




Every evening from ~ 5- 6 PM just before the sunset the students wrote in their journals and I had some time to sit on my own dune and reflect on how enjoyable Joel’s and my life here in Oman is and imagine how we made it here and how far away it seemed from where we were last year! It was also a great time to take photos. One truly can never have enough dune and camel shots and these moments are my favorite from the trip.





About a week after Joel and I returned from our respective Discover Oman trips, my parents came over from Kelowna. It was fun to show my parents around a lot of the places we love here in Oman. Unfortunately, their visit coincided with Joel having to be away in Cairo, Egypt for a sports event and so my parents only had me as their guide! But thanks to their visit, I am now finally confident enough to brave the Omani highways and roads, something I had only done a handful of times since arriving here (usually to get myself to the mall to shop!).














We had a few days in Muscat with Joel and then we took off down the coastal road where we stopped for a picnic lunch (after unsuccessfully trying to find the “sinkhole”). We saw some of the devastation along this road caused by last June’s cyclone, ‘Gonu’ and how they are slowly repairing things.

Our destination was the 1000 Night’s Desert Camp where we had gone with Joel’s parents which is about 30 minutes into the Wahiba sands. My dad took the reins as I was too chicken to drive in the sand and let’s just say we only had to get the KIA ‘unstuck’ once with the help of a Bedouin man driving by who got the car out by deflating the tires to increase traction. We all had to sigh and say ‘this is fun!’

The next day we drove from the desert to the town of Nizwa where we went to the 7:00 AM Friday morning Goat market which was bustling with even more activity than when we had been there before. My dad estimated about 300 people milling around and about an equal number of goats, cows and bulls.

My parents and I traveled to a few forts before embarking on what Joel and I have dubbed the ‘up and over’ which is a 4X4 trip that literally take you up and over the Western Hajar mountain range (2500 M high). The south side is steep but paved and the north side is not paved and contains many switchbacks. My dad once again drove and navigated us down the road through several mountain villages with date palms and canyons ending in a dry river bed known as Wadi Bani Auf. The trip was reminiscent of the drive we had to take to get to Tembagapura (where my parents lived in Indonesia).

It was wonderful to have my parents here if even it was for a short time! It was hard to see them off! My parents were off to Portugal next for some golfing! Sorry for the length, I have trouble sitting down to write these and it was definitely my turn!

Familiar faces

"Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future. We make discoveries about ourselves."

-Gail Lumet Buckley


Shortly after returning from Syria my parents came for a 10 day visit. It’s been 6 months since we were last in Canada and it was fantastic to see them again.



The first few days were spent getting over their jet lag and re-enacting Christmas dinner here. Under the fine leadership of Tina and help from my mom “Christmas” was fantastic. After that it was time to take off to various areas of the country.



We first ventured into the interior to Nizwa, the former capital of Oman. Very early on Friday morning, after a night’s stay complete with ants, we met Bedouin from the region who were converging on a small goat market. Here they swap livestock in an extremely lively bartering session – goats, camels, cattle, etc are all paraded around and auctioned off. It’s a truly unique atmosphere. In fact, I got so caught up in it I traded Tina for 17 goats. Afterwards we headed to some of the Gulfs finest forts and castles, and wandered through a walled village known to be the home of “spirits”.









































Following a few days on the beaches surrounding Muscat we headed off to camp in the Wahiba Sands desert. Driving through the red sand dunes for 40 km we hit our camp for the weekend. A few hikes up the dunes and some failed “crazy carpet” attempts later we shook the sand from our nether regions and departed. On our way back we drove beside a young Bedouin boy running his camel. He was equally as interested in us and for a brief moment I considered his offer to trade camel for car. Having doubts about my earlier trade of Tina for goats I passed.





After a short 10 days my parents were off for Jordan and Egypt. It was great having them here and we only wished they could have been here longer.


In a few days Tina's parents will be making their Middle Eastern debut. We are really looking forward to their stay.



On our next blog we will detail Tina’s 4 day trek through the desert with camels.

Yalla Syria!

"We, in Syria, our point of view stems from our experience".

-Bashar al-Assad (President of Syria)

As we prepared for this trip and told people we’d be traveling to Syria we got two very different responses. Those that have been there told us how much they wish they could return. Those that hadn’t asked, “Why”?!? If, for nothing else our anticipation was peaked by the unknown. Leaving Jordan we wondered what the next few weeks would have for us. (Tina for the most part was wondering if there would be heat in the rooms or hot water?

Crossing the border from Jordan by bus immediately brought us back to the time we spent in Russia. At the border the toilets were filled with large women washing their stockings in the sinks, the men smoking like chimneys and the border guards sorting through stack and stacks of old passports. We crossed the border behind a truck that the guards revealed to be carrying loads of people under canvass sheets. As they got waved through we were fairly sure that we too could enter.

On New Years Eve we arrived in the Old city in Damascus. The city lays claim to being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. It is a center of Islamic culture and a wonderfully charming location. We spent the next few days wandering through the walled town and soaking in the thick atmosphere of the old souk. It had been a very long time since I felt that a city had such an incredible air about it. But Damascus truly is special. After a relatively sober New Years we pushed on to the interior and the desert ruins of Palmyra.

Palmyra is an ancient ruined city that was the major site of Roman influence in the region. At one point the female leader turned on Rome and defeated the empire’s armies several times before the Emperor himself was forced to drive her from the city. There are very few tourists and you walk onto the site for free and can wander around as you like. The atmosphere is remarkable as you stand in the desert at the edge of the palm fringed oasis (hence the name “Palmyra”). It really had the feel of a far flung Roman outpost. We were tempted to head north east to the sparsely populated region dominated by the Kurds but as time was an issue we turned instead to the interior city of Hama.

Hama is well known through the Middle East as many claim that the moaning sounds of the wooden wheels echo through the region. The wheels are used to help scoop water from a painfully low river to the irrigation system above. The city is also well known for being destroyed in the 80’s by the government troops for sympathizing with rebel groups. We trudged into town in the pouring rain, slightly lost and getting cold. Thankfully we found our way and in the next few days enjoyed the town and a trip through the rolling country side that included an Ismaili castle and a giant castle the Crusaders left behind. Having played “hide and seek” for hours we carried on to our final stop, Aleppo.

Aleppo remains a more traditional city and the souk (market) is still alive with day to day shoppers. The atmosphere of the covered souk is unreal. We strolled by stores selling meat from a camel carcass, intricate rugs, thick incense, gold, silver, and all items of daily use. Brilliant.

Leaving Syria we felt that the sites of Jordan were very impressive but that the atmosphere of Syria and the kindness of the Syrian people was truly special. It was not uncommon for one of to hear a passerby murmur a ‘Welcome’ that only could have been directed to us. Our journey to another section of the Middle East has increased our knowledge and understanding of many of the people of the area. No longer I feel, will we solely associate these wonderful areas and peoples with the newspaper headlines they have come to be ‘known’ by. We were tired and cold but immensely impressed with both counties as we headed back to Oman and life in Muscat.

As we missed a New Years edition blog entry, we’d like to wish you all a very Happy New Year.