Going Back

Ok...going back for my 3rd year on Saturday. My son Steven and his fiancee (Candice) are joining me the following day for a holiday. Will try to add information every week as I have been roundly bollocked for not keeping it up! Got new camera as well so will be adding more photos and as my son has got an underwater camera shall be adding pictures from me diving (passed my advance a few months ago). So come on back and see what i write. If you have any questions please feel free to send them through the comments section. Look forward to hearing from you!

End of First Year!

Yes I know…I’ve been a bit slack but in my defense it has been exam time and as I have been the only ICT teacher left standing since we got back from our ‘Easter’ break you can see that I may have been very busy.

So let’s recap (in no particular order):
Mellissa came out to see me and we got around and seen quite a lot of Muscat. She arrived on the Tuesday evening (day before we broke up for Easter) just after it had been raining! In fact we had had some quite stormy weather for a few days previous. The temperature had gone right done to about 75F (23C) but that was during the night! Anyway got her settled in then we started touring, did the usual things, The Grand Mosque, Al Seefa Beach, Mutrah Souk and promenade, Muscat Old Town and Sultan’s palace, Shati Beach (which we went back to a few times as Mel liked it) Al Sawadi Beach, Nizwa Fort and souk, Rustaq Fort and the National Park etc,. Melissa took a few photos (about 2300) and you can see many of them on Facebook. Heat got to her after a couple of days so we slowed everything right down, must admit, think I needed to chill as well, was really tired. We also had a great morning out dolphin spotting. We had booked a boat to take us out and it turned out to be just me and Melissa on it. Was a really great day and Mel has started a ‘spot the dolphin’ game from all the pictures she took….was really hard to catch the dolphins as they surfaced/jumped etc.

What with the end of term/year exams and me being the only ICT teacher left standing, didn’t really get out and about for the next few weeks after Melissa left, too busy marking!

Anyway exams are over now and so I have managed to get a little R&R in. Five weeks ago I went to Wadi Bani Khalid, which for those of you who follow my blog will know is an oasis in the middle of barren mountains. This time I went swimming and swam the length of oasis (quite tiring as its fresh water) until I came to where it narrows and is blocked by boulders. Anyway tried to climb out but couldn’t make it but some Indian lads seen me struggling and came to give me a hand. I managed to get out and started up the rocks when I lost my footing! I bounced all the way down but at least the landing was soft, straight in the water! Hurt my elbow and back, didn’t want to try climbing out again so had to swim all the way back!. Needless to say I was in no fit state to go anywhere the next day….couldn’t sit down for long, couldn’t stand up for long, it hurt to walk and as for lying down…needed pain killers!

By the Monday though was feeling pretty well ok, just a little bruised so went to a musical recital at the PDO (Petroleum Development, Oman). We are quite cultured out here!

Temperature has soared here in the last month with the average daytime temp of about 46C, if you are in the sun round about lunchtime it really feels as if the sun is burning your skin! Spent the last couple of weekends on the beach (Oman Dive Centre and Marjan) just chillin out, but really didn’t spend much time in the sun…TOO HOT!

Year 12/13 students graduated with a presentation ceremony and then on to an Italian restaurant for a meal (paid for by the school).

About 2 weeks ago we took a drive up Jebel Shams, which is a mountain road near Nizwa just to see the scenery. Was quite spectacular but my car was struggling…and on the way back it broke down! 140 kilometers from Muscat….Friday (holy day here , so nothing open) and the temperature in the upper 40’s! Anyway got the AAA out and eventually got my car back to Muscat and had to do without for a week till it got fixed!

Choir has been going well and we have performed at the local churches and also for the prize giving at the British School of Muscat. We also gave a charity performance in aid of the Kachele Village (http://kachelevillage.org/) at the Intercontinental Hotel which was a great success.

Well it’s coming to the end of the year. Brian, Linda and Donald will not be coming back next year so the 4 Muscateers will have to disband. Over the year we’ve seen an awful lot of Oman and enjoyed each others company and it will be strange not to have them around. I have been offered ‘Head of Department’ and have decided to accept so will be returning for at least another year. We are getting a new school principal (Mr Michael Welland) and also a new head of secondary (TBA). Have approached Mr Welland about opening a Ju-Jitsu class here and he is in favour of doing it …so will just have to wait till I get back from holiday.

I am going to put a load of pictures on the web (in no particular order) and also here are some links to pictures Brian and Linda have taken.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/FromMarchTillJuneVarious?feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/NizwaAndDolphinWatchingApril7th?feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/Moffat.linda26/PromMISJune2009

http://picasaweb.google.com/Moffat.linda26/GraduationMIS#

http://picasaweb.google.com/Moffat.linda26/CoastalSharqiyaTour#

Saturday 21st March GETTING HOTTER!

Ok so what have I been up to since my last update?

Well its been pretty quiet really apart from in school where things are really starting to get hectic what with the exam season coming up. Also Nigel Melen our principal ended up in hospital with what has been reported as a case of Typhoid, so it could be awhile till we see him. Get well soon Nigel.

We had a long weekend (4 days off last week due to the Prophets Birthday and I just generally lazed around, although on the Monday Night I had been invited round To Ronesh and Cirsts for a bit of a drink. Was a good night, Donald was absolutely smashed, but as I was driving so I had to take it easy. Tuesday night I was at the choir, we are practising for Easter services and also to do a charity show, looks like its going to be fun.

On the Friday it was beach day….but it was really rough (see pictures) so it was just a day for getting a good tan!

The following week turned out to be a short one as well. On the Friday it was sports day and all the senior school trooped off to the Sultan Quaboos Sports Stadium. This is their national sports stadium but we had gotten permission to hold our track and field events there! Absolutely brilliant stadium (in fact a full sports complex) and the kids had a great day. It was a bit hectic though because just as we arrived one of the sport teachers received a phone call to tell us that we had to be back no later than 12 noon as the police where going to close the roads again for the Egyptian Prime Ministers visit and all kids had to be picked up, by thier parents/drivers before 12.30 and we could all have another half day off! Waiting for my friends to send me the photos and will get them on asap.

This weekend has been rather busier: on Thursday me Brian and Linda drove (my turn to drive) to As Sifah beach, about an hours drive through mountainous terrain, with some brilliant views, for the day (for those of you who read the blog you may remember I went camping there with India and the Hash). It was red hot and even I had to keep under the shade most of the time.

Friday was Marjan beach day but this time there was a few of us. Donald phoned to say that he would pick me up as Seaeda (sorry if I’ve spelt that wrong) and Shona where coming along as well. They came up to my flat and now Seaeda wants to swop with me….NO CHANCE!

When we got to Marjan beach the tide was out further than I had ever seen it and the water was crystal clear. Went snorkelling seen loads of fish but no turtles this time.
After the beach we went to Shathi for some lunch and then on to the Grand Hyatt hotel for Saeada and Shona to have a look around and also to see about spending a day there, using their facilities, as Donald’s guest (as he is a member of the gym).

Melissa, if you are reading this, it might give you some ideas! Melissa is coming out to stay with me for about 10 days and we have been chatting online, sorting things out.

Well that about brings me back up to date and here’s some photos;
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/VariousPicturesMarch09?feat=directlink

Wednesday 10th December Tem 28C

Well back home form Salalah and trying to get all my experiences typed up. Where do I stat? Well on Sunday morning I had a rude awakening from my alarm clock. It was 4.30 in the morning and I had still not finished my packing. Wasn’t taking much but still wanted to make sure I had packed the essentials, swim shorts, sun cream, change of underwear, sunglasses etc. Donald was picking me up at 5.30 to get us to Ruwi in time for the 6am departure. I was looking forward to the bus journey as well as it being cheap I was looking forward to see how the country changed as we travelled the 1023 Km to Salalah.

Saturday 13th December Temp 27c

Well have spent a couple of days sorting out my photos from my trip to Salalah. So I’d better give you the story to go along with them.

We left on time (6am) from Ruwi Bus station. The bus was very comfortable and of course had air conditioning. I managed to get a pair of seats to myself so was able to lounge across both. The first part of the trip was nothing new as I had been along the same roads when I went to Nizwa, so I didn’t bother taking any pictures. When we eventually got on the main road to Salalah it was about 8.30 and the journey proper began. The mountains quickly gave way to flat rocky/sandy plains with few points of interest, one thing did stand out and that was the number of car tracks leading off from the motorway off across the plains. Were these just tracks of people who wanted to drive ’Off road’ for awhile? Well some of them where but I also found out later that some of them where from meteorite collectors! Seemingly, during the full moon people drive out on to the plains to see if they can spot any meteorites lying in the sand. I was told that they sparkled in the moon rays and so where easy to spot.

Anyway I dosed on and off as the desert couldn’t keep my attention for long and we soon arrived at our first stop. We had 3 toilet/rest stops of about 20 mins each so we were able to stretch our legs. This also helped to break up the journey and made it less tiring.

After our last stop we were soon into the foothills before Salalah, they looked like mountains that had been eroded away by wind, sand and time to miniature mountain ranges. Soon though we started to see more greenery. Salalah is in the monsoon belt and so get lots of rain during them months. By this time the bus was full and a young Omani was sitting next to me. He explained that the best time to visit is around late March/April as that is when it is at its greenest.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/TripToSalalahViewsFromTheBus?feat=directlink

And so into Salalah
We stayed at the Salalah Hotel which was right opposite the bus station. Not a first class hotel but all we needed was somewhere to sleep and a bathroom and for 12 Rials ( about ₤12 per night) we weren’t arguing. We also hired a car from the hotel and that was only 15 Rials per day. That evening we just had a quick look round and went for a meal at a local restaurant. Tried to use the map to find our way around but it was useless, think whoever makes the maps for the car hire companies must be a blind dyslexic who draws with his feet!

Anyway the following morning we headed out of Salalah and keeping the coast on our left headed off to see what we could find. After a while we came to a great beach and got out for a wonder around, had the whole place to ourselves. We carried on and not too far up the road saw a sign for the al Marneef Cave. Their was a nice little café there so we had a drink while we enjoyed the view. We then walked up to the caves which turned out to be more of large overhangs of rocks than caves. This place has had some work done on it and caters for tourist and the views where spectacular. After a while we carried on driving up into the mountains but after stopping to take some photos we decided to make our way back to Salalah and see what there was over to East. We saw quite a few groups of camels just freely grazing by the side of the road and on the road into Salalah one just nonchalantly strolled into the middle of the road, stopped, and then slowly turned his head to look at us as if to say “and What?’ he seemed to be quite content to stand there so I had to carefully drive round him (needless to say I drove round in front of him, didn’t fancy getting the car kicked with the size of them feet!). As we got passed the main port the beaches started and I got out to take some photos as they look so white and stretch for miles!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/WestSalalah?feat=directlink

We carried on driving out the other side of Salalah and came to Taqah Fort. This had been restored so we went inside to have a look around. Quite interesting and a fantastic view from the top of one of the towers (although it was pretty hairy climbing to the top) and of course a good view of another fort on the hill behind, which we climbed up to when we left the main fort. We continued travelling west but apart from seeing Bin Ali’s tomb we didn’t really see anything else although we did get some good ideas for next day as we had decided to catch the late bus the following evening and travel over night. On the way back to the hotel we found a smashing Arab restaurant and had a great meal, again it was very cheap and the fruit smoothy was excellent.

That night we decided to go for a pint and went to the Hilton Hotel.

The following morning saw us again heading east out of Salaha, we had learned or lesson of the previous day and where just using the road signs to the various tourist sites as a rough guide as they never seemed to be in the right place.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/TouringEastSalalah?feat=directlink

Here is some information on the places we visited (in no particular order) from the tourist brochure:

Wadi Darbat: a natural park with majestic views of waterfalls (dry season whilst we where there so no waterfalls), lakes, mountains, wildlife and lush vegetation.

Tawi Attair: The ‘Well of Birds’: This is a natural sinkhole over 100 metres wide and 211 metres deep and one of the deepest in the world. As the name suggests, Tawi Attair is home to many species of birds that can be seen swooping in and out of the sinkhole during the monsoon season.
Khor Rori Samhuram: Excavations have revealed a walled rectangular shaped town. Five stone inscriptions were discovered written in Arabic southern alphabet describing the establishment of the town, form which it is evident that the town was built to ascertain the domination of frankincense trade.

Al Balid : the city (located of the outskirts of modern day Salalah) was establishedin the 4th centuray AH. – 10th century AD. Archaeological findings revealed remains of a great rectangular shaped mosque surrounded by balconies form all sides. Excavations have revealed Islamic pottery, Chinese porcelain and several bronze coins some of them dating back to the Islamic period, and other coins dating back to Chinese civilisation.

Jarzeez Springs: is one of the most beautiful springs in the Dhofar region. It is located in Ateen about 14km from Salalah. There is caves to explore and shaded areas for relaxing.
I have included a lot of photos taken by Donald for you took look at as well as the ones I took.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/N2gPXj7GNza2b8iz3c22Lw?feat=directlink

Well after we arrived back in Muscat the next couple of weeks was spent preparing for the end of term tests so apart from visiting Marjan beach to catch a few rays nothing happened until Christmas day.

Almost forgot on the run up to Christmas it was quite a busy time for the choir. We had several concerts in local church for carol services but also in 3 of the top hotels in Muscat, The Al Bustan, TheCrown Plaza and the Shangri La, all 5 stars or more! The concerts where great and the nibbles and drinks afterwards were brill!

I decided to have a few people round for lunch and then to have an open house after for people to call in and have a drink or 2! It was a great day finishing about 9.30 that night. The only downside to the day is that my camera went missing and still hasn’t turned up, so have had to rely on my friends for all the pictures.

New Year we seen in at the local Rugby Club and as you can see by the pictures we sort of let our hair down, so much so that I phoned round the following morning to see what I had got upto and if I had behaved myself!...everybody said it was a great night and nobody has got out of line………..hmmmm see photos.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/ChristmasAndNewYearOooooopps?feat=directlink

Of course after Christmas and New Year it was back to school and looking forward to our 2 week break when most of us would be returning to or homes.

Although it was nice to be home and see everybody I was freezing and of course ended up with a horrible cold! If I didn’t get to see you all last time will try to make p for it when I return home in June for 2 months, so don’t forget to keep in touch. If you haven’t got my email address you can email me from this blog or alternatively find me on Facebook.

Since we got back from England we haven’t been up to much, as again we are coming towards the end of the teaching year we are trying to get our syllabuses completed and prepare the students for the tests. Lind and Brian had a couple of friends out for a visit Karl and Anne and we had a really pleasant evening with them at a licensed restaurant (yes there are some, not many but we are finding them).

We’ve had a couple of days out with the students at a resort at Al Sawadi and will get the photos on as soon as possible and also been practicing with the choir again for St David’s Day. I have had to learn the Welsh national anthem in welsh! As well as a couple of other songs.
St David’s day concerts was at the British Ambassadors Residence and again was a great success, hoping I might get some pictures of the concert and also we could be in the local paper, if so I’ll try to add it here.

One more thing a couple of days ago we went to the Crown Plaza for a drink and to watch the sun set and also to the French/Oman art museum for a new exhibition, again free nibbles but only fruit juices this time!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/VariousFeb09?authkey=Gv1sRgCJjU-pjehOzJfQ&feat=directlink

Ok so basically up to date, hope to add more pictures and will most probably add more stories as they occur to me but will really try to update at least once a week.

Friday 5th December Temprature 88f

First of all just to upset everybody I am now on 10 days holiday, that is 2 weekends ( 4 days) and 6 six days this is (again) for the Eid holidays so have been planning a couple of things to do. Now just to put a smile back on your faces we don’t have any time off over the Christmas and New Year holiday season (good job Christmas Day is on our weekend otherwise we would have been working!).

As you know I like to take a walk along the beach but hadn’t been for a few days and people where telling me about the ‘Red Tide’ and how it had affected the beaches so I decided I just had to go and have a look. The pictures show how bad it can be, I thought it was bad when I had took the pictures of the blowfish but this was worse thousands (if not 10’s of thousands) of fish washed up on the beach. Most of the fish where between 6 to 8 inches but now and again, a larger one had been left on the shore. I believe that the ‘Red Tide’ is when an red algae blooms out at sea and starves the sea of oxygen thus killing the fish, I’m sure somebody out there can tell me if I’m right or wrong, I took one picture of what could be some of the algae but of course I could be completely wrong.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/TheRedTide#Hash

If you have been reading this blog (and if not, why not) for some time you will know that me and India joined the Jebel Hash House Harriers. Just to refresh your memories it’s a walking/running club that has a good social life as well. Last Saturday was really good, the walk wasn’t too taxing and we met new people, a couple from Amsterdam who are on holiday and 2 others who are working here as well. Anyway we joined in the fun (by the way you are made to sit on the bath of ice for any misdemeanours or sins that are reported or for anything else that can be made up on the spot!). India volunteered as a ‘Trolly Dolly’ (that is someone who helps with the cleaning of the clubs dinking cups etc). The pictures show some of the new members and other members who have returned or met some special point in their memberships, drinking to a count from the rest of us. Found out that when you get to 10 walks/runs the club chooses a name for you. When you think that some people are called ‘Where the F*** are we’, ‘Friendly with goats’ and other nicknames you can guess I’m dreading what they are going to call me!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/JebelHash#

Ok so we broke up on Wednesday afternoon, so what have I been doing since then?

Well on Wednesday night it was choir practice and it went well. We have been given quite a schedule for over the Christmas Season, as although the Omani people don’t observe the Christian festival as such they do like to join in with the festival atmosphere and of course there is a very large Christian population here, from all over the world. Most shops have some form of Christmas decorations up and sell everything from Christmas trees to advent calendars; some are even playing Christmas carols/songs as you go around shopping. First booking is for this Saturday at the British School of Muscat for a carol service.
Thursday morning was an early start as we had a full day planned. Brian and Linda’s daughter, Jen, is here for a bit of a holiday and they wanted to show her some of the places that they had been to and had asked myself, Lucy and Donald if we would like to make a party of it….of course we said yes!
So we left about 9.30 on Thursday morning to travel to the ‘Turtle Camp’ near Sur about 300 Kilometres away (just under 190 miles for those of you who are not familiar with the metric system yet) but first Brian was going to lead us to a few places of interest.

First call.

After a very picturesque drive we arrived at Al Mudayrib, this town is surrounded by 7 forts and as you can see from the photographs is not that far from the desert properly as you can see the massive sand dunes on the horizon. We had a look around a couple of the forts which are really just ruins at the moment but this was real ‘off the beaten track tourism’ as nothing has as yet been put in place to entice the tourists to this area, although there is signs that the tourist board have things planned as there is a small museum (closed). Anyway, Donald, Lucy and I climbed up to the fort in the town, near where we parked. 2 Omani lads showed us the way for no other reason than we were visitors (the Omani people can be very friendly and hospitable) when we went to climb up inside the tower they tried to show us the way with lights from their mobile phone but it was really pitch black and quite scary as the steps where of uneven height so you had to be careful (Lucy decided to stay at the bottom as she felt a little claustrophobic). The little bit of terror was worth it though as there was a brilliant view over the town and wadi after which it is named.
After we came down we joined the rest of the gang as we walked up the back alleys towards the tower that is on the highest hill behind the town. And that’s another thing about this country you can feel safe here even when your off the beaten path as you don’t get hassled from the locals, that will greet you or wave but don’t crowd you or make you feel threatened in any way, but woman and girls should have a male with them as it is a male oriented country. We climbed up to the highest tower, which was quite a climb as there is no prepared path or steps so it is pure rough and ready ground. Again as you can see from the pictures, fantastic scenery and views over the town.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/AlMudayrib#

Wadi Bani Khalid
Our next stop was quite spectacular; a fresh water desert oasis surrounded by palm trees and of course, mountains. I had forgotten to pack my bathers otherwise I would have been diving in, the water looked that inviting. The water was crystal clear with loads of fish swimming around (how they got there don’t ask me!), in the picture where I am sitting down the water is a dark blue it is that deep, the locals where calling us to come in and where showing off by jumping from the cliffs into these deep pools.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/WadiBaniKhalid#

And then on to the Ras Al Jinz ‘Turtle Camp’. After a little adventure (a couple of wrong turns, again a big thanks to local Omanis who showed us the way by driving in front of us to show us the direction), we arrived just in time for dinner and just in time to miss a bit of a down pour which had left the ground very wet! Not seen any real rain since I got here! Accommodation is basic with the sleeping huts being just like wooden tents, which have rushes attached to them to soften their outline. Our huts had 3 single beds in them with mattresses, pillows and blankets all supplied. There was several shower/toilet blocks but again very basic.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/RasAlJinzTurtleCampBeach#

Dinner was served in an open sided reed roofed thatched area, which had not escaped the rain, but the chairs and table we were to sit at had been dried and cleaned for us. There was only another 2 parties at the camp at the same time so it was a bit intimate. The meal was Roast Lamb, Grilled Chicken, salads, rice, humus, lentils, roast potatoes, Arab bread and fruit, coffee, tea or soft drinks. You could have as much as you liked so Donald stoked up a few times! We also had some beer with us so had a can and Donald had brought some Tequila so I had to have one, didn’t I!? Linda had brought some red wine, so I had to have some of that as well! After dinner we sat and talked for a while then got ready to go to the Turtle Beach Research Centre.

Ras Al Hadd Turtle Beach.
The research centre is government run and a tour costs 4 Rials but can be very rewarding. You are taken by a guide to the beach, which is a good 15 20 minute walk. On approaching the beach our guide stopped us and explained what the research institute was doing which is basically protecting the turtles hatching ground. He gave us some information on breeding habits and lifespan of the ‘Green’ turtle. We were also told that no flash photography (or even torches) was allowed on the beach, that we needed to be quiet in order not to alarm the females who had come ashore to lay their eggs.
He then took us to see a female who seemed to be digging a hole ready for laying her eggs. The turtle was big, I mean BIG. The shell was close to 3 foot long from behind her head to her tail and she was sweeping sand almost 8 to 10 feet behind her. After about 15 minutes the guide told us that in fact she had already laid her eggs about 3 feet behind the hole that she was digging and the hole was in fact a decoy to put predators off the mark of where her eggs actually where. The hole by this time was 2 to 3 foot deep and the turtle started the crawl out of it, heading for the sea. We watched her make her way in to the surf, she seemed to be very slow, as if she was extremely tired, or perhaps that was how I felt she would be feeling. We where then taken to see a female who had just come up the beach to lay her eggs but on the way the guide spotted a hatchling breaking the surface of the sand and too us to show the new born turtle to us. We then carried on to where the female was preparing her hatching hole, the guide took us away before the actual laying, which I felt was right, to give the turtle a little privacy. Although we only saw 2 turtles on the night we were told that on some nights you could see many turtles making their way up the beach to lay their eggs or making their ponderous way back to the sea after a job well done.
We then returned to the camp (around 11ish) for as much sleep as we could get as we were to return first thing in the morning (between 5 and 6).

Needless to say I overslept, but we still got to the centre by about 6 am. We then walked down to the beach. As we approached the beach we could see a group of people gathered together and went see what it was they where watching. Then we saw them, baby turtles making a brave dash for the ocean! It was a great thing to see, and the children who where with their parents where in their element (even ‘helping’ the baby turtles to the sea, whether this was allowed the guide didn’t say!). As the sun rose we could clearly see the seagulls waiting to snatch the unlucky or unwary turtle as they started their long swim of 3 miles to deep water where they would be safe. As the sun came up I was looking around and saw a disturbance in the sand not far from me, and then they came, baby turtle after baby turtle, all about the same size but some darker or with different patterns on their shells. This in itself, made the trip worthwhile!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/RasAlHaddTurtleBeach#

When we returned to the camp we had breakfast and made ready to leave. The camp accommodation, plus all meals had only cost 18 Rials, which, all in all, I thought was a great deal for us! Would recommend the experience to anyone who is coming out here, either to work or on a holiday!
On the way back we called at Sur, just to have a quick look and take a few pictures. A very picturesque place and the only place I’ve seen, up till now, where there are actual working dhows.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/Sur#

Well that completes my first adventure of this Eid. Tomorrow I am singing with the choir as I have already said and then off on another adventure to Salalah. Salalah is about 1000 km down south, me and Donald are going by bus! Hope to update, with the full story by Wednesday, so don’t forget to come back!

Friday 28/11/2008 Temprature 32c

Well a couple of weeks have gone past very quickly yet again. Have been pretty busy at school and also in my social life. Have now been on 2 more walks with the Jebreel Hash Harriers and think its doing me some good! The last walk was a killer as the first half of the walk was mainly up hill, or more precisely small mountains! The view when I got to the top though was spectacular (wish I’d remembered to take my camera!) with the plain of Muscat spread in a panoramic view from right past the airport round to Mutrah and Muscat Old Town. On that note I am really glad I got a 4 wheel drive car as I really needed it to get to the places where the walks start from (usually off road, in a dry wadi).

About a week ago me and India joined some people from the Hash for a camping night on As Safah Beach. Was a great night (got slightly worse for wear) with an almost full moon shinning on our bar b que. Didn’t need a tent, just rolled into my sleeping bag and slept under the stars.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/CampingAtAsSefahBeach#

The choir is coming along well and we had our first performance at the British School (where we practice) which went well. I was supposed to be singing with them 2 days ago, got dressed up, drove to the area in great spirits, couldn’t find the church!

On the way back decided to call into the Muscat Rugby Football Club social club which has just opened up round the corner from where I live. Not a bad little place and I am seriously thinking of joining (although it is a bit pricey at OMR 60, about 100 quid).

Last week we had National Day celebrations at school and lots of the students dressed in their National Costumes. The girls looked really spectacular in bright colours and jewellery. I was told that the gold headdresses some of them wore are all made from 24 carat gold! It was a smashing celebration with the students putting on dancing, poetry readings and a fashion show.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/NationalDay#

Again I was told that the colours and the way the girls wore their costumes where related to where in Oman her family came from.

Just to finish off, I have mentioned previously about the roads here, and the way they seem to change over night. Well the main road not far from my apartment is now open, which when you consider that it was just being built when I arrived here is fantastic work. I’ve took more photos of the roads and also some views of Muscat from up behnd my apartment. The pictures also show the brand new highway that’s being built….don’t know where it’s going to yet!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lezmcg54/ViewsFromAroundMyApartment#

I have also added the next links to some pictures taken by Brian and Linda on their travels to the mountains and wadi’s of Oman and of the National day celebrations.
The pictures of the interior are really spectacular and I hope to get out there soon to take my own pictures and have my own adventure!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Moffat.linda26/TripToInterior#5273323864302784786
http://picasaweb.google.com/Moffat.linda26/NationalDay2008#

Still would like to hear from you all, post a comment or send me an email!

Comments

Still not recieving any comments or feedback off people.....please feel free to ask if you want to know about anything thats going on out here, if you want to know a bit more about lifestyle, the locals, the hotels and bars, the work, the cost of petrol (filled my car up the other day 66ltr cost 8 Rials, about 12 quid!). So come would love to here from you people!