Day 1 – Arrival & Mutrah Visit

A day before we were to fly to Oman for a short holiday I suddenly realised that I had made a big mistake. It was the holy month of Ramadan and the Sultanate of Oman would not be a great place for holiday at this time of the year when the entire population would be fasting during the day. It was too late to do anything so we just boarded the flight and landed at Muscat Airport at around the time when the people of Oman would be getting ready to break their fast for the day.

We decided to go to the panoramic promenade of Muscat the same evening. Known as the Mutrah Croniche, it is a 3 km promenade with a lovely sea view. Across the street are restaurants and the famous Mutrah Souk. This is the city’s old Commercial district and a very popular tourist spot. I am told that this is a very popular area bustling with activity in the evenings with a lot of tourists and locals. But what we witnessed was that the entire Mutrah area looked very tired with hardly any activity. The famous Souk had a lot of shops and they were all open but it all looked very subdued. The main reason was that the customers were not there. We were told that locals would come much later at night as is the norm during the fasting month. On the main road, some restaurants had started opening up as fasting had ended. We roamed inside the souk but didn’t buy anything much. Our cabbie was a Keralite settled in Oman and from here he took us to the magnificent Palace and showed us the fort before dropping us back to the hotel. We needed to strategize how to enjoy this holiday in the given circumstances.

Day 2 – Strategy

We were in a country where everyone was fasting till after 6 PM everyday. The country’s mood was somber. It is not that celebrations would start the moment the sun set. The mood remained somber as it is a religious period devoted to god and prayer. You could see hundreds of restaurants all over during the day and they would all be shut. Eating and drinking in a public place during the day was a punishable offense. We realised that it wouldn’t be prudent to even drink water in public view. We also realised that even though days were warm, one couldn’t wear shorts in a public place. We take these things for granted in most countries but here the culture was different. It was time to strategize and adapt. It was time to make the best of the situation and plan our days in such a way that we ended up enjoying the holiday. we also needed to be careful so that we wouldn’t offend anyone.

Sultan Qaboos Mosque

The Sultan Qaboos mosque was exceptional. We had started day 2 with a heavy breakfast in the hotel and then spent a couple of hours at the Mosque. Mosque can be seen from far and it is a sprawling structure with courtyards and gardens. Non Muslims are allowed only till 11 AM on all days other than Fridays. We spent more than an hour here admiring the structure and the second largest carpet in the world (it used to be the largest till something bigger came up). Qaboos bin Said Al Said was the Sultan of Oman for 50 years till his death in 2020. He had built this mosque and it seems that no expense or effort was spared. Anyone who visits Muscat will certainly need to spend a couple of hours here to admire the workmanship and the grandeur.

From here we went to a mall in the cool environs of Air conditioning. The mall wasn’t crowded at all. Some restaurants were open for takeaways and we were only too happy to get some Chinese food packed. In many shops a lot of Ramadan deals were happening. A young couple (tourists) had carried the Starbucks shakes to the hidden corners and were quietly drinking the stuff. We shopped a bit and then carried lunch back to hotel.

With the Gulf of Oman touching the city of Muscat it is but natural that the city is endowed with several lovely beaches. As the sun became more hospitable we reached the famous beach of Qurum. The beach was nice and clean and it has some top hotels in vicinity. ‘W’ was right next to it and we could see ‘Crown Plaza’ a little distance away. So the evening was spent swimming in the sea and walking on the beach. We had dinner at a Hyderabadi restaurant near the hotel. So, the day 2 had gone well and we saw so much of the culture and people of Oman and interacted with many locals. Day 3 had been planned in advance and we looked forward to it.

Day 3 – A wonderful day trip.

Muneer (our driver and guide) picked us up at 8.15 AM and asked us if we have had heavy breakfast. He also asked us to carry some snacks like dry fruits as it would be a long day and all restaurants would be shut. We had booked a day trip called the ‘Wahiba Sands and Wadi Bani Khalid tour.’ Muneer himself was fasting and his entire family (including a 10 year old daughter) now fasts during Ramadan. Wahiba Sands (also known as Sharqiya Sands) are named after the nomadic Wahiba Bedouin tribes. It took 2 hours to get to the Desert and it was so fascinating to see the golden coloured sand dunes till eternity. I have been to ‘Sam’ desert of Jaiselmer but that was a very small desert compared to this. This one spreads almost 200 km’s and once in the middle of the desert – you realise how tough it must be for caravans/kafilas to cross such harsh conditions. We have seen so many movies and serials which show the harsh conditions of a desert and when you see the sun beating down on the hot sand – you can actually imagine how tough it must be. We went over the dunes and even did some running up and down the soft sand. Our guide Muneer also got out of the car and walked with us over the dunes and took our photographs. The sand was getting hot as the sun shone brightly. Once back in the car we could have water to beat the heat. Muneer was fasting so he had no drink and he seemed perfectly content. A visit to Bedouin house is part of the deal and then you do the regular things like camel ride and dune bashing.

From here it was time to go to the area called the Wadi Bani Khalid. This must be the most easily approachable Wadi as there are ones which take days to trek up to. There are some other wadis also a couple of hours drive away. There are several caves and pools which form this Wadi and the pool water was refreshing after a hot time in desert. It was very deep and long. This is what is called Oasis in a desert. The sunken pool had limited places from where one could enter and exit. Entering is not so tough as one could jump in from a cliff but coming out needs some planning. So this kind of Oasis in this harsh conditions was the most welcome part. Other members of the family didn’t enter the pool but sat in the shade and enjoyed the views while I swam from one end to the other and then got busy trying to find a way to get out.

Wadi bani Khalid – An Oasis in desert. I swum from one end to the other.

We got to hotel after 5 PM after a long day and it was time to get into the hotel swimming pool before venturing out to the famous Opera House.

The Opera House complex consists of a concert theatre, auditorium, landscaped gardens, cultural market with retail, luxury restaurants and an art centre for musical, theatrical and operatic productions. It is an impressive hub where several great performances like Swan Lake have taken place and our violist L Subramanium has also performed. There was nothing happening on the cultural side as the Opera House was shut due to Ramadan but some upmarket shops, art gallery and a few restaurants were open. We just strolled around but decided to skip dinner here and instead go to the main market area and have dinner at some place where there would be more people. It would be nice to come to the Opera House when some good performance was taking place and all the restaurants were open.

Day 4 – Time for shopping and a great dinner

Muscat boasts of several shopping malls and some like the Oman Avenues Mall was just a short walk from our Ramada hotel. We had visited the Avenues Mall and Lulu Hypermarket earlier so we decided to spend much of the day at the largest mall called the ‘Mall of Oman.’ It was a plush place with all the brands and a Carrefour Hypermarket. Once again we packed the food and took it to our hotel once we were done with the shopping.

Ghubrah beach and park were quite near our place of stay so we spent the evening there. The sea was quite wild this side so I didn’t jump into the water but let the waves hit the legs. Once again we saw families breaking their fast sitting near the beach and the most impressive part was that there was no litter once they had finished their meal. They picked up everything and all garbage was disposed off in dustbins. Muscat and the places of Oman that we visited including towns like Ibra were very clean and nice. Public toilets were also neat and clean.

When we had visited Qurum beach I had noticed Crown Plaza hotel on the cliff overlooking the sea. We asked our driver Suresh to take us there and he was a bit reluctant as he felt that we would end up spending too much money on our dinner. Suresh had been with us from the beginning as he had been recommended by a friend. He hardly ever waited for us anywhere but would come back within 10 minutes of me sending a message for pickup. Muscat is not a very large city so this was possible.

The restaurant called ‘the edge’ was on a cliff at the edge of the Gulf of Oman at the Crown Plaza. It had a stunning view. They had another restaurant which had an Iftaar buffet but we decided to have dinner at the edge and it was a very good dinner of lamb chops and sea food. Even big hotels like Crown Plaza were not serving liquor at this time due to Ramadan.

Next morning we were leaving Oman. I am glad I did this trip even though it was Ramadan time. One learns so much about another culture at a time like this. The entire country fasting yet going on with life normally was so wonderful to experience.

With Hajar mountain range forming the backdrop and Gulf of Oman right next door – Muscat is a pretty good looking city. The landscape looks rugged but modern buildings, investment climate and great roads have turned this middle east capital into a modern business hub. I am told that other parts of Oman are very interesting but to venture there you need at least a week. Perhaps we can do that in a couple of years.