Something for the weekend?

Ahh, Wednesday has arrived once again!

I guess the biggest entertainment news of the weekend is that tomorrow is the opening day of the Grand Circus down at Marah Land (Qurum Park). Thanks to the Omani Brit over on English Girl in Oman for posting the flyer (it's nice to see you blogging again!)


Tickets start at RO 2, and go up to RO 5 for a VIP pass - no clue what that gets you though - probably better seating I'm guessing. The show is rumoured to be 2 hours long, starting at 7pm. It's running for a month so it will hopefully be something many of us can go along and see.

Now, on a more serious note, I read yesterday with some concern over on another local blogger Mimi of Shy Rebellious Arab Girl about the plight of blind Dhofari women. According to her findings, it appears to be the general trend that blind Dhofari women are kept out of sight in their family houses and remain uneducated for their entire lives. I hope that this is not true, but if it is, something must be done for these poor women. Certainly more attention needs to be paid to those who are differently abled here in the Sultanate.

And finally, a shout out to the Muscat Rugby 1st XV who are flying to Kuwait this weekend for the season opener - good luck! Their first home game is next weekend against Bahrain (the winners of the last season) which should prove to be a stiff challenge for the local lads.

le fin.

Local hotel's summer offers.

Summer is well and truly here. Summer's a funny time here, people tend to fly off to cooler climes in an effort to at least beat the heat for a little while. It's a scorcher of a summer globally, with Europe getting a good dose of sun, and those pasty white Brits are even experiencing sustained sunny periods of more than 42 minutes at a time. I'm told Ice Cream van's are having a fantastic season, and for once there wont be the stock story for a slow news day of the lollipop guy grumbling that his sales are low due to no sun. Even over the pond, in Toronto they are seeing temperatures exceeding 40'C this week. Sweaty stuff.

If you're like me, and actually work for a living and can't just slip off for the summer, then you might be considering a weekend at one of the lovely 5* hotels here in Oman. There's the Chedi, InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Al Bustan or the Shangri-la to choose from locally. Or you could avail yourself of one of Oman Air's summer vacation weekends down in Salalah at the new Mariott, or Crowne Plaza or Hilton.

Oman Air are offering return flights, 3 nights stay, breakfast (& dinners in some hotels) for RO 139/person until 13th July (and then it shoots up to RO 178/pp). That's not bad for a 3 day escape. Did I mention already that Saturday is a confirmed public holiday?

A little closer to home, the InterContinental Hotels Group (which controls the InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Al Bustan here in Muscat) have a 3 for 2 offer running at all of their locations.

The Chedi have a few packages, but I've only included the two best ones here:

SUPERIOR ROOM - OMR 88.920 all in.
- breakfast for 2 in The Restaurant per night
- 10% discount on Food and Beverages in The Restaurant
- 25% discount on any Spa Treatments

CHEDI CLUB SUITE ROOM - OMR 169.650 all in.

- breakfast for 2 in The Restaurant per night
- 10% discount on Food and Beverages in The Restaurant
- 25% discount on any Spa Treatments
- Complimentary Cocktails & Canapés in the library
- Complimentary mini-bar, laundry and internet access

I'd highly recommend going for the Suite package. All of the rooms are great, but those suites... the tub takes an hour to fill!

And finally, the Shangri-la at the Barr al Jissah resort has two offers this summer:

For a minimum of two nights @ RO 110/ night you get breakfast and dinner in a standard room at Al Waha.

Or, if you only want to stay one night, you can get the 50% off published rate offer, and that means you can get a regular room in the Al Waha with breakfast and dinner for RO 90.


Now in order to actually get these deals, you must of course have your resident card to prove you are in fact a resident here - so don't forget to mention that when booking! I'm looking forward to a weekend at the Bustan in a few weeks - does anyone have any recommendations on which spa treatments to go for?!

Well done Holland! 3-2! What an awesome game! Now to just beat ze Germans!

Enjoy the long weekend everyone!

le fin.

Graffiti in Salalah

Just a brief blog for today. Recently I popped down to Salalah for a bit of R&R. Whilst walking around in a village down there I came across some derelict houses, and was amused to find some graffiti inside the old buildings. I even had my camera with me, so I snapped off a few pictures to share:




It appears that only black and red spray paint was available to these fans of hip hop. 2 Pac died.... how long ago? I don't know. Perhaps the graffiti is older than it looks. Either way, I thought it was quite funny to see down in Salalah, and am sharing it with you all now!

In the first picture, under "Deathrow" there is some Arabic... can anyone tell me what it says?

le fin

Been to Salalah yet? 10 Top tips

Recently I took a trip to Salalah, I went there just to get some R&R and didn't go off exploring much. But here are some helpful bits of information for anyone who's thinking of making the dash to escape the heat for a few days:

• Tip 1 - Oman Air fly Muscat-Salalah a lot every day, I think it might be 7 times a day. The cost of a ticket is RO 60, and the flight is about an hour and a quarter - and you are served a hot meal on the flight.
• Tip 2 - You can take the bus down if you want, but it takes 12 hours
• Tip 3 - Make sure you get a map of Salalah before you get out of the airport - Be warned though - Turtles book shop in Muscat Airport sells maps for RO 3.000, but the same map is distributed for free by the Ministry of Tourism desk down in Salalah airport. It's the best map of the area I've found in my limited searching.
• Tip 4 - Check out this website for some information on what to do and see in Salalah and the local area
• Tip 5 - There are two main hotels in Salalah, The Hilton, and The Crowne Plaza. Both have bars, but you will pay RO 3.000 for a pint (selection - Tiger, Fosters or Heineken) or RO 2.200 for a bottle. Most Thursdays during the season the hotels will run some sort of disco night.
• Tip 6 - The weather is mostly misty, and visibility regularly gets down to 100m or less. The sea is stormy and there is a ban on swimming in the sea during the summer months - you will only be able to swim in swimming pools or inland natural pools.
• Tip 7 - If you plan to visit the caves / waterfalls / mountains - book a 4x4 at the airport. You'll pay a bit more but its worth it for the reduced hassle. A small car rental, as a guide line on prices, is about RO 50 (including insurance) for a 2 day rental. By small car I mean a Yaris. So it's not cheap to rent a car down there, but unfortunately essential if you want to go off the beaten track, or for that fact, anywhere.
• Tip 8 - Taxi's in Salalah are horrendously expensive if you're a "Western" ex pat - I got gouged RO 5 for a 5 minute ride. I also paid RO 5.000 to go from the airport to the Crowne Plaza hotel (I wasn't staying at the hotel, but I believe there are free buses going to the hotel from the airport at scheduled times for guests).
• Tip 9 - Bring mosquito spray - tis the season for them down there.
• Tip 10 - It's not cold there, it's about 25'C and it's very, very humid (near constant drizzle). Walking in jeans is a very sweaty affair after half an hour or so!

If you haven't been, it's worth a look-in - if only as a weekend getaway to break up the summer heat for a bit. If you have any extra tips... please be sure to leave a comment... :)