Oman expat

Welcome

2007-11-07T03:11:00.001-08:00

This blog is the summary of my 1 year experience as an expatriate in the sultanate of Oman. Depending on your interest, I give you below my recommanded links to explore my blog :Expat :You're an expat in Oman or you are about to become one-> expat thought : what is it to be an expat in Oman ?-> cost of living in Oman : how much it will cost you to live in Oman-> women expats in Oman : If you are

Oman : final review

2007-11-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

After almost a year in Oman, it is time for me to go back definitely in my country. I would like to thank all my readers, and all the people that I've met in Oman and that brought me so much. Even if I won't be able to create a lot of new posts in the future, this blog will remain a helpfull guide for futur expats and tourists to Oman.I think it is time to give my final review about Oman :In

Turtle beach

2007-10-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

Turtle beach is a marvelous place located 30 minutes away eastward from Sur. The place is supervised by the authorities, and you can only access after recorded at the point of control.The turtles come here all year long, to lay during the night and they leave just before the rising of the sun. in early morning you can see baby turtles fighting to reach the sea.You can sleep at the turtle beach

Blue city

2007-10-28T02:39:00.000-07:00

- edit : according to latest comment : Blue City officially closed down the project end March 2011. -"Blue city" is an $20 billion project which the aim is to build a new luxurious 35km² city, 1 hour away to the west of Muscat. It reflects very well the transformation in progress in Oman and the ambitions of the sultanate for the future.This project is so huge that it has been divided in 10

The sultanate of Oman, a revolution in trompe-l'oeil

2007-10-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

It does no harm just this once, I will speak about a new french book, named "Le sultanat d'Oman, une révolution en trompe-l'oeil". I wish I could have read this book at the beginning of my expatriation, it would have help me to better understand the country where I've lived for almost a year now.In this book, the author (a french researcher, Marc Valeri) describes the history of the country (

Wadi Shab

2007-10-23T08:51:00.004-07:00

Wadi Shab is located just next to Wadi Tiwi. You have to park at the entrance of the Wadi and continue by foot. The path and goes inside the gorge and is very lovely, even if Gonu has destroyed a lot of palm trees...on the path you will find several small natural pools where you can swim. But the big fun is at the end of the wadi (after 1hour walking) : you can access a little cave by swimming,

Dubai

2007-10-19T01:02:00.001-07:00

As Dubai is only few hours away from Muscat, it's not hard to go there for a long week-end if you get bored with Oman. You will need between 4 and 6 hours to reach Dubai from Muscat by car : it depends on how fast you're driving, the traffic jams and the time you'll spent at the border post (If you have a Omani hire car, you will need also to get a 12 OMR insurance policy extension at your rental

Happy Eid Mubarak !

2007-10-15T02:31:00.000-07:00

Ramadan Kareem is over since last saturday, so happy Eid Mubarak to everybody !Ramadan has been a quite a boring period for all the expats in Oman, because bars and clubs were closed, and it was not even possible to drink wine in the restaurants, so it is quite a relief that it is over !There is now 4 days of public holiday and the ambiance in Oman is very festive, you can see a lot of people in

Mutrah Fish Market

2007-10-12T09:46:00.001-07:00

Every morning, until 1pm, stands the fish market in Mutrah. To find it, just follow the big smell which spreads around the place. The fishermen are grouped together in a big building and sell their freshly fished items directly on the ground. You can find a lot of kinds of fishes : tuna, shrimps, octopus and even shark sometimes !Besides the fish market stands a big vegetable markets and some

Grand Hyatt in Muscat

2007-10-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

Posting about Safari pub, I realised that I didn't write yet about the Hyatt hotel ! This hotel is one of the top luxury of Muscat. It is located in Shati-Qurm, about half way between the airport and the Ruwi, not far from the Intercontinental hotel.(photo from Flickr)In the same way that the Chedi excels in a elegant minimalism design, The Hyatt excels in a exuberant Arabic style ! The main

Safari pub in Hyatt

2007-10-01T22:36:00.002-07:00

The Safari is a bar in the Hyatt complex. Although this place is completely closed presently because of the Ramadan, I write this post to continue my series about nightlife in muscat. You can compare this place to the Al Ghazal pub, but here the decor is more "exotic" as you could expect with such a name.There is a live band almost every night after 10pm, and some people are dancing. But when the

Wadi Bani Awf

2007-09-29T22:39:00.002-07:00

Bani Awf (or Bani Auf) is a wadi that links Rustaq to Nizwa. The road in this wadi is really made for 4WD cars : some part of the tracks are flooded and you need an elevated car to go on. also at the end of the track it goes very (very) steep.The main point of interest of this track will be the "Snake canyon", which is 300 meters deep, where you can go canyoning or via ferrata but better to have

100th post !

2007-09-27T00:52:00.000-07:00

The 100th posts is always a milestone in the development of a blog, and I'm very happy to reach it ! I would like to thank all my readers and all the people that left me encouraging comments ; you are about 50 to 70 visitors each day to read this blog. I'm in particular very pleased to see that a lot of Omani enjoy reading my blog.Don't hesitate to leave comments on my blog, I will always be

Trekking in the Sayq Plateau (Jebel Ahkdar )

2007-09-24T23:48:00.001-07:00

This trek is 2hours long (one way) and goes across 3 small villages lost in the mountains of the Sayq plateau. The altitude is 2000m, that ensures you a certain coolness even during the summer.The trek is not difficult but there are a lot of stairs that make it sporty ! But it is worth the effort because the view is amazingTo access Sayq plateau you need to have a 4wd otherwise you will be

The restaurant

2007-09-23T03:24:00.001-07:00

"The restaurant" is actually the name of the Chedi restaurant. From my opinion, this is the best restaurant in Muscat. The decor is very sober and classy, you have a pianist with a grand piano, and several kitchens that can be seen behind their glass walls...Each kitchens correspond to a kind of regional cooking : Asian, Arabic, European... The dishes are very well presented, and of course very

Oman dive center

2007-09-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

The Oman dive center is located between Qantab and Barr Al Jissah, 10 minutes away from Ruwi. It is basically a private cove lost in the cliffs with a nice beach, a swimming pool and a restaurant (which is opened all the day, during Ramadan only alcohol is not served).Different activities are proposed in the center :- You can just pay the entrance fee (3 OMR) and enjoy the private beach and the

Ramadan in Oman

2007-09-14T09:35:00.000-07:00

Well, today has begun the Ramadan in Oman and it will last until mid-October. During this period it is not allowed to eat, drink or smoke in public by respect to the Muslims fasting during the day.Most restaurants and small shops are closed during the day (even the fast-foods) but re-open after 6pm. Also, all the bars and clubs are definitely closed during this period (including the bars I've

Al Ghazal Pub

2007-09-10T23:20:00.001-07:00

The Al Ghazal Pub can be found inside the Intercontinental hotel. It is the best pub in Muscat, and when you enter the place you cannot avoid to say to yourself "welcome to england". Indeed, the clientele is predominantly english.There is a large bar, surrounded with private loges. you have also 2 pools (always busy) and even darts.Almost each night there is an activity, like a "Quizz night", I

Rock Bottom

2007-09-09T03:45:00.001-07:00

My first post since my holidays and it will be also the first one of a serie about nightlife in Muscat."Rock Bottom" is club located in Qurm, not far from the Crown plaza. You can book a table to dinner before clubbing if you want, the food is not excellent but at least it will avoid you to pay the 10 OMR for the entrance to the club.Once inside, it looks like a small regular club (compared to

On holiday again

2007-08-23T22:19:00.000-07:00

I'm going on holidays again to Paris until September 3th and I will eat a lot of "croissant". Meanwhile you can read, or reread, the most popular categories of my blog :cost of living : discover how much you need to live in Oman if you come in expatriation.expat thoughts : what have been my interesting thoughts living as an expat in Oman so far...supermarket : it seems a lot of people are

Yemeni restaurant

2007-08-20T22:41:00.001-07:00

This small restaurant is located just in front of the Sultan qaboos sport complex in ghala. It represents very well the kind of small arabic food restaurants you can find in Muscat, which serve correct food, quickly and for cheap prices. Some would say they are the traditional arabic fast-foods !The meal you can see below has just cost 2 OMR and it was excellent ! And you eat with your hand. The

Women expats in Oman

2007-08-17T00:43:00.000-07:00

I've seen a lot of people wondering how is the life for a woman expat in Oman. Well, I've asked my wife to write a post on her resentment toward her situation here, here is the result :"The good points that have surprised me compared with what I was expecting before leaving to Oman :Women are pretty free in Oman : they can drive and work as a man would do.There is no obligation to wear a veil for

Sultan qaboos sports complex

2007-08-13T22:39:00.001-07:00

In the ghala district of Muscat, just in front of the Majan hotel, is the large Sultan Qaboos sports complex. This complex has many facilities : a giant football field, tennis fields, multi-sports gymnasium...I've tried the swimming pool recently. There is a olympic size pool, a 25meters pool and a diving pool. Actually we were only 2 using the olympic pool ! It was a very different experience

Salalah - part3

2007-08-10T01:18:00.001-07:00

To finish, some unusual facts about Salalah :yes there are cows in Oman ! In fact you can only found them in Salalah region, and most of the milk produced in Oman is coming from here.On This picture you can see a grouping of blue tents : These kind of camp are actually "camel drivers" who live in the valley during the monsoon. a lot of grilled meat seller s are here also, spreading a sweet fumet

Salalah - part2

2007-08-06T22:22:00.001-07:00

Driving around Salalah, you wil see a lot of interesting spots :here on this picture is the lovely water spring of Jarziz, which was unfortunately dry beacuse of the rain shortage of the previous monthes.On the way to the beach, you can see this impressive canyonThe splendid beach was a little bit ruined by the weather (too much fog !) but it was still nice to swim in this deserted sea :)