Hey everyone!
I hope you all are doing well and that you’ve
had a great week full of nice weather and good friends. I’m dedicating the next
two posts to my trip to Oman; since there really was no way I could ever
condense it into one. Depending on how succinct I am, it may turn into three
posts, just a warning.
We had planned to go to Oman for a while, and decided that
this weekend was perfect because it fit two windows- it allowed us to exit
within the limits of our UAE tourist visas and renew them, and school-wise we
were all off for three days because of a national holiday on Thursday. Oddly
enough, we discovered that Saturday was a national holiday in Oman, so we were
apparently on the holiday circuit.
Bleary eyed, we woke up and set out before 6 a.m. on
Thursday morning. Knowing that we had a long day ahead of us, we plodded to the
nearest metro stop and took the long ride to the other side of Dubai. After we
got off, we went to find the bus station. A few members of our group had been
there before, but the early morning had muddied our memories, and after ten
minutes of wandering around we finally resigned ourselves to the fact that we
couldn’t find the station. As a result, we grabbed a cab and made it there
right before we were supposed to leave…or so we thought. To our dismay, the bus
driver didn’t let us on because we did not arrive at the requested half hour
before the departure. Fortunately, there was another bus company down the
street that had a bus that was about to leave, so we sprinted off and the
driver mercifully let us on, so we found seats and plopped down for the ride.
Thankfully, we had averted disaster, though the trip had not exactly gotten off
to a promising start.
After about an hour and a half, we reached the Omani border.
We received our exit stamps on the UAE side, and after crossing into Oman we
had our bags searched. Then, we headed into a large building to attain our
Omani tourist visas. What greeted us inside was the exact sight we did not want
to see- the building was packed full of people in long, snaking lines that
completely filled the rotunda. Worse, it appeared that there was little to no
movement. Resigned to the fact that we were going to be held up, we grudgingly
took our places at the back of the line and started the waiting game. We soon
discovered that the air conditioning was no match for the massive throng of
humanity that occupied the room, and sweat soon covered our bodies and made us
look like we all just taken a dip in the Persian Gulf. After moving fifteen
feet in one hour, there was not much of a bright side to look upon, for
cracking flat jokes about the wait could not stave off the insanity that was
beginning to encroach upon our minds.
Four hours, lots of sweat, and very sore legs from standing
later, we finally secured our visas. It became abundantly clear to us that the
day that we thought was going to be used to explore Muscat was going to be
taken up just by the trip. Racing towards our destination, the long bus ride
did treat us to some spectacular views. Oman’s interior is filled with jagged
saw-tooth mountains that are a deep hue of red, and have peaks pointed and
sharp like a pencil’s tip. After winding
through these mountains for a few hours, the scenery began to slowly transform
to a flatter landscape that was overshadowed by the mountains in the distance.
Small towns began to appear, and the dirt and sand began to give way to various
types of oasis-like foliage. These large green expanses contrasted with the red
mountains in the distance and created a beautiful sight. Gated compounds
encased large and flush gardens, which provided a myriad of different fruits.
Storefronts ranging from sweet shops to tire garages lined the road, and it
became clear that we were nearing the coast and in turn, the Omani capital of
Muscat.
It was hard to tell where we entered the city and where we
disembarked due to the darkness, but it was evident that Muscat was nestled in
between towering mountains and sprawled out until it reached the coast. The air
was thick and humid, but was a welcome change from the recycled bus air we were
subjected to for a number of hours. After haggling a cab price (the cabs in
Oman have no meters), we finally checked into our hotel, which was simple but
cozy. Most importantly, it had air conditioning and fit a college student’s
budget! Our room had a little balcony where we could step out onto and survey
our surroundings, which was filled with ivory colored houses and dominated by
the local mosque. The mountainous backdrop provided for a dramatic scene, and
our little veranda quickly became our favorite spot to lean back and relax. We
found a local restaurant down the street, and hungrily vacuumed up shwarma’s
and fresh pressed juices. By this time, we had been traveling for around
fifteen hours straight, and could barely make it back to our rooms in time
before we collapsed into an exhausted sleep.
Friday morning finally saw our luck beginning to change- we
found a great guy around our age that agreed to take us around in his SUV to
three famous nature sites in Oman, and later he also ended up taking us into
Muscat that night. After forcing down some early morning breakfast and instant
coffee, we set off into the mountains to our first destination- Wadi Dayqah. We
slowly gained altitude and gazed at the cut mountains that were dotted by
little green trees like dark freckles upon the red background. Other than those
shrubs, the rocky mountains were devoid of anything living, giving them a
haunting appearance; as if some unforeseen force had stripped the slopes of
life, only allowing the smallest and sturdiest of living forms left untouched.
We pulled into an elevated parking lot, and got out to gaze at the environment
around us. Wadi Dayqah is a valley that is filled to the brim with deep, cobalt
blue water that is stopped by a large dam at the mouth of the valley. On one
side of the walkway was the vast lake, an endless expanse of water that seemed
out of place with the dry and barren mountains that served as its container. On
the other side was the steep, concrete dam that spewed forth a controlled
amount of water into a cascading deluge of water that landed into the mouth of
the valley.
The spewing water and the sunlight combined to produce a
stunning rainbow that arched over top the valley, providing a scene worthy of a
postcard. The water trickled into the flatlands, giving the necessary
ingredients for a large oasis of greenery and palm trees. On the banks of the
dam-made stream was a small town filled with whitewashed houses that mingled
with the tall palms of the oasis. After admiring for a little while longer, we
piled back into the car and headed to our next destination. Despite the excessive
heat, our host-turned-guide offered us traditional Omani coffee, which I
gratefully accepted. Though it tasted much different than your standard
Starbucks blend, it was still wonderful; with a combination of bitter and
floral notes blending together to create a coffee experience that I had never
before encountered but nonetheless enjoyed.
After about a half hour of driving, we entered into a
flatland that had more plants, but these were not the deep green plants of an
oasis, rather they were filled with savannah like foliage. Singular trees stood
alone, and date palms with yellow fronds towered over the all of the plants. We
got out and walked into the park. At first, I wasn’t entirely sure what we were
supposed to be seeing. Don’t get me wrong, the scenery was pretty with the
grasslands and the ocean in the background, but if that’s all there was, I
didn’t really think it was going to be worth wilting under the merciless Middle
Eastern sun. My fears were soon proved wrong as we walked up to what I at first
thought was just a big hole in the ground. As I peered curiously over the side,
I was blown away at what I saw.
As if a large meteorite had crashed into earth, the ground
had been opened up into a perfect circle, and was a few stories deep. The inside
of the cavity was filled with translucent blue water, and the hue changed as it
got closer to the edge where it turned a deep navy. Steep stairs led down to
the floor, where an island of land stood lonely amongst the surrounding water.
After climbing down, it was amazing to spin around inside the massive cavity
and look at the high walls and breathtaking water. After going to the waters
edge, it became clear that the water became infinitely deep closer to the
walls, and eventually led to a vast network of underwater caves. Little fish
inhabited it, and treated us to a spa like experience- if you put your feet in
the water they would come and nibble all of the dead skin off your feet! I had
only ever seen something like this place in National Geographic magazines, and
to be honest I never though I would get to see them. But there I was, looking
down into the depths of water that was sliced through by beams of sunlight, and
looking up at the vertical walls of tan rock that formed a perfect circle.
After climbing out, we walked around and admired the tall
date palms, and then herded into our SUV to make the trip to our last site-
Wadi Shab.
This marks the end of the first half of my Oman blog post-
hope you enjoyed! I’ll post the second half in a few days- maybe it will add
some suspense to my mainly informative narrative. Many thanks and even more
love.
Andrew.
