Hot and humid Muscat in Oman, here we come, a place we had never been before.
We left home just after 2pm on Sunday and drove the Heathrow T5. We were doing fine till we reached just before the M40 and then it took nearly as long from there to the airport. However, we finally arrived and parked the car in the long stay car park.
Our flight was at 19.55 but we wanted to be there early as we were flying first class and to have time to enjoy the terminal. First class check in was in its own area, behind screens from the main airport and was very quick. They have their own security area, so you do not have to join the main crowds and just wander through on your own, directly into the lounge.
Linda was liking this luxury and it takes away all the stress of the airport conveyor belt. We went to the exclusive Concorde room and sat there and drank coffee. It was pretty good stuff. Linda decided to have a free treatment in the spa area.
There was a separate dining area, so as we were hungry we had dinner. It was fine dining, the food was very fancy and nicely laid out - but not very substantial or filling, fortunately we will get fed on the plane later.
It was soon time to wander to the gate, we did have to join the riff raft for this part, but once we boarded the plane, we turned left, they turned right.
We had our window seats, or suites as they are called in first. The good thing was they are very spacious so I couldn’t see Linda, more importantly I was too far away from her to talk to me - asking questions like are you asleep.
We had some drinks bought round and Linda managed to knock hers all over the floor - you can take the girl out of Southend - but you can’t take Sarfend out of the girl as they say! The air hostess was very nice to her and said they would find her another seat - down the back perhaps = but no opposite me!
The plane was soon taking off and it was just under 8 hours to Muscat, Oman. It is very posh in first class, although I didn’t see anyone famous - in fact the plane was half full as this is not the time to go to Oman, its too hot. However, thats why I got such a good deal on the flight and hotel!
The air stewardesses bring your assorted nuts round on a plate warmed, not in a packet and you can have your food when you would like it. I had a meze platter followed by burger and sweet potato fries.
It was then getting late - so the air stewardess asked if I wanted the bed made up. You get PJ’s and slippers on this flight so I went and changed and when I came back the seat bed was made up. It was very comfortable and I had a few hours sleep.
Breakfast was served just before we landed.
Oman is about 3 hours ahead and hot, as we found out when we got off the plane! It is in the late 30’s/early 40’s and quite humid. However, once you get used to it, it is not too bad. It was kind of misty too.
We had booked onward transportation to the hotel and our driver was there to guide us through purchasing a visa, immigration and collecting our luggage - all arrived safely. It was then onto our 5 star hotel, The Chedi, about 20 minutes drive.
Amazingly the first places we saw were Mcdonalds, Costa and KFC.
The deal we had meant we could check in straight away, and even had an upgrade to a room with a balcony as it was my birthday. It is the quiet season for them. It has 3 swimming pools and a healthy club. Behind the hotel are the majestic Al Hajar Mountains and the beach leads down to the Gulf of Oman. Of course it also has wi-fi very important these days. We have a mini bar in our room and all the non-alcoholic drinks are free, and they replace them daily, even more exciting it has a Nespresso machine. There is an old relic called a kettle to make tea.
The room is enormous and has his and hers sinks, as well as a power shower. The balcony looks towards the sea but it is too hot to sit outside for long.
Linda decided she had jet lag and went to sleep. Once I had finished testing the Nespresso machine I went for a recce around the 21 acres of hotel, as well as venturing out into the local village.
I then came back and did some reading till Linda woke up. We then went down to the swimming pool on the beach, I was sensible and covered up - Linda not so in the pool and had a nice pattern from her swimsuit. It was very pleasant sitting on the chairs, looking out to sea. I went for a paddle in the water, but Linda went swimming in the sea in the direction of Iran.
We are near a Mosque so can hear the call to Salat five times a day. There are a lot of Mosques here but that is similar to a lot of churches in some areas of UK.
Linda wanted to have a walk off site, so we found the local supermarket and bought some food for our tea. We then walked back in the heat. It is fine walking in the heat, but you do need to have a shower when you come back to the room.
Everywhere has air conditioning - including the room, which is ok, but I find the room cold and keep going outside to warm up - Linda prefers the cold.
On Tuesday I was up early and went for a run. Linda did think about it - but then turned over and went back to sleep, and was still sleeping when I got back. I decided to be sensible and keep to the main roads, so ran 2.5K one way, turned round and ran back. It was hard sweaty work but felt better at the end. Strangely I didn’t see anyone else running, perhaps they go out earlier.
Once Linda was up we went for breakfast, there was loads food in the buffet around four work stations. We filled up nicely with pancakes, bread, fruit, yoghurt’s - won’t need to eat till tonight. The only downside there was a lady who kept making phone calls on the table next to use and talking loudly. It was more annoying than anything. Then when she wasn’t talking on the phone she was watching videos with the sound turned up. I like to have my breakfast, read the paper and enjoy my coffee in quiet.
The temperature here doesn’t really change at all, it goes down a few degrees in the evening and overnight, but not much more. It stays hot all the time, although by the pool you get a pleasant sea breeze.
We decided to go for a walk after breakfast and it took about 30 minutes to walk to the shopping mall. Thats another thing here you don’t see many people walking! Taxi’s kept bibbing us to see if we wanted a lift, but we were happy to walk. We found the air conditioned mall and had a wander around, it wasn’t much different from Lakeside, all the same shops just the prices were in Omani Rial (OR).
There was a Starbucks there so we stopped for coffee, didn’t taste much different from the UK! I did have a look around to see if anyone served proper Arabic coffee - but most of the places were like Starbucks or offered instant.
We then wandered back to the hotel and spent the afternoon by the pool, enjoying the sunshine and the water. Linda went swimming but I did some work on the computer and reading.