Jebel Maleiha

(3/12/23)

And just like that, it is December! Gosh!

The day began relaxed. Last year, I bought a membership to a club that gave us two free nights in a hotel (not consecutive) and several vouchers for dining. We used one of the hotel nights in August. I booked the second for tonight - in Muscat!

So, after an unhurried start, we packed our cases and set off. We stopped briefly in Festival City to get a snack and have the car washed inside and out. You wouldn't believe it, in the thirty minutes we were there, G met Desiree's husband, then the school nurse and lastly, Pauline!! Unbelievable!

We set on our way, travelling the shortest distance whilst staying within the speed limit. If it wasn't for our spur-of-the-moment trip to Lahore in October, this was the last trip I made out of the UAE, all the way back in 2019. Much has changed at the border, the biggest of which is that G didn't need to pay for her visa! A whole new building on the Oman side makes the distance between exiting the UAE and entering Oman much shorter. The convenience store in the old building was not replicated in the new one, meaning I couldn't get a local SIM card at the border. This proved a real disadvantage later on.

We were soon on the Expressway to Muscat, with gorgeous lighting and scenery. It felt like an age before we finally got into the city. I had set the GPS to guide us to the hotel, but with it now being dark and a new area for us, a couple of wrong turns were inevitably taken. Muscat has a terrible road network.

We eventually turned into the rather grand entrance of the Sheraton Hotel. Being a Friday, everywhere was very quiet, with hardly anyone around. Not even a valet man! Anyway, we checked into our room, put our bags down and then headed out to get something to eat and a SIM card. The SIM card proved a bigger challenge than I imagined. They have strict controls over them, with only a few places licenced to sell them. We ate dinner at an Iraqi restaurant and managed to find our way to Qurm City Centre, as a "helpful" person told us we should be able to get a SIM card in Carrefour!

One of the first things we saw as we entered the mall was an OmanTel store. They were still open at 10:30 PM. There was just one person behind a desk but no customers. Prices have gone up for tourist SIM packages, so I said I would get back to him after checking at the hypermarket.

We got there to discover they do not sell SIM cards but only recharge cards! Hmm, something was lost in translation by the "helpful" person who told me to check out one of two supermarkets! OmanTel it is, then. We went back and bought ourselves the ability to navigate our way through the city. We got back to the room and went straight to bed to start again tomorrow morning.

It is our first time in Muscat without our friend Hilde. We are fast realising the difference that not having someone with local knowledge makes!

My picture is of Fossil Rock as we sped past it on the S102.