To all those I mentioned that I was traveling to Muscat for tourism, the first reaction I got was confusion. "What exactly is there to see?". The immigration officer was the most confused. In the flights I took to and fro India, I don't think I saw any tourist. It was mostly people visiting family/friends or heading there for work or business. These non-tourists are a significant volume so much so that there are 4-5 daily flights from different cities of India to Muscat. Not for tourism though but did you know Avicii killed himself while on Holiday in Muscat? That was the most interesting thing I got from Muscat's Wikipedia page.
Out of all the countries I visited so far, Muscat was the place I saw the most number of Indians. During my trip, I spoke more Hindi and Malayalam than any other foreign country. A cab I guy knew about Kerala and talked about how there are so many Indians now. Yet, the place did not feel populated. It was mostly empty. The population density is quite low and since there is not too much tourism most of the places are really quiet and empty. It's 123rd on the population charts. There are a lot of migrants from South Asia - India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and even Philippines. I saw a lot of Filipinos as well. They have a presence in the middle east. With such a strong presence of migrants, I felt I fit in to the crowd and was not looked at it with surprise, concern or typically looks one feels in some other countries.
On the two hikes I went on, Sidab Trail and Wadi Shab, It was mostly just me walking along. (Wadi Shab did however get crowded towards the the later part but still drastically low compared to other tourist areas). I loved this. To be in nature, the quiet without the crowds was lovely. This was to me one of the best parts of the trip. Visiting a place untouched by large volume of tourists.
The beaches are really nice. Water is clear and blue. On some of the beaches away from the city like Pebbles beach, it's much more blue and clean and quiet. I was surprised to see such high quality beaches in Oman. The oases of Wadi Shab are also very beautiful and breath taking. In the second oases in Wadi Shab, towards the end there is a hidden cave with a water fall that was out of this world. This was the first time I saw an oases and I was taken aback by the quality of water. Its unlike a lake or a river with clear, blue and cool water coming out of the center of the earth. I spent a good half an hour in that cave and since I got there early I was mostly by myself. Very serene and calming. To see these water bodies and the quality in a dessert-like place was very surprising. To me this was the best that Muscat had to offer, the nature, the water.
The best part of the trip was the above visits to water bodies but also the drive to Wadi Shab. I took a car on rent and drove around 350 KM (to and fro) from Wadi Shab and nearby sites like Bimmah Sinkhole and Pebbles beach. The car ride was very scenic with Mountains, the long highways, the white colored houses, the beaches and is in the top 3 drives/rides I have ever taken. I started during sunrise and got back around sunset so it was even more beautiful. Since I was driving I couldn't take too many pictures but the few I took don't justify how beautiful the drive was.
I did not find a lot of people actually swimming or going into the water. There's no beach culture of shacks or swimming or sun bathing. The families there usually drive up their cars very near to the water, open a tent chair and sit. They chat, eat etc but very less of swimming or sun bathing or swim wear and its mostly done by tourists. This leads to the water and beaches being clean? I saw fishes in the water in one of the popular beaches in the city.
The local Omani people appeared to be reserved, mild mannered, introverted and dignified. I couldn't interact much with the locals there apart from Taxi Drivers and personal observations but I am told that they are warm, friendly and hospitable once they know you. There is also concern for others. When a child fell down while running, strangers who were passing by stopped and checked if he was fine. Shop owners, assistants from nearby shops also went to check. It was not a drastic fall nor was he bleeding but the cries caused concern and people rushed. In India, I suspect there will be some people who go to help but it would probably be around 1 in 4 compared to the 4 in 4 here.
They are still rooted in their traditions with men wearinga "Dishdasha" (also known as "Kandoora") - a full-length, ankle-length white or off-white robe and a "Muzzar" or "Massar" - a wrapped turban-like headdress, often featuring distinctive Omani patterns. The women wear the "Abaya" - a loose black robe worn over other clothing The "Hijab" - a head covering. They're loose fits. Despite this, women care about how they look. There is a lot of makeup, heels, lipsticks and perfumes. There were many shops selling them. There were a lot of perfume shops with every third or fourth shop in a mall being a perfume shop. Along with this traditional outfits, you get architecture that's very middle eastern with no tall buildings and most of it being painted white. Some might find all this aesthetically pleasing but I wasn't too impressed. So you get a very traditional middle eastern feel with the views and aesthetics.
English is widely spoken and I did not really use google translate unlike Thailand. I would've anticipated to speak more English in Thailand considering the number of tourists that visit as compared to Oman but it was the reverse. Cards are widely accepted and I did not use much of the Cash I took. Unlike Thailand which was more cash heavy. There's also free parking in most of the places and public toilets accessible in touristy places.
There are malls and cinemas and visited a lot by the locals there. I saw an Egyptian movie called El Dashash in VOX cinemas as part of the trip too. It wasn't to my taste and couldn't sit through the whole thing. Too much drama. Actresses are like Hollywood ones with different procedures done to them for enhancements. There was also a strong good and evil tone to the story which was old school to me and I suspect its derived from religion and pop culture.
I really loved the dates. They have a wide variety and its really tasty. Highly recommended. The brunch I had at KAIA and Turkish House Restaurant were amazing, try the Arabic breakfasts at KAIA, its good. The fast food was not tasty and you can skip it as its not too cheap or good. The chips are popular but I didn't like them much. Also how do they open chips? There's no cut or even a flap that comes out to open it. You will need a scissors to open it. The hangers there were surprisingly poor quality. I wonder if it was just the hotel I stayed at or a more general pattern?
The service quality is also really poor. I say this from my experiences with the airport staff, immigration officers, the telephone provider (Omantel), taxi drivers. They are not too interested in the customer relationship and view it in a very transactional lens. The local SIM I got from Omantel included a voucher for the local uber there called OTaxi but this voucher I got was expired. I tried connecting with the local staff at the airport who wasn't much of help and told me to go to Otaxi. Otaxi couldn't do much and sent me back. I then reached out multiple times over Whatsapp but nothing much happened. They created a ticket with a special team. Nothing happened after that. In comparison to India, especially start ups, within 10 minutes I would have had a resolution. Using AirBnB was also disappointing. I booked three different places for stay with two declining the request due to non-availability and one not responding. A local tour I booked also got canceled due to low number of guests. Changing my hotel room was also a bit of task where I had to ask them multiple times. Overall, service quality in general is not great
Overall, I think Muscat for tourism is underrated and its a country to visit at least once. There's not much to do so a week long trip should be more than enough and a good place to start your travel in the middle east?
At Pebbles BeachPebbles/ Tiwi beachArabic Breakfast at KAIAWadi Shab First PoolWadi ShabWadi Shab ParkingDrive to Wadi ShabTrek at Saideb TrailEarly morning drive to Wadi ShabPalace of the King - Very few touristsDrone show at Muscat Nights FestivalLuqaimat Desert at Omani Restaurant Beach Culture at Oman - Drive car to waterHangers ??Turkish House Restaurant - Seafood
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