Thursday's Travel Blog

Oh my word....

Okay, so the weekend in the Middle East is Thursday and Friday - so my coworker and friend Sandra and I decide it's time to get outta dodge and head to Oman for the weekend. We were looking for some traditional Middle Eastern ways of spending the weekend, and Oman, we were told, is much more traditional than the UAE.

So we go to get a car, but I find out that I can't get a car without an international drivers license (which you get with a five minute visit to AAA in the States), but Maher - who seems to know EVERYONE in the UAE - calls a friend after hours who works at Avis. He tells him to get us a car and say it's from Dubai, since you don't need an international drivers license from Dubai - and the guy does. When we pick up the car Thursday morning, the guy told us if we were questioned at all, say we were from Dubai. A little odd, I know. We did, so he "wouldn't go to jail" as he said.

It took us about 2 hours to get out of Abu Dhabi, through Al Ain, and hit the Omani boarder. We knew we were going to have to get a visa to get into the country, so we weren't surprised to be pulled over and made to go inside. After waiting about 10 minutes, they look at our passports and tell us we have no exit stamp from the UAE. Well we'd gotten lost on our way, and somehow entered Oman illegally - we *totally* passed up the UAE boarder. So at that point, we have to leave Oman and drive back to the UAE (Arabic instructions are 15km to the roundabout, then 50meters after the roundabout, but TRUE instructions are 25km to the roundabout, then 2km after the roundabout) - when we see what we did. We came in on this little road from the East, and we were supposed to come in on the bigger road from the South. Well now... Who knew I woke up wearing an "I (heart) being an Illegal Alien!" tee shirt!

So we try and talk to the UAE customs folks, and they're not really understanding what's going on. Now I know having your passport up to date is damn important, and we keep saying we have to get exit stamps. I keep having to go back to the car (once for the registration, then to get the color of the license plate, THEN to get my camera to take pictures of the wild camels on the side of the road) and we finally convince them to let us out of the country - for UAE$20 a piece. Okay, so we get back on the road and head back to Oman.

Knowing that we have to get visas, I don't even try to drive through. We park and go inside. We're behind two small Austrailian and Italian families and a couple of Arabs who were darting in and out. After about half an hour and UAE$60 each, we're ready to go -- MOSTLY. The guard tells us to check our insurance coverage (we're covered under Diners Club) to make sure we're okay in Oman. Now it's been a good four and a half hours, and I'm a little cranky - and of course the guy who does insurance doesn't speak a bit of English. We've been lucky so far - but our luck just ran out.

So this like 7foot tall guy steps in and tries to translate for us. We're trying to get across the point that Diners Club covers us, but they're not buying it (if they're understanding us at all). We have to go get the car registration again, and the tall Arab walks us to the car - all the time saying things like, "bin Laden - BAD!". He's a crackup. So we get everything we need and head back in.

Now Diners isn't well known - even in the US. So the insurance guy, the guy from the Ministry of Tourism, and two security guards aren't buying it. They're saying we have to buy insurance - cash only. Okay, fine - I finally give in and say I'll do it, but here's the catch. Who didn't get cash before leaving the hotel this morning? Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding - you win a prize if you chose me! Luckily there's an ATM. That doesn't give cash. It just takes your card, spits it out after 10 seconds, and says, "Thank you for doing business with the Bank of Oman. Good day!". I try every card. Even ones I know I can't get cash out on. Nothing. Every little grate of the "Good day!" makes me want to ram my pin down this speakerwire of this damned machine!

So, no money (we spent it all trying to get in and out of Oman and the UAE, respectively) and no insurance. We try again, this time calling Diners Club. What a time to get the operator from hell! This woman's irritated enough because she's working nights (it's like 2AM in the States where she is) and annoyed that her phone rang. You can literally hear her blue hair beehive slump over when I ask her to fax something to Oman showing we have insurance. A couple of pops of her gum in my ear and a sigh later, and she's like, "What? Can you tell me what you want again?" My eyes roll back in my head, and I turn to Sandra and say, "You sure you want to go to Oman?" under my breath. At this point, we're heavily thinking about just turning around and going to Dubai (where hey - the car is from originally, so the Avis guy won't go to jail, right?!?!). The tourism guy must REALLY want us to go to Oman, because he keeps offering to give us money! He's like, "I'll buy your insurance - you pay me tomorrow!". WEIRD. Just at that point, I open my wallet and realize I didn't change all of my US currency into UAE currency! I have $70US in cash on me! So the guy with the gun calls a friend and tries to figure out how much money we have, and it turns out, low and behold, to be enough to get us insurance and let us continue our journey into Oman! He grabs my wallet and pulls $60 from it -- and oh so kindly gives me back the rest of my money and wallet -- we sign our life away for US$60 of insurance, get back into the BOILING car, and finally get to cross the boarder! Oh, what an experience we've had already.

So we're in the interior of Oman and head for Muscat. We STILL have another 2+ hours to drive, and I totally zone out. Sandra takes a little nap, and I'm flying through the desert at 120-150kph (on the way back, I realize that I flew through some small city's checkpoint at top speed, when the speed limit was 60kph! I was like, "Damn! Where did this come from?!?!" when we hit the speed bump at 120kph!). It's beautiful in Oman! There are tourrets and beautiful buildings and camels being driven in the back of trucks. It's quite a site! We'd stopped for gas, and I paid less than US$20 to fill up. Gas in Oman is the US equivalent of $1.20/gallon. CHEAP! Especially now...

Driving into Muscat, we have all of these stuff going on around us - and I tried to get pictures. Our first job, though, was to find a hotel. We're staying at a glorified "Holiday Inn" in Abu Dhabi, so we found the equivalent in Muscat, and Sandra got us checked in while I did a little surgery on the car. You see, rental cars in Abu Dhabi are *CRAP*. Our car had a piece of plastic undercoating that, when driving at slow speeds, dragged on the road. Do you know what it's like to drive around a town at slow speeds, where all of the locals are laughing and pointing at you? It's like we were driving an AMC Pacer or something! I'd just smile, nod my head, and say very nasty things under my breath about the car. Damn piece of crap... Anyway, while Sandra was getting the room, I crawled under the car and cuss and scream - and almost get to see what they wear under all those robes what with all the people walking around me - and yank that sucker right off. I know I had to be insulting SOMEONE's ancestors, the way my mouth was producing vulgarities! But I got it off, crawled out from under the car, and hid that piece of plastic under the seat. I wonder if Avis has found it yet...

So we're all set finally, and drive off, scrape-free, to go find the market. We're driving along the coast, getting lost at roundabouts (I've seen HUNDREDS of roundabouts here, and only one traffic light!), and find the water. I'm looking how beautiful and rustic it is, when we hit a STARBUCKS! I can't believe it. In all of this old housing, old bridges, rustic settings, and people dressed like they have been for hundreds of years, I look over at Starbucks and see the same old skateboarder punks and goth kids that I can see in Portland! The goth is really weird - especially a woman wearing a berka covered from head to toe, but the face not covered by the berka - but rather in goth-type makeup. Then again, maybe they were just REALLY bad at doing their own makeup... Who knows.

After we get lost and totally bypass the Souq (market), we head back and find a parking place. We don't have any coins, and that just happens to be what the parking meter takes, and I ask someone for change. The guy goes to his car and gets some coins and brings them to us - and won't take money in exchange! Just weird - I mean Omani money has an exchange rate of Omani$1 equals US$2.50. The guy gave us Omani$1 in change, and just walked away. These people are quiet, humble, and always willing to help. I think part of it is the Muslim religion. They won't profit on any deal with making interest - so if you owe someone money, you can't pay them anything more than you owe them. It's my first real interaction with an Omani, and I see how wonderful these people are.

So we hit the market, and my mission was to look for beads, rugs, and wall tapestries. Many places have traditional berkas for women, slightly decorated (hint: Black is in. It's been in for hundreds of years, and pretty much will continue to be that way until Muslim women are allowed to dress in other colors). We pass some shops with daggars - ain't gonna try and get THAT in my carry on luggage! - and come across an Indian carpet and shawl place. We head in, and I'm glad I did. I immediately fell in love with the colors and styles of these small rugs (about twice the size of a bathmat) and they're easily useable as a wall hanging. He said Omani$35 for one (about US$105 each) and I was sold. I know, I know - I'm supposed to bargain - Sandra was looking at me like, "Come on now! We're here to shop, for bargains!" so I finally say, "Well, how much for two?". I just can't make my mind up - all of these things are *beautiful*, and the workmanship is incredible. I find two, and the guy and I agree on Omani$32.50 each on a price (US$81.25). I think it's a bargain - the pictures are below - you check them out! I agree and hand over my American Express card (thank goodness he takes cards!) and go to sign my receipt - when I notice he's charged me just Omani$30 each (US$75). I've barely bargained, and saved US$60 - I think that's pretty damn good!

Continuing through the market, we start to see all of the non-touristy type things, because this Souq is where Omanis come to get their goods and services. It's not primarily a touristy thing. There's all sorts of stuff - tons of "crap" that you'd buy at your local WalMart, direct from China and dirt cheap. Not that I need kids clothes, babie dolls, teflon pans, or magnetic beads that make funny noises when you put them together. I was happy with my rugs. Sandra got some popcorn (it was about 6:30PM, and we'd only had an apple since breakfast at 7:30AM) so it was time for breakfast. What better to eat than a traditional Omani meal, eh?

I can answer that one. What's a traditional Omani meal? Boiled goats head, of course. But not just any goats head - LOCAL goats head! Can't be too hard to find one - they run wild down the sides of the highways. It's weird. Anyway, so we went to a local place, where we were put into a little wood paneled room by ourselves, and brought bottled water. Oh yeah, you don't drink the tap water here - you only drink bottled. So we're sitting on the floor, shoes off, and look over the menu. Did I mention the local boiled goats head? We passed on that one. I just got a salad and hummus with bread. Sandra got the "local" platter, which had tons of Omani delicacies (squid, fried mutton, tons of rice, and fishes). Dinner was pretty good - I actually like the hummus in Oman better than what I've found in the UAE - it's not as tart. We got up and paid Omani$7 for dinner (about US$17.50) and stumbled to the car. We were full!

Driving back was a trip. Throughout Oman, they have these structures at roundabouts. They also have ornate decorations just about anywhere. We passed a house or hotel (hard to tell the difference - a house can be HUGE) that had a huge water fall all light up with colored lights, and were passing just the most ornate traffic circle things. It was nice seeing it all lit up at night. We finally got to the hotel - it was 10PM, and got to the room. We sat down and talked for a few minutes, turned on the TV and watched a little Mythbusters (gotta love Jamie and Adam!), and before we knew it, we were both passed out.