Oman
This sultanate is bordered by Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the UAE, and is home to a population of just 2.5M people, of which a third are expatriates from overseas. It has an incredible history dating back some 10,000 years and has four UNESCO world heritage sites. Oman also has a diverse topography with mountains and fjords, sand dunes and salt flats as well as lush green hills, desert and a 3100km coastline.
A long weekend doesn’t give you much time to explore but we did manage to fit in a city tour incorporating the museum, the Grand Palace and the spectacular Grand Mosque which can accommodate 20,000 people at one time! The Omani culture is very much Islamic and you will see many beautiful mosques with their ornate golden domes throughout the city. You won’t find the sky scrapers and huge office blocks which dominate Dubai’s sky line: buildings are generally 4 storeys high and white with beautiful arches and a very Arabic look. Roads are excellent and traffic flows freely. There is evidence of building works but it is very low key.
Visitors to this country are expected to show respect to the local customs, and we ensured that we covered shoulders and knees whenever we travelled out of the hotel. Care should also be taken when taking photographs.
I stayed at the Al Bustan Palace hotel (Intercontinental) which is very luxurious and about 45 minutes out of the centre on a good beach, backed by mountains. It has a superb pool with plenty of space in the beautiful gardens. The rooms are beautiful and the beds were just wonderful! It offers great food and great service too.
I also visited the Chedi hotel for lunch: it is very modern and has very clean lines in its design. The grounds are lovely and it is more conveniently located being only 15 minutes from the city centre. This is definitely a hotel for couples as they don’t welcome children, and the highlight here is the fabulous main restaurant with its show kitchens. Awesome!
I also enjoyed a visit to the Grand Hyatt which was my favourite hotel: several elements in its design definitely give it the WOW factor including the huge stained glass window, the Bedouin tented areas throughout the hotel and the choice of restaurants and entertainment venues. Although the Al Bustan has by far the best pool area, this is a hotel I would definitely return to!
One last meal out and I had that at the huge Shangri-La hotel which is three hotels in one. The Al Waha for families, the Al Bandar which is aimed at couples and was where I ate, and the 6* Al Husn which is extremely luxurious. The public areas and rooms at this hotel are indeed luxurious and the setting is fabulous too. I am keen to get back to this hotel and experience a stay here as what I saw on my brief visit looked amazing!
Oman has more to offer than just the beaches though and I have picked up some great contacts for adventure experiences. I can offer all sorts of boat trips, trips out to see the countryside including wadis, forts, and mountain villages, as well as chances for more extreme sports such as sand vipers, dune bashing and off road motor biking! Diving is big here with an impressive coral reef and lots of ship wrecks.
Traditional water sports such as sailing and fishing, as well as land sports are also available. Oman is also renowned for its turtles: some 20,000 of them come ashore every year to breed and I can arrange for you to witness this.
It was hot when I was there – the temperature was in the 40’s but I didn’t find it too unbearable as it was a very dry heat.
We flew with Oman Air: it is just 7 hours away and a time difference of just 4 hours. Oman Air was excellent with a seat pitch of 34” in economy and good food. They have new planes on order and will be extending their network to fly to Colombo and Male so great twin centres with Sri Lanka and the Maldives will be available soon.
To sum up: this was a fabulous experience and I can’t wait to go back!