Day 3
We awoke in Muscat. It was an early morning – we had to meet our tour group at 7AM.
Muscat is the capital of Oman. It has a population of about 800k and 50% are immigrants. They have permission to stay for two years and then must return to their home country, renew their passport and then can come back. Muscat is built in the middle of volcanic mountains. The people love the Sultan because of the development he brought after 1970. Prior to that, there were no paved roads and the donkey was the primary means of transportation. Water for bathing and cooking is brought to peoples houses. It is desalinized then delivered by truck. The dirty water is then cleaned and used again and then the third time used for grass and plants. Water is actually more expensive than gasoline: 24 cents per Litre for gas vs. 35 cents per Litre for water
It was noted that no one rides bicycles. This is because of how people dress – basically a long white shirt.
Everything is free for the locals - no taxes, no health care costs, free school, etc. Foreigners must pay a 50% tax per year.
The Sultan gives a gift to the people once per year on the day of the Sultan, which is the day he took over power. Last year, everyone who took out a loan in 2009 did not have to pay it back. One year, the Sultan gave a gift of 700 per month for people who graduated from university and could not find a job.
There are no sky scrapers. Buildings cannot be more than a certain height. The philosophy is that everyone is equal.
We visited the Grand Mosque. It is the third largest in the world. Inside the men’s mosque is a 31 ton carpet. It is a single piece from Persia. There is also a gigantic 8 ton chandelier.
We then had a short shopping visit at the Mutrah Souq and bought some cashmere silk scarves and frankincense (an aromatic substance that comes from tree sap). We were very embarrassed when we lost track of time and had to be rounded up by the tour guide. We were the last one’s on the bus, but at least we did not get boo’d like we did in Ireland. Although I got “the look” from one lady at the next stop.
We then visited the Bait Al Zubair, a primate museum that houses traditional Omani heritage items. This is a private museum owned by Hi Excellency Mohammed Al Zubair – Advisor to His Majesty the Sultan for Economic Planning Affairs. The exhibits include collections of Omani weaponry, jewelry, clothing, household items, books, photographs, paintings, maps, etc. which aim to show and preserve the rich Omani heritage and culture.
Our last stop was the Al Alam Palace, the official residence of Sultan Qaboos. The architecture is a blend of oriental and occidental styles in rich hues of gold and blue. The palace is strategically positioned between the two medieval fortresses of Jalali and Mirani, built by the Portuguese towards the end of the sixteenth century. The Sultan actually has 7 palaces around the country and no one knows where he is living from day to day. The staff at each palace cook food throughout the day and if he does not come, then they eat it themselves.
We were back on board by lunch. We hung out pool side with the kids. The water slide opened in the afternoon but Sydney was too short to go on her own by about an inch. I told her that the next time someone measures her height to go on a ride to stand on her tippy toes. The next day, she tried my technique and was able to go on by herself - she was so happy.
We decided to sign the kids up for dinner at the kids club so that Sandy and I could have a quiet evening.
We saw some of the show – it was a motown group. Afterwards, we tried out the casino. We won another 30 on our favorite coin machine and then spent another 20 on the slots – it was good entertainment.
Day 4
We left Muscat the night before and in the morning were continuing our journey across the Arabian Sea to India. I had a workout in the morning. I tried to keep up my workouts in a feeble attempt to stave off the extra inches settling around my waste from double portions, mostly at breakfast and dinner. After breakfast, we hit the rock climbing wall on the ship (a family first as the kids were too young in the past). JP made it to the top on the third try and the audience cheered – undoubtedly one of his favorite moments of the cruise. I attended the destination lecture on India and then we had lunch in the main dining room. The waterslide opened at 1PM so we spent the afternoon poolside. It was a formal night and a picture night so we cut the afternoon short to get ready for the evening. We started at 5.15 with pictures, then 5.45 for the captain’s reception, then dinner at 6.30. We put the kids to sleep and did some gambling in the casino. We tried to duplicate the success from the night before, but ended up losing 10. We skipped the show as we had seen it before – it was a Tango number featuring the RCL dancers.
