The beautiful Oman

I was pumped for Oman before I even got into the country.  Rob had lived there for one year before he moved to Georgia and had nothing but good things to say.  I knew I was going to have a good time visiting Chas and Lauren.  

I brought in too much booze at the airport.  I had a bottle of vodka each for Lauren and Chas.  Then I had also picked up a bottle of wine in Georgia to share for thanksgiving.  The customs guy was not amused.  I told him they were gifts.  But he just gave me a stony glare, even after I tried to give him a bottle of wine.  He and just about everyone else in Oman is Muslim, I'm not surprised that he didn't want it.  Then a guy, who was picking up friends behind me, talked to him and he let me through with the extra bottle of booze, just don't tell anyone.  How lucky was that.

Chas picked me up directly from the airport.  She had a friend with her, who she had just met a week before; Yunis.  Yunis drove cab part time and went to the police academy full time.  These two were lucky enough to meet in the cab one day and Yunis took a likening to Chas, and her strange ways.  They have been hanging out ever since.  Yunis was super nice and chatty.  I have found Omanis are quite witty and playful.  I really enjoy their humor.

The next day was a holiday, so Chas and I just relaxed.  I forget how important it is to relax on vacation at times.  Being with friends always makes it possible.  Chas and I watched the L Word and then eventually helped her new/old neighbor move in.  I guess there had been a transition in schools recently, because Chas had only been in Muscat for two weeks and the neighbors were just moving in when I got there.  The old school was having some legal problems, so almost everyone was changing schools.  This happened often in Korea as well.  The ESL world is the same everywhere.

We also got to go to the city center.  Now you are probably thinking that this is some glorious out door market.  Incorrect, my friend, incorrect!  The city center is a mall and it’s all inside and all air-conditioned.  This, I am told, is quite normal for Arab countries.  Why be outside when it is 150 degrees?  They do have traditional markets or seoks, but I never got to see one.  Which is too bad, but what a  good reason to come back to Oman and visit again.  

At the mall you saw men and women.  This was strange, because outside on the streets of Oman I had rarely seen women.  But the women I saw in the city center were much different than what I saw in the streets.  Women who were usually covered from head to toe in a Hijab were now slightly less covered.  The hijab gaped open allowing glances at designer clothing, purses, bags, shoes.  Even the hijabs seemed to be designer quality.  Some were colors other than black, or had pretty embroidery or trim.  Also women were done up to the nines.  Makeup, hair nails… just the works.  It was an interesting transition.   

The city center is one of the few places where women are allowed to be seen in public.  It’s not like Saudi Arabia, where women need an escort.  It’s just tradition that binds women to the home in Oman.  It’s also up to the women and their family weather they follow the traditional rules of Islam.  So because this is a socially acceptable place to be seen, women dress differently than they would on the streets.  

Also because the culture, Omani men don’t get much exposure to women.  The gendered culture is very separate.  Women do their thing and men do theirs and they rarely met each other in the middle.  It makes teaching university courses difficult, or so I'm told.  The girls and the boys are distracted by each other, because they have never really associated before that point and they are looking for marriage material.  So this means lots of staring and embarrassment. 

One thing that was odd was that there was no Omani food in Muscat.  Muscat is just a hodgepodge of so many different cultures that they have adapted western food, Turkish food, Indian food… you name it.  This might not be entirely true.  But that is what I experienced when I stayed with Chas.  She had only been living in Muscat for two weeks.  So she still didn’t know the little corners a traditional restaurants could be hiding in.  When I go back to Muscat, I’m sure she will have everything figured out.  Unless she is like me and cooks all her own meals, and after two years living somewhere still doesn’t know where to take guests for dinner. 

After a few days with Chas in Muscat I took the bus to Salalah to meet Lauren for thanksgiving.  The bus was torture.  I know better than to expect to sleep on a bus, but I took the night bus anyway.  It was cold on the bus, you know, because we were traveling through the middle of a desert… at night.  

 I also acquired a stalker on the bus.  Not dangerous, but annoying.  The manager of the company took an interest in me, because I was a white woman traveling alone.  He got me a seat in the front of the bus, which I was warned to do in order to avoid being groped by Indian or Pakistani men.  (Don’t look at me, every country has its prejudices.)  Well, he slept in the two seats across from me and even lent me one of his pillows.  Sound like a nice guy.  Something a manager of a bus company would do to be nice.  But then during the night he kept touching me with his feet.  I eventually just curled up in a little ball as far away from him as possible.
 

I would have never seen him again, except when I got off the bus Lauren wasn’t there and my phone was out of money.  So I had to talk to the manger/creepy man to find a way to call or get in contact with Lauren.  In the end she was sleeping, and came a few hours later.  Through this ordeal the manger acquired Lauren’s number and incessantly called us that day and the day after.  Eventually one of Lauren’s Omani male friends picked up the phone and chewed him out in Arabic. I was hoping that was the end of it again, but I knew there might be a chance I would see him when I took the bus back to Muscat.  I changed my return ticked to stay an extra day with Lauren, but still managed to bump into him on my bus out.  This time he wasn’t riding the bus, which was great.  But he did make a scene by escorting me on the bus, finding me a good seat, continuously saying he was sorry and making sure the drivers knew to take care of anything I needed on the trip back.  That was more than a little awkward. 

 After all that the bus ride back was great; full of beautiful dessert and mountains.  I don’t mind long rides during the day.  I can read, stare out the window at the scenery and listen to music for hours in cars.  Visiting relatives across state lines since before I can even remember might have something to do with that.

So why would I endure a 10 hour bus ride across Oman, without sleep, through a dessert?  To see Lauren of course.  Lauren and I were neighbors in Korea for almost three years.  We cooked together, watched Sex in the City, learned the our new city together and partied together.  So when Chas moved to Oman and shortly after Lauren did too, there was no doubt in my mind that I would be taking a road trip.  I was warned, by other friends who have worked in Oman, that Salalah might be boring.  I could see why that could be the case.  I mean it’s very far from the capital, it’s a pretty small town, you need a car to get around and you know… it’s in the country.  That is my favorite part.  Give me rural over urban any day.  There was so much to see and we saw it, on my second day there.  But first on my agenda, was sleep.  Lauren needed it too, so we took a nap.  

The day I came in was thanksgiving, and Lauren was hosting!  One of my favorite things to do is host dinner parties and Lauren hosting one was just as good.  It meant I could cook!  We made a lot of food.  Lauren’s amazing cranberry sauce with candied orange peel, homemade dressing, the turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie.  We probably made more that I’m forgetting, but with our spread and the stuff that the South Africans brought (traditional Christmas salads) it was more than enough food to feed three times the people we had.  Just like thanksgiving should be.  It was super nice to meet everyone.  

 That was also the night I sacrificed my dreads to the bad hair gods.  Oh were they horrible.  If only they were longer, it would have been worth the tedious grooming process you have to do with new dreads.  But they weren’t.  They were short and made me look like a crazy woman.  We had fun cutting them off.  We cut half off at a time, did a Mohawk and then at the end left me with two little antenna.  Those came off the next morning, but for the night I was a butterfly.

The next day we headed out early with some of the people from the night before.  One of the couples had a visitor as well, so a whole day of sightseeing ensued.  We saw the mountains and the plateau that makes up the majority of Oman.  And there were camels EVERYWHERE!  Just hanging out in the road and eating scrawny desert grass and looking at us through car windows.   Camels seem very chill and unaware of how much of a pain in the ass they can be.  People drive pretty carefully in the country because if you hit a camel, not only is it expensive damage to your car, but also you have to go through the hassle of finding the owner and then negotiating how much you need to pay for killing it.  Camels are important man.  

We also drove in and around the mountains and the tribal areas.  Lauren and I missed most of information of where we were and what tribal lands we were driving through, because we had taken two cars.  Our car did not contain an Omani, so we enjoyed the view and stopped in a local village for traditional flat bread and tea.  I loved that the men wear skirts, long (usually plaid) ankle length skirts.  It must be comfortable to wear, especially with how hot it gets in Oman.  

After the rural exploration we headed down to a coastal town called Murbat.  We devoured traditional bread that was just amazing.  It’s a flat bread filled with a canned creamed cheese (don’t make faces, it’s not uber processed like nacho cheese) drizzled in honey and then sprinkled with nuts and apricots.  It should have probably been dessert, but oh man, I didn’t mind it being an appetizer or eating the majority of it.  We also had delicious mix seafood stir-fry, grilled fish and rice.  At this restaurant, we ate with our hands.  My first experience of doing so, and I’m not very good.  I’m always dropping rice on my lap.  I need to work on my technique before I go to India. 

After that Lauren needed a break from driving.  By this point she had been driving for a good 5 or 6 hours, so we headed back for a nap, but really ended up interneting.  That night we all agreed to go out for camel meat, which was delicious.  It was fatty and melted in your mouth, well most of the time.  Sometimes you came across a tough piece.  It reminded me of horse in Korea.  You had to cook it just right, usually marinated, to get a tender delicious meat.  

The very last thing we did was smoke hookah on the side of the mountain overlooking the city lights.  It gets quite cold in the mountains at night.  We were on a little terrace on the mountain and almost decided to take one of the more sheltered spots.  It’s a good thing we didn’t because they found a poisonous snake in it later.  Everyone cleared out real quick and then the staff chased it and beat it with a stick.  I kind of felt sorry for the snake until Ibraham picked it up and started chasing people around with it.  After that people were pretty keen to leave.  We stayed for a little bit longer and then headed off.  It was a perfect day.  What made it even better was that Lauren’s friend Ibraham wanted to make sure I had good memories of Oman, so as a gift in friendship he gave me a camel necklace.  It was very sweet of him.

 

 I absolutely loved Salalah.  It was pure luck that I had scheduled my trip during one of the Omani holidays.  Because it meant that Lauren could take me around.  There was a down side too, because the bus took so much time, and I can’t sleep on buses, I missed out on seeing all the awesome things in Muscat.  By the time I got back Chas had work again, and we were limited to evenings.

I did get to see more of an Omani side in Muscat.  Yunis really enjoyed hanging out with us, so after work he would take us around in his car.  We went bowling and he took us to a “Korean” restaurant after.  The food was great, but it was really Thai food.  “Same, same.  Right?”  Chas and I giggled a little over that.  The next day we made plans to visit his family and have dinner with them.  

The next day was spent with me unable to find a hairdresser to shave my chopped hair.  The women salons just don’t carry clippers and the barber shops were all closed.  I guess that just means that I will get my haircut in India.  

Chas got sick that evening.  She even took some time off school to go to the hospital and figure out what was wrong.  So I ended up meeting Yunis’ family without her.  She needed the rest, but I could tell the family was excited to see Chas.  When I first arrived, they asked me about Hawaii and living in Oman.  They had heard so much from Yunis.  When they discovered I was just visiting, there were no hard feelings and we talked about Korea and traveling.  One of Yunis’ cousins was so happy to be talking to foreign woman.  She monopolized most of my time with the family.  She had so many questions and so much to say about the Omani life.  It was refreshing.  

Out of all the people I met Yunis’ Auntie was one of my best acquaintances.  She was polite and a great host.  She also had a lot to say about the family and what they did.  I don’t think I have met such a sweet woman before.  I can see why Yunis loves spending time at her house.  I also got to met Yunis male cousins.  They were a bit shy, except for his youngest cousin with downs syndrome.  That little guy was everywhere.  When we first came in he was shy, but by the time I left he was showing me his robot that dances to goengnam style and his array of super hero costumes.  He even kissed me on the cheek when I left later, saying “I love you” and I was now his girlfriend.  Cute little guy.  

Yunis’ Auntie prepared some great food.  For dinner we had some traditional African food.  I believe their family is originally from Tanzania.  So she prepared spiced chicken, fried potato dumplings, a salad and an assortment of other food.  It was quite good.  At the end of the night I promised everyone I would come back to Musact and visit and that it was my best night in Oman. 

Eating my weight in Georgian food

Georgia, Georgia… Georgia on my mind.  I couldn’t get that song out of my head for a good two days.  I know it’s not the right Georgia, but it’s a good song.  The plane was late, but Rob was there anyway!  We headed over to his place and let me tell you, it was nice.  The outside looks like old soviet block style apartments, and the hallways inside look like that too.  But when you get inside the apartment, it’s a different story.  Wooden frames, lovely furniture, a huge TV and stereo system.  He had the penthouse apartment.  Granted this is not the normal apartment for teachers.  The apartments are usually nice but he found one with a Georgian friend, so it was even better.  

I’m pretty sure all I did while I was in Georgia was eat.  We had dinner every night at a new restaurant with Georgian food.  We had eggplant covered in walnut paste or garlic paste (Badridzhani Nigvsit).  For every meal we had Georgian bread.  It’s a type of flat bread, but you can get it filled with bean, cheese, or egg, cheese and butter.   The latter is my personal favorite, dipping the end pieces into the melted butter and runny egg… mmm delicious.  We also had spiced beans over plain bread, grilled lamb, honey walnut yogurt, nuts covered in fruit-leather, cheese filled mushrooms and shawarmas.  The last one of that list isn’t Georgian, but it was still yummy.

cigarette claw machine?!

Well besides the food, Georgia is interesting, to say the least.  The first couple of days I was there Rob had to work, so I walked around by myself.  I saw beautiful ornate grand buildings right next to soviet block type buildings that were falling to pieces.  The Raddison is right next to a bridge that houses several homeless people or beggars.  It was mind blowing.  You could see at one time that this country was rich and had help to make things beautiful.  Now, after the soviet reorganization, they are only just getting on their feet.  So things are not well maintained and they still haven’t figured out all the little things.  I mean you can get cigarettes out of a claw machine.  That's weird.  But they are pulling it together, roads are being repaired, structures built and they have a decent public transportation system (in Tbilisi).  They are a baby country.  They will be in great shape in 20 years… maybe.

So, as usual, I did a lot of walking.  The first day I got rained on, so I only made it to the McDonalds, which was quite impressive on it’s own.  The McDonalds looked like one of the richest buildings in the area.  The next day I made it down to freedom square, but I had no idea what I was looking at, or where to go.  So from there I wandered around and eventually felt uncomfortable with my surrounding and headed back to the apartment.  Rob later told me that Tbilisi is really quite safe.  If I had known that I would have wandered around quite a bit more.  But it turned out ok, because Rob took me around to the sites that I didn’t discover on my own.

We took a night walk on Friday to show me the old city.  We found a pub that served Georgian wine.  I really like the on tap home brew.  Rob was telling me everyone makes their own wine.  And to have wine on tap in a bar is quite normal as well.  I really like the wine.  The kind we had was a pinkish brown color, a bit sour, but still had a nice flavor.  I thought it was more like a vinegar drink than a wine.  We also had some of the bottled of Saperavi Georgian wine the night before.  It was a full bodied red.  I enjoyed that one a bit more.

After wine and food, we got the last cable car to the top of the mountain where Lady Georgia resides.  We were literally walking up to the cable car at 10:59:30 and the person working the ticket booth still let us on.  No problem.  The view was stunning; the whole city lit up and was rolled out for our viewing pleasure. And once we got to the top, the castle and Lady Georgia weren’t too bad either. I really enjoyed the castle walk down.  After that we went to Old Town, saw where the party was, passed it up for more walking and found the sulfur baths.  Now I tried to find these again in the morning, and I couldn’t.  I wanted to take a dip.  I guess I am not meant to be in any baths this trip.  I missed out in Budapest as well.   

The next day was full of thanksgiving goodness.  A week early for the celebrations, but I’ll never pass up on a turkey. 

 No thanksgiving could be complete without football, so we found the closest thing to it in Georgia.  Rugby!  I had never watched a rugby game before in my life, so I did some research before we went and was still lost.  I met some of Rob’s friends at the game and we gossiped.  One of the guys was nice enough to explain to me what was happening.  I really liked the game.  I thought it was much more exciting than football, because of the continuous action.  I feel like in football they stop every couple of seconds to do something new.  

One thing I did not like about the Rugby game is that the Georgians booed the other team, a lot.  When they were making field goals or when the other team was doing well.  It seemed vulgar to me.  You just don't treat visitors to your field that way.   Just another cultural thing.  I know Argentina does the same thing and a few other countries.  After Rugby we headed back to the house so I could prepare a casserole for the party.  

Thanksgiving in a foreign country is always the same.  It’s nice, but not as nice as home would be.  It is also usually filled with lots of booze, something that was never really prevalent in my nostalgic childhood.  Some of the wine that was brought was squashed by the feet of the bringers.  how cool!  Some of the girls had gotten to participate in wine making and were given some of the wine they helped to make.  Rob had done the same thing with some Georgian friends as well.  It sounds quite interesting.  It was a lovely wine even though it had a bit of a bad cork smell and a tart taste.  Apparently I like tart red wines.  

 At the party it was a lovely bunch of teachers from all over.  Most had worked in other schools before Georgia.  I even met a girl who worked in Korea and knew the same people in Jeju I knew.  It’s a small world, sometimes I forget.  

Sunday we knew we had to make the most of it, so we took  off to look for a place where I could get some Georgian wine on tap to bring with me to Oman.  Of course the two places Rob knew of were closed.  It’s Sunday, I expected nothing less.  Everyone has to work the next day.  

We made our way to the 5 day war memorial and the everlasting flame.  I had seen it on my way in, but it was nice to see it in person and say "hi" to the soldiers that are posted by it.  What a boring job, but still important.  The 5 day war is the war between Russia and Georgia in 2008.  Russia backed the Ossetians to take part of the Georgian territory.  The frighting lasted five days and then a cease fire was signed.  Russian troops are still posted through out the territory and the land is still disputed today (you can see it on the above map).  

 After that bit of walking we headed up to the funicular up to where the carnival is.  The view was a bit obscured by the mist, that had decided to settle for the past few days over Tbilisi, but it was still beautiful.  We didn’t take any of the rides, but just walked.  It’s always nice to see the sunset over a city, we did that over beers and then headed down the mountain.

My last meal with Rob was a shwarma and tarragon soda, which I didn’t like (I don’t like carbonation).  A perfect ending to many good things in Georgia.

The end of Italy the begining of crazy Greece

Ancona was not super exciting.  I did a lot of walking.  Luckily I had booked a hostel before I got on the train, and it was very close to the train station.  Now this area was not very safe at night, or maybe more like I did not feel safe.  I came in during the day, so I found a grocery store and then got some delicious pork bread and headed back to the hostel to have a light dinner and do internet.  Later that night I went out of the hostel to find a beer and went right back in, not much was open in my area anyway. 

In the morning I went to book my ticket on the ferry.  Finding the terminal was an interesting trip.  It really is only accessible to cars and buses.  I walked on some roads without sidewalks around and around, seeing the terminal but having no idea how to get inside.  It didn’t help that my map didn’t indicate where it was on my phone, and no one knew what I was talking about when I asked for directions.  I should learn Italian; I bet it would be easy after already knowing Spanish.  Eventually I found my way in and booked my ticket.  With my EU Rail Pass it was only 22 Euros.  Those passes are amazing.  The lady said I could upgrade to a room after I got on the Ferry, right now I was in the “air seats”.  I had four hours to kill before the ferry arrived, so I went for a nice walk.  Looking at the port was not the most beautiful thing in the world, but I saw some interesting things on the south side of town, so I walked that way.  I found a castle and old church and numerous ruins.

Ancona

Once on the ferry I just relaxed and read a book until I could upgrade my room.  This cost about 90 Euros, but the ferry ride was 22 hours, or something similar to that so a room was on my to do list.  I just can’t sleep in chairs.  I’m sure some of you have seen me delirious after my 28-36 hour trip between Korea and the US.  This is because I am incapable of sleeping on planes, which I suspect is because I am in a seated position.  Some of the other passengers had brought blankets and made a bed for themselves on the floor in the air seat room, or even in the lounge on the couches there.  Smart people, but I didn’t have a blanket. 

from Italy to Greece

After I got myself situated I went to the bar on the deck to watch the sunset, read a book and had a glass of wine.  On the deck I met Ralf and Mike, German truck drivers.  Ralf’s English was great, and he wanted to know what book I was reading.  We chatted for a little while about different books and what he did.  He said it was pleasant to talk to someone in English; he hadn’t done it in years.  Mike listened and talked a little bit, but his English was not so good.  When he spoke it was interrupted by quite a few swear words, while he was thinking of the English word.  Later that night I just started speaking to him in Spanish and he spoke in Italian, we understood more of each other that way than in English.  Mike and Ralf were nice enough to let me use their discount card for breakfast and at the bar.  Because they are truck drivers they get 50% off of most things on the ferry.  This was good, because the ferry was quite expensive.  The next day I had lunch without the boys, they were sleeping, and lunch cost 18 Euros.  That was for over cooked chicken and potatoes and a glass of wine.  But they do have a captive audience.  Where are you going to get your food if you don’t eat there?

I got into Patras and had a taxi driver drop me off at an affordable hotel.  Unfortunately the buses only run every once in a while, so a taxi into town is the best options and pretty cheap too.  We found a nice one right near town. I settled in and then took a walk.  There was a walking street just behind the hotel and it was full!  Full of people, coffee shops, bars and random stores.  It was nice to see everyone having a good time and socializing.  While I was the walking street I had this interesting food.  It was like a gyro, but it had French fries, felafel, spicy yogurt sauce…. It was a bit too heavy for me.  I think it might have been a type of Kebab.  I don't rememeber them being like that in the states.  But this is Greece, it must be authentic!  I had a Greek beer too and people watched for a little while before heading back to my hotel. 

At the hotel I was getting all my stuff together for Athens when I heard chanting outside my hotel.  I looked online to see if there was any holiday today and sure enough it was Remembrance Day for the 1973 anti-dictatorship uprising.  I thought it might be an interesting cultural experience so I headed outside.  

 That was a bad idea.  

 People were marching with banners and chanting.  This seemed harmless, but when you got to the tail end of the parade more and more people were wearing bananas over their mouths and carrying rocks and boards.  Some people even were wearing motorcycle helmets and gas masks.  I tried to take a picture, but I was told not to.   Behind the parade a police line was following them.  They were in full uniform, gas masks, helmets, armor, riot shields.  It was quite scary.  When I saw the police I headed back to the hotel as fast as possible.  I went online to do some more research on Remembrance Day and found that often there are violent riots every year.  

The next day everyone had calmed down, and the news said everything went well this year.  No injuries and no major problems through out the country.  I went for a walk before heading out to Athens and found some beautiful churches.  I just can’t believe how golden and colorful they are here.  I also found a castle, but it was closed for maintenance.  Just my luck.  One of the main churches in Patras was very busy that morning and was having a service.  It looked like many of the college kids that had been out and about during the riots were now attending service.  I stayed inside for a few minutes before ducking back outside.

Patras

Then I headed to Athens, a two and half hour bus ride.  I had the front seat, so a view and less motion sickness than usual.  In Athens the bus terminal is outside the city.  So I had to take another bus inside and get off.  I found a nice hotel next to the best western.  This hotel was owned by an elderly gentleman, who took good care of me.   He was so sweet.  He only knew about three English words, but wanted to make sure I was comfortable.   The hotel was obviously old.  It had a spiral staircase, high ceilings and original doors and windows.  Just beautiful.  I really like staying in places that have a bit of history. 

Acropolis, everyone goes here when visiting Athens.  I was in awe.  I still can’t wrap my head around how old everything is.  I saw the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the temple of Athena and the Erechtheion.  There is also the view to consider, and because I visited during the off season there were not many people.  There was one group of school students and maybe ten tourists.  Of course there are many other things attached to Acropolis.  Nearby is the Temple of Zeus, I believe it was the largest temple ever made.  Also there were tons of ruins  of the old structures of the city everywhere. This site is so old, it is said that people were living on it in the Neolithic Era, and then the Greeks started building temples in the 6^th century BC.  I still can’t wrap my head around it.

 After hours of walking I went to the market.  This is open air, and they sell everything.  It seemed like there were a lot of antiques and touristy stuff.  Thats where I bought my handmade shoes.  I spent way too much money, but I justified it by telling myself I only ever buy things when I’m in love with them.  And let me tell you, I was in love. 

That night I knew I had to get up early so I stayed in close and found a nice restaurant that also served gyros.  When I was ordering the owner started chatting with me.  He spoke fluent English and had been to New York City often.  He had family there and even knew where Syracuse was.  It was nice to talk to him about everything under the sun.  He was very knowledgeable about politics and history, but I think we talked mostly about his kids and what they were doing.  He was sad he didn’t get to see them all that often, because he has a restaurant in Athens and they lived out in the country.  I got his contact information, so when I come back I can shoot him a message and see if he still has that lovely restaurant. 

I can’t wait to go back and visit more of Greece.  Just having two days was not enough.  I want to see the coastal towns and explore some more.