Oman Time is Ending

2 days left in Oman and then we head to Dubai. Time is going so fast.

2 days ago, Brandon, his mom, and myself took a drive so we could visit a cave in the area. Unfortunately, when we got there, the cave was closed because it had flooded a couple months ago. Because it was a 2.5 hour drive, it was rather disappointing, but we quickly changed our plans and drove to a very small town called Misfat Al A'Briyeen. I am not kidding when I say it is a small town. Half of it is old and abandoned, the locals there do not speak English, but it was beautiful...it actually is in a couple tourist books because it has this wonderful 10km hike. We didn't even try to do the whole thing, but we did hike a bit of it and it was well worth the drive. I have some pictures of it. And yes, I was holding up fine in the heat. We left the small town and then drove to Bahla for kicks where Brandon and I decided to explore abandoned mud huts for a bit before driving to Nizwa, where we visited a Souq and wandered around for a bit. Nizwa is a lot warmer than Muscat, I discovered, but still, it was totally manageable. I love how bodies adapt. We then drove back to Muscat.

Yesterday was a lazy day. Brandon and I hung out on the beach for a while and went swimming in the ocean.

Today we went for a delicious buffet lunch and have been hanging about lazily. We also found camels, which of course, I was eager to pet, and then I was treated to a ride across the beach on one, and Brandon was on another. So yes folks, I rode a camel, which seems like an amazingly appropriate adventure for the Middle East.

Tomorrow, we are leaving early do do some diving on the Dayminiyat Islands at Al Sawadi. Should be a good day, I think. The day after, we have a morning dive planned and then a drive to Dubai, where we will be for a couple days before heading to Europe.

Random Facts:
- One place is usually spelled 2 different ways on 2 road signs. Apparently, Arabic vowels don't really translate well into English ones and so one word will have multiple "correct" spellings. Example: I have seen the Daminyat Islands spelled Daminyat, Dayminiyat, Diminyat, Diminiyat, and various other versions.
- Many of the women's public toilets do not have toilet paper. I discovered this very quickly after my arrival in Oman. All that is in a bathroom stall is a toilet and a hose.
- White people are apparently really rare here. Omanis tend to wave and smile at you, especially children. They are extremely friendly and love saying hello.

Oman, Still

Inside Grand Mosque.
Still in Oman, and yes it's still hot, but I am beginning to think that 36C is pleasant and 42C is merely warm. I am acclimatizing, but I am worried because Europe temperatures are around 16C and I believe I will be freezing because I have adapted so well to this heat. It sucks for the first while, but it's honestly fine once you get used to it.

Yesterday, we ventured to Grand Mosque, where I had to cover myself up completely (long pants, long sleeve shirt, and head scarf) so as not to offend any of the locals. It was really beautiful, actually, the Mosque. The architecture and art was wonderful, and chandeliers all over the place. I took a bunch of pictures of it, and yes, there is a terrible picture of me in my head scarf that you can all view when I load pictures on once I am back in Vancouver.

After the Mosque, we went to the Omani Museum, which was pretty interesting...there were exhibits of all the different national dress for all the different regions in Oman, and jewellery and other such things.

Today was spent back in the water, with the GUE instructor that I took the course with, and the purpose of diving today was to see if I could upgrade my recreational pass on the course to a technical pass, which basically means that I had to have the same mastery of skills before, but using double tanks, and with a little less leeway for mistakes in buoyancy and trim, and miraculously, I performed well, so I now have a technical pass (which Brandon received when we did the actual course). I would have done the whole course in doubles, but to be honest, I was scared of carting them around in the heat (they weigh the same amount as I do), and the course gave me so much to think about without worrying about diving double tanks. At any rate, it's all good and done and I can go on to take technical course with the GUE agency now if I so desire.

No plans for tomorrow yet, but at some point we are going to go dive the Daminyat (sp?) Islands, which are supposed to be wonderful. Then we head to Dubai on the 2nd for a couple days before jetting over to Europe.

Anyway, that's about it for now. Life is good. I like it here in Oman.

Hey Terry, be warned if you ever come out this way...they burn frankensence EVERYWHERE, and all the Omanis wear really strong perfume! My nose is constantly filled with a conglomeration of odd smells.

Brandon's First Ever Blog Post. Ever.

Brandon, Alia, and Brandon's parents Ian and Lorna out on a boat for a day of snorkelling.

So here we are, the first ever blog post in the history of me, done just for you Johnny.

Well, we're still in Oman and for those of you who may be wondering, yes, it's still really really hot. You do get used to it though, just last night Alia and I were sitting around outside thinking about waht a nice tempertaure it was, not too hot at all. A quick look at the thermomemter revealed the temperature to be a mild 32 centigrade. We're freaks.

A few days ago we finished up the diving course we were taking here, GUE Fundamentals. The course focused on proper bouyancy, control in the water, team work (GUE teaches diving in groups of three rather than the traditional two), out of air drills and several other skills all of which you think you've got under control until you take the course and discover you don't. The original group taking the course was supposed to be Alia, my father and myself, but then some things got shifted around and my father couldn't take the course anymore due to work constraints so he decided that my mother would like to take the course. This came as a bit of a suprise to her but she was good natured about it and took the course without complaining. The end result was that Alia and I passed and my mother got a privisional pass, which is quite good considering she entered the course with only 36 dives. The course definately made me re-evaluate the way I have been diving and I highly reccomend it to any of you reading this who are divers.

The course, spanning four days and involving a fair bit of theory, some fun in the pool and six dives in 34C water left us quite tired, so the day after it was time to relax on the beach. Alia and I went down to the PDO recreation center (or centre) for a nice lunch, some beach time and a swim in the ocean, because we havn't had enough ocean yet. Not much to say about it really, it was still hot. In the afternoon we took a trip to the Mutrah Souq to experience local shopping. For those who don't know, a souq is a sort of out door market and can be lots of fun. There are quite a few aggresive salesmen about and I had a good laugh when my mother ended up buying four scarves that she originally had no intention of buying. The experience was unfortunately cut short as we had to return home so my mom could drive my brother to music lessons.

Yesterday was another day of relaxation. My father took us out on the company boat and we went snorkling at a few locations. The first two sites were on Fahal island, which is a large rock in the middle of the ocean. The water was warm and crystal clear and there were plenty of colourful fish to see. I was a bit worried snorkling around there as I have seen large chunks of rock fall off the island into the water and I'm pretty sure that in a competition with a high velocity boulder, I would lose. The second site was Jesse point, which was nice and shallow and had an abundance of colourful fish as well. This site also has the advantage of being high velocity boulder free, which pleased me greatly. While the snorkling was fun there was a downside, my back became a nice bright red and my brother started making fun of me saying that I got maynonaise on my lobster which means that despite having a lobster colour back, my bum is still a brilliant white. Alia remains sunburn free.

Today there is more lazyness to be had in the morning, later this afternoon we're off for another spin in the boat and then off to another souq in order to ensure that alia gets as much culture as possible. We have plans for diving tomorrow and hopes to find a few sharks, rays and cuttle fish.

-Brandon

Busy Busy!

So the jet lag is nearly worn off. The only thing is that I am ready for bed round 8pm, but I have been waiting until 9pm, and waking up at 6am, which is actually a really good schedule to be on since the sun is not at its hottest (only around 35C at that time of day). I like waking up early here and mosying about outside.

The heat...is actually not so bad anymore. You adjust to it really quickly. I was actually out walking around for an hour in 44C, with a hat and a giant bottle of water, and it was fine. Warm, but fine. You adust after about 10 solid minutes outside. Every day, the heat gets easier to manage. Just as every day, the jet lag gets less.

So 2 days ago was when I was walking around in the 40s. Brandon's parents took us to Nakhal where we wandered around a fort. It was really neat to see it. I have a bunch of really good pictures, but you all have to wait to see them. After the fort, we went to see a hot spring, which is the oddest thing, I thought. A hot spring in the middle of the desert. Amazing. All of the locals gathered there and were sitting around and singing and such. It was really cool to see the Omanis just doing what they do. Speaking of Omanis, all the little kids wave to us. It's so cute.

Yesterday, I got my first taste of scuba diving in Oman. It's not spectacular, it's not anything to rant and rave about, but it is nice and I did enjoy it. It was diving off a boat, which is always a treat since I am used to the hassle of shore diving. First dive we went to a wreck and we checked it out...Brandon, his brother and I dropped into the cargo hold and hit about 90ft, then Brandon and I headed inside into the engine room for a quick look around while Cameron waited just outside the entrance. We only went maybe 5-10ft into the room....just wanted a quick look around. It was pretty neat. We also saw 4 moray eels on the wreck which was cool. The time between our dives was spent snorkelling, then we geared up and did a second dive in a bay, where we saw lots of local fish, most of which I don't know the names, but we did see a box fish, a lion fish, and a snake eel. The life is abundant, and the water really warm (it was 91F on the surface of the water, it dropped to about 78F down at 90ft). On our way back in from the dives, there was a very rare spotting of a whale shark, which was so exciting. This guy was only a baby, only about 8-10ft long (the adults can get to be 50-60ft long...). That was defintely the highlight. I grabbed mask and snorkel and hopped in with him, as did most of the other divers on the boat.

Today marked the beginning of the diving course we are taking (it is me, brandon, and his mom). Today was all theory, and then some practice of finning techniques in a swimming pool. There was also a swimming requirement which we had to pass in order to pass the course, which i was worried about because I don't really swim. We had to do 275m in 14mins or less. and I am pleased to announce I finished in under 10mins. It was quite surprising, seeing as I never swim laps. Ever. Also had to swim and hold our breaths for a while which I had no problem with. Tomorrow, we hit the ocean. So we'll see how it goes.

But yea, I am having a nice time here and keeping busy. It's hot, sure, but I am getting used to it! I will be in for a shock, I think, when we leave the Middle East. I'll think it's too cold. :D

In Oman

Brandon and I at the end of our flight to Muscat, Oman.
So here I am, typing out this entry from Oman. It is 6:30am here, and I have already gone on a walk with Brandon and his dog. Yes, I woke up at 5:30am (after falling asleep around 3am...), wide awake, thanks to my friend jet lag. It is currently 33C. HOT. We lasted about 15 minutes on our walk, and I was sweating.

So the plane ride...was alright. I do like Lufthansa. They fed us hot meals (I accidentally ordered vegan instead of vegetarian when I bought the flight, whoops) which actually tasted decent. Our first flight was delayed, thanks to crashed compters. We waited in the check in line for about 2.5 hours. But it was smooth sailing after that, and made our layover in Frankfurt shorter.

So this is the first time I have had to deal with more than 3 hours of jet lag, and boy, I can't even describe it. Last night as I was trying to sleep, my body was so tired from all the travelling, but falling asleep was difficult because it felt like I was going to bed for the night at about 1pm. Odd. And as we were flying, the sun set, and then it rose. There was no night. And it is night when it feels like day, and day when it feels like night. It's all very odd, but I am adjusting already, thank goodness.

And our arrival in the Muscat airport? Fantastic! Brandon's dad arranged everything for us, so when we got in, there was an Omani waiting for us, he led us to a room, took my passport and got my visa for me, then we got to bypass all the lines (which we would of had to wait in for over 2 hours, they were so long...), got our bags for us, put them through screening and led us right out. the whole thing was done in about 10 minutes when it would have taken us forever otherwise. It was awesome.

Anyway, no plans for today except for chilling out and relaxing and getting over jet lag.

I am looking forward to spending time here, because the little of Oman I have seen so far looks really neat. The buildings are so different, and the landscape too. I really look forward to my time here.

San Antonio

Terry, Dad, myself and Brandon in San Antonio.
So we all just got back from San Antonio today, and it is such a cool city. I had never been before. When I was here last year, I opted to check out Austin, but this year I got to see San Antonio and I am so glad I did!

We stayed at a hotel right on what they call The Riverwalk, which is a bunch of restaurants, pubs, etc right alongside the San Antonio River. It is also where I spent the bulk of my time, because it was so pretty and fun.

For those that don't know, San Antonio is home of the Alamo, which you have probably heard of, but if not, just google it. Lots of info on it. Needless to say, we walked through the Alamo. It was pretty neat.

Lots of Mexican food was had (sooo much Mexican influence in Texas) as were a few margaritas. I drank a cactus margarita, and it was surprisingly tasty. Of course Brandon tried one out too.

Anyway, San Antonio is a really cool place. I'm glad that Dad and Terry took us there.

But now our time in Texas is coming to a close, and we leave tomorrow to get on an airplane that will take us to Oman. It's been short but sweet. I have loved spending time with Dad and Terry here. I always have a fun time in Texas.

That's it from me for now...next time I write, I will be in the Middle East. It's going to be a LONG plane ride.

First Couple Days in Texas

So Brandon and I got to Sugar Land late Tuesday night. Out first day here yesterday was pretty darn laid back and relaxed. We went for lunch with Dad and Terry at Ruby Tuesdays, and then they headed back to work while Brandon and I scouted out the little mall here. That pretty much made up yesterday.

Today, Brandon and I headed down to Galveston (an island in the Gulf of Mexico) where we ate lunch at Yaga's Cafe (which is where the photo was taken). I went to Yaga's my first time here in Texas and enjoyed it, so we decided to go there today. We had a margarita each (Brandon had to try a real margarita...lime, on the rocks because we only have those frozen fruity ones up in Vancouver, it seems). Then we proceeded to wander around Galveston aimlessly until we decided to drive back to Sugar Land, and here we are. The drive is only about an hour, which makes the trip nice and easy. (And dad has let us use his truck while we are here, which makes things really convenient if we want to go out while they are at work.)

Dad and Tree have informed us that we are going to San Antonio this weekend, which will be really cool. I wanted to go there last year, but we never did because we went to Austin instead, but I get to go to San Antonio this year! So that will be lots of fun. Apparently it's a really fun city.

Anyway, that's it for now. Later.

Pre-Trip

Hello everyone,

So as you know by now, this is where I will be periodically updating you all on my travels over the next 2 months. Brandon has threatened to write in here as well, but we shall see if he follows through on his threats.

So the plan is to hit up Texas for a week to visit dad and Tree, and then we will begin a wonderfully long and dull plane trip bordering on about 21 or 22 hours, where we will end up in Muscat, Oman for a couple weeks. Then we will head over to the United Arab Emirates and check out Dubai for a couple days. From there we fly into Amsterdam, and we will be touristy there for a bit, also checking out other cities in the area. Denmark is also on the agenda, and we'll be there for about 10 days before going back to Amsterdam for 2 days before flying home. Other places that we may include will be Brussels, Belgium and perhaps Sweden, since they are close and convenient. So why not, right? But we don't have everything planned quite yet. We'll just take it all as it comes.

The plane to Houston leaves on Tuesday at noon, a glorious 2 days from now.

And I can't tell you all how darn excited I am. I have never actually left North America before, as sad as that is, so this is a first, and honestly? I am pretty much exploding with excitement.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy reading my blog here, and feel free to reply and comment, or email me. It would be nice to hear from you guys while I am gone for these next two months.

- Alia