We went to beautiful Muscat, Oman for the weekend and had a fantastic time. Cameron needed to interview a guy for work, so we decided to combine the trip and stay for the weekend. It was Cameron's first trip out of the UAE in almost 10 months and he really enjoyed the break away. The Oman countryside differs greatly from the UAE countryside. The UAE has sand dunes, while Oman have huge mountain ranges.
The photos below are of Muscat and the scenery surrounding it.
Cloud and Mountains
The Corniche
The view from our balcony as the sun starts to set - room 442 at The Crowne Plaza
The view of Oman from the other side of our balcony
One of the many stunning Mosques
The pots were the decoration in the middle of one of the roundabouts, down at the Corniche
What appears to be a typical house/villa in Oman
Unfortunately, Oman was hit by a terrible cyclone last week and the devastation there is very evident. We drove through floods, fog, fallen trees and detours to get to the hotel and did not know the full extent of the damage until we drove around Muscat the next day. The airport had been closed, and was just opening on Friday for flights.....the power had been off for approximately 16 hours, phone lines had been damaged and still (as off Saturday morning) had not yet been repaired and there had been approximately 25 deaths (although we later heard 32.) The hotel were getting 100,000 litres of water delivered by trucks each day and it was still not enough - water was only switched on in the hotel for 1 hour out of 23, so flushing and showering was extremely quick and limited. Some other areas of Muscat and Oman were also without water, making daily tasks quite challengine (as you will see in some of the photos below). The pool at the hotel was closed in case they needed to use the water for any emergencies and the food supplies were also limited, hence only one restaurant in the hotel was open. Despite this, the Omani people were friendly, the food was great (all things considered) and the hotel staff went out of their way to make things as normal as possible, while remaining upbeat and positive. The clean up crew had already begun and there were people everywhere on the streets sweeping and beginning to repair the damage. Some places, such as buildings and hotels had been completely destroyed (walls collapsed and windows smashed.) I think it will take about a month or so for things to go completely back to normal (apart from the places that need re-building), but it is definently a place that we enjoyed visiting and look forward to going back to visit again in the not so distant future.
The photos below show some of the devastation:
Look out for this one on Ebay - on the front window is a FOR SALE sticker - I am sure it will go quite cheaply :)
The fencing collapsed and pavers ripped up as a results of the winds down at the Corniche
The side of the road completely destroyed
The road completely collapsed
We could see this from our balcony - two parts of the bridge collapsed, leaving people stranded on the other side.
Many families were down at the beach washing their clothes as they had no water at home. 
Washing the Car...
Army helicopters were constantly flying in and out of Oman - we wondered if they were flying in water and supplies???
The roads were full of traffic as people were either leaving Muscat, going to the shops to stock up on supplies, or visiting friends and loved ones (since the phone lines were down)
The flooding still on the road on our way home Saturday Morning
Don't worry - we'll be back!
Happy 66th Wedding Anniversary to my beautiful Grandparents, Ailsa & Jim (aka Granny and Grumpy). What a milestone...I can only hope that Cameron and I are as happy as you are when we have been together as long as you have. 
Happy 66th Wedding Anniversary to my beautiful Grandparents, Ailsa & Jim (aka Granny and Grumpy). What a milestone...I can only hope that Cameron and I are as happy as you are when we have been together as long as you have. 
Happy Birthday Jodie
