Faces of Oman

Recently I attended the Muscat Festival here in Muscat, Oman. This is an annual event that celebrates the cultural differences among the many people of Oman. It brings together the different tribes of Omani people in celebration of their cultural heritage. It was also a wonderful opportunity for anyone who, like me, love photography. All of the diverse cultures are showcased in dance, traditional costumes and food.  I'm grateful for the opportunity that my job affords me to be exposed to different cultures and customs and getting to learn about Oman's rich heritage is a bonus.

For those of you in the Foreign Service, if you get the opportunity to bid on Muscat, Oman, go for it!  It's a wonderful place with terrific people and great regional travel opportunities! So what if it's 120 degrees 7 months of the year...we have great air conditioning and the diving is great.

 Pucker up! 

The children were beautiful....

Handicrafts were being demonstrated throughout the event.  This lady is making baskets.

Photographers were everywhere on this night, and every night.  This festival is a representation of all cultures and tribes that make up Oman.  It is an annual event and I will definitely attend more than just one night of this month long celebration in January 2012.

This man was amazing.  During the entire demonstration by the entire group, he wandered around, with wonderful looks on his face and even balancing the tip of his sword on the tip of his finger...without drawing blood!  The costumes and faces of this group was wonderful.

The man below was all smiles and wanted to talk. When I asked him if I could take his picture, he said "Of course" and proceeded to give me this look. After I took his picture, he laughed and said "I hope that's a good picture!"  

Safari in Kenya - 1 Less Item on the Bucket List

I'm a maker of lists. I love lists. I make lists just so I don't forget things, but if I do something that isn't on my list, I add it just so I can cross it off.  Now that's satisfaction!  I recently made a trip to Kenya with a friend and can now cross being close up and personal with wild animals off my Bucket List!

The trip was a 5 day, 4 night safari...just long enough to get a real feel for being in Kenya and experiencing the thrill of seeing these beautiful animals. We stayed at fantastic places, saw gorgeous sights and the food was wonderful.  I have a nice camera but now I want a nicer camera! I want to be able to tell if an animal's eyes are bloodshot or not or be able to see tiny details from 50 feet.  I'm very happy with my over 700 photographs, but next time I take a trip like this, I will invest in a longer zoom lens.

It was a thrill to see elephants, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, hippos, numerous birds and many other animals up close. We traveled across the Maasai Mara reserve in our safari vehicle with a pop up top, covering a good part of its 1500 square kilometers.  In the beginning, I swore I saw an animal, only to find out it was a bush or tree.  After about half a day, I began to be able to tell the difference.  

Our driver, Simon, knew every bird, every animal, the different varieties of the animals and just where to take us to get the best view. All the vehicles had a 2 way radio and there was constantly chatter going on in a language I couldn't understand. They were communicating with each other and passing on information on where animals were.  Of course, as you drove along, if you noticed 5 cars stopped in the distance, you knew something was going on and you'd better head that way!  The ride was rather bumpy going over the dirt trails but it was all worth it.

We spent 2 nights at the Keekorok Lodge, which was wonderful.  The little monkey above, along with the rest of his family, would perch outside my room. He even tried to come in once.  They have the run of the place and there was even a sign in my room warning visitors not to feed them or leave my door open because they knew how to come in and make themselves at home!

A short walk from the room was a hippo pond.  There were 15-20 hippos in the pond at any given time.  You walked along an elevated wooden trail which led to a really neat viewing room. The times I was there, no one else was there. Several animals would congregate at this pond including elephants, ducks and a variety of gazelles, zebras and who knows what else.  It was a very serene place with a 360 degree view.

After 2 days, we moved on to our next destination with Simon...the Great Rift Valley and Lake Naivasha.  We arrived in late afternoon, just in time to see 3 giraffes walking along the road about 15 feet from our front door!  The animals have access to the entire place and later that night, after dark, there were hippos, gazelles and other animals grazing on the large expansive area right outside our window. When I say 'right outside' I mean like within 10 feet!

The next morning we went on a boat ride...well, more like a motor boat ride, on Lake Naivasha.  I don't want to give you the wrong impression here...it was more like a large canoe with seats and a motor.  The sky looked kind of threatening but we paid our $100 and off we went.  We floated by a family of hippos, lots of beautiful birds and could see other animals on the shores. At one point, we stopped and walked among zebras, gazelles and elephants.  Back in the boat, the skipper threw a fish out into the water and an eagle flew from a nearby tree, scooped it up and flew back to the tree.  Pretty amazing!  Just like at Keekorok, the dinner was a huge buffet and the food was wonderful.

The following morning, we were on the road again, this time headed to the Mt. Kenya Safari Club.On the way, we stopped at a little place where there was a sign claiming to be the exact spot where the equator passes through. We even saw a 'test' of how from one side of the sign, water drained clockwise and 10 feet away, it drained counter clockwise. I'm a believer. The Mt. Kenya Safari Club is a multi-star lodge built or backed by William Holden and Stephanie Powers. It is gorgeous.  When we checked in we were treated to the words "We are going to upgrade you to a suite."  SWEET!  Our suite overlooked the pond with several types of cranes and ducks and a view of Mt. Kenya to die for.

While one of us was taking a shower, the handle came off and water shot out like a cannon! We were grabbing anything and everything that would soak up water because the bathroom was quickly filling with water. Fortunately, someone arrived, shut off the water and fixed it.

Everything about this trip was wonderful.  It was something I've always wanted to do and finally can say I've done it. If you ever have the opportunity to go on a safari, jump on it! Fortunately, with my job, I have the opportunity for regional travel and I plan on taking advantage of it.  Once I retire (mandatory retirement at age 65) there won't be funds to do things like this so I have to reach for that brass ring whenever I can.  Over the next 4 years, I'm not letting any opportunity slip by me! 

Rainy Day in Muscat

Ahhh...the rainy season in Oman.  It is generally hot here but this is the rainy season, short as it might be, and the other day clouds rolled in and it rained. It was a  wonderful rain. The sky had a very threatening look to it and being from Texas, I did expect some thunder and lightning. But all it did was rain. I have been told that the real rainy season is yet to come so maybe this was just a 24 hour teaser. The wadis, or dry riverbeds, are all over and when it rains even a modest amount, these wadis fill with water that runs down off the rock mountains that surround the city.

 Today it's a gorgeous day and I may take a drive to one of the wadis and see if there's any transformation as a result of this rain. The mountains look the same, but they are solid rock, so there is no real greening of them from rain.  I took this picture from the end of my driveway...the front door is just under those pieces of wood sticking out on the right. It was about 4:00pm when I took this...my outdoor lights even came on because of the low light.

Just another pleasant surprise in this middle eastern country...rain. We take it so much for granted yet in some parts of the world it is a blessing.

Christmas in Oman, 2010

Happy New Year! My new laptop finally arrived and after much consternation, I now have reliable internet. It's a new year and things are just wonderful here in Muscat, Oman.  I love my life!!

An amazing sight

I had a terrific Christmas.  My friend, Sally, who I worked with in Honduras, flew in from Sarajevo on December 23 and we had 8 days of fun in the sun, being tourists and discovering amazing things in and around Muscat.

 The first day we had brunch at the Grand Hyatt...it was delicious. We also did some shopping and I kind of showed her around Muscat. Saturday we went to the Grand Mosque, the Sultan's gorgeous mosque here. The picture doesn't really show how amazing the chandelier is, which is 46' tall and 16' wide.  I've seen many photographs of it and none really show its beauty. This is definitely something that you have to see to appreciate the beauty and enormity of it all.

One of the islands where we swam

Underwater Activity

The next day, we put on our bathing suits, grabbed our snorkeling gear and headed down the carriageway (aka highway) towards Al Sawadi.  Al Sawadi is a beach resort and they offer day trips for divers to 2 islands, about a 45 minute boat ride from shore.  There were about 16 of us and we were the only 2 snorkelers, or top water bobbers as I like to refer to myself.  I tried snorkeling for the first time while living in Honduras and can honestly say I wish I had learned this earlier in life! The beauty that lies just below the surface of the water is unbelievable!  Al Sawadi beach is beautiful and we saw some amazing stuff... the first island even had a beautiful white beach. We were in shallow water, about 8', and it was so clear.  The fish didn't seem to mind us swimming above them at all.  The only problem was that they wouldn't stay still when I wanted to take their picture!

Hut Sweet Hut

The next day we headed toward Al Naseem camp, with a side trip to Ras al Jaz. This is along the coast of Oman. The plan was to spend the night in the desert in what could be best described as a hut with lighting.  Then, that night, along with several other campers, we would drive to

Me out in the desert...and yes, it was a little chilly!

Ras al Jaz, the beach area, about 10 minutes away and see the giant sea turtles as they laid their eggs and hopefully see some baby turtles.  We arrived at camp, which is set up pretty much like a Bedouin camp, around 5:30pm.  We were assigned to Hut #14.  Yes, it was just as it looks in the picture above.  The outdoor sinks added a touch that only a desert camp could (note the reflection in the mirrors).  Ali, our fearless leader, asked us which group of turtle watchers we wanted to be in. I asked what our options were...he said evening or morning.  And the times would be....9pm and 3am.  Sally and I looked at each other (thankful we were the first to arrive and had options) and immediately said 9pm would work!  Fast forward to about 9:30pm...we are walking on the beach in a group of about 20 others, no flashlight and doing our best to not fall in any of the many many large holes made by mama turtles previously. I was told it would remind you of a battle field and it did, what I could see. Several times, I nearly fell in a hole!  The only one with a flashlight was the guide. We saw 3 wonderful sights.  First, we saw a huge turtle in the hole, using her flippers to throw sand backwards, covering her eggs.  After she does this, for about an hour, she digs a second hole about 4 feet ahead of the hole where she laid the eggs.  This is a decoy hole, which she hopes the many predators will look and not go after her eggs. It was something to stand there and have sand thrown back at my legs by this 50 year old turtle.  We then walked further down the beach, still in the dark, and we were directed to another very large turtle in her hole.  We moved to the back side and watched as eggs dropped out of her into the hole, looking very much like ping pong balls.  I have no pictures of this as no cameras are allowed.  We were warned that if anyone took a picture, their camera would be confiscated. At this reserve, they do everything possible to avoid spooking the turtles, including threats of losing your camera. We went on the move again, this time to a spot in the sand where another guide was gently moving the sand around.  Within minutes, baby turtles popped up through the sand and started trying to move around. This was a location where babies had emerged the previous night and since the eggs are in layers, the babies hatch and come out in stages.  They were so cute!!  This is an experience everyone should have and I'm so glad I saw this.  These baby turtles have such a slim chance of making it to the water without being eaten and even once they get to the water, other fish go after them. It's no wonder this turtle is nearly extinct.

Sunrise

We left the following morning, looking forward to our beds back at the house! The sunset was beautiful and so was the early morning, as we watched the sun rise from behind the clouds.

The city of Nizwa

We headed back to Muscat and onward to Nizwa.  It's not a bad drive, through the desert and over the mountains. There is a very large fort there as well as a souk, or marketplace. The fort was a bit of a disappointment because much of it had signs and things enclosed in glass cases. The other fort that I have been to here was pretty much left alone and you could really enjoy it and get a feel for it.  We did go up into the tower, which opened into a huge area.  That part felt realistic!  And the view from the top of the wall the view was incredible.  You would never think of the desert being beautiful but this area is so covered in palm trees and white buildings, then you add the mountains in the background....gorgeous!

On the lookout for......

I want one of these signs!

I'm not sure when, but as we were driving along the highway, we saw a sign.  Ahhh yes...camel territory!!  Both of us had this huge desire to find a camel, take his (or her) picture, pet them and if by chance we got to ride one...fantastic!  So when we saw the sign, we got all excited and giggly!  Sally had her camera in hand and we started looking for large 4 legged animals.  We would see one in the distance and then we'd see 2 or 3 together.  But when the car in front of me pulled out to pass a pick up truck, we struck gold!!!  We were shocked and started laughing so hard I almost drove off the road!  We both grabbed our cameras and started taking pictures.  The guy pulled to the right a little so we could pass but we weren't ready to pass yet!  We had 2 camels in the back of a Toyota pick up in front of us and we were going to enjoy the sheer sight of it for as long as we could!  Our sides hurt from laughing after this little episode, and we were still seeing camels!  They seemed to be everywhere.  We wondered what happened if they decided to cross the road...and we found out!!!

What a face...not mine--the camel's!

Cars were driving by, some slowed down and a couple honked.  But this guy just sauntered across the road and gave everyone the "come and make me move faster" look.  Way cool.

With all the camel sightings, the best was yet to come.  We were just outside of Muscat when Eagle Eye Sally happened to look to the right at just the right time and saw what appeared to be hundreds of camels!  I exited the highway at the first opportunity and tried to find our way back to these camels. After one set of military-looking guards waved us off, we managed to sneak around on another road and in mere minutes, we were eye-to-eyes with CAMELS! As we got out of the car and walked toward the enclosure, we held up our cameras and got a nod of approval. In just a few minutes a man in uniform came over and introduced himself and asked if we wanted to go inside the enclosure. A big yes!  As we were snapping pictures, a second Omani in uniform came over and we were then asked if we wanted to have a ride on one of the camels. You would have thought Sally and I became 9 year olds! We were so excited. Sally went first and then it was my turn. I climbed on the back, behind his hump and before I could grab hold of fur, he started to get up and I did a back flip, landing on some very nice soft sand on my butt!  No harm done...I got up and climbed back on and  leaned forward, into the hydraulic-like movement a camel makes to get up from a laying down position. What fun...

So, life in the Middle East is not all sun and sand.  Sometimes you get lucky and it includes a ride on a cute faced camel!  Stay tuned...I have 18 more months here and am determined to seek out more thrills and excitement!

Merry Christmas, Omani Style

It's December 21st here in Muscat, Oman and Christmas is just around the corner.  But it just doesn't feel like it.  I'm not hearing Christmas songs on the radio, I haven't seen It's A Wonderful Life even one time and (can't believe I'm saying this) I actually miss hearing that bell being rung in front of stores.  Yes, it is Christmas in a non-Christian country and if you're headed to one, prepare yourself.  Go overboard in bringing lots of decorations and CDs to hear the music you always yearn to hear during December.  Since there are many British residents here, Christmas decorations are available in most store, but in short supply and not cheap! Stock up on gift type things, including wrapping paper, and don't forget to factor in shipping fees.  It is a big part of your budget!

I do miss my kids and my grandkids.  One of my friends is coming tomorrow night  from Sarajevo for 9 days and we'll experience Christmas in Oman together.  One good thing...all the stores will be open!  However, I'm not sure we'll find many bargains.  We will go snorkeling, see some 15th century forts, shop in the souk, or marketplace, explore the surrounding towns and just have a good old time.  My tree is decorated, what ornaments and decorations that made it from Honduras are on display and my one Christmas CD is playing.  I could use some more.  Maybe there will still be some Christmas music in stores when I get back to the states in July.  Maybe.

For me, 2010 has been a terrific year.  The years just keep getting better and better.  Oman is a wonderful place with great people and amazing sights to see.  I've already served 1/4 of my 2 years and will soon (this summer) begin the process of finding where I go next.  No more being assigned...after your second assignment, you are responsible for looking at the list of available embassy jobs around the world and the process of selling yourself and receiving an offer of a job begins.  For those of you in the FS, I highly recommend bidding on/requesting Oman.  Feel free to ask me about this post any time you want. 

I'm looking forward to 2011 and my travel opportunities.  Egypt, Bangkok, Italy, Washington DC and my home, Fort Worth, Texas are all in my sights for next year.  I hope that whatever you have in your sights is within reach for you too. 

Merry Christmas to all...and have the very best New Year!

Live and Learn and Learn and Learn

Living overseas has its challenges. But the rewards far outnumber the inconveniences and regional difficulties. For the most part, you enjoy the new and different things you encounter and hope that what you can't get where you're posted will just be small potatoes. I happen to love this lifestyle, but occasionally that little hiccup or hurdle presents itself and you have to deal with it. Right now, I am DEALING with it! If you are one of my followers who are with the State Department and are living overseas, learn from my experience.

Roll back the calendar to mid August. My Toshiba laptop arrived with my household effects and wouldn't you know it...the darned thing refused to boot up. No matter what I did, nothing. Nada. Zilch. I took it to the embassy and had the IT people look at it and they shook their heads and crossed themselves. Big sigh.

I went online and searched for a replacement. I searched everywhere, read reviews, analyzed what my computer needs were and made my choice...a Sony VAIO. When you order things while overseas, you have 2 choices of where it is shipped. (Well, most people have 2 choices.) If your embassy has an APO, you can order things to be shipped there. Lots of stores won't ship to an APO so you have to go to Plan B, which is your personal pouch. The pouch goes to a US address in Dulles, Virginia and takes a bit more time to arrive. As it turned out, Sony insisted on a signature upon delivery so I had to use the pouch.

OK, we're back to today. Two weeks ago, I went to the Sony site and could see where someone in Virginia had signed for the FedEx delivery of my laptop, which was shipped there from California. Good..that was progress! They accepted delivery on September 20th. Usually, in a week to 10 days after it gets to Dulles, it arrives at the embassy. I started getting a funny feeling about my laptop a few days ago. You know the one...the feeling that something is wrong, not right or just screwed up. It was just taking too long. So, today I asked my IT person if he could contact Dulles and see what the delay was.

Now comes the bad news...and the lesson you can all learn. Mike, my IT guy, was told my laptop was in the prohibited items area. Yep...prohibited. And just what part of my laptop was prohibited, you ask? The lithium battery. As a matter of fact, State (of someone at State) is drafting an ALDAC (much like a formal memo) prohibiting shipping lithium batteries in the pouch. I said...But Mike, my laptop was ordered before all this came about. He said it didn't matter...it was going to be returned to Sony. NOOOOOOOOOOOoo.....

I thought about my options:

1. Have the laptop returned to Sony, which could have meant waiting for a refund and then re-ordering it and having it shipped to my father in Fort Worth and then have him ship it to my APO address (which doesn't have that restriction...yet). Double shipping costs. Ugh.
   
2. Have the laptop returned to Sony and then try to contact them and see if they could re-ship it to my dad without having to re-order it.
3. Ask the guy in Dulles if he would personally take possession of it and ship it to my dad in Fort Worth. (not a chance of that happening.)
4. Stand on my desk and scream and holler at this new ruling. Naww....
5. Find someone in the DC area who was willing to go and take delivery of my laptop and send it to my APO address. YES!

As it turns out, someone who was recently posted here in Oman is now in DC. Eric, the ARSO in my office sent him an email, telling me he felt sure Khamp wouldn't mind getting the laptop and sending it on to me. Hopefully, problem solved. Mike told me he felt sure that they would release the laptop with some authorization from me.

Now, let's talk about what you should take away from all this. If you're with State and living overseas, make sure you know what you can and can't ship in the pouch. Every time I shop online now and the site doesn't offer the option to ship to my APO, I send them an email and ask them to look in to making that an option. It probably won't do any good, but it makes me feel better. Make sure you review what items are not allowed in the pouch. Things you might not think about, like pop-top cans of fruits and vegetables. The tops can burst off, damaging other items in the pouch. I'm sure there are more so tomorrow, I'm going to pull up the regs and find out what can't go through the pouch.

Be thankful if you're at a post that has an APO. I can now understand the frustration of my friends who are at a post with only pouch delivery options. I'm sooo sorry!

Compromising...A Part of Life

I'm adjusting very well to life in Oman. I really love it here, especially now that the weather is beginning to cool down. Very soon Oman will have perfect weather for the next 5 months or so. Last week I went to the Oman Dive Center with some friends from the Embassy. We rented bungalows (sp?) and had a great time. We went on a dive boat with divers and as snorkelers who just float around on the top of the water, we had a great time. It's only about 30 minutes from where we live, which makes it a great little weekend getaway.

I'm discovering that although I don't have all the things I'm accustomed to here, I have made some compromises. Living in a Muslim country, you realize that you won't have an easy time getting some of the things you readily enjoyed in the states or other countries. Knowing I can't have (or am not willing to pay the price) for pork makes me desire it even more! I could get a whole pork loin for about $90US but I just don't think I'm ready to shell out that kind of money. Yet. Today, as I was looking for a can of tuna (nothing like good old Starkist Tuna!) in my cupboard, I saw the Dak canned ham that I brought back from Honduras. You know the kind...in a metal can with a key or pull tab? Probably just one step above Spam? My mom used to buy canned hams all the time when I was a kid. I loved them...the ham just fell apart in my mouth. Then, as I grew older and appreciated the finer things in life, I shunned anything but Honey Glazed Ham, Virginia Baked Ham or any other ham that hadn't been chopped, formed and had mystery ingredients added to it. Let me tell you...the times, they are a'changin'. I decided to give that old canned ham a try. Hell, the expiration date on it was clear in to 2015, so you know it HAD to be good! I struggled to get the pull tab pulled back but when I did, I smelled that good old canned ham smell. It had that familiar pattern of having been chopped and reformed to resemble a whole ham.

I grabbed my fresh baked cibata roll (baked fresh daily at the market), cut it in half, slathered it with some Hellman's mayo (I'm almost out...someone please send me some) and a bit of French's Honey Mustard and put some lettuce on top. I added a few slices of the succulent ham, some potato chips, grabbed a coke and went to the table. It smelled just like I remember. I took a bite and...and...darn, it was actually delicious! If I just didn't let my mind linger on the fact that it looked like head cheese, I was fine. If you don't know what head cheese is it definitely is not cheese. Anyway, it was a very tasty lunch. I can see me using the rest of it for a sandwich tomorrow and maybe frying a slice to have with eggs.

When you can't get the real thing, you just have to compromise. Isn't that what life is all about?