Sailing towards Aqabah, Jordan

Monday April 14 to Thursday April 17

What luxury - 4 sea days and so many plans.

After leaving Salalah we passed Yemen and Somalia and pirate watch was heightened further even though we were sailing in a protected shipping corridor where we could see many other ships including warships - very comforting. We then turned into the Red Sea and had the amazing experience of being able to see Africa on the port side and Arabia on the starboard side.

On the starboard side with Arabia in the background.

 

It is now day 4 and we haven't done any of the things we had planned - there are just so many other things to do! We have attended some fascinating lectures, listened to some wonderful music, laughed hysterically at the belly dancing lessons, learned how to use our cameras better, attended some wine and cheese tastings and art auctions and even managed to fit in some exercise. Of course the exercise goes nowhere near offsetting the calories consumed!

As today is Al's birthday we are lunching in one of the premium restaurants with our Canadian friends Bruce and Margaret Anne so the calorie count is not looking good for today either. We are hoping that tomorrow's adventure to Petra in all the heat may help!!

 

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Salalah, Oman

Sunday April 13

Arrived in the port of Salalah early morning and could see a number of "Captain Phillip's" type container ships being loaded and unloaded - this looked to be a 24x7 operation in this port as it is massive, and some of the gantrys were taller than the top of our ship!

Once again we teamed up with Bruce and Margaret Anne to tour with, and after some haggling with the many taxi drivers waiting for people coming off the ship we piled into a taxi and headed inland. The first stop was about 30 kms away and we passed many "free range" camels along the way. Some even wandered across the main road and cars have to give way to them - very different road hazards here!

We arrived at a small oasis on the top of a hill, and after a short walk along a beautiful garden path we saw the building purportedly containing the tomb of Job (from the Old Testament). Before we entered there was a well type structure with a rock about a meter down that purportedly has the footprint of Job in it - you could see a rough outline of a foot and 5 toe imprints, but he must have taken about a size 30 sandal! The picture shows his tomb which is 4m x 1.5m, so he was a big boy.

Our driver Saed took us up to a nearby lookout where we got a fabulous overview of the dry, dusty and barren land around us and looking back toward Salalah, so you can see that we've been "roughing it" in this hot part of Arabia (at least while we're on land).

We then headed off to visit an archeological site called Sumhuram, which contains the ruins of an old frankincense port. (The Salalah region has always been an ideal place for growing frankincense trees, and the aromatic resin that's harvested from them has been a valuable commodity for thousands of years. There were a number of ports along the coast here where frankincense was traded, and now it's readily available in the souks, along with myrrh and other essential oils that are burned to release their fragrant aromas). It was neat being able to walk around an ancient site like this and see how the city was organized, and there was also an archeological gallery that contained lots of items that had been dug up in the ruins.

On the drive back to Salalah we passed the Sultan's summer palace and surrounding farms, all protected by high walls and armed lookout towers. You could always tell when you were near anything connected with the Sultan as the roads improved, they had lovely street lights, the nature strips were green with beautiful flower beds in them and there were warning signs telling you not to drive up the side roads! Salalah used to be the capital of Oman but it was moved to Muscat, and you can see how it has been left behind in terms of development over the past 30 years.

Our final stop was Al-Baleed Archeological Park, which contains the ruins of a 3,000 year old trading city once visited by Marco Polo (another big traveller), and now a UNESCO World Heritage site. This was a bit disappointing, unless you liked piles of rocks in the desert. However because it's such a big site we got a golf buggy (with driver) to take us around, as we were short of time and it was too hot for such a big walk.

We also wanted to have some time to check out the Frankincense Land Museum which was within the site, and this was an excellent choice. It gave a really good over view of the history, culture and heritage of the Omanis as sailors, traders, farmers and explorers, with lots of great nautical exhibits as well as how developed they were as a civilization from long ago.

It has been a great experience to visit this part of the world, and we've really enjoyed our time in Muscat and Salalah. Given Oman's location we now appreciate how important it is strategically, and what an important role it has played over many thousands of years of history.

 

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Sailing to Salalah, Oman

Saturday, April 12

Another day at sea, another relaxing day! We started our day with a leisurely breakfast in our cabin as our first "appointment" was not until 11 am when we went to the Show Room to hear Dr Helena Aves, an American geologist speak about unconventional sources of energy, shale gas and oil sands, and their controversial methods of extraction such as fracking. It was very informative but also very confronting and left many of us considering our shareholdings in companies associated with these practices.

From there we went poolside to watch a very entertaining belly dance performance and from tomorrow we can take belly dancing lessons - not a pretty thought! From what we have seen sun baking around the pool this could be either very amusing or absolutely revolting!

Tomorrow we have a day in Salalah so took the opportunity to go and listen to our Location Guide's talk about the port and all the things there are to do there. We decided to haggle with a local taxi driver to take ourselves and Canadian friends to the places we want to see rather than take a ship's excursion as this has worked really well for us to date.

After all this "work" it was time for a snooze in the sun before our daily constitutional of 4 laps of the ship's promenade. It is comforting to see that we are being escorted (at a distance) by at least one warship and the Captain assures us that there are others close by because we are now in dangerous waters until we exit the Suez on April 21. All the hoses around the decks are now filled with water and security staff numbers have visibly increased - which we are very glad about.

After a lovely dinner in the main restaurant with our Canadian friends, we returned to the Show Room to hear a German flautist, Bettine Clemen. Her performance was fantastic and was accompanied by video of her playing to animals all around the world - inquisitive little penguins in Chile, an enormous sea turtle in St Helena, Aussie animals in Oz, pandas on The Great Wall and then to little children around the globe - all equally moved by her music. It was a lovely end to a lovely day.

 

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Muscat, day 2

Friday April 11

We'd arranged for Mahmoud our taxi driver to meet us this morning for a 4 hour tour around the various parts of Muscat, and he was there waiting for us. His magical mystery tour took us past the Opera House, the old districts of Muscat, some private beaches and nice parks, the new Parliament complex, a 5 star resort for some Omani coffee and dates (and western toilets), the business district, the Sultans Palace complex and a drive along the corniche beside the harbour.

Everyone was impressed with the people (very friendly and happy), the heritage they've maintained whilst undergoing massive development, and the modern well planned city that's been constructed between the desert and mountains flanked by a lovely coastline.

 

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Muscat, Oman

Thursday April 10

Muscat made a good first impression as we docked close to town and over breakfast could admire the white buildings set against the backdrop of multi coloured hills behind them. The Sultans ship was docked next door and it was very impressive, so we were excited about getting ashore to explore this city.

We met our travelling companions for the day at the pre arranged time and place, and once through the port gate we began haggling with the taxi drivers to take us where we planned to go. We secured a mini van as there were 3 other couples, and set off for the Grand Mosque. The Omanis take Friday and Saturday as their weekend so we had to get there today before 11am or we'd miss seeing inside it due to it being used for prayers etc on the next 2 days. This meant all the ships excursions were there as well but it is so big and impressive that there was plenty of room for all the tourists and a few locals. The religious police were on guard to make sure all the women were covered, and if it wasn't adequate they had to borrow an approved cloak or not go in. We've been to quite a few mosques now but this was huge with marble everywhere!

The next stop was nearly 2 hours away so we settled in and let our trusty taxi driver tell us about the modernisation of Oman and point out some of the features of the countryside. The contrast of the stony, scrubby bushes against the mountain backdrop and punctuated by the occasional oasis of date trees made for an interesting drive and before we knew it we arrived in Nizwa.

There are a number of forts in Oman which date back to the 17th century, and the one at Nizwa was important as this town used to be the capital of Oman. As such the city also had an ancient irrigation system (among other things), and there were interesting exhibits of life in the fort from centuries ago. It was fun climbing up and down the stairs and exploring all the various rooms but it was a hot day for it!

Next was another fort about 30 minutes away in a town called Bahla, and this fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site that goes back to the 15th century and predates the spread of Islam in this area. It's walls were massive and you could see the outline of where the city wall used to extend around the city, and there was quite a bit of it still standing in lots of places along with some of the old houses within the walls.

Our driver suggested another nearby fort seeing as though we were in the area (about 250km from Muscat) called Jabrin Castle, and this turned out to be a great suggestion. It was different to the other two and although it was another well preserved 17th century fort the decorations in it were still visible and were really beautiful (refer details of a ceiling below). The fort is also called the Palace of Bilyaroub but we never found out why - maybe it was the heat and we were beginning to get forted out!

By the time we arrived back at the ship today's adventure had ended up a 9 hour expedition into the heart of Oman and we had covered over 500 kms! A quick bite to eat and we headed off to the souk(market) in the old part of Muscat for a quick look, and then back to our floating home to freshen up before tonight's show. After 20 minutes of the same singing and dancing we decided to call it a night in preparation of further exploration of what Muscat has to offer.

 

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Onward to Oman

Tuesday April 8

After our 2 exciting days in Mumbai we set sail for Oman. It was great seeing the lights of the city growing smaller and dimmer as we sailed away on more calm seas with a clear sky and a half moon above us.

We really enjoy the days at sea as it gives us a chance to meet other passengers, participate in whatever activities take our fancy or just kick back and rest. Of course there's never a shortage of eating options so we use the stairs and do a few laps of the promenade deck every day. For example, today we've attended a talk about "The Art of Collecting Art", a workshop on using your digital camera, a wine tasting, enquired about the options for independent touring in Oman, relaxed around the pool and met some new people - and all this before 5pm!

Tonight is another formal night so it's time to get the good gear out and glam up before we head off to dinner. It's a busy life on board but somebody has to do it :)

Wednesday April 9

Another busy day on board as we sail towards Muscat, the capital of Oman. As mentioned before security has been tightened up concerning pirate "watch" which has given us a chance to chat to the security people as we do our walk around the promenade deck. It's been a second day of interesting activities, exercise to offset the meals we're enjoying, as well as some relax time around the pool. Of course there is a high quality show put on each night, and tonight's was really good with a comedian/impersonator for some variety.

 

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Two Days in Mumbai

Sunday, April 6 & Monday April 7

What a surprise! After Goa we were not expecting anything terribly different in Mumbai but we were very mistaken. Mumbai is still India so very different to what we are used to but it is so vibrant. The city really pulsates with honking horns, voices everywhere, fabulous colors, crushing crowds, a myriad of smells, huge smiles, cricket being played anywhere there is space (often with a chair for a wicket) and absolute mayhem on the roads but through it all there is a sense of "system" - everything is happening for a purpose.

Cricket in the park

Gateway to India

Gateway to India

We started with a brief overview tour called "The Marvels of Mumbai" and, in complete contrast to our Goa tour, we had a wonderful guide who spoke excellent English and was very well educated. She gave us the history of Mumbai - it's Portugese roots, then handed over to the British and we could see evidence of this in many of the lovely old English style buildings. The main train station where 6 million people go through every day was a fabulous example. We went to the Gateway of India then crossed the road (quite an experience) and went into the magnificent Taj Hotel (where many lost their lives in a terrorist attack several years ago). The Taj was everything you would expect in colonial India but now charges $10 for a coffee or tea.

From there we went to Gandhi's Bombay base - now a museum and memorial to him tracing his life and work in bringing independence to India.

Gandhi's room

Then the most fascinating place - the huge outdoor laundry, the Dhobi Ghat. Indians send all their sheets and tougher laundry to it and girls, only men can work there!! The area is huge and how they can find your individual items is a mystery but they have a 99.9% success rate - amazing. Also amazing was how clean & bright the laundry was and how very white the whites were considering the filthy coloured water & primitive methods being used - maybe we are being hoodwinked by Omo and the likes!

Dhobi Ghat, outdoor laundry

We also spent some time in the Prince Edward Museum. Back on board we were treated to an Indian BBQ followed by a local Bollywood show.

For our 2nd day, we decided to walk to the Colaba area for a bit of shopping - nasty souvenirs, cheap cotton tops and all manner of wooden things. It was very humid so we caught a taxi (bravely) back to the ship. After lunch we ventured out again and hired a taxi for a couple of hours, which only cost about $6! We headed for Marine Drive (known as the Queen's necklace), past parks and Chopaty Beach and onto Malabar Hill, where you get a great view over the bay and there are some lovely gardens to walk around as well. It was also cooler up there with a nice breeze, and after the ride through the traffic in a non air-conditioned taxi the breeze was appreciated.

View from Malabar Hill

Peak hour was underway and despite what appeared chaotic, noisy and crazy driving/riding/walking to us we returned safely and didn't see any accidents, which amazed us for a city of 22 million people. Ducking and weaving is an art form in India!

 

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