A unique experience to wake up inside a canyon in a room carved in the rock ... so peaceful. After a nice breakfast and a proper cappuccino, we got our bags sent on the zip line across the gorge and up to where our motorcycles were parked.
The way out of the canyon was an interesting steep up hill gamble on dirt but with no issues. The ride down from the top of the mountain was the most exhilarating fast ride so far. Perfect pavement, endless tight turns, up and down the hills, with amazing views to match ... just zen.
Muscat is the capital of Oman and as such it is a big city with wide avenues, freeways, tall buildings ... and traffic. We will spend 2 nights here so we get to see and do all the things you are supposed to do here. Our hotel is in front of the ocean ... a nice 8-bedroom modern house run by a family from the Philippines.
We had a proper Omani fish lunch at a great famous Turkish restaurant in town close to our house. The Kofer fish I had was very meaty and reminded me of fish in the Amazon.
It is amazing how these trips are full of triggers for buried memories from other similar experiences. It is like living life in three or four dimensions simultaneously. Intense.
It is fascinating to see life in a typical wealthy big city in the Middle East. Oman has almost twice the GDP per capita of Mexico ... all the cars are relatively new and nice ... and the infrastructure is world class.
But there is a markedly difference between the Omani and the immigrant populations ... mostly from the Philippines and Nepal so far.
The immigrants are usually the workers ... retail, construction, restaurants, hotels ... and the Omani are usually the shoppers and consumers ... always well dressed
It is worth mentioning that the country is very clean and orderly ... no trash anywhere ... it does not matter if we are in rural settings, in the mountains, or deserts, or the big city ... everything is clean. Even the big mall in the city is immaculate.
After an afternoon rest, we headed to see the big mall in town. All the typical stores found in any mall in the US are here ... Forever21, Starbucks, Ikea, McDonalds ... even South African chains like Nando's ... no Omani anything ... then, we found the perfumeries and jewelry section ... a whole wing of the mall dedicated to these stores ... we also found a whole floor at the top of the mall with an amusement park and roller coaster.
We had a proper South African barbie meal at Nando's with all kinds of Peri Peri sauces as the crowds began to arrive at around 9pm ... the mall stays open until midnight during weekdays!
Tomorrow, we head to see all the sights in Muscat ... the Grand Mosque, the Opera House, the Souk, and the palace.
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