Where to Travel: A Teenagers Guide

When I think of Oman all I can think of is the souq in the middle of muscat with dealers shouting at customers and vice versa. I think of the heat of the desert and the relaxation of the oasis. The grand mosque dwarfing the rest of Muscat and snorkelling in the warm arabian sea.

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Muscat. It has a nice beach and pool, tennis courts, good food and large rooms. We lounged around the pool lapping up the sun for around three days which was glorious.

The Grand Mosque in Muscat is of an incredible size and is the one monument in Oman that sticks clearly in my mind. It is a beautiful white building which gleams in the hot sun. The best part of it is the room for the men which is huge. If women choose to visit the mosque they must be respectful and cover up.



Another memory is the day when we rented a car and a driver to take us wadi-bashing in the great Omani Desert. To put it simply wadi-bashing is driving down sand dunes in a 4x4. It is very enjoyable and adds to the scenery of the tour. Our driver then took us to a Bedouin family who live in the desert with their camels and goats. It was quite amazing to see people living in the middle of such a barren landscape. At this point I felt as if my blood was about to boil so the driver took my family to an oasis which was nearby for lunch (which he had packed). Swimming in the cool green water of the oasis was the most refreshing swim I have ever had.



The hotel recommended that we take a trip to the Omani Dive Center which is just out of Muscat. It had the most fantastic beach with golden sand and cool blue water. We rented snorkels and we started snorkelling. I saw many fish including a massive sting ray and the sea is quite shallow so that you can stand easily and snorkel. Me and my brother rented out a canoe and we canoed through the lagoon in which the Dive Center is situated. All in all this was a fantastic day out.



The final cultural tour that we undertook was to go to the suq in the middle of Muscat. It is always (we went twice) unbelievably crowded with people rushing everywhere and loud as each market seller is trying to attract you to his store. Always bargain with the sellers as they know you are tourists and will try and sell an item to you for a high price. The things which I would buy is frankincense and myrrh as they are grown in Oman in huge quantities and are therefore cheaper in Oman.



Oman is a great country which I thoroughly enjoyed visiting and I hope other people find it as fruitful as I did. For any more info visit the Oman Tourism Board

Posted by Lac at 17:09 |  
Labels: asia, middle east