Bangkok, Thailand

Before saying goodbye to South East Asia and flying to Muscat, we made one last stop in Bangkok, Thailand. We stayed in a wonderful apartment which happened to be hosted by a Muay Thai champion right above his gym.

We met up with our new American friend for dinner whom we had previously met at the elephant sanctuary (Chiang Mai). She lives and works in Bangkok so she was able to give us plenty of restaurant recommendations! It was awesome!

Once again, we connected with our friends from the States. This time we went to the Red Cross snake demonstration (the lack of barrier between the kids and venomous snakes was nerve-wracking). That evening we enjoyed a night of music together at the Royal Bangkok Symphony in the park.

Snake show

Concert in the park!

Muscat, Oman

Our experience in Muscat started as soon as we exited the beautiful, new airport. We not only were struck by the sights of the white buildings and mosques across a desert landscape, but immediately noticed how clean the air, floor, and streets were. It was incredibly clean compared to everywhere we had been in the past several weeks. We also had to adjust to a more conservative way of dressing and more separation of the sexes (like different lines for men and women to buy tickets to an event, for example).

We stayed in Muscat for a leisurely two weeks, a nice break after our quick visits in Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos. Oman is known for it’s wonderful hospitality and we truly got to experience that. Through our friends and family who had lived here before, we were grateful to have a couple connections to locals in Muscat. We not only were armed with plenty of advice on what we should see and do, but we were invited into homes and given so much support. We were immediately amazed by the kind people who spent time with us.

One of our most favorite activities was the East Desert tour. We had a great time, not only because the desert was utterly gorgeous but also because our tour guide, Rajid, was the best! He was friendly, spoke very good English and let us pound him with questions about Oman and its culture. He would speed up the dunes so we could get good photos from the top and let the kids play in the sand. The smooth, soft sand was new to us. The wind carried our voices far across the sand, but there was nobody else there to hear them. At the end of the tour, he invited us to his tent camp in the desert. We ate fruit, dates and coffee, an Omani speciality that we had often during our stay in Muscat. Afterwards, before driving us back to our car, he brought us to his house to meet his kids!

C and H on their first camel ride!

View from the back of a camel

K is so brave!!

We also had an amazing landlady who provided a full Omani breakfast and joined us in her beautiful garden every morning. She loved telling us about about her culture, family history, religion and the region. Her grandkids were in town, so C and K had someone to play with!

K, C and their new friends.

Girls playing board game in our landlady’s house.

Getting ready for breakfast in the garden.

Many cats roamed the streets in our neighborhood.

Beautiful garden where we stayed.

We went to the Bait Al Zubar museum and National Museum, which were both awesome. They have wonderful displays of old artifacts, weapons, jewelry and clothing. From the National Museum we took a short walk over to the palace gates to see the Sultan’s home.

Bait Al Zubar museum

Palace gate

The Royal Opera House was stunning, but the advertised “incredible guided tour” was extremely disappointing. For the six of us, it was $26USD for which ended up being a 30-second “tour” located in the lobby before you were encouraged to “walk around the theater yourself.”

Royal Opera House entrance

“Incredible guided tour”

Royal Opera House seating

Royal Opera House stage.

Royal Opera House stairs

We heard so much about this Muscat Festival on the radio and from our landlady, so we had to check it out! We had so much fun experiencing this annual local fair with acrobatic shows, food stalls, rides and music.

The Grand Mosque speaks for itself. It was marvelous.

We took a short drive from Muscat to Nizwa, an old fort that was a lot of fun to climb around in. Outside of Nizwa, we visited Misfat al Aberdeen, a traditional village featuring narrow alleyways, steep steps, and an ancient, operational, aqueduct. Unfortunately, H wasn’t wearing long pants so he had to wait in the car.

Our friends and family who know the area knew that we’d love the unusual water holes in this region and they were right! The Bimmah sinkhole and walk to the Wadi Shab were beautiful! In both cases, the water was clean and bright turquoise. In the salty sinkhole, there were fish who came and nibbled at our toes. It seemed like many local families were there to enjoy the sinkhole–not just tourists! It was great! A game of 20 questions, ornery donkeys and shaggy goats kept us entertained on our 45-minute walk to Wadi Shab. If you swim far enough down the stream, there’s a cave you can swim in. Only strong swimmers should go! The water is deep and there aren’t many places to take breaks on the way to and at the cave.

H diving at the sinkhole

View of the sinkhole from above.

Donkey on the walk to Wadi Shab

Wadi Shab

Bimmah sinkhole

All the girls in our family got henna towards the end of our time in Oman.

Another easy, nearby activity that we were able to do was visit the fancy Muscat Grand Mall. H loved watching the amateur basketball games that took place in the middle of the mall, we went to the movies, and we visited the small Illusion museum on the top floor.

We did so much, but feel like we barely touched all that there is to do in Muscat!

Next up, Cape Town, South Africa!