[silkstone]

If anyone is thinking of visiting Oman, I would offer three suggestions...

1. Don't.
2. Especially not during Ramadan
3. And definitely not in the summer, which lasts most of the year.

I got back yesterday and have not been able to venture more than a few feet from the loo due to food poisoning, which perhaps colours my judgement a little.

While there, the daytime temperature was about 42C in the shade, which felt like an oven - except if there was a breeze, when it felt like a fan oven. No alcohol is available during Ramadan, even in the hotel bars. It seems that there is no restriction on E-coli.

I am sure that there are some wonderful things to see and do, and most of the people are very friendly, but personally I would rather take Cerberus for a walk three times a day. Maybe I'll have a more generous view when I feel better, but meanwhile here are a few sample pics.

[Summerleft]

Looks an interesting place all the same SS

[morlandroger]

Fancy a pint?
Does look like somewhere different. Know people who have been to Dubai but suspect that is another world altogether.

[silkstone]

I was looking forward to a few pints in my local, and all I've managed since yesterday morning is water and more water.

Oman is reckoned to be the most scenic of the Gulf states - there are mountains! - but the temperatures are too high to be outside for long, unless you're very well acclimatised. Even overnight it doesn't fall below about 30C. There are no high-rise blocks, and everything is supposed to be built in traditional style. I'm not sure if that really works, or if it ends up looking like a Vegas-esque parody of itself. Dubai is like Disneyland on steroids - the biggest of everything and a forest of tower cranes.

The only way that these places exist is by massive water abstraction, desalination and irrigation schemes. Every patch of green has to be watered or it would revert to desert. Not my idea of heaven, but at least the place is clean, tidy and safe. Petrol is 20p a litre, and the anti-SUV movement doesn't seem to have caught on there yet.

It was an interesting experience, but not one I'd rush to repeat.

[Rob Barron]

Sorry to hear about the Oman Tum (middle-eastern version of the Delhi Belly <g>) but the photos give a good taste of what it is like. I have been before but many years ago, at an age where the temperatures were a novelty not a pain!

Not really a place for my next hols so the pics at least give me an up to date flavour of it, thanks

Rob

ps Hope you feel better soon. Make sure you add half a teaspoon of salt to a litre of water to replace what you're losing. You can add some squash weakly to flavour it if you want.

[silkstone]

Thanks Rob. I'm starting to feel human again today (or as close as usual ) and have been eating in small doses.

To be fair, Muscat looks to be an interesting place if you avoid Ramadan when most of it is shut, and if you visit during the winter when it's possible to go outside without roasting. They've preserved many old buildings and have managed to avoid the excesses of Dubai, but there's still a huge amount of new development and the population is increasing rapidly. I wonder where it will all lead in a region which already has a major problem with water abstraction, especially when global warming makes it even hotter.

[Hacker]

It looks like an interesting place but visiting any Muslim country during Ramadan will ensure a dry holiday!

Sorry to hear about your stomach bug, I've said for years that the main cause of this in the Middle East and other parts of the world is the money. The notes often feel dirty and greasy and people often forget to wash their hands or use anti-bacterial wipes after handling it, particularly in restaurants and cafes or when out shopping. Handling money is something most people overlook but it is probably the source of most of the bugs which of course get transferred to your pockets during the course of a trip.

[silkstone]

Unfortunately I didn't have much choice about the timing as it was a business trip. Last year in Muscat they allowed the international hotels to serve alcohol to residents in the hotel bars during Ramadan, but that has been scrapped this year.

I'm blaming the last buffet meal in the hotel. Buffets can be dicey if they've been out for too long, and this was a hot/warm buffet that is probably an ideal breeding ground for bugs. Luckily it didn't bite back until I was on the way back, and I'm now feeling a lot better. With luck I should be back on the Tetleys in a day or two.

[simpbow]

Looks a lovely place Silky, looks & sounds very much like Tunisia + what you say.