So, days 2 and 3 in Oman...

Day 2:

Went to a Nizwa village about 2 hours outside the capital Muscat. I'm convinced that the nice friendly Omani coach driver always hits themselves up with Amphetamines before that long drive, explaining why we seem to zoom round corners at 100mph. Doesn't help digestion or sleep but you sure know that your friendly white robed boy is trying his best to get to the destination on time. How thoughtful.

So arrive in Nizwa at midday. Start searching for a taxi to take me about 50km out to an impressive rural 17th C. Portuguese-built fort called Fort Jibreen. Now for all you Arabic speakers I just thought i'd point out that Omanis pronounce their Arabic 'Jeem' like the Egyptians (with a 'ga')... yet they use some common Iraqi words like 'zein' etc... which makes for a nice cocktail. Fort was incredibly impressive sand-washed and housing over 30 rooms with splendid views of the Omani mountain ranges (Omani is very mountainous btw). Next over to semi-inhabited mud-hut (hence semi) village. People lived in these things?! (I guess they did.)

Then back to Nizwa where I went shopping for a DishDasha. Which is those long robes typically worn by Gulf Arabs... I got myself a classy all-white one and a traditional Omani hat. Fancy dress parties here I come!

Something noted about Oman food here. It's heavily influenced by South-East Asian cooking... they boys scoff alot of Biryani and their commonly ate meat includes Mutton and Camel Meat. Not a big fan of Mutton though, the chew factor is just too much for me.

Day 3:

Cant seem to get to sleep in this bloody hotel. It's name 'raha' is supposed to mean 'break' but what i've got here is far from it. I wasn't told that as part of the package: clubs nights both upstairs and downstairs. Wearing ear plugs now during sleep, only my ears feel alot bigger when I sleep now why is disorientating!

Went to a fantastic old Souq (market) in Muscat today. Smells of spices and all kinds of scents ranging from Frankincense to Amber were wafting through the Souq. Occasional harrassment by shop keepers to get in their store but thankfully I had my heavenly possession of Shure E2c ear phones which blocks most outside noise and produces sound like professional earplugs. That'd set you back about 50 smackers but it's well worth it, particularly on the tube... letting you drift into your own world. And indeed I did just that, sitting on the Muscat corniche, fat Cuban cigar in my right hand (a habit alot of my friends are hating) and a book about genocide in the other (strange habits indeed).

Finished my journey with a trip to the critically acclaimed Al-Bustan Palace (Hotel). It's not just conveniently named a Palace, it actually is. Take a look at these amazing photos

Bye bye Oman tomorrow morning!