Entre Les Murs

Toto, We're Not in Paris Anymore

Muscat is like Switzerland of the middle east (unfortunately I'm not the first to observe this). Everything is extremely neat, clean, tidy and regular. It has mostly been built in the last ten or twenty years, so it's not too surprising that there are no potholes on the highway. The people are friendly, and we have enjhoyed getting ripped off by the taxi drivers. As in Egypt, they seem happy to meet foreigners and have a chance to practise their English. Last night our driver insisted on giving us a tour of some Muscat highlights on our way to dinner (taxis are not metered), including the local shopping mall which he called the "clomps". We eventually deciphered this as "complex".

We've been diving every day, seeing huge moray eels, fabulous colour-changing cuttlefish and huge rays, as well as the usual range of colourful parrot, angel, lion, puffer and other fish. Way too many to identify let alone name.

We have now left Muscat and are at the Al Sawadi Beach Resort, where Janet found a very reputable dive shop at a decent price. It also turned out to be a real Western-style resort, which explains why we now find ourselves wearing bright green wristbands and listening to a Mariachi band at dinner.

posted 28.3.06