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Khasab Airport (mis)adventure Atana Musandam kindly gave us a 3:30 late checkout and mentioned that their complimentary shuttle van would be going to the airport at 3:40 - kind of early for the one daily domestic flight from a dusty regional airport. That all went like clockwork and we pulled up...

Atana Musandam Resort Khasab really only has two places to stay, both owned by the same company - who also seem to own a few of the tour agencies in town and the Zipline. Out of Atana Khasab (3 star) and Atana Susan dam (4 star) we picked the latter. The price difference was about $30 a night...

Musandam Peninsula: Mountain “safari”, SCUBA, Dhow cruising, Zipline, little castle, gargantuan supermarket. The Musandam Peninsula isn’t quite as popular with international visitors to Oman as sites around Muscat and Nizwa. In part because the long drive to Khasab requires a border crossing...

Flight: WY931 MCT-KHS Aircraft: B737-Max 8 Tail No: A4O-MM (5 years old) Seat: 2A Sch Dep/Actual Dep: 07:40 / 11:40 Sch Arr/Actual Arrival: 8:45 / 12:30 You’ll recall that my impressions of Oman Air on the longhaul sector from Manila to Muscat were kind of fair to middling. In contrast, his 43...

Shoutout post to Suzie, a disinterested goat and the ever present discarded plastic bottles of Oman. Sadly, despite 90% of the population having access to safe tap water, all hotels but one that we've stayed in have provided numerous little plastic bottles instead of refillable filtered glass...

Grand Hyatt, Muscat A slight change of script when we returned to Muscat for one night prior to our scheduled 7:30am flight north to Khasab. I'd originally booked a room at the Novotel Muscat Airport Hotel thinking we'd drop the car off the night before and just wander over to the terminal for...

I wonder if this is the one…it fits the description: sweet and rose water flavoured. No doubt it is made fresh in some places and straight from a carton like this in others. What a delightful treat and a good mission to go scouring the gargantuan supermarket!!

Jebel Shams: W4 Summit Walk (part way), Balcony Walk and Sama Al Khutaim Heritage Home. Jebel Shams is the “other” mountain destination that is easily reached from Nizwa. Jebel Shams is Oman’s highest peak at 3009m and below the peak is Oman’s own Grand Canyon. Unlike Jebel Akhdar, there are...

I haven’t come across pink milk. There’s an enormous supermarket across from our hotel in Khasab so I might go on a mission very shortly! One of my unique drink highlights so far has been luban (frankincense) lemonade

Nizwa and Surrounds (Nizwa Fort, Jabreen Castle, Al Hoota Cave, Bahla Fort) After leaving Alila Jebel Akhdar we made our way back down the mountain towards the inland city and former capital of Nizwa. Along the way we made a brief detour to visit an abandoned mountain village by the name of...

Alila Jebel Akhdar Jebel Akhdar is a well touristed area in Oman’s Al Hajar mountain range. The main reason for overseas tourists to visit is usually to stay at one of the two well known high-end mountain resorts: either Anantara or Alila and soak in the mountain views and cooler temperatures...

Movenpick Ghala, Muscat Muscat has a decent selection of hotels spread all over the sprawling city. It’s a city without an easily identifiable centre and one that has close to zero walkable areas. So seeing as visitors are reliant on a hire car or taxis, choosing a hotel based on location isn’t...

I encountered nibbling fish at the sinkhole!

Wadi Shab According to the many blogs I read when preparing for this trip to Oman, Wadi Shab is a highlight for most travellers. Wadi seems to be a fairly versatile word meaning anything from a vast deep gorge to a dry creek bed. Wadi Shab definitely falls into the former. It’s a roughly 2 hour...

Royal Opera House Muscat We started our morning with a visit to the Opera House. This beautiful building and cultural institution is another legacy of the much beloved and highly cultured late Sultan Qaboos. He commissioned it in 2001 and the venue opened in 2011 with a performance of Turandot...

Snorkelling Trip to the Daymaniyat Islands The Daymaniyat (aka Dimaniyat) Island Nature Reserve lies about 20km off shore from Muscat. Multiple tour operators run trips daily for snorkelers, divers and campers to visit the small archipelago of rocky and sandy outcrops and the crystal clear...

It is magnificent! It straddles opulence and contemporary chic in design

Arrival and Exploring Muscat Highlights What we saw of Muscat Airport upon arrival was stunning. Wide, open spaces, modern, clean and well thought out. There was a bit of a queue in the foreigner line at immigration and no sign of any priority lanes for WY premium passengers. We were through...

Flight: WY844 MNL-MCT Aircraft: B787-9 (2 class Config) Tail No: A4O-SK (3 years old) Seat: 11G Sch Dep/Actual Dep: 07:45 / 07:35 Sch Arr/Actual Arrival: 12:00 / 12:20 The day before departure I booked an airport transfer from the hotel to NAIA Terminal 1 for a 5:15 pickup. The $35 price is...

Fairmont Makati As an Accor Platinum member, this was the natural choice for our stay in Manila. Makati is probably the most tourist-friendly part of the metropolis to stay in and the Fairmont is right in the heart of Makati’s commercial district. So it ticked the location box and is priced at...