Oman Day 4

Peace and Serenity

I woke up about an hour before sunrise this morning and decided to try and catch it as it rose over the desert. I found a nice spot to sit and absorb the silence and serenity while staring out towards the east slowly, slowly, slowly watching the horizon shift colors. It was all so peaceful until the new guests who arrived yesterday came storming out of their tent without a thought in the world that others might still be sleeping or trying to enjoy the peace we were lucky enough to find ourselves in.Two days prior, we were relieved to find out we would not be the only guests staying over Monday night but at that very moment, I wished we had been.

Yesterday when Rashid returned to camp after having met this group in town, he came to greet Jenny and me to ask about our excursion with Faiz, and when we tried asking him about the new people he had just arrived with, he smiled, looked at us paused and said, “Well…” To which I responded, “Not everyone can be crazy funny Americans!” To which he laughed hard.

At 9:00 the guide showed up to lead us out of the desert. We went to say goodbye to Jaffer, who looked at us and sweetly said “Goodbye my American sister. Good bye Mama.” We gave him a little something for all his delicious meals, and for his wife and children who were back in Bangladesh and wished him well.

Once out of the sands, the guide took us to refill our tires and sent us on our way. And can I just say, I was 3 for 3 for driving through the sands and not getting stuck! We stopped to fill the tank again, just to be safe and check our directions to Wadi Bani Khalid, the spot that Faiz had insisted yesterday we backtrack to.

The road up to Wadi Bani Khalid was steep and clearly maintaining the blacktop in the mountains of Oman is a full time job as the geology seems to be some sort of conglomerate rock that is easily washed out. There had been heavy rains here last week and the effects of them were obvious.

There had been signs pointing towards the wadi, as it is a rather popular attraction for tourists and locals alike, so when Jenny said to take a right turn I was surprised. There had not been a sign showing it but Google maps was showing we should. Both Billy and Jenny hate Google maps but I had read it was the most accurate of the programs to use, so that’s what we were doing.

The road turned straight into a lush oasis filled with date palms and tall dark grass but the path quickly narrowed, like really narrowed, and I told Jenny this could not be right.

I had seen pictures of Wadi Bani Khalid on line and there was no way that this road led to it. We continued straight obviously heading into a village when I stopped because I did not care what the maps was saying, I knew this was not right. A villager was walking towards us, looking at us as we sat blocking the road. He waved us forward, smiled, and welcomed us to Oman. When I asked, “Wadi Bani Khalid?” He smiled and motioned we needed to turn back around and keep going because it was “under,” as he pointed up to the cliffs. He kindly opened the gates to his home and had us pull in there where he directed me around so we could head back out. Google maps was right, we were in the village of Wadi Bani Khalid but we wanted the parking area for it, who knew.

Another mile or so down the road we came to a parking area lined with white SUVs and a bunch of westerners milling about. Jenny claimed, “Well, I think we found it.”

Guides hanging out waiting for their clients

We headed up the trail and came across our first falaj, an ancient water irrigation system in use in Oman since 500AD, which we followed towards the canyon. We popped out into an open area with a large pond full of fish and surrounded by date palms. This wadi (valley) is one of the most developed in Oman with bridges and picnic pavilions, but still is quite beautiful. A true oasis in the desert that makes for a real feast for the eyes with the contrast in colors.

As we clambered over the rocks, trying to make our way further back into the rugged canyon, a boy maybe Jenny’s age stopped to show us the way and to of course ask the standard questions. He was complimentary of Jenny’s Arabic and of course surprised by her ability to speak any at all. When he learned where we were from, he got a huge smile on his face and said, “Americans are very good people. I have not met many but all that I have are very very nice.” It really is astonishing to me that we, as Americans, are always portrayed by so many other western populations as being poorly thought of from the developing countries yet everywhere we have been and people hear where we are from, all I ever hear is praise. Seriously, the next time I hear someone disparage us in that regard, I am going to tell them they don’t know what the eff they are talking about.

Last night, when Jenny and Rashid were talking, he too had been surprised to learn she was studying Arabic. She explained to him, “If I am going to understand the people and their culture then I need to know their language.” Rashid, was pleased by that and told Jenny he can’t wait for her to be fluent so when she comes back to Oman and gets lost and someone pulls up to her, she can start rambling in Arabic and send them into shock. He thought it so humorous, demonstrating the looks people would have to see this western girl rip them in Arabic.

Jenny and I enjoyed some time in the shade, out of the blazing sun, and watched the waterfall and the children frolicking in the water.

Walking back to the car, we stopped for some cold water and freshly made watermelon juice. As we were pulling out of the parking spot, this adorable boy looked at me with wide eyes and pointed up. I had placed my watermelon juice on the top of the car and was driving away with it still there. I stopped and grabbed it, thanked him in Arabic, to which I received one big thumbs up!

Driving in Oman is really not that different feeling than driving in the US. The tales of crazy Omani drivers are true, I don’t think I have ever been tailgated as much and seriously within inches at high rates of speed. They pass when they want (forcing the oncoming cars to move half their car over into the breakdown lanes), even around blind corners. The thing that is most familiar to the US is all the big gas-guzzling vehicles and their obvious love for American-built trucks. I guess when the cost of fuel is so low, the fuel consumption rate is a non-issue.

The rest of our drive was fairly nondescript and non eventful until we reached Birkat Al-Mouz at the base of Jabal Akhdar. Jebel Akhdar (which translates to Green Mountains in Oman- kind of a misnomer I think) was going to be our destination for the next two nights.

I pulled over to the side of the road to check the car manual on shifting in manual mode as I can drive stick but I have never used a manual automatic and I knew it was probably something I was about to need. The drive up is meant to be quite an experience; one that is only allowed with a 4×4 vehicle. We stopped at the police checkpoint where the officer asked where I was from. When I answered “United States” he looked at me puzzled. When I said, “America,” he responded “Ah…America.” From now on I am just going to reply America when asked because it seems everyone only knows our country as that. I handed over my license, he jotted down the information and checked my car was 4×4 then passed me through.

The road wasted no time going from a small incline to something most likely against code in the US, with hairpin turns like I had really never experienced (except for maybe the mountain pass in Slovenia). All I can say is thank goodness I read the manual because there was no way my little Nissan was going to make it up there in only the drive mode. Poor Jenny was really getting car sick but insisted we keep moving, of course she was a bit dejected when she saw the hotel was 50 kms from the start of the climb, but she was a trooper and when we pulled into our hotel at 4:00, we both were ecstatic.

As usual, for a rather extravagant stay, I had used points to book the room – otherwise I can assure you, this would have been out of my budget. The Alila, is really spectacular and it has spectacular prices to go along with it… The free room and breakfast allowed for us to accept the prices for lunch and dinner, as well as try and stomach the cost of a little booze. The hotel is perched literally on the edge of a canyon, built with materials befitting the natural beauty of the area. It is elegant yet understated with top notch service and super comfortable rooms. BUT with that, I have to say, that I love that we all are just as comfortable and content staying in a tent with no A/C and an outdoor bathroom, with no hot water than we are staying in an over-the-top luxury hotel.