Travel – Page 3

THINGS TO DO IN MUSCAT, OMAN FOR 3 DAYS

February 16, 2020 by Little Miss Honey

Muscat is the capital of Oman. It is a metropolitan area where you get the feel of city life in Oman. If you are a tourist visiting Oman for first time, you would want to explore Muscat for a few days as you head to the picturesque mountains, wadis and sand dunes around Oman. There is also a good number of expats working at the wilayats or provinces found in the interior areas of Oman which has a simpler way of living with few to none shopping malls and not much of a city life. So some expats, especially those who wanted to do a bit of shopping, misses the urban life from time to time and wanted a change of scenery, often would visit Muscat for a day or sometimes would have a 2-3 day staycation in affordable hotels in the city.

If you are an expat living far from Muscat planning a 3-day staycation or a tourist visiting Oman, here are a few suggestions to do in Muscat:

Disclaimer: I am have been living in Oman for only 10 months so these list would be a work in progress as I discover more things to do in Muscat.

1. Stroll around the malls

The malls in Oman may not be superior to other malls I have visited in other countries but it is the best place to start when you are in Oman. If you are one of the expats I mentioned earlier living in the interior areas of Oman and who is craving for some taste of the city life, the malls will quench your thirst for a bit of metropolitan living that you are missing. Check out the sales in malls because the prices can drop really low and give you a very good bargain. The malls have lots of food place options that would satisfy all palates. Try out new dishes, local Omani cuisine or the dishes you really miss from your own home country.

Usual malls to visit are:

City Center Seeb

Oman Avenues Mall

Muscat Grand Mall

Mall of Muscat

Do your groceries at Lulu and Carrefour. They carry great products and most of what you need for your next cooking experiment or your current food snack cravings.

2. Walk at the Muttrah Corniche and shop at the Souq

Mutrah Corniche is one of Muscat’s panoramic tourist area to visit, an attractive scenic promenade stretching 3km along the waterfront. It is lovely to walk around the corniche area just before sunset, enjoying the breeze, the sunset and the scenery. Several tourist spot are found in area too. You can find the Mutrah Souq nearby, one of the world’s oldest Arabian markets.

Mutrah Souq is known to be one of the oldest Arabian markets in the world. Entering the souq is like transporting yourself into the world of Aladdin. You get to have wonderful finds from intricate vintage artifacts perfect for house decors & collection, bestselling aromatic frankincense, gold and precious jewels, colorful hand-made purses & glass lanterns, pashiminas and unique shiny sandals. I found some lovely lamps there too that I get to rub hoping there is Genie inside to grant my 3 wishes. It is the perfect place to go for tourists to buy souvenirs during their visit in Oman. Highly recommended place to stop-by when you are in Oman.

3. Visit Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

One of the places you need to visit if you are in Muscat is the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque dedicated to their beloved peace-loving Sultan that recently passed away the start of the year. It is a magnificent structure that is beautiful beyond words. The mosque was completed in 2001 and took six years to build. It covers a massive area of 416,000 square meters, and can hold up to 20,000 worshipers. The mosque is embellished in beautiful mosaic pattern that is purely an impressive art form. The mosque is open from 8:00 am to 11:00 am for non-Muslims every day except Friday.

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is one of the only mosques that allows non-Muslims visitors. Men and women must dress conservatively in long trousers and covered shoulders. Women must also cover their hair. One thing I learned from living abroad and travelling is that we must respectful of the culture of the country we are going to. Observe the rules of the country you are visiting. Let us be gracious visitors to the countries that has welcomed us in.

4. Check out Al Mouj Marina

Al Mouj Marina is located at Al Mouj, Muscat, which features the exclusive luxury yachting lifestyle in Oman. It is a great area to visit. It is found in close proximity to The Wave where you find great variety of restaurant, specialty boutiques, posh residential units and hotels.

An old highschool schoolmate in Saudi Arabia who is currently working as a doctor here in Oman for years now took me to this lovely place in Muscat when I just arrived in the country. You will find lots of Caucasian expats strolling around with their spouses and children. Most of them have residential units in the area. There are a good number of classy, more upperclass restaurants available in the area, perfect for date nights or girls’ night out for chats & a cold glass of beverage of your choice.

5. See the sunset at Qurum Beach

If you detest malls and want more of nature in Muscat, visit Qurum Beach. It stretches to 4 kilometres along the Muscat coastline. It is a great place for relaxing. You can just bring a thermos of your favorite coffee and sit the area near the beach, sipping your hot drink. You can go for a jog there too. They have a nice walkway for people who enjoys strolling, jogging or walking their dogs while taking in the wonderful scenery. There a lot of restaurants, cafes, bars that offer alcoholic drinks in the area. You can book watersports activities like jetskiing, parasailing and kayaking at Crowne Plaza found at the far end of the beach.

We visited Qurum Beach last night near sunset and the sky was a sight to behold with its pink tint painted in the horizon. We enjoyed yummy pancakes & crepes at The Crepe Cafe, which we enjoyed eating alfresco overlooking the beach. If you prefer more savory dishes, try out Slider Station.

6. Bring your kids to the Snow Park and Oman Aquarium at Mall of Muscat

If you have kids or are kids-at–heart, you can check out the Snow Park and Oman Aquarium in Mall of Muscat.

Here are prices and details for Snow Park Oman Aquarium:

We have been to the Snow Park during Christmas. It is a small area with a big slide for adults and kids that would reach a height requirement. There is an area to play “fake” snow and a little playground for little kids. Make sure to bring your own jackets because the park will not provide you with jackets and it is super cold inside.

We haven’t visited the Oman Aquarium to see what is inside. But you can also grab a table at Starbucks in the mall and there is a big glass window in the cafe where you see the fishes swimming in the Oman Aquarium.

There you go, 6 possible activities you can do in Muscat. Do share with me if you know more Muscat fun activities.

See you!

WADI BANI KHALID: AN OASIS IN NORTH SHARQIYA, OMAN

December 15, 2019 by Little Miss Honey 1,217 Comments

There are a lot of wonderful spots to explore in Oman but we will definitely try to visit all (or at least, most) of them. Oman has been blessed with a wonderful landscape with breathtaking beauty of nature. One of the things that Oman can showcase are their wadis. Wadi is an Arabic term that means valley but it actually refers to a permanent river. There are several wadis scattered all over Oman but we decided to visit the most accessible one, Wadi Bani Khalid.

Wadi Bani Khalid is found in the North Sharqiya region in Oman. It is approximately 3 hours drive from Muscat, 1 hour drive from Ibra and 30 mins drive from Bidiyah. It has large blue-green waterpools, small waterfalls and large perfectly sculpted boulders scattered across the wadi.

I visit the waterpools of Wadi Bani Khalid twice, once with my friend/coworker and another time with my family. Entering the area, you have a good 5 minutes walk from the car park until you reach the 1st large waterpool. It was a sight to behold, definitely a picturesque oasis.

They have constructed bridges, seating areas and a looking gazebo-looking tower structure. It is good to know there are toilets available for public to use. There is also a restaurant nearby overlooking the waterpools. They offer coffee (1 omr), softdrinks (400 baisa), sweets, popcorn and ice cream. They also have buffet lunches available and often bus load of tourists would avail this buffet lunch. However, in my 2 visits, we opted to bring our own foods with us. We bought only bought cold drinks in the restaurant. You should also bring picnic mats to place on the ground to lay the foods you brought. Some even would bring their small grills to cook their meats & fish.

There are lots of people especially during the weekends (Friday & Saturday). There are people setting up there picnic mats & grills around the area. Little kids are wading on the shallow waters, squealing with delight. Teenage boys would jump from an edge of a high rock or this wheel with a rope they have placed in near the bridge. There are lifeguards around the place too. They also have some free floating device with a rope attached to use in some areas of the wadi. You could also sit in the edge of the waterpool getting a fish massage from the pool of fishes that is loving removing your hard calluses from your soles and it is free! Haha!

We wanted to walk further on the course of the wadi because often the 1st pool would be crowded with people, around a good 10 minutes rocky walk. After conquering a difficult, steep hike and slippery rocks, you will get to find smaller waterpools and a waterfall. It is more peaceful, quiet and less crowded in that area. However you have to wear a decent pair of shoes ideal to walk in the area. There are no guided paths available so you have to figure out how to hike around the area. It was challenging for us holding small children and carrying our foods & stuff, wearing our not-so reliable rubber slippers walking the path. We would recommend buying your cold drinks in the restaurant (if you didn’t bring any) before climbing that area because it is not worth it to go back and forth those boulders. If you walk 10 minutes further on from the smaller pools, you can reach Muqal Cave. It is great to swim there in the Muqal Cave too, cold water and away from the blazing sun if you are avoiding the sun. Just make sure to bring a torch light.

Once we reached the place we chose, we lay our picnic mat on the ground. We chose a less rocky area to placed our spread of food and our swimming stuff. They have big black plastic garbage bags around the place attached to rocks to throw our trash. I also saw an old baba in my 2 visits, cleaning up the place, picking up trash walking effortless in the rocks up and down. I also saw an emergency kit hanged in one of the tree.

During my visit there with my family, there were lots of tourists that came and soon the area we chose are filled with friendly foreigners swimming the waters and trekking the rocks. The friendly local teenage boys would show off by flipping and jumping from the high rocks and urging the visitors to follow them. There is a dress code for the visitors. There is a signboard at the entrance of the place for the preferred dress code. Visitors must dress modestly considering this is a Muslim country. Women should avoid wearing bikini and any revealing outfits. They should wear outfits covering the chest, shoulders and thighs, though it didn’t stop tourists from wearing their bright-colored bikinis and sunbathing under the warm Oman sun. Men should avoid wearing skimpy brief. They can, however, swim with short without a top.

The kids love swimming in the wadi. They don’t want to get out of the water. They even asked when they will come back again. The water was clear especially in the smaller pools and it felt very relaxing just enjoying the cool waters.

Check out the video my husband made of our trip to Wadi Bani Khalid Waterpools.

We visited last October so the weather was good, it was not super-duper hot but not too cold either. But watch out for pesky bees sometimes. We were told that soon there will be hotel constructed on top of the rocky boulders. We saw that they started building the foundation of the hotel already.

Wadi Bani Khalid is a must-visit if you are in Oman. Getting to Wadi, it is best to hire a driver to take you there than renting a car, unless you are up for the adventure, not worried of the possibility of getting lost & don’t mind long drives. Or you can opt joining tour buses that take you to several places around Oman and one of places will definitely stop at Wadi Bani Khalid. The lifeguards at the wadi usher out the people by 5:30pm for safety reasons because there are no lights in most parts of the wadi. Though I was told some still camp out in the area. Most often people take a day trip to Wadi Bani Khalid coming from Wahiba Sands in Bidiyah then usually after 3-4 hrs or less in Wadi they would head off to Sur. Some insider tip: you can have a nice meal of grilled chicken, kuboos & hummus and honey & cheese pizza pie at a Turkish restaurant near the big Al Bawarq supermart along the lane of the Wadi Bani Khalid hospital if you are heading to the waterpools or you are coming famish from swimming in Wadi & wanted to eat before heading to the next destination.

Wadi Bani Khalid is one of the many beautiful wadis in the Sultanate of Oman. I can’t to explore more wadis during my time here in Oman.

WEEKEND JOHOR STRAITS CRUISE WITH KUCINTA YACHT

January 8, 2019 by Little Miss Honey 731 Comments

It is the weekend and you want to do something fun with family or group of friends. Do you have any suggestions? We wanted something different and new. Probably a little bit of touristy experience that adults & kids would love to do.

Hmmmm….. Universal Studios? Done already. Singapore Zoo or Night Safari? Done already. Wild Wild Wet or Adventure Cove? Done already. River Cruise? Done already. We also thought of bbq fun at East Coast Park or just touring around Sentosa Island but we had done that several times. We wanted to do more fun & interesting activities on our off days here in Singapore.

Then we discovered another option of family fun here in Singapore: a yacht cruise! I went my eldest son and my dear blogger friend, Farrah of My Farrahdise abroad a catamaran named Kucinta (named after a Singapore cat). I wanted to try it out and see if it could be added in one of our list of activities I can with my little family especially when my husband’s and my schedule would coincide to bring along the two little ones. I also wanted to test it out if it is something that we can recommend to our friends living here in Singapore or our friends vacationing in Singapore.

Kucinta is one of the four yachts by Bbboats, a local yacht charter company. We piled on our sunblocks generously on our skin, brought along our sunnies and we were ready for an afternoon cruise along Johor Straits. We arrived at Raffles Marina a little after lunch time and was ushered to board the spacious Kucinta.

All the people joining the cruise gathered on the top deck where we were given safety instructions and a little introduction about Kucinta. The weather was just perfect. It was slightly sunny with friendly winds dancing through our hair and skin.

We got a little tour of Kucinta. It is a 45 feet beauty that was just launched in 2018. It has twin hulls which creates spacious area for guests to lounge & relax and this minimises the rocking motion & provides greater stability. It is great for people who are prone to sea-sickness. Kucinta has kitchenette and audio-visual amenities including a Bluetooth-enabled entertainment system and a touchscreen karaoke system. It looks like a perfect venue for a fun party.

There are 4 comfortable cabins with 2 bathrooms in the yacht. Naj just enjoyed going back and forth exploring the different cabins. He love lying down the soft bed. He thought we were sleeping on the boat. He asked me to lie down with him, say our evening prayers & tell him a bedtime story which I happily obliged but I told him that “No, we are not sleeping on the boat tonight, haha.”

Then we started sailing. We relaxed in the audio-visual area listening to the audio tour showcasing the sights along the Straits while we enjoy our ice cream on stick & Naj drinking his favorite drink, Yakult. Naj was listening intently at the audio narration that he learned some World War II history and famous Singapore & Malaysian landmarks. He excitedly would tell me with bright wide inquisitive eyes, “Mommy, the boat say there used to be fighting there!” and “Mommy, there is a fish farm there!”

Naj with his new friend, K

The sites that were featured during the cruise were:

1. Raffles Marina

2. Sempit Puteri/ Puteri Harbour (the narrowest part of the straits)

3. Pulau Sarimbun

4. Tuas Second Link

5. Sarimbun Beach Landing Site

6. Lim Chu Kang Fish Farms

7. Singapore Coast Guard Post

8. Cashin House

9. Dataran Bandaraya (Johor Side)

10. Masjid Sultan Abu Bakar (Johor Side)

11. Istana Besar (Johor Side)

12. Woodlands Causeway

It was nice to see areas that are historically significant but cannot be access in land like the mangroves area where Japanese troops first arrived during World War II, the Cashin House, a heritage building that used to be the home of the prominent Cashin family and Istana Besar, a regal seafront Johor royal palace. Naj was excited to see a glimpse of Puteri Harbour because he knows that is near Thomas & Friends Indoor Playground. The cruise was a wonderful relaxing and educational trip for us.

On the 4-hour cruise, Farrah and I managed to take some fun OOTD shots. It was just lovely to bask under the sun and enjoying the wind playing with our hair & skin.

Some tips to enjoy a yacht cruise:

1. Bring along your favorite people to hang out with you

2. Lather on lots of sunscreen and bring your dark sunglasses

3. Bring your fabulous dresses or gowns with props and take lots of OOTD shots because you have the perfect background when you are on a yacht.

(I had some OOTD photos taken using different nursing tops by Milky Way. Keep a look out for those in my instagram account: www.instagram.com/littlemisshoney)

4. Pop an anti-vertigo or anti-emetic pill before the trip if you have severe motion sickness

5. Bring a bandanna or hairband to tame your hair from the wind

6. Practice your favorite song for a possible impromptu karaoke contest

7. Bring your favorite bathing suit if you want to get some tan on the deck

8. Paint your toenails because you would be walking barefoot around the yacht

9. Have a potluck party or a bring-your-favorite-chips party

10. Think of a fun group game for everyone to enjoy or quiz each other on the historical landmarks throughout the cruise

I am sure there are a lot more fun activities to do in the yacht. It is a great way to have a relaxing mini-expedition with your family, a birthday party or bachelor/bachelorette party or an interesting activity to do with your tourist friends. Each cruise can take up to 27 guests and rates start at $1,600 for a 4-hour charter.

After 4-hours of cruising, we were back at Raffles Marina by 6 PM. And like a cue from the sky, the rain started falling hard. It waited for us to arrived safely, enjoying the afternoon with gentle waves and lots of fun.

If you are interested in experiencing the Kucinta Johor Strait Cruise, head to www.bbboats.com for more information.

Great news! There is a 10% discount off the charter rates of the Kucinta, as well as an additional hour of ride which is worth up to $250 on a weekend by quoting “Honey” and following Bbboats Instagram & Facebook Page. This offer is valid between January – March 2019 . Those interested may contact Bbboats for booking and quote “Honey” to avail the discount.