5 Nights in Oman

At first glance, Oman is the redheaded stepchild of the Middle East. It lacks magnificent tall buildings like Dubai's Burj Khalifa. It doesn't have a Ferrari World like Abu Dhabi. It's not calm and classy like Brunei, though local citizens will disagree and swear Omanis are the calmest people in the Middle East. (You'll hear the phrase, "We Omanis don't want trouble," a lot.) 

Setting aside its lowly position in the Middle East's totem pole, Oman is an undiscovered gem. As close visually to Disney's land of Aladdin as any other country I've seen, Oman has exquisite mountains, beaches, and sand, but also perfectly paved roads and highways. 

Qantab

Muscat, Oman is a port city, and like all port cities, has incredible diversity and excellent food. If you're vegetarian, try an Indian restaurant, but the highlight in any non-Indian restaurant will be the seafood. Many Omanis speak three languages--Arabic, Farsi, and English--and you'll hear many other languages because most people are temporary residents from Africa, Pakistan, the Philippines, Morocco, and India. Permanent residency is difficult to attain--buying expensive property is the easiest way to gain it if you're unable to renew work visas for 20 years--but that hasn't stopped millions of people from making Oman their home. 

Despite the lack of birthright citizenship, Oman contains all the colors you'd expect from a country situated between Africa and Asia. Indeed, it's impossible to determine whether someone is Omani or not Omani, a test of true diversity, i.e., a lack of segregation. The most beautiful mix, in case you're wondering, seems to be an Arab-African one. It wasn't unusual to see Arab women with much darker-skinned brown men. (Note to America: no one cares about race when segregation isn't practiced.) 

Best of all, the Omanis do their own work unless a specialized skill is needed. Unlike Abu Dhabi, where all taxi drivers are foreigners, Omanis drive and often own their own taxis. Uber or Careem does not exist in Oman, but metered and non-metered taxis are numerous. Rides from the airport to the city center should cost about 8 rials; within the city center, rides should cost around 2 to 5 rials, depending on your negotiation skills. Unfortunately, Oman lacks easy-to-use public transportation, meaning its taxi drivers have a virtual monopoly. I expected to get overcharged every time I hailed a taxi, and I considered it an unfortunate cost of being a non-Arabic speaking foreigner. Governments do not seem to realize that an honest, transparent taxi system requires competition from Uber, BiTaksi, Careem, Grab, etc.  It's as if they think tourists want to spend their vacations haggling over basic transportation. 

In any case, if the UAE is the Middle East's prep school graduate who drives a clean white Mercedes S-class, then Oman is its wayward brother who prefers leather jackets and a black, never-washed Ford Mustang. Don't get me wrong--you'll see plenty of expensive Mercedes and Lexuses in Oman (though, oddly enough, few BMWs), but the average Omani resident is perfectly fine with a used car. In short, status signaling doesn't exist in Oman's mainstream, whereas it seems to be the UAE's primary reason for existence. (If you ask me, too much money has led to complacency in the UAE, but that's a different topic.)

The Omanis embrace ostentatiousness only in their choice of headgear. Many Omanis wear ornate and colorful massars, which Americans would call turbans. They also wear kumas, which the Bruneians would call a songkok. In some cases, a massar is wrapped around a kuma, giving it a pleasantly plump look. 

A certain design may mean the wearer has been to Mecca/Hajj.

Despite the government's efforts to make Oman as posh as the UAE, Omanis ooze blue collar toughness. Step into the wrong building in a formal location, and an Omani--not a Nepalese or Bangladeshi, as it would be in the UAE--will shout at you as if you have violated the most sacred of tribal customs while simultaneously directing you impatiently to the correct entrance.

When I failed to observe proper mosque protocol regarding shoes--you're supposed to take them off before you enter, which I did, but I reflexively put them on when I was about to depart--an Omani ran up to me and heckled me. I heckled him right back and got the better of the exchange, to the point where he actually called the police (a sure sign you've lost an argument). Still, I have to hand it to him--even the shortest, fattest, and ugliest Omani I saw took an opportunity to assert his masculinity in a misguided way. A classier Farsi-speaking gentleman mediated the dispute, and I walked away, satisfied I'd provided my side of the story. (An old-fashioned Italian would have appreciated the animated exchange, including my possible use of the term, "bastard," and the Omani's attempt to rally the small crowd around him by falsely claiming I had called *all* Omanis bastards, not just him.)

In any case, let's talk tourism. 

Most visitors need a visa before entering Oman. You can apply online and as of September 2017, it will cost you 50 USD. Print a paper copy of the visa if you don't go through the newer airport scheduled to open January 2018. Currently, Muscat's only international airport lacks passport e-scanning machines. I showed immigration a photo of my e-visa on my mobile phone, but he was expecting a paper copy and called a supervisor before approving my entrance.

Whereas the UAE's mosques are gaudy and deliberately set up as tourist attractions, Oman's mosques are designed to be places for prayer. Outside of Iran, the most beautiful mosque I've seen so far Muscat's Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Wear long pants, go before 11:00AM, and be sure to see inside the main prayer hall. 

Qaboos Grand Mosque

The Bowshar sand dunes (aka Bashar Dunes) are nearby Muscat's city center. It's a small dune, but still worth a visit if you want to drive an ATV and "dune bash." Tell the cab driver to take you to "rimal bosher" around 5 or 6pm--you'll see lots of ATVs available to rent. 

For great food, try Bait Al Luban or Turkish House Restaurant in Muscat. They're not very cheap, but they're not very expensive, either. Right outside Bait al Luban is the Corniche, a walkway located near the ocean.

Another mosque worth seeing, especially at night, is the Mohammed Al-Ameen mosque. (Note: I can't list all the interesting mosques here--rent a car if you want to see the major ones.)

The Muttrah Souk, a short walk from Bait Al Luban, is listed in every guide book, but it's just a couple of narrow streets with jewelry/gold shops. Skip it. (Also, do not confuse the Muttrah Souk with the Mutrah area or the Mutrah fort.)

There are two main museums: the National Museum of Oman and the Bait al Zubair museum. After the Qaboos Grand Mosque, the National Museum of Oman is the best tourist destination. 

I liked the Bait al Zubair museum, but I wouldn't be upset if I had missed it. Unless you're really into old stamps and old coins, you can skip Bait al Zubair. Ideally, however, you'd visit both museums, since they're near each other, and you'd go to Bait al Zubair first.

Coin gallery in Bait al Zubair museum

A palace is also close to the National Museum of Oman but two security gates block visitors from going near the actual building. It's still worth a quick look as you walk from Bait al Zubair to the National Museum of Oman. 

The Palace -- I zoomed in with my
mobile phone behind the 2nd gate

Outside the city center is the "Rustaq Loop," which includes the Rustaq fort, the Nakhal or Nakhl fort, Al-Hazm castle, and the Nakhal hot springs (aka A'Tawwarah hot springs). Although the term "Rustaq Loop" is mentioned in guide books, locals don't seem to know the term. If you want to hire a taxi driver, you need to mention the specific sites you want to see. From Muscat, you'd first visit Nakhal fort (about an hour away), Nakhal hot springs (ask the location of the hot springs after seeing the fort--it's a small area nearby, and locals bathe in the warm water), then Rustaq fort. Of the three, Rustaq fort, about an hour and half away from Nakhal fort, was the largest. I did not see Al-Hazm castle, which was another hour's drive from Rustaq fort.

Like its mosques, Oman has too many forts to list here, but the main ones would be Bahla, Mutrah, Rustaq, and Nizwa. Within or near Muscat itself, a local recommended the Al Jalali Fort and the Al Mirani fort, but I didn't have time to see them. (Quite frankly, the forts in Oman are nice, but after seeing much more magnificent ones in India, I wasn't impressed. The Agra Fort and Delhi's Red Fort remain my favorite forts.)

About four hours outside the city center is Ras Al Hadd, which has turtle watching. I didn't go, so I can't tell you anything about it. 

Oman may not have Ferrari World, but it does have a world-class opera house. If you're really into opera, check it out. (Why do I get the feeling Oman's government is listening to consultants who don't realize Oman is more interesting than overpriced Western Europe and the glitzy UAE precisely because it lacks things like an expensive opera house?) 

You may use UAE dirhams in Oman, but you'll lose a 4 to 5% premium. You'll get a 10 dirham to 1 rial rate when the actual rate would be 10 to 1.05. I didn't mind--I appreciated the convenience. After all, when businesses convert the dirhams to local currency, they'll presumably pay a commission. 

I hope I've covered most of what a casual tourist would need to know about Muscat, Oman. I did not see Salalah, Oman, another popular tourist destination. I was in Muscat for 5 nights, which was the right amount of time (especially if you, like me, need to rest after trying to run up a sand dune). 

If you have to choose between Oman and Abu Dhabi/UAE, definitely choose Oman. Its unspoiled elegance won't last forever, at least not if the tourism consultants get their way. Finally, don't forget: take your shoes off before you enter a mosque. If the shoe cubbyhole is inside the mosque, don't put on your shoes until you're outside. As the belligerent Omani man told me, "It's a holy place." He was right--but not just about the mosque. 

© Matthew Mehdi Rafat (2017) 

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is like NYC, but with better traffic, no subway, and no soul. Don't get me wrong--I enjoyed my three days here. The cuisine and service are excellent. If you like sweet pastries and even sweeter drinks, this place can be heaven on earth. I didn't try all the drinks, but here's a short list of ones to try: qahwa (tangy, watery coffee), chai/tea, karak chai, tea zafran, Turkish coffee (the go-to in any respectable cafe here), date milkshakes (my favorite), jellab (I didn't see this one during my stay), and habbath al hamra. 

Camel milk and camel meat are the region's specialty, but they're not widely available. I don't think the natives favor the camel-inspired industry--they're all in Starbucks, which doesn't serve Turkish coffee or any of the interesting drinks I just mentioned.

I didn't have time to try the camel burger at Le Cafe (inside Emirates Palace), but I did try their camel milk cappuccino (aka Camelccino). I'm sad to say it didn't taste much different than a normal cappuccino, though some people claim it's saltier. The highlight for most people with social media accounts will be the Emirates Palace Cappuccino, which is topped with 23-karat gold flakes. (By the way, the Emirates Palace is a fancy hotel, not an actual palace--but a must-see regardless. Their high tea is great.) 

There's gold in dem coffee!

My "foodie" highlight occurred at a cafe called Petek, where I ordered far too many drinks and pastries and could not move from my chair. (Worth it.) 

The lime-colored pudding was the best.
Cost for the whole spread: 30 USD.

Before I continue, let me say the UAE, which includes Abu Dhabi and Dubai, is not cheap. It is on par with San Francisco prices. If you're a foodie, you can stay at a reasonably-priced hotel before flying to another location. I stayed at Hotel Mercure--if you book on a third party website, you'll incur a tax/fee upon check-in, so have about 45 to 50 dirhams ready. 

Insofar as "typical" attractions are concerned, Abu Dhabi's claim to fame is its numerous conferences and events. As a result, its hotels are exquisite, and almost every building is creatively designed, yet not as touristy as you might expect. In fact, several of the most pristine waterfront areas haven't suffered development, which surprised me. For a pleasant evening diversion, you can go to the main public beach (the Corniche) and walk along the 8 km pedestrian and bicycle path. The beach has warm water, so feel free to swim. 

Other than the Emirates Palace/Hotel and the Corniche, the main tourist spots are as follows: Manarat Al Saadiyat, Qasr Al Hosn (closed for the time being), Heritage Village (a faux old market with a restaurant), Yas Mall (connected to Ferrari World), Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Yas Waterworld, and Ferrari World. (The Louvre Abu Dhabi will open November 2017.) 

Of these, the Emirates Palace, Corniche, Grand Mosque and Ferrari World were my favorites (I did not have time to go to Manarat Al Saadiyat or Yas Waterworld). If you're a thrill-seeker, you've got to go to Ferrari World, which has the fastest rollercoaster in the world. I was drenched in my own sweat afterwards, and I only managed to open my eyes for a split second during the ride. A local citizen saw me stumbling around after the ride and quickly brought me water.

The Emirates Palace contains Le Cafe, which has the gold flakes cappuccino and camel burger, along with high tea. Wear jeans/slacks and shoes or you won't be allowed in--no sandals or shorts allowed.

The Grand Mosque is relatively new, so you won't feel a sense of piety there, but as a tourist attraction, it's excellent. Take a tour to get the full experience.

Grand Mosque

As of 2017, Abu Dhabi has no reliable VPNs [Update: see below], no Uber, Careem, or OTaxi. If you want to get a taxi, you need to wait at one of the numerous taxi spots/stands, and one will eventually arrive. Minimum fare is 12 dirhams. The bus is much cheaper. 

Most people are from somewhere else. In the event you meet a citizen, you will feel immediate warmth and friendliness. The citizens in the UAE are alive and well, but almost everyone else walks around without any real connection to the country apart from work. Major downsides exist to having so many residents--many educated, many uneducated--without any path to citizenship. People who live or work in any country without a meaningful way of gaining citizenship will feel and act differently than the natives.  Given the obvious surveillance that occurs--not just CCTVs everywhere, but also the difficulty in using VPNs--Abu Dhabi feels like a very comfortable place in need of an ideology besides money. 

To its credit, their leaders know this. As I said before, the citizens are wonderful, open, and kind--but there are not enough of them to counter the intangible costs of other residents attached to the kingdom only temporarily.

Despite the numerous glitzy attractions available, my most memorable experience was meeting a humble Afghan immigrant making bread the traditional way. Cost of the delicious bread? Just one dirham, or about 25 cents. 

Perhaps I was overly harsh in the beginning when I said Abu Dhabi has no soul. Much of what people call a "soulless vibe" comes from the country being so new. With time, Abu Dhabi may feel different. Few other countries can match its diversity, wealth, and leadership. In short, the UAE's future, unlike most developed nations, is completely open, and it can go almost any direction it chooses. Neighboring Qatar has already recognized the citizenship issue and made it easier for non-natives to gain permanent residency. (Correction: earlier version stated citizenship has been made easier, but it's actually permanent residency--the first step to gradually easing in future citizens.) Once UAE workers begin to feel as if they can truly be a part of the country's future, there will be no stopping the UAE. 

© Matthew Mehdi Rafat (2017)

Update re: VPNs: technically, the UAE claims VPNs are allowed, as long as they are not used for criminal activity. However, not only is this standard subjective, but Abu Dhabi's public WiFi networks don't appear fully compatible with mainstream VPN providers. Abu Dhabi is the only country thus far where I've had to reinstall my VPN several times and where using a VPN didn't work after just one to two minutes of connection time.

Update on October 2017: I've seen a few stories of tourists claiming to be mistreated in the UAE, and the common factor is alcohol. Alcohol can be found in the UAE, but it's not common. As a result, drunk tourists are a rarity and not appreciated. Don't get drunk and don't do illegal drugs, and you should be fine. 

To give you an idea of the UAE's openness, prostitution is illegal but tolerated and informally regulated. Prostitutes congregate only on certain streets, and only late at night. Hotels require them to register their passports at the front desk, creating data that can be used by the government to track activities. Enterprising prostitutes use this "passport rule" to negotiate their prices upwards by claiming it will take more time to collect and bring their passport. Interestingly, all the women I saw loitering outside at night were from African countries, but a taxi driver told me different groups work on a few different corners.