Back again!!!

I am happy to announce the return of posting entries in this blog! After a long hiatus, I am going to redouble my efforts to regularly documemt my exploits and adventures.

First things first though, I would like to apologize for my absence in the blog-o-sphere and offer my heartfelt apologies for those of you who nodoubtedly have been waiting on the edge of your seat with bated breath for posts that never came.

The next order of business (after this heart-felt apology), is to catch up until present day. Much had transpired since my last regular posts. I wish to 'fill in the blanks',  so we can start the next chapter fresh and all on the same page.
For those of you not keeping track, I will be leaving Oman for the UAE. It is this move of hearth and home that is the impetus for my 'settling my blog debts'. So for anyobe reading or anyone who cares, stay tuned, gentle reader, there is more soon to come.

Sur+fari in Sarqiya or What I did this Eid

The events described in this post took place on Nov 6th , 2011 in  Sharqiya region of Oman. For those of you viewing this through Facebook 'Notes', the original post is available on www.henrickatlarge.blogspot.com. It will enable you access to photo galleries and other multi-media material which don't transfer into 'Notes'

After taking a dip in the ocean this week, I realized that I had not gotten nearly enough of the ocean.  I was hankering to get back into the water in some way, or just to spend more time in a nautical environment . I could feel my 'island' background calling me to spend more time against the backdrop of rolling waves and frothing whitedaps. As a happy coincidence would have it, I had been invited out to the Sharqiya region of Oman to go on a bit of a 'Surfari' with some friends.  I snapped at the chance to go out with them, and perhaps even learn to surf!

View Larger Map

Sharqiya is one of the parts of Oman that I have yet to visit, and there are a few things there I still want to see before I eventually leave. That being the case, I jumped at the opportunity to head out that way.

We left Muscat on Monday morning by way of the 'inland route to Asylah. We were ultimately headed for one of the few places in Oman that is renowned for surfing, the fabled 'Joe's Point'.

I'll save you the 'blow by blow' account of the trip.  Instead I have decided to put this video.  Made by Baxter Jackson.  This video describes the trip in an artistic mannar combing images words and music. The result: a tour de force synapsis of our Sharqiya excusion.


Enjoy!

Return to the water and ODC Alternatives in Muscat Oman

Photo by : http://www.flickr.com/photos/giveawayboy/503744564/

The events described in this post took place on Nov 6th , 2011 in Muscat, Oman. For those of you viewing this through Facebook 'Notes', the original post is available on www.henrickatlarge.blogspot.com. It will enable you access to photo galleries and other multi-media material which don't transfer into 'Notes'
So today I got back into the water for a dive. It has been almost a year (the last one was in Jan).  The reason behind my not diving was mostly procrastination of the most general variety.  Though, I have been struggling with the high cost of diving at the dive center I usually use, Oman Dive Center.

I know that there are alternatives to ODC, but it has sort of 'dominated' my mental landscape when it comes to dive centers in Oman.  It has a great location and is very well advertised and marketed.

There were a few recent events that, well, 'broke the camel's back' so to say. First, the price of a two tank dive went up at ODC (now, it's like 50 OR). Also, there was a mass exodus of their divemasters and instructors (never a good sign).  With that in mind I decided to go out on a limb and try one of the other dive centers.  The one I went with was Blue Zone diving. There were some familiar faces on the boat (from the ODC), and it was generally a great dive.

We launched out of the Marina Bander Al Rowder and had a quick 20 minute boat trip to two of the usual dive sites in that area.  The water temperature was about 25 celcius at the surface and 22 at the nadir of the dive (13 meters). The visibility could have been better. The view was obscured a bit my detritus and flotsam in the water.  I believe it could have been the result of an algae bllom that washed into the gulf of Oman. Though, it was still pretty good.

Our first dive was at Mermaid.  nothing too out of the ordinary there.  There was the usual array of Gulf fish.  Truth be told, I was more concentrated on getting accustomed to being underwater again than really seeing anything (I did however cross paths with a rather large honeycomb moray). Toward that end, the dive was a success. 

The second dive was at another local spot called 'Seahorse Haze'.  This was more of  a scenic dive. We saw a sea turtle straight out.  It was about half a meter long, sitting on a batch of soft coral on the bottom. We also spotted a lionfish hanging out in crevice.  I was super stoked to see one, they are by far one of my favorites.  Another highlight was the worlds most giant starfish I had ever scene.  Unlike other starfish, this one was shaped like a perfect nautical star.  It looked like it was drawn by an 'old school' tattoo artist.  And there seemed to be a inordinate amount of clownfish around.  Everywhere I looked there were 'little Nemos' buziing about, darting to and fro.

All and all, not a bad return to the ocean.  So for anyone thinking about trying to find an alternative to ODC, I highly recommend Blue Zone.  It was essentially the same experience for about half the price!

What to do on a Weekend Morning?

The events described in this post took place sometime in late-October , 2011 in Muscat, Oman. For those of you viewing this through Facebook 'Notes', the original post is available on www.henrickatlarge.blogspot.com. It will enable you access to photo galleries and other multi-media material which don't transfer into 'Notes'

 Just a little 'blurb' here... not anything too substantial, but just throwing this out there. 

So, I am here in Muscat, Settling-in and socially 'acclimatizing' to the new locale.  There is a lot to do here in Muscat, and compared to the other places I've lived it can be a little overwhelming.  Well, sometimes it's good to just chill out and relax. Sit-back and let it all just roll off your shoulders.  So, that's exactly what I did.  Everything will fall into place.  Sometimes you just need to smell the roses and let life catch up to your expectations.  This morning, I went for a walk along the beach.  The weather here in Muscat has turned really nice, and it's not too hot during the day to go for a little stroll.  And that, is precisely what I did.  I meandered leisurely along the beach at Shatti, and reveled in the morning beach-front scene.  :)

The Catwalk in Muscat!

From Splash Fashion Show

The events described in this post took place sometime in late-October , 2011 in Muscat, Oman. For those of you viewing this through Facebook 'Notes', the original post is available on www.henrickatlarge.blogspot.com. It will enable you access to photo galleries and other multi-media material which don't transfer into 'Notes'


So what did you do this Friday  night(the equivalent of Sunday Arabia)? A question I am not used to being asked. Because, in the places I used to live this was a moot point. There was nothing going on normally during the week.  That is, if Matty Bobatty didn't have a party.  And Saturday was work.  This being the case, it was a really absurd question.  Being an absurd question, I had never really been asked it before.


But now, I really wish someone die ask me just such a question.  Because, I'd have a great answer for them.  I went to a FASHION show! Yes a fashion show, on a Friday! Not only that, but it was at one of the best hotels in Muscat.  A really swanky super-up-scale resort called the Shangi-La. I had a blast! It was a great time.

The show itself was put on by SPLASH, a Middle East modern-fashion house that (as far as I can tell), markets its wares to upwardly-mobile Arabs with money and limited experience in what cool is exactly.  So they tell them.

The Fall line was OK. It didn't knock me out. It wasn't special or awesome. The clothes and styles were, well, derivative.  But that is par-for-for the-course in these parts. The best part was the show itself.  highlights included:

• a lot of eye-candy
• said eye-candy was provocatively dressed
• a 40's inspired dance number by two attractive dancers dressed as stewardesses 
• A DJ that spun pretty great tunes throughout the show
• a interlude duet between the DJ and a live kit-drummer
• the fashions were also displayed by about 40 'average' looking people that won the privalige by lottery

Besides the show itself, the 'reception' was a lot of fun.  It featured a great little 'nosh' buffet, servants trolling the area with trays full of wine, and a dessert installation that had a wonderful assorment of decadent little treats.  The antechamber to the ballroom (where the show itself was held, was filled with some of the very young, up-and-coming Omanis and expat-locals on the scene.  Even though this is not what I'd call 'High-Fashion', it was truly an event which brought out some of Muscat's 'Glitteratti'.  It was definitely very "CIRCUS MAXIMUS' Plenty of people coming out, even on a Friday, to see and be-seen.  But like I said.... What did you do on Friday night?

The events described in this post took place sometime in June, 2011 in Nizwa, Oman. For those of you viewing this through Facebook 'Notes', the original post is available on www.henrickatlarge.blogspot.com. It will enable you access to photo galleries and other multi-media material which don't transfer into 'Notes'

It is so ironic.  I have always complained that I never really see the Oman everyone seems to talk about.  Here I am living in the Hiterland, and I don't get to actually see the scenic stuff that makes Oman so different from the rest of the Gulf.  I also know that there is many places in the vicinity of where i live that should be in walking distance from my flat that are supposedly really great.

In the last two weeks before leaving Nizwa, I decided to literally explore my backyard.  I mean go into the area behind my flat, away from the market and the rest of the city.


I initally thought that there wasn't much there.  I had been under the impression that the neighborhood stopped a few blocks in.  Presumably at the foot of the mountains behind my house.  Boy, was I wrong!!!

It just so turns out that behind my house starts this community called the Falag Daris.  A falaj is a kind of aquaduct.  It was used by people in the desert to channel water from the mountains for personal use and crops.  There was a great deal there, right behind my house.  A veritable oasis so close to the sprawling nothing of the rest of Nizwa.  Dates, bananas, and all manner of greenery.  Houses surrounded by flowers and plants.  Pools of water that ran off into tributaries to irrigate the crops. You can find more photos here.

The people out there were way different too.  These were the people you hear about when someone talks about Oman. Everyone I met said hello with a big smile, then invited me into their house for tea, No, really they did.  This was the Arab hospitality that I had heard so much about.  It was a far cry from the indifferent tolerance one experiences other places.  Traveling less than a quarter of a mile from my flat was the equivilent to jumping to another universe.

It is a real shame that I only discovered Falaj Daris two weeks before I left Nizwa.  In hindsight, I could have taken my nightly walk through there, instead of trapsing through the souhk every night.  Well, looking behind you is always 20/20.  But, I'm glad I did discover it! It truly is a wonderful place of beauty.  If you are ever in the Nizwa area, I highly recommend taking a stroll through Falag Daris.  It is time well spent!

Wadi Bani Awf (in through the out door)

The events described in this post took place on or about January, 2011 in Nizwa, Oman. For those of you viewing this through Facebook 'Notes', the original post is available on www.henrickatlarge.blogspot.com. It will enable you access to photo galleries and other multi-media material which don't transfer into 'Notes'

As  discussed in the previous post, the Spring semester of 2011 was unofficially dedicated to trying to 'cross-off' all of the things I wanted to do in the interior.  One off the big things that I still had not yet done was to visit Wadi Bani Awf. 

Wadi Bani Awf, is perhaps the preeminent off-road route in Oman.  It bridges Rustaq with Nizwa. Both places in which I had lived. Though ironically I have never been their. 

Wadi Bani Awf is usually done in one direction. That being, from Rustaq to Nizwa.  However, myself and Jared decided to attempt it from the Nizwa side.



Well, I found out why one generally does it that way. It begins with a 5 kilometer descent into the wadi that is very treacherous. I came to the realization that it is easier to go up a steep slope, then try and go down one.  Especially across rocks and extreme off-road terrain. 

We made it to one of the sections called 'Snake Canyon' before deciding to turn back.  It was  rapidly   becoming dark and that kind of climb is not something you want to do in the dark. 
Exploring Wadi Bani Awf was definitely an experience and I am glad I finally got to visit there.  The view was exquisite.  I highly recommend it to anyone who has a 4X4 and is in the Gulf region. You can find excellent maps and directions to Wadi Bani Awf here:  as well as in the book (insert title here).  Definitely a worth while experience.