Leaving Oman: 10 Months in the Hole

Leaving Oman: 10 months in the hole...

Events in this blog-entry take place on the 3rd of July, 2009

As I have already reported, the last few weeks were hectic. Why should the very last day be any different? Everything is packed, and by the door. 'Uncle Don' picked me up right after I dropped off the key to my Landlord; We left quite early. I arrived in Muscat and finished some of my final business in mall (Western Union, and procuring some last minute gear for my flight). On the way out, we stopped by the Muttrah souk (traditional market) to pick up some souvenirs. Now, if you've never been to a souk before, you really are missing something. Think 'the market scene from Aladdin'. All types and varieties of merchants 'harass' you as you walk buy. If you even look in their direction, they grab the nearest of their wares and shout things in your direction like "For you my friend, special price, talking camel... only five dollars". Below is a video of Mutrah Souk:


So the trick is to act like your blind, deaf, and dumb when walking through the souk, until you see what you are looking for in your periphery and make a b-line for the shop in question. I did manage to pick up a great little ring at a silver shop (Oman is known for their silver and silver-smithing). I didn't get one of the 'traditional Omani rings' (which are quite big, and feature a large, semi-precious stone in the center of a over sized gaudy band), opting for a more modern 'spinny-ring'. I like it, money well spent.

After the souk, we went off to the airport. Much of our 'lead' had already dwindled away, and we were now in a hurry. Thankfully we didn't see any of that famous 'Muscat traffic' that can easily tie you up for hours trying to travel three kilometers. At the airport, I met 'my guy' (a representative of my sponsor), we then jumped through all the hoops of canceling my visa, and I said goodbye to 'uncle Don'. After a small ordeal of changing some large amounts of money, I said goodbye to Oman and got on the damn airplane.

The flight was quite nice. It was the first time I ever flew KLM. It is one of two airlines I could never really afford to fly when I was going to Europe on my own (the other being Lufthansa). So, I was very interested in seeing what the experience was going to be like. Verdict: Very Good/Great. With the exception that I DO NOT FIT IN ECONOMY CLASS SEATS, I had a good flight. I especially liked the entertainment console built into the back of every seat. I got to watch some TV, play some video games, and see a movie, whose release I missed this year in the states (Watchmen)! The flight-time was about 13 hours with a stop in both Abu-Dhabi and Amsterdam ( I was very concerned that there was no 'coffee-shops' in the airport (which is strange because it might be the most notable cultural icon outside of windmills, which strangely enough were also missing in the airport). At the end of the flight, I arrived safely and soundly in Vienna. I Quickly found my friend Nathan a buddy of mine from my time in Boston at UMASS, who was waiting for me with his daughter Livia (an absolute darling of child), who promptly cried as soon as she met me ( I sometimes have that effect on women).

Well first things first, we had a coffee and croissant at the airport coffee house, then we hopped on the subway. At one of the major points of transfer, got out and visited a supermarket. What did you buy, you say? What do you think? We bought PORK! A few sausages, some cold-cuts and so forth, which we quickly consumed on the rest of the way back to the house!!! Sin, you are definitely a tasty temptress indeed! We then promptly got to his house to meet his wife Ka (who is awesome), and unwind with a few dozen cups of coffee, and some conversation, and plan my 'siege' of Vienna!