Monday Night

Greetings from rainy wet muddy delightfully cheerful Salalah. 

First of all, thank you for those of you who commented on my previous post and for the many readers who emailed me privately to express their support/their own beliefs. It means the world to me.

Now, for news updates from our end of the country:

1) Salalah is officially invaded. Review my post from 2012. Nothing has changed. I avoid leaving the house at all times. Last weekend I went grocery shopping at 8:30  a.m to avoid the tourists, and the supermarket was still packed. Oh well.

(road from Ittin to mountains - avoid at all costs)

2) Very sad news today about the bodies of two missing young men from the UAE who drowned in Mirbat after attempting to swim in the ocean. Despite the signs up everyone saying "DON'T SWIM FROM MAY TO OCTOBER", people continue to risk their lives every year. Then every year we hear sad news about tourists who drown. 

3) I was VERY pleased to hear that Big Bus Tours is running tours in Salalah this khareef. It's 7 rials per person for 24 hours. The tour is 1 1/2 hours long and takes off from Salalah Gardens Mall main parking lot. You can get brochures with the route at the tourist kiosk in the mall near Carrefour (opposite Red Tag). 

4) Rumor has it that a mother-daughter duo (from Italy!) have opened up an authentic lasagna restaurant (take-out) in Salalah. It's on airport road (near Dhofar Hotel). The food is incredibly good. I'm heading there ASAP. 

5) The Festival: started officially on July 23rd but some of the exhibitions and attractions aren't open yet, so I'm waiting a few more days before I go to visit. For more details on the festival and news in Salalah, listen to Oman English FM (90.4) from 7-8 pm every evening. Informative program with interesting interviews. They have a new correspondent (Hani Al Baraka). He and Talal are doing Salalah proud. 

6) Dahariz Beach: has gone through a complete makeover. There is a lovely new walkway, barbecue areas, little gazebo thingies, and lots of seating area for about a kilometer. They're also about to open up a huge Al Makan Cafe (popular in Muscat). I've been walking there. It's a great place to be outdoors while avoiding the crowds. Tourists tend to head more towards the mountains during the monsoon with very few people congregating on beaches (the waves are rough because of the monsoon)

7) Oman lover and author Maria Dekeersmaeker has published yet another book on Oman. The new book is called Whispers of Oman and it is essentially stories about women. I can't wait to get my hands on it. Her book "The DNA of Dhofar" is also in my possession. Despite its unique structure, it's very informative. If you see any hard copies of the new book let me know.

8) RAFO roundabout is NO MORE. Salalah's infamous fountain roundabout that changes colors is gone. There is a story about that roundabout. Apparently back when it was first build, people had never seen color-changing fountains before. An old woman thought His Majesty had built a juice fountain to quench the thirst of all Dhofaris.  Well, it's gone now. In its place is an efficient set of traffic lights that have made our lives much much easier this week. They were inaugurated on Saturday. 

9) Most importantly, Lulu is selling caffeine-free coke. You have no idea what this means to me. Occasionally (like once every week or two weeks) I crave a coke. Problem is, I'm becoming increasingly caffeine intolerant. I have my coffee at 7 am. Anything after about 11 a.m will have me doing an Irish jig at midnight.

That's all for now folks. Back to snorting at Tom Hanks in Carly Rae Jepsen's video "I really like you". I finally got around to watching it.

Nadia 

PS (will the new Mall of Oman have Ikea? That's all that matters to me)

More On Ze Mall

So .... the 'girls' and I went to inspect Salalah Gardens Mall a couple of days ago to see what there was to see. And there was a lot!

First and foremost, Costa is almost ready:

The arrival of Costa in Salalah marks the arrival of decent coffee in this town (and no Browniz doesn't count - their coffee is terrible). Remember, I said 'decent'. Costa isn't necessarily my favorite, but it'll do for the moment.

Several shops (including watch and jewellery shops) are already open. The banks appears to be open. Omantel's branch is opening today as far as I know. City Cinema opened last night according to my WhatsApp updates that I skimmed through at 5:59 a.m this morning when I stood at the coffee maker waiting for my espresso. McDonald's is also open (blah).

Carrefour has been open since May. Lulu appears to have succumbed to competition and are now selling STARBUCKS SUMATRA COFFEE BEANS (oh yes they are. Saw em with my own two eyes on Friday morning... packets cost a rial or so more than Muscat, but I don't mind. As long as I have my extra bold coffee beans).

Home Centre is a miracle. You can actually now buy decent furniture, duvets, sheets, kitchen stuff, and about everything else you need for your home. The overly-huge vase and 'decoration' section at the front baffles me but once you get past that and into the home section you'll be happy. Prices are actually decent (ever been to Cavallini? Don't). I was on the lookout for three things though that they did not have (French coffee press, frother, and wicker laundry basket). Oh, well.

So, that's my report on the mall for the moment. Things are looking up.

Now .. back to reading about British concentration camps in South Africa in the Second Boer War over my second cup of coffee. Damn you Wikipedia. All I wanted was information about typhoid symptoms and look where it got me.

Khareef on the horizon....

So in case you haven't noticed, Salalah is DEAD HUMID. My energy starts to drain the moment I step out of my house in the morning. My glasses fog up and my mascara starts to melt. I spend an extra two or three hours at work in the afternoon simply to avoid having to go out into the heat and humidity. Leaving work at 6 pm when the sun is disappearing is more attractive these days than leaving work at 3. That's how much I dislike this kind of weather. I avoid going out in the evening, I avoid errands, I avoid socializing.... it's just too hot.

 

Nevertheless, the horrid humidity in June is the build-up to the monsoon (Khareef). The ocean is in full monsoon swing already and we're all counting the days until the skies open up and the first drop of rain lands on the tip of my nose, probably at 7:30 am on June 21st. I'm willing to bet.

 

This year, the holy month of fasting (Ramadhan) is expected around July 9th depending on the moon. It will last probably until August 7th or 8th (again - depending on the moon). The Salalah Tourism Festival is set to start on the 2nd day of Eid Al Fitr (probably August 9th) and will end 25 days later (depending on the moon! If we depended on the moon a little more, the world would be a better place).

 

The invasion of tourists will probably start in the last days of Ramadhan. The government has promised there will be no fuel shortage this year (remember last year?) and I'm yet to see results of the 15 million rials that have been set aside to improve 'efficiency' during Dhofar tourist season.

 

On another note, there's a CNN video on Oman's First Chocolatiers (Salma's chocolates if you remember my post) . I've always been fascinated with how chocolates are made. The video answered my question.

 

Finally, I noticed the sign up for Home Centre at Salalah Gardens Mall (our new monster of a mall across from Lulu). I look forward to tasteful furniture and home items at last in Salalah. The current selection we have in town is nothing short of horrid.

 

And last but not least, I'm craving Pad Thai and Tom Yum Soup. Oh, Siam Kitchen, why did you close?

 

Yours Truly from in front of the air conditioner,

 

Dhofari Gucci

 

Tim Hortons

So according to today's Times of Oman article here, Tim Hortons is opening an outlet in Muscat in early 2012. You heard me right. Muscat Mutterings is going to be a very happy man. They also said an outlet or several in Salalah would be a possiblity. If that's true, then the future of coffee at this end of the country just got brighter. At the moment there are no cafes here that serve real brewed coffee. Brewed beans. Not paper packages you tear open and add to a cup of boiling water. I'm talkin about real coffee. Tim Hortons are also famous for their wide variety of doughnuts *drool*. They hope to open thirteen outlets in Oman by 2013. THIRTEEN. Surely one or two of them will be in Salalah, right? Happy Saturday!

Siam Kitchen!!

Referring to my notes in the previous post about Salalah's first Thai restaurant, the owners posted a comment with directions and a website! I'm so excited! It looks like a very homey place. Pad Thai here I come!
Siam Kitchen: Authentic Thai Cuisine
Location: Dahariz (map available on website)- Al Montazah Road
Website: Siam Kitchen
Delivery: they deliver to the three Salalah colleges (SCT, Applied Sciences & Dhofar University) five days a week for lunch.
Menu: available on website.
Contact: 9331 4736

Happy Holidays Everyone! (and Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers & those of you at the US embassy who read this every morning :-P)

Tuesday Clippings 22/11/11

(Darbat Waterfalls in Dhofar during a good monsoon)

Good Morning! It looks like Tuesday may end up being 'clippings day' for the moment.

1. Abalone season ended two days ago. Production this year stood at 135,000 tons. Yup, that's a lot of abalone. Someone sent me an email asking me to point out that many of the abalone divers in Dhofar are women. Yes, it may sound strange coming from a conservative society like ours, but our women are excellent divers. (and now that the season is over, not only are they excellent divers but very rich divers as well! Most of the abalone is exported to East Asia (usually China & Japan), and is usually sold at around 80 Rials per kilo, but it can go up to 100 Rial or more depending on the type).

2. If you're planning on visiting Salalah for the upcoming very long weekend (Thursday 24th - Monday 28th), the weather is pleasant but dry. No cyclones or winds or dust storms. But you'd better book your tickets/hotels now because there are tons of European tourists here at the moment.

3. In addition to making it to Lonely Planet's top 10 places to visit in 2012, National Geographic has named Oman among the top 20 destinations in 2012. Wow. Read the full list here. This makes me very happy.

4. There was an event two nights ago in Salalah honoring "100 Women from Dhofar" for their achievements. The Minister of State cum. Governer of Dhofar was the guest of honor according to this crappy article from Oman Observer, (who writes these articles? A computer? Or do they use Google Translate?). Who were the 100 women? Details, anyone?

5. Camel Burgers: never thought I'd see the day, but apparently there's a restaurant in Salalah that has become rather famous for its camel hamburgers. Camel actually tastes good but I can't quite imagine what a burger would taste like. The directions someone gave me earlier were actually wrong. So, if you have any idea where this restaurant is, let me know please and we'll spread the love :)

6. Speaking of restaurants, apparently Salalah has welcomed its very first Thai restaurant as well. It's a tiny restaurant called the 'Siam Kitchen' and it's located in Dahariz (I was told on the beach, but I'm not sure). It's run by the Thai wife of an instructor at one of the local colleges, and rumor has it that she's bringing her aunt over from Thailand to cook. Thai food cooked by Thai people? YES PLEASE! (if you have directions, let me know and I'll post them here).

7. I've posted this before, but I'm reposting again because I think it's hilarious. "15 Signs You Might Have Been in Oman Too Long".