Oman Day Two - Wahiba Desert & Wadi Bani Khalid

Day 2 in Oman found me on a tour to Wahiba Desert & Wadi Bani Khalid. Wahiba is located in the eastern part of Muscat and is about a couple of hours away by car, thus making it a good choice for a day tour from the city. It is a popular desert so there are many companies that offer tours and I went with GidOman, a tour company that I came across online. They had a special going on so their price was much lower than the rest of the companies I looked at, plus they had really good reviews which sealed the deal for me.

The first stop once we got to Wahiba was at a local Bedouin home where we got to enjoy some dates and coffee as we learned about their way of life. 

Next we went dune bashing which is essentially driving over sand dunes at various speeds. It wasn't my favorite part of the tour because I was scared as hell as our driver accelerated over the dunes and it felt like we would topple over, glad I experienced it but I would probably not do it again. The sand dunes were beautiful so at least I got to appreciate that.

After we had out fill of the desert, it was time to head on over to Wadi Bani Khalid which was a 45 minute drive from the desert. A Wadi is a valley and some of these valleys are filled with water making them ideal spots for swimming. This specific Wadi is one of the most well known ones in the country and since it is not too far from Muscat, many locals and tourists alike visit it. 

That's it folks! it was a day well spent, I got an overdose of some much needed vitamin D and once I got back to my hotel room I was ready to call it a night. Tomorrow, another adventure awaits!

Oman Day One - Muscat

I landed in Muscat the capital city of Oman a few hours ago and me being me, I hit the ground running by touring some of the popular highlights of the city before jet lag humbles me and knocks me out. Oman is located in the Middle East and shares borders with Yemen, Saudi Arabia and The UAE. You hardly ever hear about Oman in the news so a lot of people don't know anything about the country, at least that is the impression I have judging by the common question I kept being asked when I mentioned that I was visiting Oman, "Where is that? how do you even spell that?"  

I hope writing about my adventures in this country during my week long stay will be informational and better yet, inspire any reader of this blog to visit. Now let me give you a quick run down of what I have been up to for the past few hours. 

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque - This is the largest mosque in Oman and took 6 years of construction to complete. The mosque has a blend of Arab, Middle Eastern and Omani architectural design and it was once famed as having the largest chandelier and carpet in the world, before the Sheikh Zayed Grand mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE swooped in and claimed this fame. The Sultan Qaboos mosque is one of the only mosques in Oman that allows visitors of all religions inside the prayer halls.

Al Alam Palace - This is the official ceremonial palace of the Sultan of Oman and public entry into the palace is not allowed unless you are a visiting dignitary.

Mutrah Souq - This is one of the oldest market place in Oman where you can find a variety of goods for sale, heck! you can even buy Luis Vuitton bags and all the big designer brands, authenticity is definitely not guaranteed.

The Royal Opera House - This is the leading arts and culture organization in Oman with a vision of serving as the center of excellence in global cultural engagement. World renowned concerts are held here and I got the chance to peak inside, the stage is huge! I can only imagine how amazing the performances are.

That's it folks! it was an active day, just the way I like it and now it's time to succumb to jet lag and rest up as tomorrow I continue on with yet another exciting adventure.

Random Thoughts of The Day

Muscat has to be one of the most chill cities that I have ever visited, maybe my opinion will change later during my trip but so far I have observed it to be so quiet and not bustling with activities or people. I was told that most people come out in the evening and at night since it is cooler. I will confirm this later.

With half a day, you can see pretty much most of Muscat city's highlights. It is easier to do this with the help of a car as the public transportation system is not really catered to tourism.

The roads in the city are in perfect condition and the drivers are not aggressive so it's not intimidating to drive here. Ooh! and Oman being an oil producer, expect gasoline prices to be pretty cheap!

Oman's population is in the 5 million range and about half of it comprises of foreign workers who provide cheap labor. You will see many of these foreign workers in Muscat working in restaurants, shops, hotels etc. 

Day 6 - New Delhi, India

Today was my last day in India, instead of taking another overnight train from Varanasi to Delhi, I decided to fly because I was not about to spend another 10 hours in a train while I could alternatively spend slightly over an hour on a flight. I arrived in Deli at night which gave me a good opportunity to sleep and rest up before embarking on a few last adventures in the city. Remember I had already seen a few sites in Delhi on the first day of my trip so what was remaining were a few more sites before officially wrapping up the trip. 

The first stop was at the India Gate which was built to commemorate the thousands of Indian soldiers that died during World War I. 

Second stop was Humayun's Tomb built in 1570. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, it was the first garden-tomb in India and was heavily influenced by Persian architecture. This tomb actually inspired the construction of the Taj Mahal. 

Isa Khan's garden tomb, it precedes the adjacent Humayun's tomb by two decades. It is the culmination of an architectural style used for royal tombs in Delhi during the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties from the early 15th to 16th centuries. How pretty are the colors at the top? can you imagine how they must have looked like in the past? 

The other places I was meant to check out were the presidential palace and the Lotus temple. Both were closed to the public unfortunately. There wasn't much else to do so I had my last meal in Delhi before heading back to the hotel to get ready for my trip back.

That's it folks! I am rushing through this post because my taxi driver is almost here to take me to the airport. All I can say though is that this trip taught me about gratitude, India has a lot of challenges and even though I had a guide, I still felt those challenges. Initially I was ready to be done with this trip but after I looked at the unique experiences I had in the country, my perspective changed and I appreciated what this trip exposed me to. It's been quite an adventure and now it's back to reality! Until the next adventures.............Adios!

Day 5 - Varanasi, India

I left Agra for Varanasi via an overnight train which was quite the adventure! thank goodness I slept for most of the 12 hour trip and never once did I have to use the toilet. I arrived in Varanasi early in the morning feeling well rested and ready to hit the ground running. Varanasi or Benaras, is one of the oldest living cities in the world. It's located in northern India and on the banks of the Ganges river which is considered sacred and holly by Hindus. 

Hindus also believe that if one dies in Varanasi then they will attain salvation and freedom from the circle of life and rebirth. This gives you an idea of how important this city is to Hindus, it is the ultimate pilgrimage city for them and many wish to die here, Heck! I would too, if I shared the same beliefs. I mentioned that I was ready to hit the ground running upon my arrival, so that's exactly what I did. I met with my tour guide and driver and off we went to check out the first point of interest, starting with Sarnath.

Sarnath - this is an archeological site situated north of Varanasi. This place is very important to buddhists because this is where Buddha delivered his first sermon. Buddhists from all over the world make pilgrimages to this site. I got to learn about the history of Buddha and Buddhism as my guide and I walked around the site then checked out a nearby museum that had recovered relics from the site, it was very interesting.

Wat Thai Temple - this is one of the most popular Buddhist temples in Sarnath and the main highlight of this temple is the 80 feet statue of Buddha in standing position. The project to complete this statue took 14 years, construction started in 1997 and the statue was unveiled in 2011.

Ganga Aarti - this is a prayerful ceremony held every evening at Dashashwamedh ghat (steps leading to the river Ganges). It get's really crowded as you can see from the photos below. It was a fascinating ceremony to watch and something highly recommended to check out while in Varanasi, just be prepared for the crowds.

The different Hindu gods displayed on a building as were heading toward the ghat.

People heading to the evening ceremony

Unfortunately it started raining heavily so we had to leave the ceremony early but at least I had observed a big portion of it. The next morning which was my last day in the city, we headed back to Dashashwamedh ghat at around 6 am and the place was buzzing with activity already. I got to see people bathing in the Ganges, went on a boat ride along the river as my guide told me more about Hindu rituals and beliefs then checked out some temples. I am summarizing everything because it's a lot of information that I am just too tired to get into it, but I hope you enjoy the photos.

Interesting story about Kumiko house below. Years ago, I believe in the 70s, a Japanese lady visited Varanasi and fell in love with one of the boat men at the Ganges. They got married and she moved to India to be with him, she built this guest house which I was told is pretty popular with Japanese tourists that visit Varanasi.

On the Ganges you will see many floating flower arrangements, I was told that these are offerings and what you do is light a small candle in the middle of the flower arrangement, say one wish that you would like to come true then put the offering in the river. I made my wish then put the flower offering in the river

PS: reason why I was wearing sunglasses when clearly it was an overcast day is because I got a horrible ear infection and the left side of my face was swollen including my eye, thank goodness for my braids which managed to hide how swollen my face really was.

Checked out a couple of temples

In front of the statue of Patanjali, according to sources he systemized and codified the existing yoga practices, he was a sage who authored the Yoga Sutras, a classic yoga text dating back 200 BC - 200 CE.

That's it folks! I saw what I needed to see in Varanasi and it was time to head back to Delhi. I was supposed to take another overnight train but decided to take a local flight which would only last slightly over an hour. I wasn't about to spend hours on the train again.

Random Thoughts of the Day:

I love Indian food but for some reason my appetite just hasn't been present during this trip, maybe it's because I am moving around a lot plus I am also cautious about what I eat because I don't want to end up with a running stomach.

As much as I love seeing vibrant cities with people walking along the streets, the crowded streets of the parts of India that I have visited, are on another level. The crowds, the noise, the shoving, it's a lot! never have I missed a quiet park where you can just sit and decompress while still enjoying the outdoors.

I have been getting stares everywhere I go and I don't think anyone can beat Indians with a stare back. I tried to out stare several people but it hasn't worked so far, it's like some of these folks are in a trance or something. Someone will literally stand in front of me and just stare, it's so bizarre and I have never seen anything quite like it. 

I came across a woman holding a child while begging on the street in Varanasi, my guide told me that a lot of these women are professional beggars. They have kids every 3 or so years then use the kids to garner sympathy while begging on streets. This is literally like a job for them, he said this happens all over India and they drug the kids a little bit so that they don't cry while the mother is walking around begging. Poor kids! 

Considering all the pollution that goes into the Ganges river, I was wondering about the safety of people bathing in it. My guide insisted that the minerals in the water do not allow for infections and some people even drink that water. Yikes! 

Day 4 - Agra, India

Today is my birthday and even though I woke up with an ear infection that had started swelling up, I was determined to make the best out of the day. Yesterday the focus was mainly on the Taj Mahal and today the aim was to see other sites of interest before leaving Agra for the next city.

The first stop was Agra Fort which is a historical fort that served as the residence of the rulers of the Mughal Dynasty, until 1638 when the capital was moved from Agra to Delhi. It is also known as the Red Fort due to the red sandstone used to build it. 

Next stop was The tomb of Itmad Ud, this tomb was built by his daughter queen Jahan, as a tribute to him after his death. She was a mughal queen. The tomb was built in 1625 and has many features that were incorporated in the later  construction of the Taj Mahal. It is actually referred to as "baby Taj." The artwork in this tomb is beautiful! I personally found this tomb to be more beautiful than the Taj Mahal.

That's it folks! After checking out these two sites, it was time to head to the train station to take an overnight train to the next city, but not before getting one last tuk-tuk ride. I can't say it was the best birthday just because there were so many unplanned occurrences that threw things off. I am not complaining though because either way, I still had the privilege of experiencing something unique.