India and the Middle East cruise: May 17-18 Dubai and Muscat

May 17 – Dubai

Today we took the free shuttle which dropped us off at Dubai Mall. Some retail therapy never does any harm. We had the day all planned out, but we did not plan for all the walking involved in exploring both the Dubai Mall and the walk back out to the Metro which we took down to the Mall of the Emirates and all the walking around there too!

Dubai Mall has the Burj Khalifa and the fountain and aquarium, the Mall of the Emirates has Ski World, an amusement arcade, bowling alley – oh, and some shops!!!

After all this walking we decided to return to the ship as we could not do justice to the Old Town of Dubai where the souks and museum and creek are. Oh well, we will just have to come back – that won't be too hard to do, now we have had a taste, we understand why this city draws you back.

Dubai Mall has beautiful 'avenues' of shops, just wandering is an experience, the shopping is an added extra!

The future of Sydney trains is right here right now in Dubai (and Singapore)

Driverless trains. Here they are above ground, in Singapore they are underground

Looking across to the outside of the Emirates Mall Ski World. That big 'tube' is a ski slope!

Again, the avenues of shops are sight in themselves

Here at Emirates Mall it's for the players, arcades ...

Rides ....

A bowling alley ....

A huge food court ....

And, of course, the ski slopes!! What more could you want when you are shopping!

Toboggan rides and zorb balls are added extras at Ski World

On the return journey on the RTA we had a terrific view of the business district of Dubai

Residences and businesses and cars all meld into one. Notice the satellite dishes on the roofs!

May 18 – Muscat

I had been corresponding with Nasser, the guide we had chosen for our visit to Muscat, for almost 12 months. We had discussed options of what to see and how to fit in the main sights during our very short stop. We were not due to dock until 12.30pm, so we really did have limited time with an 8pm departure.

We were able to disembark without any hassles and were on one of the first shuttles to take us to the port gate. Nasser was there waiting for us, beaming. He is a very proud Omani and as the day progressed it became obvious how much he loved his country and more to the point, showcasing it to others.

I had the itinerary tailor-made having discussed with Nasser his recommendations and, with my input the itinerary worked very well. The one sight we could not fully appreciate was the Grand Mosque as it was not open to visitors during the time we were there. We did have a stop for photos however.

Our first place to visit was Nazim where there is a wadi and an old Omani village which was built high in the hills above the wadi more than 500 years ago. The wadi itself is a wonderful sight as it is just like an oasis, with palm trees and other vegetation creating a lush area where a town also flourishes. The wadi floods when the rains come once a year which provides much needed water for the people.

The hilltop village and fort were amazing to see and our driver did a brilliant job negotiating the very narrow tracks (although paved) which wound their way up the hillside. The old houses provided a glimpse of life in times long since past. The warning cannon are still there and one is still used to announce to the people in the town below the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.

We stopped by a local homewares market on our way back to Muscat where beautiful household items were on display; water coolers, pots of all varieties, storage boxes and lots of other goods for the average home. Our return drive into Muscat took us to some of the beach and resort areas of Muscat where diving and snorkelling are becoming very popular pastimes for visitors. Nasser also showed us where some of the high end resorts are located, with more being built, along the rugged coastline. The views were just gorgeous.

Back in the city of Muscat we stopped to photograph the mosque and a few other places along the way before we stopped at the private museum, Bait Al Zubair. Nasser took us through the museum explaining the geography and history of Oman as well as touching on aspects of culture. This is definitely somewhere you need to visit to fully appreciate how different Oman is to other Middle Eastern cultures.

After a stop at the Sultan's palace, we finished our day with a visit to the souk. Unlike many markets, this was a series of inter-connecting laneways, with a variety of stores. Frankincense is one of the many items being sold and perfume shops were also in good supply along with clothing and jewellery, leather goods and knick knacks.

Oman is now one of our most favourite places visited on this trip. Clean, safe, interesting and wonderful friendly people.

The new Muscat Opera House

All the roundabouts have decoration or historical panels

Driving out into the desert region was amazing

Looking across the wadi is the ancient town we will be visiting

The houses have beautiful gated entries

Ruins of the ancient hilltop town

Our guide, Nasser

View of the wadi from high up on the hill

Finding our way through the narrow paths between ancient homes

Returning the way we came our driver negotiates the narrow road with great skill

We stopped by the local equivalent of a homewares store, market style

Everything for the home here

This is the local bus stop!

And a community BBQ where in the evening you can come for a 'take away'

A new mosque is being built for this area

This is the Grand Mosque which we could not go in. The inside is what Omanis are very proud of. It had the largest carpet in the world before the mosque in Abu Dhabi was built. Thousands of women in Iran made the carpet