Muscat had a long weekend last week - Thursday to Saturday (instead of Friday - Saturday). However did manage to have a couple of hours of discussion with a company run by fellow mana vaadus (from Andhra). It was an interesting company where they had everybody "imported" from Andhra - from car driver, chef to of course the big boss as well. They waited on us so well the last few days we were there. It felt soooo much like home.
Thursday night was a sea food night at the Crowne. Lobsters, king prawns, fishes grilled to perfection and to your taste. I found a tamilian guy behind a grill. Asked him "nalla urappa pottu kodunga nna" (spice it up pls!!). He was mighty thrilled. He brought a huge bowl of chilli, marinated my selections and grilled them just the way it should be. :-)
My job got over sooner than expected, but it was too expensive to return a day earlier so stayed on as per my original plan. Friday was quite uneventful. Saturday was quite hectic with an early morning beach combing for sea shells. Came out with a pretty good collection after about 15-20 minutes. Later in the morning ventured out to see the famous Muthra Souk. I guess one of the most touristy spots in Muscat city. It was an interesting scene. There was one main pathway in the "mall" where only gift and souvenir shops existed and the clientele was predominantly tourists from all over the globe. Every few 100 meters there were side gullies where all the local shops where the locals shopped. Anything from dresses to groceries to jewellery. It was an all in one mall.
After shopping I was roaming around taking a few photos which should've attracted a taxi driver. Asked him to take me to an Omani restaurant. Sensing my touristy curiosity he offered to take me on a "scenic route" which only the tourists took for 1 Riyal extra. Eventually landed in the restaurant after a quick tour around the place and government offices. The so called Omani restaurant was run by a fellow Mallu sahib who as been there for 40+ years. 80% of the dishes were what I could get in any multicuisine restaurant in Bangalore. Managed to identify one Omani dish - Chicken Maqboos. It was a good cross between a chicken briyani and fried rice. Took a "parcel" of chicken fry to my colleagues back in the hotel.
Muscat has a huge infiltration of Indians and Filipinos performing a variety of jobs.Filipinos (their "Sir" is such a give away) were mostly in the food and beverage or retail outlets. Indians of course did anything and everything. Their currency is interesting. The primary unit of measure being Riyal (OMR), it is divided into 1000 baisa. There are currency notes upto 100 baisas below which it goes to coins. 1 riyal was close to 3 Aussie $s. However the cost of living seemed quite cheap compared to Oz even after a $ conversion.
The return journey was quite eventful as well. Managed to get upgraded to business class using frequent flyer miles from Dubai to Sydney - a 14 hour journey. What can I say....everything was special on that side of the aircraft. Including the toilet which was decorated with a live orchid. Having a built in massage seat does relax a few muscles. ;-) The best part was the incline and leg support. Had to fiddle with the controls initially until I got used to what I can do. I could only remember my first "remembered" flight from Chennai to Singapore (89??) Now I wonder....if business was so...what will first class be??? Maybe one day.... :-)
So long.... bye for now.
C
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