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The Great Musandam Peninsula Part 2

I must still be having an extended seasick that I totally forgot to post the second part of our adventure to the great Musandam Peninsula in the Sultanate of Oman. According to my dear friend wiki (wink), geographically, the Musandam peninsula juts into the Strait of Hormuz the narrow entry into the Persian Gulf, from the Arabian Peninsula. The Musandam Peninsula is an exclave of Oman, separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates. Its location gives Oman partial control, shared with Iran, of the strategic strait. In the northern section of Musandam, around Kumzar. The Musandam Peninsula has an area of 1,800 square kilometers (695 sq mi) and a population of 31,425 people. Connectivity has traditionally been a problem for the region, but this has greatly improved since August 2008 with the world’s fastest passenger ferry launching service between Muscat and Musandam.

musandam oman

Here are some of the beauty of the place as captured ByBernard:

Cheers!

The Great Musandam Peninsula Part 1

What I did during our trip to Musandam, Oman?

Non-stop blogger posing

Non-stop ~~swimming~~ floating in the middle of the ocean

Non-stop hill climbing ( I climbed that hill, imagine? so not me!)

Non-stop eating abode the dhow cruise (so me!)

Non-stop roaming around

Non-stop dolphin watching (awww, love dolphins)

Non-stop photo op

Non-stop dhow cruising

Non-stop jumping shots with friends

Non-stop bonding with Rolex (These rocks are centuries old, see the stone carvings?)

I was unstoppable. As a result, I went home sick as hell but it was all worth it. I didn’t know that too much holiday is also bad for your health.

To be continued…

Cheers!

Another Holiday

We are currently enjoying the beauty of the Arabian Gulf. Happy National Day to the Sultanate of Oman!

Cheers!

Uniquely Paris

Out of the blue before parking the car, Rolex asked me why the people in Paris looked like they just came out from the pages of a fashion magazine? I just laughed, perhaps I didn’t know my husband has some hidden interest in fashion. I don’t know the exact answer. It’s part of their culture, I believe. I think I must read Parisian Chic: A Style Guide by Ines de la Fressange.

In the street it just common to see people like this…having a casual conversation, looking like they didn’t exert much effort to dress impeccably yet they look chic, classy and comfy, regardless of age or status in the society.

Streetstyle: Paris, France
Get the Michael Kors tote here in snake effect leather and the logo tote here.

While strolling at Jardin de Tuileries, this scene surprised me. People didn’t mind that a fashion photo shoot is going on. I mean in other countries, pedestrians would stop and stare and even stay until the end of the shoot. Looks like they have their own business to attend to, so who cares? It must be a normal occurrence in the streets of Paris.

So while others are doing some physical fitness or just simply enjoying the scenery regardless if a photo shoot is on-going…it is also common in the city of love to show as much PDA (Public Display of Affection) as you can.

It’s like do your own thing, I’ll do mine…in short mind your own business. I love the vibes! In fact, I told Rolex that if I win the lottery I will buy an apartment in Paris and live there. Then I realized I have to learn how to speak French. I can’t just say “merci beaucoup” all the time.

Jardin des Tuileries in Paris, France
Blue skirt similar here.

PS. The book “Parisian Chic: A Style Guide by Ines de la Fressange” is available at Amazon:

Cheers!

Masirah Unplanned Part 2

Who doesn’t want long holidays please raise your hand. I know someone, my boss. Sounds weird, no? It is common for expats not to find anything to do in this “Land of Kaugahan”. You just have to be adventurous and you will realize that it is not really that “uga” (dull) after all.

Being a muslim country, the EID Al Adha here is like a huge festivity, just like Christmas for Christians. Imagine, I am off from work from 25 October to 2 November. That’s quite loooong. Mine and Rolex’ feet started to itch, what’s the plan? Many places came to mind…India, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Qatar etc. However, there was not much time to prepare and hello the airfare expectedly skyrocketed. I also wish we hold a “pasaporte diplomatico”

We decided to just stay in Oman for the holiday anyways we are up for something in the coming halloween and Rolex’ birthday on November 1, until a colleague called up and here we are headed to where? Undecided place. To cut it short, we found ourselves in the airport not to fly but to hire a rent-a-car (Sultana is a pampered car not allowed to be brought in an unknown terrain???) It was a feat since the rent-a-car services were either close (read:non-working holiday) or there was no available vehicle. We came around 4pm and finally get hold of a Ford Mondeo by 7:30pm and our journey to Masirah Island along with Ramil, Mark and Ate Oyie has begun.

None of us has been to Masirah. Ive seen it once featured on TFC but never left an impression on me (I find it so faraway). According to the map, it is 450 km away from Muscat. Goodluck to us.

Rolex was driving at least a good 2 hours in this sight.

After 4 hours on the road, we reached the port at 3am. The ferry to the island leaves at 6am. We dozed off until the shiny sun smiled upon us.

I had my favorite egg sandwhich and cappucino for breakfast.

The ferry ride to Masirah Island is almost 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Since it was unplanned, we arrived at the island with no hotel reservations. Before leaving the house I told Rolex that I am not sleeping in a tent. I would rather stay home for the next 2 or 3 days (I must love my bed so much that I would rather be with it than to be in a beautiful place in a tent). I may act a little choosy but I spent all my life being a girl scout attending 2-3 campings in a year and at this age, I would love to be in nice comfy sheet when Im vacationing. Unfortunately there were only 4 living hotels in the island. While still in the ferry Rolex called each one of them and they were all fully booked. My excitement started to drop. Upon arrival we still walked in the hotels only to validate that it is really fully booked. Thank God, we met a fellow Filipino while in the ferry and when we called her for SOS, her family was also booked in the same hotel where we were begging for a room. After a series of talks and waiting in vain, we managed to get 2 rooms at Masirah Island Resort at RO 75 or around $195 per roomnight and checked in by 1pm.

Masirah Island Resort

Masirah Island Resort Poolside at night

Masirah is just a small island. You can tour around the island in 1 hour without stop-overs. Here are some snaps.

It felt like we have the entire island to ourselves. Most people go there for fishing and that might explain the reason why I didn’t see them swimming. The beach was serene in white powdery sand comparable to Boracay Island in the Philippines. Aside from swimming, camping and fishing, you can also do crabbing in Masirah. Our friend Ramil got hooked that he ~~killed~~ caught (poor crabs) almost 2 kilos of crabs which we feasted on for dinner. The island looks so “virgin” that we got lost and were not able to visit some of the sights (at least we have a reason to come back). On the way home, we dropped by at the salt bed a few kilometers away from the port. It was a long stretch of arid land which reminds me that yes, I am in the desert but its worthy for a photo op.