72 hours in Oman: Culture / Awakening the senses

What was initially meant to be a solo trip became a girl's getaway, and so much the better for it. Karuna and I hopped on a flight to Oman via Dubai.

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A few hours and a fair bit of champagne later, we were greeted by the eternally gorgeous Rummy. Our adventure had begun. We stopped for a brief moment to greet the sea; pausing by the beach where fishermen unloaded their catches.

Oman is a maritime nation; its history is rich with the prowess of traders and seafarers. Seeing the leaping waves curling around Muscat under the gaze of sunburnt mountains, one could almost sense the proud heritage of centuries of adventures, of trade in spices and frankincense (this is where Jesus got his from, I guess).

We headed into town. I wished I had more time to see around, but as I only had 3 days in Oman, choices had to be made. So we made a pit stop at the front of Sultan Qaboos Mosque.

Beautiful minarets flanked by fields of flowers. I had a tug of regret - but I guess it gives me a reason to come back to Oman! We then moved towards the Palace. One of us may have been too busy checking for Pokemons to actually take pictures of the Palace.

Rummy then took us towards the peaceful Old Town, where we entered a maze of white-walled houses flanked by bougainvillea shrubs or Mediterranean plans, or accented by colourful mosaic tiles or vibrant blue paint (you could almost imagine you were in Santorini or Rabat)... until we turned a corner and bumped into a vibrant blue sea:

It seems that the sea is never very far from people's thoughts and sights in Muscat. We spent a moment reveling in the sea-breeze, listening to the crashing waves and wishing we had time for a dip.

So peaceful.

By this time, we were starving. Luckily for us, we had been invited for lunch by the new kid in town, a swanky place called OMNY Brasserie in the Hormuz Grand Hotel. We ate more than was respectable, courtesy of the generous sizes of the platters.

We started with cocktails and mocktails.

Rummy went for the melon mocktail; Karuna opted for this gorgeous rose-flavoured cocktail, I tried a citrus-heavy one with Omani honey.

And we toasted to friendship and happiness.

For starters, I went for the halloumi soufflé (it was quite filling and should be a main, really) served with a rocket, olive and walnut salad. Light and soft and comforting, although I wish I could feel the sharp tang which characterises halloumi cheese. The girls went for bapalo, a fish soup typical of Oman.

The mains were a hearty serving of comfort food with a glam and Omani twist: lobster mac'n'cheese; steak; potato and truffle dauphinoise; crêpes with veggie stuffing (I had to go for two sides instead of a main as there was only a risotto option for veggies. This said the portions were ridiculously generous. The manager has promised to include more options, so it's worth checking for updates!)

Brownie points for the cute ribbons on the crêpes:

The desserts were, as Mary Berry would say, a little bit of all right. I went for the saffron creme brulée, which was beautifully topped with fruits and meringue and Omani pastry.

The other two had scrumptious cheesecake. I felt the desserts at this place were outstanding. Hearty, far from pretentious, but spot-on.

Stuffed silly, we thanked our hosts, the chef and the cheerful Frenchman Ghislain for the lunch and set off. Even though we technically finished lunch at dinner time, we still had something incredible planned to finish the day in full glory. An opera by Rossini. Suitably, it was a comedy - the Italiana in Algiers - and I was excited at the idea of visiting the beautiful Royal Opera House of Muscat. Sadly pictures were not allowed once in the theatre, but we did manage to pose briefly:

(The quality of the pictures goes a bit downhill from here):

I was totally awed by the grandeur and elegance of the place. If the architecture was sumptuous, the swish of Omani men flowing past in their dishdashas added an extra dimension of exoticism and mystery to the place.

The opera was everything we hoped it would be: uplifting, colourful, vibrant. The setting, even more so. Nevermind the fact that Karuna and I fell asleep right before the end, exhausted as we hadn't slept much on the flight the night before.

All in all, the first day was an initiation of the senses: the sea breeze, the scents and sounds, the culture and the food. A perfect first day in Muscat, in anticipation of more adventures the next day!