Last fall, I met an Omani man at my guest house in Delhi, India. When he learned I was a travel writer, he began to gush about Oman. “You must go! It is so beautiful. Muscat is gorgeous and people are so friendly.” I was sold. I added Oman to a list of Middle Eastern countries to visit this spring.
I arrived in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on a balmy March evening on the heels of visiting Dubai in the UAE. I’d thoroughly enjoyed my time in Dubai and, if reports I’d read on the Internet were any indication, I’d be even more wowed by Oman.
My first inkling that Oman might not be all that I hoped came a few minutes later. The driver of the taxi who met me at the airport started asking what I wanted to do in Muscat. I replied that I’d begin by taking the hop-on, hop-off Big Bus in order familiarize myself with the sprawling city. “Oh no! You don’t want to do that. It’s really expensive and you have to wait a long time between buses.” His warning was quickly followed with a sales pitch. He could show me everything I needed to see in half a day and it would cost only $65.
I wasn’t interested. As a photographer, I often need to wait for the right light, or for crowds to clear in order to get the best shot. As a writer, I must be able to roam at my own pace, soaking up the atmosphere, talking to locals, and musing over story angles. Being tied to a tour where I’m allowed 15 or 20 minutes at each stop simply doesn’t work. I politely declined, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Trapped in his vehicle, I suffered the hard sell all the way to my hotel.
It was late and I was exhausted by the time we reached my hotel. I wanted nothing more than to fall into bed and sleep for ten hours. But my room fronted on a six-lane highway and the traffic noise was so bad I knew sleeping would be impossible. I asked for and was given a second room…which had a balcony with sliding glass doors that would not lock.
As a solo female traveler, I have a few non-negotiable rules for staying safe. One of them is never to stay in a room where the doors won’t lock. Once again, I asked for my room to be changed. The third try was even worse. The room reeked like a dead animal and there were dark brown spots on the carpet the size of dinner plates. I’m sure the Filipino staff hated me by that time, but I had to demand a fourth room, which was finally acceptable.
My experience did not improve over the next five days. I began in Old Muscat, where the only interesting sites among a sea of whitewashed buildings were the Al Alam Palace and two 16th-century Portuguese forts. None of which were open to the public. With everything closed during the midday heat, streets of the old town were deserted. The only sign of life was four Omani men wearing the traditional Omani Dishdasha, an ankle-length white caftan, and round embroidered caps known as kumma. They strolled slowly down the middle of the street, eventually disappearing into one of the brilliant white palaces. Little did I know this would be the closest I would ever get to Omani culture.
Dejectedly, I turned my back on Old Muscat and headed back down the 4-mile Corniche. It was a beautiful seaside walk, but as in Old Muscat, everything along the way was closed. I arrived at the Mutrah Suq just as the market was opening for the evening and ducked inside to wander its cool narrow alleyways. Like any other market in the world, merchants hawked wares ranging from gold to spice to pashmina shawls. But every single one of the shop owners was an immigrant. I met friendly Pakistanis, Filipinos, Bangladeshis, and even Nepalis. But not a single Omani was to be found.
On day two I fended off multiple pushy taxi drivers, found the Big Bus stop, and sat down to wait. The bus arrived fifteen minutes later, but I wasn’t allowed to board. A cruise ship was in town and the company was busy shuttling passengers back to the ship. When the next bus finally arrived, it did an “abbreviated” route that ignored some of the stops shown on the company’s website.
We were well past the beach by the time I realized the driver had skipped it. My only option would have been to go all the way around and wait for the next bus. By that time it was too late. Even if I took a quick stroll on the beach and grabbed a late lunch, I would miss the last bus back. And a taxi back to the hotel would set me back another 25 bucks.
My Big Bus ticket was for two days, so I set out early the next morning. I was beginning to suspect that there was little to see or do in Muscat, and the Big Bus tour quickly confirmed my worst fears. Strangely, the two most visited sites, the Muscat Opera House and the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, were not even included on the route. Unlike the hop-on, hop-off buses I’ve taken in dozens of other locations around the world, this one was a total rip-off. I did manage to see the mosque when a lovely French Canadian family at the hotel invited me to accompany them in their rental car. Good thing, too, because the taxi driver I’d hired to take me didn’t show up.
For the remainder of my time in Oman, I decided to focus on day trips outside of the capital city. I’d read about jeep tours in the surrounding Sahara-like dunes, off-roading through rugged mountain scenery, and wadis where hidden emerald pools offer opportunities for a cool dip. I tried my favorite go-to booking site, GetYourGuide, and even Viator, without success. Not only are tours in Oman extremely expensive, the minimum number of participants for any tour was two people. As a single person I would have had to pay double, even if other customers joined the same tour. The cheapest option was $250 for a half-day trip to a wadi. I just said no.
I spent my last day wandering around the Mutrah area, eating horrible fast food and trying to meet locals other than taxi drivers. The only Omanis I found were squatting on the sidewalk in front of a sand pit, playing an ancient game known as hawalis. The chess-like game involved moving a series of pebbles among four rows of holes dug in the sand. The men refused to acknowledge me and even my requests to take a photo went unanswered. Lacking denial, I snapped the photo. I stood there a while longer, trying to decipher the rules of the game, but their snub made me increasingly uncomfortable. I later learned the centuries-old game, which is just as incomprehensible as the local culture, is exclusive to Oman.
Others may wax lyrical about Oman, but the only friendly people I met were immigrants. And the countryside may indeed be beautiful, but since all the tours were exceedingly expensive, I never saw it. There is no published information about bus routes and no rapid transit. Even renting a car is problematic. My new French Canadian friends told me horror stories about getting lost in the interior on roadways completely devoid of any directional signs. Oman doesn’t have a clue how to handle tourism. Until it does, I can find lots of other places to spend my money.
Author’s note: Since publishing this article, I have been flooded with comments from travelers who love Muscat. I’m the first to say that different places resonate with different people. I may not want to return, but those of you who are intrigued by Oman as a destination may find both this comprehensive travel guide to Oman and this 10-Day Oman Itinerary helpful.
Grew up in Oman since i was a kid but haven’t been back in a few years after going to the States. The Oman i have known is a beautiful place and untainted by the petrodollar crazy cities like Dubai and Abudhabi . Omanis respect their women and have a women first attitude when it comes to education and jobs which is unlike the Saudi culture . While still embracing their culture Omanis are not afraid to step into the future . you will see a mix of gleaming buildings and well preserved heritage sites . as others have mentioned the locals usually stick to their own watering holes and rarely throng the corniche and shopping plazas unlike the expat community . To truly see Oman you need to have some time , patience and the willingness to let your guard down . you will not be dissapointed ! of course Oman is not a cheap place to visit , if you don’t have friends to stay with you need to spring for the expensive hotels and take in the beauty of the interior wadis and particularly the verdant south that is Salalah . well better luck next time !
Do your research before jumping to conclusions . Travel writers need patience and good planning before they pen their drivel
Well, I lived in UAE while working with an Airlines and traveled to Oman to visit my friend. He took me everywhere in Muscut and some places which were generally known to the locals and I was just awed by the views. Amazingly beautiful beaches, only thing that you wont get to see there, was tall buildings and crowd. And that was the exact reason for me to love that place.
You just had to do a little research and I am sure you would have experienced something much better.
Sorry have to disagree having lived in Muscat and Dubai…..I think you have got the two cities mixed up!!
Please I need some advice.. I will be travelling to oman for work this december. What are the things I should expect.. any ideas please?
Best advice don’t go … unorganized.. transportation isn’t available except for taxis which they will use you and take more than they should … you can’t eat nothing good all you can get is fast food
Still good luck
Alright thank you for the advice Anest.. i might still try my luck tho
Go have your own experience. Life and people are what you make them. Your own open-minded kindness will reward you awesome memories, I’m certain.
Thanks Steve
You can’t be serious. You should seriously be ashamed talking this bad about a country you don’t know NOTHING about!
All your bad experiences are the result of really bad preparation (staying in Ruwi and being annoyed by the noise is just LOL!) Oman is the most beautiful country I know with the friendliest people and delicious food. How can you (based on a couple of days) discredit a city/country like that?
Oh bless you got the end of the come back i will show you Oman , i am British and been in Oman for three years ,it is one of the most amazing beautiful place ever. The old villages are lovely to visit the wadi and swimming in the sink hole is great , you never did your research, The Oman are one of the most gentle group pf people i know .
you can accused the people based on couple of bad experience. here i can walk till 3am nobody would dare confront me. in England god forbid you go out of your house after 10pm.
you claim to be British yet you cannot even construct a simple sentence in English !
Omani Kid. Sentences start with an upper case letter not a lower case one. The use of an exclamation mark is unnecessary and doesn’t add to the point you are making. Apart from those two grammatical errors your English is perfect but unfortunately you don’t get a gold star.
True that . . .
You have confirmed for everyone that she’s right about unfriendly Omanis.
His name is “Omani kid” on the Internet, therefore he must be Omani. Use your brain…
So, you preferred the massive shopping mall and building site that is Dubai to Oman? Kind of makes your posturing as the intrepid traveller a bit questionable, as does the rhetoric around safety. Many who want to be spoonfed the middle east in ersatz form do prefer Dubai. As a female travelling on both business and leisure to Oman, I experienced nothing but respect and courtesy and felt safer there than in many parts of the world I visit (have never been a shrinking violet anyway and wonder at those jumping at their own shadow and thinking they deserve a medal, or are particularly unique, for travelling on their own). To say Old Muscat has nothing really to see is as ridiculous as complaining about a lack of locals willing to be bit part actors in your blogathon of the world (as is only being able to find horrible fast food in area rich with really good traditional Omani and seafood restaurants). The beauty of Oman is that is hasn’t become a Disney version of Arabia.
LOL Carly. I never said I was afraid. I just practice common sense safety rules when traveling solo.
You have totally missed the point of Oman. I’ve been to visit 5 times from the UK. It is truly the most extraordinary country. Incredibly warm, welcoming, humble locals. Stunning natural scenery, lovely markets, I could go on… The one thing I do agree on is that the taxi drivers can be very hit and miss. I always hire a car for that reason which works out cheap anyway as you can go out of Muscat and drive to the Wadi’s and to the desert tours etc. Dubai is bloody horrible though so if you loved Dubai no surprise you didn’t like Muscat, they have nothing in common and that is a wonderful thing.
Turns out your first taxi driver was correct about the hop on hop off busses in his city. Gulf countries typically have larger populations of expats than natives in the main cities and most of the people you meet will therefore not be natives. Like it or not, they are a part of the culture of a place. You don’t see many Emiratis in Dubai either. You seem to blame the city for its weather and the emptiness of the streets at midday. This should have made taking pictures easier for you-no crowds. I lived in Jordan for three years and travelled throughout the ME during that time. The best time to experience the people is after supper and into the night. People are out and the streets are safe. Sorry that Oman did not fulfill your expectations of it. Good or bad, it was just being itself and I find it to be a refreshing change from the mania that is Dubai and the bad driving of Jordan. Next time, go to a sheesha place and you will see locals.
Thanks Mark, good advice and a considerate reply, which I appreciate.
Reading your article I got interested to visit Oman! Thanks!
Hi I can\’t comment on Oman, but when you say \”they aren\’t set up for tourists\” I think that is a good thing. I went to Amsterdam and Prague – loved much about both places, my goodness, they are both \’set up for tourists\’ and it is just awful….too crowded, too many shops devoted to tourists that you are not seeing any \’real\’ culture per se. I like to keep moving until no one speaks English, then I know I\’m somewhere authentic. I did that in Rome as every restaurant nearby was catering to tourists. I wanted to eat where the local ate. Hope this makes sense, not a critisism of your article or opinion at all.
Hi Trickymouse. I actually agree with you. Prague, though a beautiful city, is one of my least favorite places because it is overrun with tourists and as such, it’s hard to really immerse in the culture. Interesting that I have the same complaints about both places, but for reasons that fall on opposite sides of the spectrum.
i arrived three days ago in muscat and am enjoying it very much. i cannot disagree more with your view.
respectfuly i suspect that you are lacking knowledge and are unwilling to adapt to other cultures. taking pictures of locals without permission is a nooby no-go (and would turn me off too). i find the locals to be extremly friendly and curious. i had many great talks about oman, muscat, life and all. and the nature outside muscat is simply overwelming. i rented a car yesterday and drove to wadi as shab. it was absolutly amazing!
adapting is the key-word. i met two us girls who where mad that they coudn‘t enter grand mosque (in a tanktop!!).
i still have a week here in muscat and i can‘t wait to leave my (cheap and great) stay at the beach, to explore muscat some more.
I come late to this, but, as I have visited Muscat and Oman as a single older woman and on my own, I have to comment. It seems to me that you lost out on positive expriences because you did it all wrong. I booked a 4star hotel and the hotel arranged taxi drivers as well as desert tours and a dhow tour for me…alone. And no, it didn’t cost a fortune.
As most of the GCC countries, you are bound to be secluded from the sphere of the well-off locals from within your tourist roads. Unless you are willing to spend like an arab and go to the expensive places where you can actually find arabs, you are bound to find only indians and pakistanis. Especially wandering in the streets, as you mention.
Hm. Pitty. Omanis are very nice and gentle people. I love the smells of Oman. The mountains. The mixture of cultures and languages. The food But I spent much more time here and did not come as a tourist. Maybe a better approach to this country.
I suspect you’re right, Barbara.
I have visited Oman several times, and found it fascinating. I accept that Oman is not geared well for tourism, but I think that will change.
The secret is to have a good guide. I was lucky in finding an Omani taxi ndriver recommended by my hotel, and he took us to amazing places – mostly in the evening, where we could eat fast food on the beach, visit a bakery to have fresh bread, and to Little India, where an area looks as if it has been lifted directly from Mumbai.
We visited castles and ports. It is remarkable that there is a bar on multi-storey buildings, which makes it so much different from Dubai, which I am so glad that I just have to pass through these days.
I think your objection to using a taxi – especially if driven by an Omani – prevented your seeing the best of Oman. The Omanis are so proud of their heritage.
Thanks for your viewpoint John. I always say that different places resonate with different people.
i dont agree at all in all what you wrote , i do respect you , no hard feelings plz , you didnt travel at all in oman yet
Hi Weedi. Thanks for your respectful comment. Everyone’s experience is different. Guess that’s what makes the world go round.
Totally right. Omanis are rarely to be seen and the notion of tourism is not yet understood.
Reading the article the only thing it exposed was the mentality of the traveller – white men in Africa – expecting everything to be like back home and everyone speaks my language. I too have travelled extensively and continuously since 1970s and can place everything you said about Oman to many countries including European ones. Surprised you did not do your research before going there as you would have known it is really a non-tourist country. You cannot travel with such attitude as you spewed in your article and expect all will be okay. As for the lone woman part – it was hilarious – as plenty travel alone without such attitude as yours and have had wonderful experiences all over the World.
I am sorry you did not get what you wanted, as a single female you can appreciate your not going to walk into Omani culture . Your views on taxis and.Hotel is sadly true, but if you go for the cheap end of any market, standards can be compromised.
As many have said 12 to 4pm is time you need to look for deeper for things, also great time to travel between towns.
I don’t think you can fully blame Oman for your experience.
Regards
Rob
apparently others disagree with your point of view. The Hop on Hop Off bus and the whining with the hotel staff was a bit of an indicator of what the story would be like
Reading your blog made me cringe… you appear very, very inexperienced in international travel and dealing with people in developing and exotic countries.
But hey, you wrote it, I read it. So in the end you are successful anyway.
I’ve traveled the world extensively, Inga, in many cases staying for months in one country. In fact, I’ve been to 97 countries, so I have more than a little basis for comparison. In my opinion, Oman did not compare favorably.
As someone who has spent the better part of 13 years living in Oman and with a great love for the country, from the eyes of a tourist, I have to say I agree with this!
Dear oh dear! Not a clue… having lived and worked in eleven countries over thirty five years, ten years of which were in Oman, I have no difficulty in placing it at the very head of them all. I imagine that in the Muttrah and Muscat souq area they are probably thoroughly fed up with hordes of tourists pouring off cruise ships, as would I be, as a resident. Travel writers/photographers who fly in for a few days and think they can assess a country in any meaningful way are deluding both themselves and their readership! I lean towards John Ovington’s assessment…
I can do no better than quote an Englishman called John Ovington, who was Chaplain to King James II, who visited Muscat in 1663 AD and wrote, ‘These Arabians are very courteous in their deportment, and extreme civil to all strangers; they offer neither violence or affront in any way; and tho’ they are very tenacious of their own principles, and admirers of their own religion, yet do they never impose it upon any; nor are their morals evened with such furious zeal, as to divest them of humanity and a tender respect…in fine these are a People naturally temperate and just, and endued with those excellent qualities which Grecian philosophers and Roman moralists endeavoured to inspire into their subjects, tho’ they missed their aim.” (Man, Twenty-five Centuries of Travel Writing, Xavier Beguin Billecocq)
What a wonderful quote and how accurate. I find the Omanis to be exceedingly impressive in how measured they are, how careful not to boast or demonstrate vulgarity of any kind. That they live between the UAE and Saudi Arabia makes their deportment even more impressive. As a single female traveller, I was lucky enough to meet a number of Omani women who impressed me with how erudite and educated they were – many had studied in Canada or the UK and had big and exciting ideas for the future of their country which were quite infectious. I could not help but wish this beautiful country and it’s people the very best of luck and may they remain protected from the types of tourists that have descended locust-like on many other beautiful countries and destroyed them.
Hi James,
what a quote to silence erroneous descriptions about Oman. This is the best comment to such an article. I feel there is nothing more to add and a lot to see. Not everyone is a traveler, despite the fact that they feel and declare that they are.
For a travel writer seems a serious lack of investigation into what to see and do (including timings – it’s a very hot country it does tend to close down over the mid day time) and how to get around was in abundance! Also are you seriously telling me that the souq in Dubai was staffed by Emirates’s- I think -not
Why would you choose a hop on hop off bus to avoid crowds! Surely a taxi at your beck and call would have been the way to go!
Next time go to the wadis or other wilayat and see the beauty of nature.
Otherwise visit my country The Philippines ?
I’ve been to your country, Memey, and I much prefer it to Oman, even though I’ve only been to Manila. I look forward to seeing more of it in the future.
Anyone who prefers the tacky and fake world of Dubai over Muscat obviously didn’t really get to know the real Oman. Hop on hop off Bus…please. You didn’t see Oman at all. Dubai with all its glitz, malls, fast cars and shiny floors…you can keep it.
i thought exactly the same
Another one who thinks this ‘travel writer’ seems to want a very American, Disney version of travel. You are visiting a foreign country, please, the shops don’t open at the same time as yours. Four hotel room changes?! I think that says it all.
Thankfully, the writer is among a small minority of visitors who dislike the country! It is unfortunate she has chosen to use her platform to bash the place. Oman is an extraordinary country that has maintained its cultural character and charm in the midst of on-going modernization. Muscat stands out as a definite gem among the Gulf capitals!
Informative session.
Expecting more articles like this.