After I posted my blog last night, I returned to the internet cafe to check and see if I could get tickets to see the Burj Dubai tonight, since I had a few hours to kill.
Didn't have any luck with that, but it just so happens that Abdalla, who lives in Oman, was online and talking to his friend (currently in Oman) and convinced him to take me out and drive me around!
I had to meet him at the Marina Hotel. While I was sitting outside waiting, a kind (male) stranger (with absolutely no ulterior motive) came up to chat. I'd have to say, I have been getting more male attention in Oman than in any other place I've been. None of it has been rude or scary, but the hotel attendants, the strangers that come up and say hi... even come cute little boys on a bicycle had to shout their greetings and circle me.
There is a possibility that it is the part of town I'm staying in. According to Sadat (Abdalla's friend who finally rescued me from the guy who wanted to give me his number so we could "stay in touch"), Mutrah used to be a very classy place, but it has started getting a reputation for prowlers. I know that it felt completely safe, but he was right, guys there were a little more free in their attention-giving.
Sadat drove me to Qurm Beach, which I had been to earlier in this trip. However, he gave me a different perspective on it, calling it "Love Street", and saying how guys go to pick up girls and show off their cars. I think I've found that location in many of the places I've been too!
We then went to pick up Shiraz, his friend, who then decided that we needed to visit some beach (close to Qurm beach, but more private), some wadi (a washed out area with a dark road Sadat wasn't too happy about driving on), some lookout (PDO Heights), and some neighborhood ("Beverly Hills of Oman"). I just was along for the ride... and, of course, the gaping and exclamations at appropriate times.
It was a great evening with the two of them, and, though one had a class and the other had a test, they wanted to try to catch me between my boat tour and my bus this afternoon.
And they succeeded!
Let me first tell you about my morning.
Well, coincidences of coincidences, I popped over to the fish market before my boat trip, and I ran into that same Irish guy I met last night. Still don't remember his name though.
I got a taxi (at a pretty good price; you have to bargain for all your taxi rides around here) to the marina where my boat trip
was, and had a quick chat with two girls from Sri Lanka and London. The cruise took off for the first and most disappointing part: dolphin watching.I was having fun just riding along, but no dolphins.
After a while, we came up to a cove area where we were going to be snorkelling. I threw on the mask and hopped in the water! We had already seen a sea turtle come up for air, but I got to see a much larger one (probably 50cm across... no joke) just hanging out by the coral.
It wasn't as colorful as the "Finding Nemo" reef, but there were blue fish with yellow tails, and yellow fish with black tails, and long, needle-nose fish, and big, fat fish, and sea urchins and soft coral. And those sea turtles.
A beautiful coastline tour finished up the boat trip. We got to see some of the swankiest hotels in Oman from the sea, including two seven-star hotels. There was also the rock arch and the fishermen that were trolling around.
After I got back to shore, I called Sadat, who was going to try to have his exam postponed to spend my final afternoon with me. He was free, so he and Shiraz picked me up from the marina (where I accidentally left my swimsuit hanging in the bathroom... could've been worse things to leave behind!) We spent the afternoon driving to Yili, a little fishing-type village, then another little village, and just going through the gorgeous mountains looking down on beautiful beaches with the gradient-ed blue-green water.
It was 2:30 when we got back to Ruwi, where my bus was leaving from. I wasn't sure if it was at 3 or 3:30, so we checked at the station, then just had a quick 30 minutes for lunch. Thankfully, there was a delicious Turkish barbecue place just minutes away.
We were sitting there, eating a bit quickly, but time was getting short. At ten-til, I had Sadat drive me to the bus stand... I didn't want them to have to drive me to the next stop! A coach bus was just pulling out as we got there, and, after some frantic yelling, we found out it was the one I was supposed to be on!
It was a very fortunate red light that had stopped the bus not 50 meters from the station, so we sprinted over and I hopped on, none to soon.
A stop or two later, and I got out to get some food. As I was walking back towards the bus after purchasing the classic Chips Oman and Sno Flake chocolate bar, I see the bus slowing pulling away. Not again. So I jog over and hop on, yet again just barely getting into the door before another leg of the seven-hour journey.
The border crossing from Oman to the UAE was stop-and-go, with different police officers getting on to check my passport time and time again.
But, made it to Dubai with a few hours to spare, did what most people do when going to Dubai, and shopped to pass the time. An AM flight, and I was back in Doha, twelve hours after running to check that first bus.
(Sorry for not-so-many pictures, but they are having difficulty uploading.)
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