Answers

The Man at the Pub said...
"OK. Are women allowed to wear open-toed footwear in Oman?"

Yep. There aren't nearly as many restrictions in Oman as there are in Saudi Arabia and Yemen (Oman's closest neighbours). There are some though, while I was there I had to cover legs, shoulders and all the bits in the middle. I would recommend loose clothing to any potential visitors (male and female) but it's not essential.
In the mosque you have to be all covered up (that means a veil for women) we saw a few people not allowed in because they were in 3 quarter pants.


Femikneesm said...
"So this is not an original question, but what were the best and worst things you saw/did?"

Hmm, I think the best thing was undoubtedly the Grand Mosque. The whole place is so incredibly intricate and well designed. It took my breath away. There aren't really any words that would do it justice, so here are a few piccies I took:





The worst is a bit trickier, I didn't care for the TV over there. But I think 90% of TV all over the world is crap anyway so that doesn't say much.
What was quite hard for me to see was the labour force. Oman imports many of its workers from overseas, especially poorer countries. They get paid more than they would
at home but their visas don't include family and I think many of them get quite homesick.

Jet lag

I was so proud of myself, I thought I had tackled jet lag head on and won. But here I am at 2:30am and I'm writing a blog. Sigh. This feels familiar.

So, Oman. It really is an awesome place - I've never seen anything like it and I really wish I'd had myself painted while I was there (henna stuff basically) because I feel so different now and I want people to notice something different about me when I walk into a room. Maybe I'll just wear the really cool ring I bought myself all the time so people can say "Where did that come from?" and I can say "Oh, I bought it in a souq in Oman."

The amazing picture just up there, I'm sorry to say, is not one of mine but it does give you a good idea of the place and of how I felt wearing pants. I'll need time to sort through my 757 photos from the 3 week trip before I can post them. So don't worry, they'll be there sooner or later.

One of the best things about the people there: they share my attitude to footwear. i.e.: there should be as little of it as possible and it should not be worn unnecessarily. Just great, I think I've found my people. (I hate covered shoes in hot weather with a passion.)

The only tricky thing here is that I don't really know where to start in my recount. So I think the best thing to do is ask you guys. If you want to know anything about the place or what I did just ask and I'll answer. The nice things about my answers is that I tend to ramble and other stories end up being told in the middle. So we might just get a few good posts out this way.

Customer of the Day #6

This is my first one on Box Office and it is way too good not to share:

"Can I get two adult tickets for Slutty Dog Millionaire?"

Either you've misheard the title or this movie is going to be quite different from what you were expecting...