2011 - My Tiki Tour (Part 5 - Sur, Oman)

Thursday 24 February – Muscat to Sur on the new road via Qurayat. The scenery on this new road is great, lots of mountains, wadis, villages and so on. Arrived at about 6:00pm. Evening with a beer and more cricket.

Friday 25 February – A long walk into the town of Sur as my hotel is nowhere near the centre of town. This seems to be turning into a theme of my trip so far. Good walk though. Found the bus station next to a good restaurant. Walked to the corniche. This is another very well done area with great views across the lagoon to the village of Al-Ayjah and its lighthouse. Also found the dhow yards where they still build the dhows that ply the coastal routes around the Arabian Peninsula and across to India. Taxi back to the hotel, more cricket and beer. This seems to be another theme of this part of the trip.

Sunaysilah Castle in Sur.

The lighthouse in Al Ayjah.

A dhow anchored off Sur.

The village of Al Ayjah.

The dhow yards in Sur.

The dhow yards in Sur.

The village of Al Ayjah.

Saturday 26 February – A shorter walk to the Bilad Sur Fort. This is not open to the public as they are renovating it. The afternoon was spent by the pool and booking a few trains for later in the trip. I went back into Sur for the sunset over the corniche and another good Indian meal near the bus station. Once I got back, more cricket (Pakistan v Sri Lanka), this time trying to explain the rules to an Italian tour guide who happened to be in the hotel with a group. He did not have a clue what was going on and trying to explain it to him was not the easiest, even though his English was excellent.

Some of the many goats wandering around Sur.

Bilad Sur castle.

The village of Al Ayjah from the Sur corniche.

Monday 27 February – Back to Muscat on the afternoon bus, this time on the inland road via Ibra. More mountains and dusty towns. You guessed it, cricket (India v England), curry (a very good chicken tikka masala and rice) and beer.

Hotel review – The Sur Plaza Hotel is very nice other than the fact that there is nothing around it as it is on the main road about 3 km from Sur town centre. It is very popular with tour groups with large numbers coming in each evening.

Summary – Oman is a great place. If I had known that I would have more time there. The people are genuinely friendly as they do not get too many tourists. The sights are many and varied, the roads and infrastructure are superb (driving a bit dodgy) and the scenery is spectacular. The food is good, especially the Indian food due to the large Indian expat community in the country. The Indians love their cricket hence why both hotels had the cricket being shown on big screens in the bar. I reckon it is a place I will get back to one day, with more time and a rental car / 4WD.
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