My 40th

This time it took a lot! A lot of time to decide, a lot of courage to muster and a lot of coaxing myself to embark on a solo trip. 

Might sound silly but what's life without meaningful rituals that you create for yourself? 30th in Hongkong, Cheung Chau Island on the South China Sea, to be precise. 35th at South China Sea again at An Bang Beach in Hoi An, Vietnam. So this year I decided on Muscat on the Sea of Oman to spend my 40th. 

It took 3 months of planning and methodical step-wise execution because I had forgotten what travelling alone feels like! There was a point in time around end of December, when I started dreading the trip and enumerating everything that can go wrong...almost building up a case against travelling solo. But then I identified that it was just anxiety and by the time it was mid-January I felt elated thinking about the upcoming trip and was excited to research videos online to build the framework of an itinerary.

Life continuously threw challenges at me, right up until the last day of my trip. Everything that could go wrong in my family life, did. But the worse things got, the more I leaned into the thought of a blissful 5 days and 4 nights away from this mayhem. 

Finally it was time and I was seated in a cab alone, headed to the airport. I felt more calm than excited. Had to stay up all night as I had 2 flights and a short layover in a foreign location before I reached my final destination, Muscat.

By the time it was evening the following day...I was exactly where I had planned to be enjoying the exact view that I had seen on countless YouTube videos.

 I realised, powerfully once again, how different it felt to see something in person than on a screen. I was grateful to be alone, to have managed the journey by myself to reach this gorgeous port city in a country far away from home. I felt safe, happy and curious with a degree of tiredness from the sleeplessness of the night before. 

My first challenge arose when I couldn't find any travel agency or any appropriate person who could book me on the day trips that would fill the next 3 days I had in Muscat. Stumbling along Mutrah Corniche I came across a solitary man in what seemed to be the only travel agency in the area. So relieved was I to find a legitimate travel agency that I plonked myself on a chair in there and poured out my troubles. The man told me in no uncertain terms that Fridays and Saturdays were holidays in Oman so finding someone who was working that day and who could hook me up for a trip on Sunday was unlikely. My heart sank. I pleaded with him to think harder and cited my time constraints yet again. This time he noted how desperate I seemed and gave me a card with the contact details of yet another travel agent. 

As I look back I realise that this was the turning point of my trip. It was my good luck that the contact belonged to a helpful Malayali gent who had a travel agency. As I put myself at his mercy via WhatsApp texts, he took it upon himself to find me a place on the Dimaniyat islands tour for 8am on Sunday morning. 

I was elated! Things were finally looking up! As I sat down at a traditional looking Omani café for dinner, I hoped and prayed that my next few days' travel plans would also be sorted out by this kindly gentleman. I researched the taxi rates to the marina and planned to get an early night. 

Al Mouj Marina - straight out of a Hollywood film set! I got a bit lost and then found my way to the row of kiosks all offering boat tours yo Dimaniyat. The place was crawling with tourists, mostly white. I registered and paid at the Blue Whale Tours kiosk and sat down to read till the boat was ready to leave. We left at 8:30 sharp. The blue waters were choppy and the speedboat lurched up and down as we sailed past Muscat shores into open waters. There were Italians, Americans and Omanis on board. I was the only one travelling solo. I sat quietly behind my Ray Bans trying to calm my nerves. I couldn't swim in deep water but I was out at sea and was planning to throw myself into the water soon. What a way to close my 39th year on earth!

The first stop was for snorkeling. Thanks to my nerves, it took me a while to peel off my dress and put on the snorkeling fins and mask. Then I saw the most amazing world underneath the ocean. There were brilliantly colourful fishes of various kinds and thick fat sea slugs on the ocean floor. Twice I had mini panic attacks about drowning and swallowed the awful briny seawater. But then I righted myself somehow and kept swimming. I was so thrilled by what I was able to accomplish. So proud of facing my fear of the deep. Next we got on the boat again and went to another island for hiking and swimming. Thanks to my yoga practice I could nimbly climb up a cliff and got some great shots of the turquoise waters. 

Back to the hotel and after a shower and some rest I decided to head to Oman Avenues Mall which had a Nando's! Felt so satisfied eating a meal-for-one with a variety of sauces. All the while I was planning a trip with the travel agent to Wadi Bani Khaled and Biddiya Sands. Content with the birthday plans I came back to the hotel.

I would be amiss if I didn't mention the hearty breakfasts with which I started my days in Muscat. Special mention of the creamy hummus and thickest of thick labneh! Drool-worthy Middle Eastern fare. The day started with a lot of waiting around because after we were picked up and taken to a petrol pump near the airport the guide was delayed because of traffic. Finally we were on our way. 2 Indians and 4 Indonesians. 

The oasis was the stuff of technicolor dreams! In the middle of those rocky brown-grey hills there were hundreds of date palms and clear green freshwater. Nobody knew how the water came to be there but we did see markings high up on the hills that indicated that this entire area was once under water. We hiked and paddled in pools, bathed in the water and sat under a wee waterfall. The tiny fish that kept pecking at my feet put me off, so I didn't swim but I did feast my eyes on this unique landscape. 

The last stop of the day was at Biddiya Sands, a desert camp where we saw the inside of a real Bedouin hut, some of our number took camel rides and finally we engaged in some fun dune-boarding. For me the highlight of the day was petting a camel and speaking sweet nothings to it. 

The next day was my last in Muscat. I planned to milk it to the last minute, of course. After a filling breakfast I took a bus to the Sultan Al Qaboos mosque. Despite the hordes of tourists I managed to appreciate the grandeur and opulence of this mosque. I do remember how uncomfortable and restricted I felt with the mandatory headcover and thanked my stars that I didn't have to cover in this way in my culture. 

 

My next stop was Muthrah Souq to buy Omani incense and a fridge magnet. After congratulating myself on driving a hard bargain I had a chocolate milkshake and shawarma roll for lunch while sitting at a pavement table right across the sea. Then I made my way to the Nesto hypermarket just walking distance from my hotel and stocked up on Khalaas dates, Omani spices and enough chocolates to sink a ship. 

That evening I was booked on a twin sharing trip to Nizwa. A nearby city well known for its fort and souq. I am so glad I squeezed in this last bit of sightseeing into my itinerary because Nizwa was a gem. Something about the honey-coloured fort walls lit in yellow light on a balmy spring evening just transported me to the very days of yore depicted in the installations and murals in the fort. 

We walked through the many bylanes of the fortress town and ended up at the Souq which was much more aesthetically pleasing than the one at Muthrah. Pottery, ceramics and stained glass items adorned the shops and when I tried bargaining they held steadfast refusing to budge from the exorbitant rates. Moving on we entered the food market where we were shown a video about the process followed in making the famous Omani halva. I had procured the information about which halva shop was the best and I got a kilo of the stuff packaged neatly to bring home. 

On my way to the airport the following morning, I marveled at how swiftly my days had passed in Oman. How I had never for a second felt unsafe and how events and chance encounters had aligned to make my trip a success.