Oman : final review

After almost a year in Oman, it is time for me to go back definitely in my country. I would like to thank all my readers, and all the people that I've met in Oman and that brought me so much. Even if I won't be able to create a lot of new posts in the future, this blog will remain a helpfull guide for futur expats and tourists to Oman.



I think it is time to give my final review about Oman :
In brief, Oman is great country. It is a calm and welcoming state, whose people are very friendly. You have great places to visit around the country : beaches, mountains, canyon, wadis... As a tourist it is a wonderful place to spend one or two weeks. Even for the expats there is always something to do during the week-end : diving, driving a 4x4 in the desert, trekking or camping...

The problem for people who live in Oman for a long time, is that it is a small country with only a small community of expatriates. Consequently, the activities in town quickly become repetitive, as well as the people you met (especially in places where you can go out at night). If you are in Oman as a family it should not be a problem, but as a single person or an couple without children, Oman can become boring quickly enough.

One final point, which for me was very serious : it has been impossible to get a high-speed internet connection at home in 10 monthes! Considering that you sometimes feel isolated from the rest of the world in Muscat, it would have been of great value.

and you, what is your final review of Oman ?

Blue city

- edit : according to latest comment : Blue City officially closed down the project end March 2011. -

"Blue city" is an $20 billion project which the aim is to build a new luxurious 35km² city, 1 hour away to the west of Muscat. It reflects very well the transformation in progress in Oman and the ambitions of the sultanate for the future.


This project is so huge that it has been divided in 10 phases. The phase1 (only 5,5km²) should be finished only in 2013


Some people already consider the purpose of "Blue city" is to become the new capital of Oman... I think I will come back in Oman in 20 years just to see how the country has evolved and if Muscat is still the capital ;)


more info : official website, wikipedia...

The sultanate of Oman, a revolution in trompe-l'oeil

It does no harm just this once, I will speak about a new french book, named "Le sultanat d'Oman, une révolution en trompe-l'oeil". I wish I could have read this book at the beginning of my expatriation, it would have help me to better understand the country where I've lived for almost a year now.

In this book, the author (a french researcher, Marc Valeri) describes the history of the country (including the war of the Dhofar, 1965-1975), with a great freedom of speech, and then explains how the Sultan Qaboos since 1970 has succeeded in unifying the country by putting in place a welfare state (thanks to the petrol incomes) and by creating an Omani identity. It explains also very well the different categories of population that composed Oman, their relations, and the possible tension between them... At the end, the author gives us his view of the young Omanis mentality, and the futur issues the sultanate will have to face after Sultan Qaboos era.

This is a very exhaustive book, full of details about the Omani society. I give you below a few things that struck my mind :

• The life expectancy was 40 years old in 1940, and is now 74,5
• Their is a guaranteed minimum wage for the Omani : 140 OMR
• in dec. 2006, 52,6% of the Omani working population was in the public sector
• 38,9% of the Omani are less than 15 years old, 53,7% less than 20 years old, and only 3% over 60 years old.
• Officially, 35% of the marriage are between cousins. But if you take into account larger blood relations, it can be 55%.
• 6,3% of Omani live with several wifes (16% in the Dhofar).
• 80% of the Omani think that censoring the local or foreign television programs is good.
• For those who wonder who will succeed the sultan, it has been reported that the Sultan has declared having identified 2 possible successors, and has put their names in sealed envelopes hidden in two different regions of Oman. Note also that the Sultan has been married in 1976, but he has divorced in 1980.
• some rare cases of excision have been reported in rural area of the country.
  

Women expats in Oman

I've seen a lot of people wondering how is the life for a woman expat in Oman. Well, I've asked my wife to write a post on her resentment toward her situation here, here is the result :

"The good points that have surprised me compared with what I was expecting before leaving to Oman :

• Women are pretty free in Oman : they can drive and work as a man would do.
• There is no obligation to wear a veil for a non-muslim woman.
• Other men look at you but rarely bore you.

The disadvantage for a woman expat in Oman are :

• You have to be prepared to the fact that men (omani and especially some indian men) are looking at you most of the time, but not especially in a mean way. It becomes an habit and quickly you don't pay attention anymore. Also, when you're walking alone in the street (which is not often, because you are almost always using your car in Muscat) some cars honk at you (and I'm not speaking about the cabs)
• clothes problem : basically you can wear whatever you want but it may be taken as a mark of disrespect by Omani people if you wear things too bare. You have to respect their beliefs and at least cover properly your breats and legs under the knees.
• For some reason, it is difficult to go to a popular beach in swimsuit because women there, if they go for a swim, they will go with all their clothes on. But you can still go to more quiet places, like Qantab coves or beaches in front of the big hotels... But most of the time the western ladies register to the club of the intercontinental hotel and use its swimming pools"

If you want to share your experience as a expat woman in Oman, please leave a comment !

Public holiday in Oman

It is kind of unusual how the vacation holidays are defined in Oman. Usually you hear about incoming public holidays, but you don't know about the exact dates. Then, only few days before, the Sultan defines officially the date of the incoming public holidays.

For example, yesterday was the "Renaissance Day" celebrating the day the Sultan has acceded to power. But we only had the confirmation of the date last saturday !

Here is the next supposed public holidays for 2007 :

• 13/14 October Eid al Fitr


• 18 November National Day and HM Sultan Qaboos's birthday


• 22/23 December Eid ul Adha (Feast of the sacrifice)

Online yellow pages in Oman ?

I have to say that a surprising thing about Oman, for a expatriate like me, is that there isn't any online yellow pages here (such as a yellowpages.com, or a pagesjaunes.fr)...

I use the online yellow pages all the time when I'm in France : to find a restaurant, a doctor or any company addresses. These kind of website gives you phone numbers and addresses of the corresponding companies, but it also shows you the location of the company on a map (like in maps.google.com).


Here when you looking for something you have to ask your neighbour ! and if he doesn't know where to find a Japanese restaurant for example you have to take your car and drive around the city looking for it ! Fortunately there are some tourist guide book that can help you to find a phone number but it is always very difficult (impossible?) to find how to drive to the address. Maybe it is because there isn't any detailed map of Muscat neither...

Update : I've been informed by my dear readers that there is actualy a online yellow pages in Oman : www.omantel-yellowpages.com. However, as there still isn't any detailed map of Muscat (online or paper), the utility of such website is reduced, because when you want to go to the address you have to phone the company and try to understand the location information...

Summer activities in Oman

From May to September, temperature and humidity become very high in the Sultanate. Outdoor activities , such as tourism or trekking, are not possible anymore. You have to make do with indoor activities, such as :

1. Intercontinental club, where you can use the swimming pool, squash courts and gym room.
2. cinema, one of my favourite activities for the moment during the summer
3. shoppings in highly air-conditionned malls
4. Going to Dubaï, which I've planned to do this month
   
5. tv, of course...
6. restaurant and pubs with your friends
7. ice rink, but the one in Muscat is a bit dilapidated and expensive
8. and I guess a lot of expats just go back to their country for the summer when it is possible.

Any suggestion I could add to this list ?

Hot water

The temperature this days is becoming really hot in Oman. One unexpected consequence is that cold faucet gives boiling water ! This is because water tank are placed on the roofs of the buildings and it heats with the sun...

Pretty annoying when you want to take a shower or brush your teeth. The solution to this problem is simple but surprising : you have to switch-off your water heater, and use the hot faucet to get colder water. Actually, with this method the water is cooling down in the water heater during the day.

Elevator dilemma

Constructions are booming in Muscat. buildings are raising all over the city. Often, in the rush to finish the job fast, workers don't finish their task properly. In this case the result is an elevator control pannel kind of "messy".

Muscat vs. Paris round2

In my previous post, I was listing the things I miss the most in Muscat compared to Paris. Now I’m listing the exact opposite :

1. Continuous nice weather.
   maybe I will change my mind during the next summer in Oman
2. Diversity and beautiful of the nature : the sea, the beaches, the desert, the mountains… and eveything is accessible half an hour from Muscat
   
3. Cheap prices : petrol, restaurants (except the ones serving wine), real estate, foods
4. Quality of life : no traffic jam, relax rythm of the city, kindness of people, security of the country
5. Low density of the population : the crowded places of Paris such as the undergrounds are exhausting.

So, who is the winner according to you ?
Feel free to add comment to complete this list.

Muscat vs. Paris round1

Back from my vacations in Paris, relaxing at the “palm beach club” of the Intercontinental Hotel in Muscat, I wanted to compare my life in Paris and in Muscat.

So I've made a list of the things I miss the most in Muscat compared to Paris :

1. ADSL for 15Ryals/month at home !!! And when I say ADSL I mean 10Mbits. For the moment there is not even available new phone numbers in Al khuwayr !
2. Night life, with variety of crowded bars and real nightclubs welcoming international DJs.
3. At least one museum offering quality contemporary art exhibits
4. Independant movies at the cinemas, american blockbusters proposed are sometimes boring.
5. More affordable restaurants serving wine. Except at the palace restaurants and few exceptions, where can you enjoy a glass of wine and a good meal ?
6. More parisian girls in the streets ;)
7. More nice pedestrianized areas, where you can sit just sit at a table outside a café and enjoy the surroundings.

I also miss the "beauty" of Paris but I didn't put it in the list as this fact is completely subjective, and that Muscat is also a nice city (I heard it has been elected "most beautiful city" of the gulf last year).

Feel free to add comment to complete this list.

Next, I will described the things that are missing to Paris compared to Muscat.

French weather

One of my favorite program on the TV is the french weather forecast (on the french channel "BFMTV" that we can receive here). I can compare the weather in France and in Oman and I'm always winning ;)

A small daily annoyance

A surprising fact about Oman compared to France, is the habit they have to use many electrical switches in their houses... In the picture above, you have a switch for :
- bathroom lamp
- bathroom ceiling lamp
- bathroom fan
- bathroom water heater
- bedroom ceiling lamp 1
- bedroom ceiling lamp 2
- bedroom ceiling lamp 3
- bedroom fan
- bedroom Air Conditionning
This thing can be a little bit irritating as you can waste a lot of time in a day trying to light a room by swithcing all the buttons. In France, you would have very less switches, as a switch would correspond to every lamp of a room, plus usually there are no fan or AC, and the water heater would not have a switch (always on).

Christmas in Oman

It is strange to spend christmas outside your country. Fortunately my wife has rejoined me in Oman so we've spent christmas together. We went to the Kargeen cafe which is not a luxuous restaurant but the ambiance is great : very nice restaurant, nice sofa, nice music (chrimas songs), nice lights...

We've liked the feeling to celebrate chrimas in flips-flops and smoking shisha :)

Ruwi

This is the building were I have a lot of my professional meetings with an Oman company in Ruwi. The building is impressive because it doesn't look like to any other building in France. The Omani people dressed in white tunics are evrywhere inside, and it appears that they are in fact funny boys. They make jokes and and speak very well english (better than me sometimes).

Day 1

First day was hard. Travelling during the night by plane from France, arriving saturday morning, going to the hotel and then directly to work.

The same day, I’ve discovered all of my new environment :

- Oman : suprising country were all the men are dressed with the same white tunic, and little funny hats.

- Muscat, the city : typical arabian style houses, big antenna on the roofes, and roads everywhere. The district Al Kuwhair, where my offices are, is not very charming but useful (lot of shops)

- My office : an old dusty building (full of cockroaches) where my offices are. It doesn't look like that I'm working in a top world class company...

- My colleages : a bunch of friendly engineers

- My hotel : Safeer international is clean and spacious, but no swimming pool, no bar, … The managers of my company are really stingy