Oman - Mid-term Break

This term is a bit of a killer, as we had a nine-week stretch followed by another 6 weeks. The middle had a long weekend (rather than a full week) break...but we definitely packed it full by flying off to Muscat in Oman with our good friends Caz and Dave who used to work there and were going back to visit friends.

We were picked up from school by the wonderful driver, Said, and headed straight off to the airport for our flight out. We left Cairo at 5.30 for a transfer in Doha, Qatar, but had a gruelling 8-hour layover that we spent in a supposedly-5-star airport lounge. Dave and Scotty took advantage of the endless piles of free food and drink while chatting with people they've not been in touch with for ages on Facebook chat, and Alice and Caz both tried to get some sleep on chairs that appear to have been designed to make catching forty winks as difficult and uncomfortable as possible.

We stayed in the Qurum Beach Hotel when we got to Muscat - the cheapest there was as all others seemed to be 5* resorts! Caz was an absolute star as she hired a car and gave us lifts all over the place. Dave was staying with his friends Ted and Janine - a fabulously generous couple who lent us their guest mobile phone to use while we were out, provided us with camping equipment, and who were about to become parents for the second time at any given moment.

We spent lots of time on the beaches, including a fantastic night camping on the deserted Seefa Beach which is about as close to paradise as it's possible to get. Ted also arranged for a taxi driver to take us for half a day's worth of sightseeing round some forts and natural springs.

Film and photo highlights are below...

PART 1

PART 2