My turn to go..

The last two days in London were a bit more stressful than anticipated however finally after a little bit of drama all fell into place.
Personal effects packed and handled by international shippers in 12 long tedious hours, house empty and clean, car dropped to dealer for sale...

I finally managed to turn up at the Porterhouse for drinks well past the originally planned time after the car left me stranded in the middle of the rush hour traffic on a hill in Stretham.

Thank you all for coming out on Friday night and really, really sorry for those I missed due to this unforseen commotion.

I flew out to Italy from T5 on Saturday and had a great time at the airport potting around the shops and taking lots of pictures.
As the plane took off leaving London and the English hills behind on a glorious sunny day I was overwhelmed by a cocktail of emotions.

2 and ½ hours later I was sweltering in 26c of humid heat as I landed in Rome at 9.45 pm (!!), better get used to that. I’ll be in even warmer Oman from 15th September.

Another beautiful day in Muscat

What more can I say. Beautiful day spent lounging around at the Hyatt with friends from the guest house. The sea and mountains are beautiful here.

Greetings from Oman

Hello blog readers or Ahlan as they say in Arabic,

I normally do quick posts from my phone but today I thought I'd log on and write a more detailed update.

Life in Oman is great, it's been only four weeks but I'm fairly confident Rossella and I will enjoy our time here. Unlike other Middle Eastern countries the community is well integrated with Europeans, Asians and Omanis working and living together without a strong feeling of class divide - it does exist of course but not to the same degree found elsewhere and is largely as a result of economic imbalance between different countries around the world.

The weather is fantastic - every day is sunny and hot although luckily it has in general stayed below 40C which is rare this time of year. I'm looking forward to the winter when the haze will clear and the temperatures will be warm (i.e. less hot).

Muscat is an interesting City and much slower paced and easy going that Dubai. It's also a far more attractive city with a beautiful coastline on one side and mountains on the other. I've not yet ventured out of town but hope to do so in next few weeks with a trip into the mountains with a 4x4.

Cost of living is varied and you can live as cheaply or costly as you wish. The usual western shops are here such as Fat Face, Mango, Banana Republic etc which charge western prices or you can shop for significantly less with reasonable local brands. The cost of petrol is incredibly cheap at about the fifth of the cost of the UK and you can buy cars tax free... I've already been to see the Porsche and Audi garages!

That's all for now....

Simon

Petrol

Just filled up my petrol tank from almost empty. Here's the receipt - it cost £6.40. Cheaper than a pack of bacon here. Amazing!!

Sunny again ;-)

Great weather once again. Spent day with some friends at the Intercontinental hotel making use of it's facilities - way too hot for the gym though.

View from terrace

Been very lucky with the weather as it's been cold by Omani standards. Highs of 36C until a few days ago but now reaching 45C. It's a bit like been in a sauna as it's also quite humid today. I've got used to it quite quickly though and it's great to see the sun every day.

Tap!

Getting used to the water now. Looks like a normal tap but two settings - hot and not quite so hot!

Beach

Stopped at the beach on the way back from work. Beautiful long beach with refreshing breeze blowing in. Great way to forget work.