I mentioned in a recent post that we were going to Oman for a couple of days for a wee relaxing break, it was also part of Dubai bucket list, so birds and all that!!

Well we went to Oman…………………………………………..relaxing break??? Possibly not! I just want to add that my husband is a gem and had all the best interests at heart but we had NO idea what was ahead of us. Let me fill you in (does Balamory wave thingy)………………..

 The night before we left I was getting out the over night cases ready to pack up a the kitchen sink etc. “I thought we could just take the little silver case” exclaims expatdaddy, it won’t all fit in I replied “yes it will” Ok well you and LPV can have that one I’ll take my own as I’m a woman in all fairness and I have “stuff”. Now at this point I think expatdaddy underestimated how much ‘stuff” LPV still needs, formula, bottle, jars of food, toys, UV tent for beach……… blah (Oh of course it was going to fit in the silver case, she says in her best sarcastic tone) Here is what we really took…………………..

Even worse tho this is what the in-laws took and there’s only two of them, 4 adults+ 1 baby + all this doesn’t bode well for a comfy journey!

Now we knew it would roughly take around 4 hours so I sat in the boot of the car and let the travelling narcolepsy take over, I can sleep on a washing line!!! We were delayed about an hour in Omani border control so I knew LPV would need to be fed on the road, luckily I packed the food jars, we could stop and get him something if he didn’t eat it the jar was back up!!

Adventure 1

Now I am a girl who has standards..fairly high maintenance I would say but again easily pleased at the same time. It was LPV’s lunch time, we pulled over, tempers were high as we all been sat in the car for hours. Expatdaddy pointed to a restaurant “let’s get him something in there” Now as I was saying I have standards and this can only be described as an Arabic truck stop!! We were ushered into a private room as god forbid there were ladies present!! What shall we get him?? Ummmmmm let me think, how about nothing!!! Why????  Ok I’ll order the small child a big bowl of E coli shall I? Needless to say LPV had a jar of peach crumble for lunch (he will only eat savoury warm, fussy monster). Expatdaddy & granddad braved the chicken dishes & went to use the rest room (hole in the ground)…. I see it and decide I would rather pee on myself but thought the petrol station loo would probably be better. After the guys finished their, er,  meal we went across to the petrol station. OMG lets just say the hole in the ground was cleaner………….the only words I can use to describe the toilet bowl would be pebble-dashed !!! After wrapping my hands in Detol wipes I hovered with my eyes shut and nose blocked trying not to vomit on myself too.

We get to the hotel………………………now this is the way I travel, a buffet lunch, over looking a marina….. I would like to have seen more of the world but I’m not a back packer, slumming it to me mean’s nothing under 3-4*. We have a lovely lunch and play on the beach.

Adventure 2

We are all dressed in our best bundled into the car, for the 45min- 1 hours drive to Muscat (that’s right we’re still not there) This drive turns into around 2 hour drive and by the end I am like a spitting cobra… Again LPV needs to be fed. We get to Mustrat and stop, when I’m at the end of my tether and about to explode we stumble across a little restaurant with a name you can pronounce, it looks clean, we go in!!! We sit, we order, we all laugh as otherwise we’d cry. “I’m just dreading the blog post, you’re going to wipe the floor with me aren’t you??” If the food is s**t, yes I am!! We eat, we have a walk around the souk, expatdaddy and I argue over a wall hanging thing, apparently I was taking too long………. We go back to hotel (another 1 30mins) we all go to bed.. I have to mention at this point… that I haven’t even had a “relaxing glass of wine”

Adventure 3

We attempt the drive to Muscat again, we get there and there is small traffic jam to get onto the corniche. There were cars that were rather impatient in front and they decided to take the short cut through the back streets, staying mute I sat there as the locals shouted and waved telling us we wouldn’t fit. We carried on, I’m still mute…. We watch a local man scratch one side of his lovely Lexus. We are stuck, cars in front, cars behind & me effing and jeffing like no ones business (no longer mute). At this point I’ve had enough and decide this trip can blow up it’s own a*se. We get out, no one says a word apart from LPV who quickly unknowly defusses the situation. In the car and the first stop off is Mustrat to buy the “wall hanging”, we have some lunch and then drive the extra 3k into “Muscat”. In 2 minutes we have driven around the whole of Muscat, expatdaddy & granny Quack Quack have jumped out the car to snap a few photo’s and we hit the road home!! After pretty much 9 hours in the car, a major strop from LPV, put LPV to bed, we get home order burger king, I have the biggest glass of wine ever  and we all put it down to a bad experience!!

My wee man was an angel he sat there at watched as one adventure came after another, I’m not sure how much unhealthy food he had to keep him quiet & happy but it worked.