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Muscat Love I nervously glanced at the clock. It was 2:30 p.m. and I thought about my flight that was leaving Abu Dhabi at midnight. The Abu Dhabi airport was still 300 miles and one uncertain border crossing away, but I decided to drive on to Muscat – 20 minutes in the opposite direction – for a quick visit.
Muscat, the capital of Oman, is a beautiful city that I'd first learned about while watching the CBS television series, "The Amazing Race," another show about travel, this one about contestants who race around the world. If you've been reading my website, you know that "The Amazing Race" was the inspiration for my visit last year to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, just as "Globe Trekker" had been the inspiration for my visit now to Oman.
Muscat, which lies at the end of a coastal road, shouldn't be confused with muskrat, as in the awful 1970s song, "Muskrat Love." It's a beautiful city from what what I could see, but being the capital of Oman, large sections of Muscat were closed off to the public so I couldn't explore much of it. Still, I was captivated by this lush and elegant coastal city that lies at the base of a precipitous mountain range and I heartily recommend seeing it. You may even become enamored with it like I was, a common affliction known locally as Muscat Love.
I took a few pictures of Muscat then hopped in the Yaris at 3:30 p.m. and hit the road, bound for the Abu Dhabi airport. After a couple hours on the coastal road and driving through what seemed like a thousand roundabouts, I turned left and took a highway leading up into the mountains, where I crossed into the U.A.E. at sunset after a half-hour wait in the customs building. A few hours later I skirted Dubai, then I made it to the Abu Dhabi airport by 10 p.m., a full two hours before my flight. I was determined not to make the same mistake I'd made last summer when I had to run through the airport and almost missed my flight, so I checked in early and had plenty of time in the terminal before boarding.
As my plane took off into the darkness, bound for Amsterdam, I put in my earbuds and fumbled around with my little Zen music player, looking for a good song to play. The artists were sorted alphabetically, so the group America popped up first and I spotted their song, "Sister Golden Hair" in the playlist (while wisely bypassing America's version of "Muskrat Love." Yes, sadly, they sang it, too).
"Sister Golden Hair" had been a popular song back in the 1970's when I was in high school, during a time when I was seeing a special girl who had – you guessed it – golden hair. Of all the women I've ever known, in fact, she was the one I came the closest to marrying (I still occasionally think about how my life would've turned out if we had). The song had been important to me back in those days but I hadn't heard it in many years, so I pressed "Play" and eased back into my seat as I watched the twinkling lights of Abu Dhabi fade off into the distance, while thinking about my long-ago Sister Golden Hair. I didn't realize it at the time, but this would become a silly tradition of mine – playing "Sister Golden Hair" every time I flew out of the Middle East – which, as it turned out, I would do many more times.
The 10-hour flight to Europe was pretty routine because me and my backside were getting used to long flights by now. The plane landed in Amsterdam around 5 a.m. and my flight for Seattle was leaving in five hours, so I thought about going into Amsterdam for a few hours to see it. But it was cold and rainy, so instead I contented myself by eating two huge slices of pepperoni pizza and drinking a Pepsi at the airport food court (and for breakfast, no less!) After another 10-hour flight, I reached Seattle and after a short flight, I returned home to Portland. I can't sleep on planes, as I've mentioned before, so I'd been awake for 52 straight hours since I'd awaken two sunrises earlier in my hotel room in Sur, Oman, almost exactly half-way around the world.
It had been a fascinating and eye-opening trip. I was glad that I got my mapping work done in Abu Dhabi, certainly, but the best parts, by far, were my 31-mile hike around Abu Dhabi and the 1,000-mile road trip I'd taken around the spectacular country of Oman, albeit without Megan McCormick. Like I say, call me anytime, Megan. Really.
And regarding that kilo bag of frankincense? It made it through U.S. Customs without being confiscated (it's plant material, technically speaking, so I was a little worried). So now, and as with all my guests, if you ever visit me in Portland, you'll leave with a few pieces of frankincense. And in that way, you can bring a little part of the wonderful country of Oman into your own home.
Above left: Another view of lovely Muscat. Above right: In Oman, heading back to the U.A.E. that evening. My flight was leaving in six hours and I still had a long way to go, so I had to hustle.
Above left: Between my 10-hour flight from Abu Dhabi and my 10-hour flight to Seattle, I spent five hours laying over in Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. Boy, was that pizza good. Above right: Back home in Portland. From the time I'd waken up in Sur, Oman to the time I went to bed in Portland, I'd been awake for 52 straight hours. I sure wish I could sleep on planes!
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