Because of the nature of my contracts, I have to take a day off every fortnight. And no that's not a typo, "contracts" is plural. I am still working at the Agriculture Department in WA, however due to the GFC (yuss, I got to use "GFC" in a sentence) HR got all antsy about the 20-day casual contracts (which I was previously on), and wanted me to switch to a six month contract. Due to other budgeting issues, my work with the wheat pathology section then went to part time (2 days a week) on this contract, and my barley work was funded through Murdoch University, which means I have a separate contract with them, for 5 days a fortnight. And so it is that I work nine days a fortnight rather than ten. Convoluted, I know.
Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my day off a fortnight, and it meant that I have just had a four day weekend as I took off the Friday for last fortnight, and the Monday for the current fortnight. I spent the Friday and Saturday basically chillaxing, although there was a failed attempt to fish in the Swan River on Friday. Traffic was very busy so we decided not to head to the coast and instead went for option B - the river at low tide, brown and smelly, but at least there were ciders on hand.
Sunday was the highlight of the weekend. After having a couple of mates over for an awesome lunch of homemade chicken and bacon sangas, we headed into Northbridge where they had closed off Aberdeen Street for something of a block party, featuring none other than Chali 2na from Jurassic 5. Although he was only given an hour to perform, 2na went OFF, and it was an amazing hour of hip hop, supported by his 'brother' Laidlaw. He really worked the crowd well, and while most of his set was new stuff from his album Fish Outta Water (which I will be running off to buy this weekend), he also chucked in Freedom, Quality Control, and the ever popular What's Golden from his Jurassic 5 days. He obviously still has a lot of love for his former group, with frequent mentions of the now defunct band. It is often said that it is a sign of a great artist if they sound as good live as they do on their albums. This can definitely be said of Chali 2na, who had the whole crowd with their fists in the air, singing along and giving him the hugest of cheers. I heard him a couple of days later on TripleJ saying that Perth was 'crazy', and it really was.
The other main hip hop act at the Low:Fi festival was NaS, who I saw last year supporting Kanye West. Needless to say, Kanye was crap, but it was my first time seeing NaS and I thought that he stole the show. The crowd was small so the gig was pretty intimate, and his band was pretty damn amazing too. This time round I can't say I was as into it as last year. It was the end of a pretty big day, which would have been a factor, but also the bigger crowd and coming off the back of Chali 2na made it less enjoyable for me. And where 2na had been even better live than from a studio, I felt that I preferred NaS on CD than live this time round.
We finished the night off at a couple of pubs, and spent Monday enjoying the fact that most people were at work while we spent most of the day in bed.
Chali 2Na live: 10/10
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Oman trip 2009 - part 3
After our night in the desert we headed back out the way we came, doing the driving ourselves this time. We headed North on our way to the old capital Nizwa, getting a little lost on the way but making it eventually in time to see some of the markets in the souq before they all shut up shop for the day. We took a walk around the big old fort and then hit the road again for Jabal Shams - Oman's highest peak. It was a nice drive up the mountain, utilising the 4x4 and enjoying some pretty spectacular views. Some boys sold us some key rings (they were hardly a bargain...) and challenged to a game of soccer. We had a wee kick around and then got moving again, stopping to take in the view of Oman's Grand Canyon and to buy a goat hair rug from some local Bedouin.
The following day was the journey home. We stopped on the way at Al Hoota caves, where we took a guided tour through the very humid tourist attraction. The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful, and the following day was our last day in the country. We went to the Diving Centre in Muscat to pick up our diving licences, and went for a snorkel and a sun bathe. This time I managed not to stand on a sea urchin and get a number of spikes embedded in my foot, however the fish were not as impressive as at the Yacht Club. We flew out that evening without any troubles and managed to catch up on a bit of sleep in Doha airport. We managed to cancel out special meals before boarding the flight for Bangkok, and in Bangkok we got a hotel room for a very reasonable price. It was great to have a comfortable bed to sleep in between flights, and I even got a free 1 hour Thai massage to boot. We bought some duty free in Singapore and when we finally got home to Perth we were welcomed with an unseasonable 11°C. All in all it was a fantastic trip, and I really do want to return to Oman one day (although probably at a different time of year, because it was bloody hot). The people were lovely, the scenery amazing, and basically I had a down-right wonderful time.
A couple of extra things I thought I'd mention. Petrol is CHEAP over there. The price does not change from day to day, and we were paying 120 baisa for a litre of unleaded. That equates to about 41 cents (NZ) per litre, and that was for super unleaded too I believe. Driving in Oman is more dangerous than, well, quite possibly anything else in the country. Bangkok drivers are crazy, and in Oman it is the same except that the cars are a lot nicer (in Oman you can get fined for having a dirty car!). Overtaking in the on-coming lane is very common, and you will often find the over taker leaving literally metres to get back into their lane. The government is quite secretive with negative statistics, so I don't know the accident rate, but it must be very high.
I also forget to mention the mosques. There are mosques everywhere, and they are all beautiful. One of the few mosques that opens to non-Muslims is the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, which the sultan had built to celebrate his 30th year in charge. It is a truly incredible building, and the ladies prayer room had us fairly impressed, until we entered to men's prayer room and the difference in size and decoration is remarkable. The carpet in the main prayer hall is the largest single carpet in the world, and everything else about it is stunning as well.
I really would recommend to anyone that they visit Oman, and Kiwis get a free 3 month visa, which is pretty awesome.
Photos
Map
The following day was the journey home. We stopped on the way at Al Hoota caves, where we took a guided tour through the very humid tourist attraction. The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful, and the following day was our last day in the country. We went to the Diving Centre in Muscat to pick up our diving licences, and went for a snorkel and a sun bathe. This time I managed not to stand on a sea urchin and get a number of spikes embedded in my foot, however the fish were not as impressive as at the Yacht Club. We flew out that evening without any troubles and managed to catch up on a bit of sleep in Doha airport. We managed to cancel out special meals before boarding the flight for Bangkok, and in Bangkok we got a hotel room for a very reasonable price. It was great to have a comfortable bed to sleep in between flights, and I even got a free 1 hour Thai massage to boot. We bought some duty free in Singapore and when we finally got home to Perth we were welcomed with an unseasonable 11°C. All in all it was a fantastic trip, and I really do want to return to Oman one day (although probably at a different time of year, because it was bloody hot). The people were lovely, the scenery amazing, and basically I had a down-right wonderful time.
A couple of extra things I thought I'd mention. Petrol is CHEAP over there. The price does not change from day to day, and we were paying 120 baisa for a litre of unleaded. That equates to about 41 cents (NZ) per litre, and that was for super unleaded too I believe. Driving in Oman is more dangerous than, well, quite possibly anything else in the country. Bangkok drivers are crazy, and in Oman it is the same except that the cars are a lot nicer (in Oman you can get fined for having a dirty car!). Overtaking in the on-coming lane is very common, and you will often find the over taker leaving literally metres to get back into their lane. The government is quite secretive with negative statistics, so I don't know the accident rate, but it must be very high.
I also forget to mention the mosques. There are mosques everywhere, and they are all beautiful. One of the few mosques that opens to non-Muslims is the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, which the sultan had built to celebrate his 30th year in charge. It is a truly incredible building, and the ladies prayer room had us fairly impressed, until we entered to men's prayer room and the difference in size and decoration is remarkable. The carpet in the main prayer hall is the largest single carpet in the world, and everything else about it is stunning as well.
I really would recommend to anyone that they visit Oman, and Kiwis get a free 3 month visa, which is pretty awesome.
Photos
Map
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Oman trip 2009 - part 2
We had intended to do a guided 4-day trip in a 4-wheel drive while in Oman, however it was going to be pretty expensive, and so we ended up taking the 4x4 without the guide, cutting the cost significantly. The tour operators printed off the instructions for us, and with the help of a very good book - Oman Off-Road Explorer, we set off for our first destination, the Ras al Jinz Scientific and Visitors Centre.
Muscat is basically a strip of coastal land sandwiched between the Gulf of Oman and the Al Hagar mountain ranges so our exit from the city took us inland through on some very new roads through the mountains (which provide a rather spectacular backdrop for Muscat, provided it is not too hazy). We eventually descended (rather steeply) down the other side to emerge at the eastern coast, which we followed in our hired Land cruiser until we reached our first proper stop, a saltwater sinkhole located between the coast and the highway (it took a bit of finding), where we parked up and went for a welcome swim. We did a wee bit of offroading after this to find a beach where we took a short walk, and then continued on to Wadi Ash Shab. A wadi is a dried river bed, and they are quite beautiful features of the landscape here. Often they have pools suitable for swimming, and this is their biggest draw card in the Omani heat. We thought that '45-60 minute' walk through Wadi Ash Shab to reach the swimming holes would be well worth it, and figured that 45 minutes would be ample time for us. Of course, walking in the midday heat, with very little shade and not enough water was definitely not the smartest move, and by the time we reached the pools over an hour later we were fairly knackered. The swim helped recover, and there was a cavern accessible only through a thin gap in the rock that we managed to squeeze though to see the waterfall within the cavern, which as a lovely sight. We managed to get back to the car in better time than the previous walk, however it is fair to say that we had all had quite enough of wadis by this stage.
We continued on to our destination via the Tomb of Bibi Mariam (Virgin Mary) located at the ancient town of Qalhat, and a number of wrong turns and thanks in part to my navigation, and in part to the remarkable inconsistency of Oman's street signs. While the Arabic spelling of places does not change, when this is converted into English script, the variety of the translations is highly amusing. Vowels almost all seem interchangeable, as are many consonants, and tourists are basically required to follow the rule of 'if it sounds right, it probably is'. Seriously, some places had at least half a dozen different spellings in various books, maps and on road signs. Anyway, it was dark by the time we arrived at Raps al Jens, and after a quick dinner we joined the group ready to head out to see the Green Turtles On the beach. We were treated with the sight of a mother laying her eggs, and another burying hers in over a metre of sand. We also encountered many hatchlings on the path to the beach, as they had been fooled into thinking that the light from the centre was the moon reflecting off the ocean (being there navigation method to get to the sea). A number of tourists attempted to take some of these baby turtles despite multiple warning not o from the staff. Some people are idiots, and I had no qualms letting the guides know who the offenders were.
That evening the Mullahs sighted the new moon, which heralded the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the month of Eid. The first three days of Eid are the primary celebratory days, and it is very much like Christmas in Western countries. Most things are closed and everyone is extremely happy and friendly. As we drove through the towns and villages the following morning everyone seemed to be out and about in their best dress, and they all waved and smiled as we passed. Our destination was the Wahiba Sands, and we had been instructed to let air out of the tires at one of the garages in Al Mintarib before entering the Sands. Of course, everything was closed as it was Eid, and we ended up following some locals to a garage that eventuated to be closed as well. They then offered to drive us for an exorbitant rate to the resort 20Km into the desert, which we declined, but eventually got a better price out of them so ended up agreeing and getting one of them to drive us in. The Sands were amazing, and looked like a true desert. The 'road' we were on is actually just were everyone drives, so it is somewhat compacted, but it would be inadvisable to stop unless you wanted to bog your ride. We got to the Al Raha resort and parted with our guide (and the extortionate 30 rials), and settled in for a pleasant night in the desert.
Photos
Map
Muscat is basically a strip of coastal land sandwiched between the Gulf of Oman and the Al Hagar mountain ranges so our exit from the city took us inland through on some very new roads through the mountains (which provide a rather spectacular backdrop for Muscat, provided it is not too hazy). We eventually descended (rather steeply) down the other side to emerge at the eastern coast, which we followed in our hired Land cruiser until we reached our first proper stop, a saltwater sinkhole located between the coast and the highway (it took a bit of finding), where we parked up and went for a welcome swim. We did a wee bit of offroading after this to find a beach where we took a short walk, and then continued on to Wadi Ash Shab. A wadi is a dried river bed, and they are quite beautiful features of the landscape here. Often they have pools suitable for swimming, and this is their biggest draw card in the Omani heat. We thought that '45-60 minute' walk through Wadi Ash Shab to reach the swimming holes would be well worth it, and figured that 45 minutes would be ample time for us. Of course, walking in the midday heat, with very little shade and not enough water was definitely not the smartest move, and by the time we reached the pools over an hour later we were fairly knackered. The swim helped recover, and there was a cavern accessible only through a thin gap in the rock that we managed to squeeze though to see the waterfall within the cavern, which as a lovely sight. We managed to get back to the car in better time than the previous walk, however it is fair to say that we had all had quite enough of wadis by this stage.
We continued on to our destination via the Tomb of Bibi Mariam (Virgin Mary) located at the ancient town of Qalhat, and a number of wrong turns and thanks in part to my navigation, and in part to the remarkable inconsistency of Oman's street signs. While the Arabic spelling of places does not change, when this is converted into English script, the variety of the translations is highly amusing. Vowels almost all seem interchangeable, as are many consonants, and tourists are basically required to follow the rule of 'if it sounds right, it probably is'. Seriously, some places had at least half a dozen different spellings in various books, maps and on road signs. Anyway, it was dark by the time we arrived at Raps al Jens, and after a quick dinner we joined the group ready to head out to see the Green Turtles On the beach. We were treated with the sight of a mother laying her eggs, and another burying hers in over a metre of sand. We also encountered many hatchlings on the path to the beach, as they had been fooled into thinking that the light from the centre was the moon reflecting off the ocean (being there navigation method to get to the sea). A number of tourists attempted to take some of these baby turtles despite multiple warning not o from the staff. Some people are idiots, and I had no qualms letting the guides know who the offenders were.
That evening the Mullahs sighted the new moon, which heralded the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the month of Eid. The first three days of Eid are the primary celebratory days, and it is very much like Christmas in Western countries. Most things are closed and everyone is extremely happy and friendly. As we drove through the towns and villages the following morning everyone seemed to be out and about in their best dress, and they all waved and smiled as we passed. Our destination was the Wahiba Sands, and we had been instructed to let air out of the tires at one of the garages in Al Mintarib before entering the Sands. Of course, everything was closed as it was Eid, and we ended up following some locals to a garage that eventuated to be closed as well. They then offered to drive us for an exorbitant rate to the resort 20Km into the desert, which we declined, but eventually got a better price out of them so ended up agreeing and getting one of them to drive us in. The Sands were amazing, and looked like a true desert. The 'road' we were on is actually just were everyone drives, so it is somewhat compacted, but it would be inadvisable to stop unless you wanted to bog your ride. We got to the Al Raha resort and parted with our guide (and the extortionate 30 rials), and settled in for a pleasant night in the desert.
Photos
Map
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Oman trip 2009 - part 1
We flew out of Perth on September 11 with the prospect of 4 flights and almost 2 days of planes and airports ahead of us. It was the cheapest way to do it, but of course once you factor in the food, drinks and potentially transport and accommodation at your transit locations, sometimes it is better to just ignore the budget airlines and go for the direct flight. We'll think about that next time.
Our stopovers were in Singapore, Bangkok and Doha (Qatar). We had a 12 hour wait in Bangkok, so left our baggage at the airport and caught a taxi into the city. Ten minutes into the ride we almost rear-ended a broken down truck on the motorway, and got a rapid education into the dodge ‘em style driving of Bangkok. We got dropped off at Khosang Road and went for a walk around the area - it was early for a Saturday so shops were slowly opening up as we strolled around. After much badgering by every taxi and tuk tuk driver in the city, we eventually decided that the 20 baht tuk tuk ride to various attractions was a pretty darn good price, so we hopped aboard and had a blast rocketing around the city with our friendly driver, weaving in and out of traffic and seeing lucky buddas, golden mountains and gem stone showrooms. I had a wee kip in the taxi back to the airport and then we settled in for the rest of our wait. We had flown twice with Tiger Air now (with no complaints I might add) and now had two Qatar Airways flights to look forward to (not budget, so we got fed and entertained). When we booked our Qatar flights on the internet there was a meal selection section, which had an odd assortment of meals, none of which were 'standard' or 'standard vegetarian'. As a result we ended up selecting 'Hindu meat' and 'raw vegetarian'. What we didn't realise is that this option could be left blank if you wanted standard grub, so it was a bit embarrassing when the hostess on the plane came looking for the people who had ordered these specialist meals. Oops.
We arrived in Muscat at about 4.30 on Sunday morning, and promptly headed to bed to sleep until midday. That afternoon we went for a walk at the nearby beach, but didn't last long as the heat, and more significantly the humidity, didn't take long to knock us flat. The following day we drove the short trip to Al Sawadi Resort where we had a two day SCUBA diving course booked. The course was through SSI and was one of the coolest things I've done in a long time. The first day involved theory and two pool dives, and on the second day we were taken to the Damaniyat Islands where we completed our first two open water dives. It was a fantastic location, and we saw lots of beautiful coral and fish, the highlight for me probably being a black and white sea snake. I took a disposable underwater camera along, and while the photos weren't brilliant you can see some of them here.
The next couple of days were spent in and around Muscat. We went snorkelling at the yacht club and made a couple of visits to the Muttrah souq, which is AMAZING. I don't know how big it is but I could have spent hours wandering around looking for bargains and checking out the different shops. You have to be good at rejecting people in the souq, as every single shop owner will try and sell you a silk scarf, a traditional hat or some frankincense.
In my next post I will describe our four day driving adventure. I wanted to mention Ramadan before signing off. When we arrived in Oman it was the holy month of Ramadan, and as such we were not permitted to eat or drink in public between sunrise and sunset, even water was forbidden. Despite not being Muslims ourselves, if we were seen eating or drinking during the day we would have committed a huge offence, which of course we were not interested in doing. As such we had to make sure that we skulled back the water before leaving the house, and any eating or drinking we did had to be somewhere that no one could see us. Of course, once the sun has set and the call to prayer has been made (of which there a re five each day), the fasting is broken with Iftar, which is usually a rather lavish meal (which I'm sure must often be the happiest time of many people's day!). At Al Sawadi, where we did the diving, we were treated to some lovely buffets for Iftar, both nights we had about a dozen dishes to help ourselves too, and of course about the same number of desserts. Choooiiice.
Stay posted for part two of the adventure.
Photos
Map
Our stopovers were in Singapore, Bangkok and Doha (Qatar). We had a 12 hour wait in Bangkok, so left our baggage at the airport and caught a taxi into the city. Ten minutes into the ride we almost rear-ended a broken down truck on the motorway, and got a rapid education into the dodge ‘em style driving of Bangkok. We got dropped off at Khosang Road and went for a walk around the area - it was early for a Saturday so shops were slowly opening up as we strolled around. After much badgering by every taxi and tuk tuk driver in the city, we eventually decided that the 20 baht tuk tuk ride to various attractions was a pretty darn good price, so we hopped aboard and had a blast rocketing around the city with our friendly driver, weaving in and out of traffic and seeing lucky buddas, golden mountains and gem stone showrooms. I had a wee kip in the taxi back to the airport and then we settled in for the rest of our wait. We had flown twice with Tiger Air now (with no complaints I might add) and now had two Qatar Airways flights to look forward to (not budget, so we got fed and entertained). When we booked our Qatar flights on the internet there was a meal selection section, which had an odd assortment of meals, none of which were 'standard' or 'standard vegetarian'. As a result we ended up selecting 'Hindu meat' and 'raw vegetarian'. What we didn't realise is that this option could be left blank if you wanted standard grub, so it was a bit embarrassing when the hostess on the plane came looking for the people who had ordered these specialist meals. Oops.
We arrived in Muscat at about 4.30 on Sunday morning, and promptly headed to bed to sleep until midday. That afternoon we went for a walk at the nearby beach, but didn't last long as the heat, and more significantly the humidity, didn't take long to knock us flat. The following day we drove the short trip to Al Sawadi Resort where we had a two day SCUBA diving course booked. The course was through SSI and was one of the coolest things I've done in a long time. The first day involved theory and two pool dives, and on the second day we were taken to the Damaniyat Islands where we completed our first two open water dives. It was a fantastic location, and we saw lots of beautiful coral and fish, the highlight for me probably being a black and white sea snake. I took a disposable underwater camera along, and while the photos weren't brilliant you can see some of them here.
The next couple of days were spent in and around Muscat. We went snorkelling at the yacht club and made a couple of visits to the Muttrah souq, which is AMAZING. I don't know how big it is but I could have spent hours wandering around looking for bargains and checking out the different shops. You have to be good at rejecting people in the souq, as every single shop owner will try and sell you a silk scarf, a traditional hat or some frankincense.
In my next post I will describe our four day driving adventure. I wanted to mention Ramadan before signing off. When we arrived in Oman it was the holy month of Ramadan, and as such we were not permitted to eat or drink in public between sunrise and sunset, even water was forbidden. Despite not being Muslims ourselves, if we were seen eating or drinking during the day we would have committed a huge offence, which of course we were not interested in doing. As such we had to make sure that we skulled back the water before leaving the house, and any eating or drinking we did had to be somewhere that no one could see us. Of course, once the sun has set and the call to prayer has been made (of which there a re five each day), the fasting is broken with Iftar, which is usually a rather lavish meal (which I'm sure must often be the happiest time of many people's day!). At Al Sawadi, where we did the diving, we were treated to some lovely buffets for Iftar, both nights we had about a dozen dishes to help ourselves too, and of course about the same number of desserts. Choooiiice.
Stay posted for part two of the adventure.
Photos
Map
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