The bus from Muscat to Salalah, which started at 6 pm yesterday from their Al Azaiba terminal had picked up passengers from three other locations in Muscat. The first stop en route to Salalah was in Nizwa, which I wished would be the dinner halt as I was hungry. Many passengers disembarked there and I too got out of the bus. The driver asked me to get back inside because the dinner stop hadn't yet arrived. The bus went on further for another 45 minutes before stopping for dinner at Adam. The halt was in front of an Indian/Pakistani restaurant. The menu was fairly elaborate and people were mostly ordering biriyani. I had a sparse fare of scrambled eggs and Paratha. Next door to the restaurant was a small grocery store from where I picked up a couple of bars of Snickers. One of them became the dessert. Sleep was not very easy despite the bus being reasonably comfortable with good leg room. Around 1.45 am there was another stop for 20 minutes at a wayside eatery. The bus got to the Salalah Mwasalath bus stand just after 6.30 am.
Siby Eapen, an entrepreneur based in Salalah and a contact from Elvis D'Cruz, came over to pick me up from the bus stand and take me to Crowne Plaza Resort, where I had a days' free accommodation thanks to Deepak Nair. Before going to the hotel I requested Siby to take me to the St. Francis Xavier Church. The Catholic Church is in an enclosed compound that has churches of many other Christian denominations too. That was an interesting sight. The catholic parish is among the four in the Sultanate of Oman. The church was consecrated in 1984 and it now has a catechism centre too. The English mass was nearing its end when I walked into the church for a few minutes of prayer and to seek the blessings of the Almighty on the occasion of my 64th birthday.
The Crowne Plaza Resort is spread over 42 acres of lush green gardens with a white sandy beach lapped by the turquoise waters of the Arabian Sea. I was warmly received by Nyijil at the check-in counter located to one side of the gleaming, ornate lobby with plenty of seating and open space. The Crowne Plaza Resort Salalah is an indulgent retreat offering a variety of facilities and 153 rooms, including 20 villas. The Resort has 3 interconnecting pools, tennis and squash courts and a 9 hole garden golf course. It is conveniently located at less than 30 minutes from the airport and 10 minutes from the Salalah city centre. I rued my tight schedule which would not give me enough time to even make a leisurely tour of the sprawling luxury. After a short rest and quick bath I was ready for the day's schedule.
Siby picked me up from the hotel as appointed and went to a residential complex from where the other two companions for the day were to join us. Rajiv Koshy and Alex Jacob are both orthopedic surgeons from Kerala working with the Oman government. Rajiv, a fitness freak and an avid cyclist, took over the wheels. Having been in Salalah for over 6 years he knew the terrain like the back of his hand. Just as we left the parking lot Rajiv started a detailed description of the geography of the region. For one who could lose his way on a straight road, it was fascinating, to say the least. The day's itinerary had been chalked out. But, the weather had the last laugh. It was dusty and hot. Visibility was so poor that the first port of call, the Salalah Port, turned out to be a damp squib. The port is being operated by APM Terminals since 1998 and it uses the Salalah Port as its hub for the region. From across the terminal, the fishing harbour, we couldn't even see the cranes of the container terminal!
However, the next destination for the day was not so disappointing, even though the dust and wind were overpowering at times. Al Mughsayl is just about 30 km from the port and is a long stretch of blue water sea and white sand. The landscape is elegant and picture perfect. It is considered to be one of the best beaches in the Dhofar region. Marneef Cave and Blowholes are located next to Mughsayl Beach. However, after the Mekunu Cyclone in 2018, the direct road that connected Marneef with Mughsayl was destroyed. The remains of this overhead bridge can still be seen at the exit of detour that you have to take in order to reach to Marneef.
The Marneef Cave and Blowholes are located just besides Mughsayl beach and is a must visit on a tour of the area. There are benches underneath the Cave for people to rest their weary bones and take a break from the sun. The blowholes are a few meters away from the Cave. There are stairs and ramps for people to get to the grating protected blowholes. The three blowholes have meshes over them. When the sea is slightly rough, sea water explodes into the air through these holes in the rock, which are just above the sea. The water jet from the blowholes vary according to the season, but it is said to reach as high as 28 meters into the sky in the Khareef season. There are even gazebo type structures from where one can enjoy the beautiful sight of sea water shooting up from the blowholes. At times the roar of the sea through the blowholes can be disconcerting. The most majestic views of the Marneef Cave is as you walk back to the car park from the blowholes.
The drive to the Shaat view point was fascinating. The terrain changed, the shrubs and trees changed, the colour green was more visible. The 10 km stretch of an engineering marvel, the Furious Road, is a challenge that was accomplished by a British construction company. On a normal day from the Shaat viewpoint it is said that the meeting point of the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean can be seen from a height of over 1000 meters. Despite the poor visibility the waters looked frozen from the viewpoint. One can also walk a bit on a ledge from where sheer cliff faces and dizzying drops can be appreciated; certainly not one for the faint hearted.
Route 47 goes right through to the Yemen border. There are three military checkpoints closer to the border, where polite sentries checked personal documents and the car registration card. The road, as was to be expected, was superb. The Sharfayt border is receiving a major makeover with construction going on at a fast pace. Siby, who used to travel often to Yemen before the pandemic, mentioned that contrary to general belief the region neighbouring the Oman border is quite peaceful.
Before going for lunch to the restaurant of Ali, a friend of Rajiv, we went to a portion of the beach in Dhalkut were the remnants of a crashed helicopter has been lying for years. Over the years the Mi-8 seemed to have been stripped and is now unrecognizable as a helicopter. We were the only ones on the beach there, with no one else in sight. Naturally, the searing heat must have been keeping everyone else indoors.
Lunch consisted of Afghan rice, biriyani multi colored rice, beef curry and shaari fish fry. The long drive back home was broken by a short break for coffee.
Siby and wife hosted a dinner at their lovely home which was attended by Rajiv Koshy and his family, Alex Jacob, Anoop Joseph, the Sales head of Crowne Plaza, and his wife. Excellent drinks, Turkish food, lovely cheesecake and lively conversation kept us for nearly three hours.
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