Oman is a hidden gem waiting to be explored, and in this episode, we dive deep into its enchanting landscapes and rich culture. Our guest, travel blogger Claire Hall from OmanWanderlust.com, shares her firsthand experiences living in Muscat for two and a half years. We discuss must-visit spots like the Grand Mosque, the stunning Wadi Shab, and the breathtaking Jebel Shams—Oman's Grand Canyon. Claire reveals practical tips for adventurers, from road trip routes to local delicacies like shua and Omani halwa. If you’re looking for a unique travel destination that offers both adventure and authentic Arabian culture, now is the perfect time to consider Oman!

About this episode

Oman is a hidden gem in the Middle East that deserves more attention, and we're diving into its treasures with Claire Hall, the travel blogger behind omanwanderlust.com. As someone who's spent two and a half years in Muscat, Claire offers a wealth of practical advice on how to experience this beautiful country authentically. From the stunning Grand Mosque and the Royal Opera House in Muscat to the breathtaking wadis and mountains that lie just outside the city, she emphasizes the importance of exploring beyond the typical tourist trail. Oman is not just about its capital; it’s a land of adventure where you can hike through spectacular valleys, swim with turtles, and even zip-line over some of the world's most stunning landscapes.

We touch on the culinary delights of Oman too, with Claire sharing her favourites like shuwa, a slow-cooked meat dish, and the unique Omani halwa, a sweet treat that’s perfect after a hearty meal. The episode also highlights the cultural aspects of Omani life, where traditional customs are preserved amidst modern developments. Whether you're considering a visit soon or just curious about what Oman has to offer, this conversation is filled with tips and insights that will inspire wanderlust and a deeper appreciation for this remarkable destination.

As the episode unfolds, we explore the differences between Oman and its flashier neighbour, Dubai, with Claire passionately asserting that Oman offers a more genuine Arabian experience. With plans for new attractions and sporting events like Ironman competitions, Oman is set to welcome more visitors while still maintaining its unique charm. So if you're looking for a travel destination that combines adventure, culture, and stunning natural beauty, Oman should be at the top of your list!

Takeaways

• Oman is an overlooked gem of the Arabian Peninsula with rich culture and adventure.
• Claire Hall emphasizes the charm of Muscat, highlighting the Grand Mosque and Opera House.
• Outdoor adventures in Oman include hiking in the stunning Jebel Shams and swimming with turtles.
• Wadi Shab is a must-visit with its breathtaking scenery and swimming opportunities.
• Omani cuisine features aromatic dishes like shuwa and delightful desserts such as halwa.
• Now is the perfect time to visit Oman before it becomes a major tourist hotspot.

Links referenced in this episode

• destinationunlocked.com
• omanwanderlust.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Oman Wanderlust
• Ironman
• Oman Air
• Lufthansa
• Turkish Airlines
• Emirates
• Etihad

Welcome to Destination Unlocked with me, Daniel Edward.

Destination Unlocked is the Chatty Travel Podcast where a local expert

unlocks their part of the world.

Today we're unlocking Oman, a country that still flies under the radar.

Most people heading to the Middle East, but probably not for long.

My guest is Claire Hall, creator of Oman Wanderlust, who spent two and

a half years living in Muscat and spending her weekends out in the wads,

the mountains, the desert, and she's sharing genuinely practical insight from.

Where to stay in Muscat to how to plan road trips, what Omani food to try

and why now might be the best time to visit Oman if you're curious about real

Arabian culture without the skyscrapers.

Stay with us.

This one's packed with useful tips.

So Claire, where are you unlocking for us today?

So I'm going to be unlocking the Sultanate of Oman.

It is a really overlooked part of the Arabian Peninsula.

People mostly think of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, but they don't

look South and they really should.

Yes.

You've preempted a, a massive part of what people have been saying to me

about this episode, which is, I've been to Dubai, so do I need to go to Oman?

Why don't we start with that?

Yeah, absolutely.

While I was living in Oman, uh, we did go up to Dubai, so I was able to

compare and contrast and oh my goodness, there are some huge differences.

Dubai, the UAE, Abu Dhabi, altogether very high rise places, Very multicultural.

So they've brought in all sorts of influences from around the world.

Whereas Oman is very much traditional Middle East, very much

traditional Arabian Peninsula.

So if you want to, I would say if you want to see the real Arabian Peninsula,

Oman has to be somewhere to visit.

It's a beautiful place.

They've maintained a lot of their traditional skyline, so you won't

see Burj Khalifa esque buildings.

You'll see very low level Omar and very traditional design

and influences, from their very diverse past themselves actually.

They're very keen to maintain their traditions and set themselves

apart in that way from Dubai.

. Daniel Edward: That I really like.

I feel like certain places in the Middle East have become these international,

sort of brandless cities, and to have somewhere which holds true to what

it is and is proud to showcase that.

And it's not to say that a mine isn't engaging in international things as

well because there's plenty of big international projects going on, but it's

got the flavor of Oman, not the flavor some sort of shiny glass metropolis.

They're very keen to get tourists in.

It is and has always been a very oil rich country.

So that's where its money's come from, but only in the past 50 to 60

years has it started to modernize.

They are very keen to get people to come and visit, and they are introducing

things that you might see in other very tourist orientated countries.

There's gonna be a new cable car coming into Mutrah in Muscat, which

is one of the very traditional areas, but it'll give you that wonderful

overview of those old rooftops and the the older part of the city.

So they are keen to encourage tourists, but I would say it

hasn't become a tourist trap yet.

I think if anybody is thinking of visiting now is the time.

I think maybe in 20 years you might see it as a very different place, but they

are trying to modernize sympathetically with their traditions and their culture.

It's such a welcoming country, and they are very keen to maintain that balance.

I think you're right about now being the time because I went to an

event that was hosted by the Sultanate and they were sharing some updates

about what was coming and, and a huge thing that they're focusing on, which

I've noticed there's a bit of a theme in the Middle East, is sport tourism.

They're signing some huge deals: the big one that they

were announcing, was Ironman.

Oman is gonna be the official sponsor of Ironman globally.

It's gonna host massive

Ironman uh, competitions.

In Oman as well.

And I think more and more and more as these major events come to Oman,

which isn't a huge place, then it is going to have to adapt and change.

They're certainly building up to that.

Having lived there for two and a half years, I could see them building up

their, their sporting competitions.

There's Ironman competitions happening on the coastline, but also in the mountains.

Just the most extreme conditions to be running in.

The trails and things that people are running on were, were quite impressive.

Um, I didn't do any myself, but uh, I had friends that did, and they are

described as some of the most tough trails that they've done in the world,

having, you know, visited countries all over to take part in those competitions.

So yeah, it's definitely going to um, a destination for those sporting

events, as well as just seeing the culture and doing, other types

of adventure while you're there.

It's, it's a very much an adventurous destination, for me anyway.

Let's get into the adventure side then.

What sort of things would you recommend?

I assume for adventure, we are leaving Muscat.

Absolutely.

Muscat is a, is a wonderful city to explore for beautiful places like the

Grand Mosque, the Opera House... So there's a lot of culture within the city.

Go outside of Muscat and you have vast landscapes, from Wadis, dry

and also flowing valleys, which you can hike through and swim through.

Uh, You have the mountains that you can hike in as well.

Oman has something called Jebel Shams, it calls it it's Grand Canyon.

It's the massive valley below that you can hike along for extraordinary views.

You can also swim with turtles, you can swim with whale sharks, which is

something that I was extremely lucky to be able to do in May this year.

If you go to the very north of the country, you can go on one

of the world's longest zip lines.

And obviously there's the deserts, which I think a lot of people think of when they,

they think of traveling to the Middle East, think, well, it's just deserts.

But Oman is a place with so much more than that.

You have all of those other adventurous activities.

It sounds like it brings out the adventure within you.

Absolutely!

Ha Ha!

there, There are definitely some things that I never saw myself

doing before going to Oman, particularly hiking through Wadis.

Within the first few weeks that we'd been there, we went to an abandoned village.

We were just walking through all these kind of ghostly houses that have been

abandoned within the past 50 years.

Oman went through such a rapid period of modernization, that people moved away from

mountain villages, which were literally made of mud and bricks and stones, um,

to places where they could have running water and sanitization and education and

healthcare systems on their doorsteps.

So you have these abandoned villages within the mountains

that you can just go and explore.

There's no ticket desk at the entrance.

You, you just walk through, obviously watch where you're stepping.

Um, but yeah, I feel like you are, you are really discovering something

like, like a proper, proper explorer.

When you say watch where you're stepping, are we

talking about animal deposits or, the risk of falling down a, a cliff?

You may in fact fall down a hole.

Health and safety in Oman is, um, not quite up to European standards

or indeed British standards.

So you do have to watch where you're stepping because

there are uneven surfaces.

Surfaces that may crumble away a little bit underneath you.

And also, yes, there are goat droppings.

Okay.

If you're planning your first visit there, chances are you're gonna base

yourself in Muscat, but it's a city which doesn't have the most obvious of layouts.

So, where should you stay?

Is there a good place to be or, or a place that you should not consider going?

It is a sprawling city.

It is basically because, um, it's between the coastline and the Al Hajar

Mountains , so it's been squeezed into this corridor and as the city has

grown and the population has grown, it's squeezed along that corridor,

which does make it a very long city.

The best places to, to stay are probably in the Ghubrah area or the Madinat

Sultan Qaboos area, which is the, the city of the previous Sultan, Qaboos.

A central space in the middle of that corridor will help you to see places.

I would say that the best places are hotels near to the Grand Mosque.

Between that area and in the Qurum area, which is kind of around the Opera House.

There are some lovely international hotels along the beach.

So that would put you in a central space to see the Grand Mosque and also go to

the older part of the city in Mutrah.

It is the historic part which excites me the most.

You mentioned about the international hotels, but if you're looking to avoid

that international hotel buffet, where would you go or what would you be

looking for for a typical Omani meal?

Oh, so a typical Omani meal will involve lots of hummus and

cut vegetables, flatbreads, and then you would go on to cooked aromatic meats.

There's a dish called Shuwa, which is very, uh, lightly spiced.

In Oman it's not spicy hot.

It's spicy aromatic food.

So a Shuwa has been slow cooked in wonderful aromatic spices and you would

eat that with lightly spiced rice.

And on from there it's into cut fruits and yogurts.

And you would finish a meal with a very special Omani delicacy called

Halwa, I would describe it as something between jelly and Turkish delight,

consistency wise, but , again, it's made with spices, rose water and dates.

You get them in little cubes.

Definitely something to enjoy at the end of a meal.

And obviously with Omani Coffee, which they serve in very small portions, and

again, that's a spiced coffee as well.

It's not to everyone's taste, but yeah, it's something that should

definitely be tried in Oman.

With the coffee, is it the same spice mix wherever you go,

or everybody has their own blend that they particularly want you to say, no,

that my blend is the blend to go for?

You would not have the same cup twice.

Even in the same house.

Yeah, exactly.

People blend their own.

You may go one place and say, oh, I really like this, and go to the next, and you'll

find it's, yeah, slightly different.

Did you get into cooking local food when you were there as well?

Oh, I'm not a cook, I have to admit.

No.

I very much enjoyed the food there.

But I'm not a great cook myself.

That's fine.

If people are going on holiday there, they

won't be cooking.

Exactly!

ha ha ha.

They'll be going out.

Did you have favorite places or, it is really just about

heading out and exploring?

Yeah, for me it was heading out and exploring you can

get some great street food in Oman.

I was there with children, so we didn't actually go out

an awful lot in the evening.

It was very boring.

I think if I was there just myself and my husband, we would've lived

a totally different nightlife.

You'll just find people very welcoming, very friendly , and keen

to share their local cuisine as well.

There's a lot of seafood and fish on the menu as well, which I

suppose makes sense given where the city is and, and the city's history: Oman

has a, a real tradition of seafaring.

Yes.

Yeah, it has a, a huge seafaring history.

You know, legend has it that Oman was the birthplace of Sinbad the Sailor.

So yes, it, it's very proud of seafaring history and fishing is a massive industry.

Uh, if you go to Mutrah, you can see the fish market there and

see all kinds of amazing fish, brought in on the daily catch.

So yeah, you will, particularly around metro, find a lot of seafood.

Seafood is is one to try While you're there.

If you're going out of the city, there's more adventure, but, uh, do

you bring food with you or are you camping with bedouins and they're hosting you?

How does that work?

So we did a lot of wild camping while we were in Oman,

and we took a cool box, with all of our supplies for one night.

But it's really easy to resupply on the way.

The infrastructure in Oman is incredible actually.

Because they've gone through this rapid period of modernization, the motorways

are outstanding outside of Muscat.

If you just go to Muscat and you spend a lot of time in the

traffic there, you would think, oh my goodness, this is terrible.

Oman is a built up, very busy place.

Get outside the cities: you have four lane motorways are perfect, no potholes.

And you can just fly between destinations, in your car.

Won't be long until those cars can

No, absolutely.

It won't be long until Oman adds more airports regionally as well.

But yeah, you can get to places in absolutely no time.

And there are lots of small villages along the way and towns , so it's very

easy to resupply in between destinations.

So if you wanted to go on the classic tourist route between Muscat to the

ancient city of Nizwa and then down to the desert, and then around the bottom end of

the Hajar Mountains and come back up the coast, you would find so many places along

the way to resupply, grab some shuwa, grab a shawarma, which is an aromatic,

meaty wrap, absolutely no problems resupplying with all those essentials

once you're outside of the city.

And if you're there for, let's say a week, two weeks.

You haven't got used to the road system at all.

Would you still say, it's okay, you hire a car, do your own thing,

or would you go with a tour?

So I would recommend hiring a car.

If you're confident about driving abroad, it is the best way to see Oman.

Go under your own steam and just see where the road takes you.

That's definitely the best way to do it.

A word of warning on driving In Oman though, it can be a little bit erratic.

I found it more in the city I was driving in Muscat daily and people tailgate,

they cut lanes without indicating.

You have to have your wits about you and drive defensively the whole time.

Again, once you're outside the city, that's less of an issue because most

of the population of Oman is in Muscat.

So the roads outside the city are quite quiet.

They're very good quality roads.

So it'd be very easy to hire a two wheel drive car and go to places like Nizwa and,

and appreciate the ancient city there.

And then drive to the desert again on a four lane highway.

And, get somebody from a, a Bedwin camp, to come and collect you from the

road , and take you into the desert.

We had a four wheel drive, and we were able to go off road and

explore more into the mountains, and that was a proper adventure.

You've written lots about your adventures going out wild camping,

road tripping through the country.

You started a blog whilst you were there, but actually this wasn't your first blog

and it's not how I found you actually, I was reading your original, original blog.

Why don't you talk us about your blogging journey whilst we're here.

Sure.

I think I've been blogging for nearly 14 years now.

My first website came about because I was working within the PR industry.

Writing has always been a passion of mine.

I started off as a journalist, so writing is just something that I

could never dream of being without.

I was made redundant from a job.

I was also pregnant with my first child and I thought, I've got to have something.

I've got to do something to keep myself writing.

So that's when I set up my blog, Tin Box Traveller, which was very

much a website about our caravan and camping adventures in the UK.

And it was just all about things that we did.

And it, it developed from there.

We went to different places, and I wrote about that on Tin Box Traveller.

And then I set up another website soon after moving to Devon

in the southwest of England.

Which focuses all in on things that we did in Devon.

And when we moved Oman, after about 18 months, I thought I

should set up an Oman website.

I feel very comfortable setting up websites when I've known somewhere

for a period of time, and I feel as though I have some authority on

the topic that I'm writing about.

So that's how my Devon one came about, a few years after we moved there, and then

18 months after moving to Oman and I set up Oman Wanderlust, which is really where

I focus all my writings about Oman, from a very recent one that I published about

camping and wild camping, all the places that we went and how we navigated roads

to get there and what we found when we got there and the places that we pitched,

through to things like what to wear.

It's one of those really important questions and very

regularly asked questions.

People are very conscious of, you know, if you go on holiday to the Canary Islands,

it's fine to walk along the beach in a bikini, but if you go to the Middle East,

there are places in Dubai where it's okay to walk along the beach in a bikini,

but Oman is a different kettle of fish.

You've got to be a little bit more culturally aware.

So, based on my own personal experiences and literally going out

there and trying and testing, do I feel comfortable wearing a vest top

while walking through this particular village in a remote area of Oman?

No, I don't, no, I wouldn't.

So, I've tried to give people who come and visit the website information that

will help them, both by making them feel happier about visiting the country, going

fully aware of what to expect, and also just showing my personal experiences and

I, hopefully, hopefully that helps people.

I think it really does.

It's such an easy and clean website to move around.

And it's nice to experience it in a way which isn't a brochure

because brochures are made to sell.

Everybody knows that.

Whereas when you are writing and you've commissioned yourself through the blog,

there's an honesty that comes with that.

And I think people appreciate that because it's much more trustworthy.

I hope so.

Yeah.

I mean, I'm, I'm very keen to say when we've, when we've made mistakes, when

we've been there, learn from our mistakes.

Don't do this, but try this instead.

I think that's a really important thing and kind of a gap in the

market that travel websites and blogs can fill as well.

We were able to pick and choose the places that we went and I can give

people an honest recommendation on whether somewhere might be suitable

for a family, I visited as a family.

But I also visited with, friends that came to see us in Oman , and I also

experienced places with my parents who are in their seventies, so I can give

different perspectives, which I don't think if you are reading a story in the

newspaper, um, the journalist hasn't necessarily seen things from all those

different angles or indeed have the column inches to be able to share those things.

I think that is the blessing of a blog bloggersphere.

If you've got 1,200 words, you, you're trying to hit a memorable

story and then get out of it.

But you, you don't have word limits in the same way.

People still have attention spans.

An article has to end at some point regardless, but, people can then click

through to the bit that interests them a bit more and then they go over here

and then they move around the site, following their own personal journey.

Where do you find that people visit your site from?

I have quite a lot of readers who are expats in Oman,

and then my second highest reader group is from the UK and beyond that

it's various European countries.

That's where people are interested from at the moment.

I think there are a lot people wanting to visit from Europe because there are

some reasonably good deals on flights.

Germany in particular, there are direct flights which are much

cheaper than from, from the UK.

So we have traveled through Germany, when we've been going backwards and forwards

to the UK while we were living there.

Which airlines would you suggest looking at?

Because I would always have thought to go across and then stop in Dubai or, or, or

to stop in Doha or somewhere like that.

I would never have thought to go through Germany.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, the ones to look at who will go indirect via Germany.

Direct, it would be Omar Air, from London.

They go from Heathrow and from Gatwick.

But yes, there are those airlines that will go via Doha

and go via Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Emirates and Etihad.

I always use Skyscanner to see what's the best deal at the best time.

If you are traveling to Oman in the summer, you're gonna get

some really good flight deals because it is off peak season.

It's extremely hot in Oman.

But if you're looking at traveling in the winter, then my best advice

is to fly on New Year's Eve because that is when the cheapest flights are.

Very clever.

Yeah.

These are the handy hints and tips that you pick up from just doing it so much.

Yes.

It's not the cheapest place to be or to get to.

No, absolutely.

Those flights cost quite a lot of money.

I think that is one of the biggest expenses of the holiday.

I think that when you are there, it also can be expensive

if you're relying on tours.

That's something that I certainly see in uh, the chatter around that

kind of thing in Facebook groups.

Tour guides and going on organized tours is expensive.

And that relates to the cost of living there, and expectations for wages as well.

People expect to be paid more than, say, a tour guide elsewhere

in Asia might expect to be paid.

So that has to be factored in, and this is why I always say it's,

it's probably better to hire a car.

Petrol is cheap there.

So there are some things that are cheaper.

Petrol is cheap.

They just dig it from the

Yeah, absolutely.

And car hire isn't too extortionist either.

So, if you are feeling brave, then go and, you know, do a self-made trip and, um,

and really get to know the place better.

If you are going out on a tour, do tour guides expect tips?

Oh, so tipping in Oman isn't expected.

I think it's appreciated, but it's not like going to America or some other

places in Europe where it's becoming more the norm that you have to put

a tip on the table after you've had your coffee, or tip the tour guide.

So no, it's not expected, but it is appreciated.

I think there's a little bit of a cultural thing as well in Oman where people don't

necessarily want to be taking charity.

They're very proud.

They're very proud people.

So I think it would be important to think about how you present a tip if you did

want to offer somebody a tip as well.

It's probably better to say, it's a gift for their children.

That would be really appreciated.

Family is really important to Omanis.

We had a desert camp that we enjoyed going to, we went there about seven or eight

times, and stayed with our friend Badaah there and every time we took gifts for his

children and that was always appreciated.

Where was this camp?

It's in Wahiba Sands Desert.

We drove in from Al Wasil, which is a, a small town on the edge of the desert.

It's about 25 minutes drive in.

And we stayed with Badaah.

He had a very small camp, very authentic, and we stayed in Bedouin style tents.

And he served us homemade food and we used to sit around the campfire with

him in the evening and he and his brothers and cousins would sing songs.

It was just a beautiful place to appreciate the starry night and

the beauty of the sand dunes.

How do you find an authentic, friendly small, local camp

rather than a tourist focused one, which is gonna be more commercialized?

So they're all on booking.com.

Very easy.

A lot of them won't have their own websites, so a lot of people, um,

just generally for travel in Oman, it's important to understand that

they don't do a lot of websites.

You'll find them on Instagram.

They will use that as their mini website, and they'll have

their WhatsApp numbers on there.

It was quite difficult for us when we first got there to get our heads around

the fact that we just WhatsApp somebody.

And did business with them that way.

Uh, which is quite an alien thing within the UK and Europe.

I think people expect to go on a website to know that a business

is real and it's authentic and you're not going to get ripped off.

But that's just how they do business in Oman.

So yeah, don't be worried if you're just talking to somebody on WhatsApp.

They are going to turn up at the agreed location.

You just have to have a little bit of trust in it.

There's something, which they've just launched in India, I think

they're gonna roll out to the rest of the world, which is where you can

actually pay for things inside WhatsApp.

So you can ask for a flight, they will say, is this the flight you want?

You can say, yep, that's the flight I want.

Then they can send, you inside WhatsApp, the payment thing you

pay without leaving WhatsApp, and they then WhatsApp you your ticket.

Yeah, I can see that.

That's something that would work in Omar as well.

A lot of places are now mobile first.

People aren't even on the computer.

They're just on the phone, so it makes it so much easier.

Everybody in Oman has a, has a mobile phone.

It is their little office and the mobile reception there is excellent.

We have been on the top of mountains, we've been, you know, in the desert.

Um, and we've had much better mobile phone reception than

when we moved back to the UK.

We felt much better connected in Oman than we have in some places around the world.

And if you're going there, let's say for two weeks, is it

a good idea you get you get an eSIM or you pick up a sim card at the airport?

Either of those options would work really well.

Once you come through arrivals in Muscat Airport, there is a, a telephone

booth just on the left hand side.

Go in there and the chat will be very, very happy to, to

help you out with a SIM card.

Are you taking notes?

You don't need to, by the way, I've done it for you.

All of the show notes for this episode and all the other episodes are available

at www.destinationunlocked.com.

I must say Claire is so full of invaluable insight into Oman, her

experience of two and a half years as an expat over there, filling her weekends

with family adventures and showing visitors around when they hosted people

from home, really makes her the ideal guide to unlock this country for us.

If you're thinking of taking a trip to the Sultanate of Oman, then you'll

love exploring her website before you go, it's www.omanwonderlust.com.

Bookmark it.

The link's in the show notes.

We're gonna get back into our conversation with Claire in a sec, but just before we

do, now's a good time to check that you have subscribed to Destination Unlocked

wherever you are currently listening.

It makes it so much easier to find it in the future, and we've got

some fascinating destinations on the way over the next couple of months.

If you're into active adventure travel, you will love our upcoming episode about

adventure tourism in Kazakhstan, or for something a little bit more tranquil, but

still active, we are going cycling in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy next month

with a former pro cyclist from Cattolica.

Anyway, that's for next time.

Now let's get back to Oman with Claire Hall of omanwonderlust.com

and it's time for a quiz.

Good luck.

We'll start super easy: Oman's Capital City where pretty much

every trip to Oman begins is called?

Muscat.

Correct.

Easy point.

Okay.

The Spectacular Mosque in Muscat, probably at the top of every

Must See List for the country.

What's the full name of that mosque?

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.

Indeed.

Ding ding.

Correct.

You've actually already mentioned this one for number three, so I know

you're gonna get this one right.

What is the dramatic canyon near Jebel Shams nicknamed?

That is called the um.

Oh gosh, I'm losing it

I know you know it, I know you know it!

Is this 'cause you said it, you said it in the question.

Uh, so the,

the Grand

Canyon, um,

Oman's, grand Canyon.

Yes.

Yes.

There we go.

What is the name of the famous coastal Wadi that ends with a swim through

a keyhole into a hidden cave pool?

It's amazing.

That's Waddy Shab.

It's the most famous one to go to, with good reason.

It's not one of those places that's a bit of a tourist trap, and you go there

and you think, oh wow, that wasn't quite as good as I thought it was going to be.

It is outstanding.

The color of the water, the turquoise water is just unbelievable.

Walking through these massive canyons.

Just stunning.

It really took my breath away the first time we went there and we

returned, I think four or five times.

Early morning get there, there's a boat right across the entrance to

the wadi that runs out into the sea.

So you have to use the boat, uh, that starts at about 7

30, 8 o'clock in the morning.

So that's when we tried to arrive just because it is quite a long hike and

it gets really hot towards midday.

So our intention was always to start early and get back out by midday, before

it got too hot because there are some quite exposed places once the sun comes

up over the edges of the canyon, it can get really, really hot and it's, it can

be quite difficult to carry enough water, to just hydrate yourself during the hike.

Well you're sort of in a microwave by that point.

Absolutely.

All the surfaces in Oman just absorb the daytime heat.

So in the summer months, even at night, you feel like you've got the

sun baking you from those canyon walls.

Final question in our quiz.

At Ras al Jinz, visitors often stay up late to see what incredible

wildlife spectacle on the beach.

The turtles laying their eggs.

It's, uh, it's an interesting place, Raz al Jinz.

I've been twice.

I've seen the turtles laying their eggs in the evening.

And went back again to see the, the baby's hatching.

The incubation period is about two to three months, so if you go at the

right time of the year, you can see the, the laying happening at night.

Get up really, really early and see the babies going to the water in the morning.

But I think that there's better places to do it around the world.

I don't think that they've quite got the conservation elements

right in Oman at the moment.

It was quite sad . It felt as though we were being quite

intrusive when we were there.

So, yeah, not, not one of my top wildlife experiences in Oman.

It demonstrates how new tourism is to Omar.

I think that it's just one of those things that they haven't quite grown into yet.

I believe that the projects are helping.

They are raising awareness.

I just think that, they are still in their infancy, really.

If somebody's heading out to Oman and they only speak

English, how well are they going to do?

It sounds like there are quite a lot of expats.

Yes.

There's a huge expat community in Oman.

I think it's somewhere about 40% of the population.

Certainly as a non-Arabic speaker, I felt extremely lucky and pampered that

most people spoke really good English.

We're very lucky as English speakers that it's very much been adopted in Oman.

Even road signs are in English and Arabic.

If you wanted to try and use a little bit of, of the local lingo,

how would you say in Arabic, hello.

Salam alaikum, or marhaba, which is hello, specifically, but the

traditional greeting is Salam alaikum.

And if you were to try and say please?

So please is one that I didn't use an awful lot.

I said shukran for thank you.

I was thanking everybody all the time because I was very much

aware of my language barrier.

So Shukran is, thank you.

Shukran is, thank you.

How would you say goodbye?

Masalama is goodbye.

I love that word.

It's beautiful.

And, and one Karak Tea please.

One karak tea!

One karak tea.

And karak tea is an absolute must.

Very much like the Omani coffee, you'll never have two cups the same.

It's a very sweet tea made with, uh, condensed milk and

just sets you off for the day.

They really love sweet things.

Gosh, yes.

Yeah, very much so.

It's a country built on dates , sweets and the halawa, the traditional dessert.

Yeah, a country that loves its sweet things.

I've gotta confess to something, uh, a little embarrassing

and maybe you have a, a, little cultural oops from your time in Oman

early on, that you're happy to share.

But I was given a, a little tin.

And I opened up the little tin and inside it looked to me like there

were these little hard boiled sweets.

And so, and they smelled a bit funny to be honest.

Um, but I thought, well, maybe they taste better than they

smell, so at least I'll try one.

So I put it in my mouth and it doesn't taste any better than it smells...

because it's frankincense

Yes.

More commonly burnt

Yes!

Than eaten.

But there are edible types of frankincense,

Are there?

Well, the ones I have aren't.

No, the edible times, you might go, if you went to Mutrah Souq, you

might be offered a piece to eat and it would probably taste very, very similar

to the type that was burnt as well.

Well, I, I was worried I was going to, uh, give

myself a, a stomachache, um, but I only tried a small piece.

I think I have heard that it's good.

It's good for your stomach and your digestion.

I can't say that I've tried it for any length of time...

I'll try burning it, But I, I don't think I'll be eating it again.

But was there anything when, when you moved there that sort of caught you

by surprise that you did or somebody else did and you were just uh, so

surprised by.

Something really simple, which I always had to

keep reminding myself, was to, um, pick things up with my right hand.

Your right hand is for, for eating and shaking hands.

Your left hand is for cleaning yourself after you've been to the toilet.

So if you went to pick up something, if you were eating a shared bowl of food,

you know, crisps or anything, if you went to pick it up with your left hand, that

would be seen as a dirty thing to do.

Even when I went to a, a shop or a supermarket, I would pick things out

of my trolley with my right hand and put them on the conveyor belt 'cause I

didn't want the person who was serving me to think that I was being rude by

passing them something with my dirty hand.

Gosh.

That is, that is very good etiquette to know.

We spoke a bit about the souk earlier and you just referenced it there...

what sort of things would you find in there, that's totally Omani?

Frankincense.

So with Mutrah Souq, it is one of Oman's, kind of tourist traps almost.

You'll find lots of things in there that aren't actually made in

Oman, but the frankincense is, the frankincense will have come from the

Dhofar region and the south of Oman.

So that is the type of thing to, to go and look for where you are.

And obviously if you go to those first couple of shops at the entrance, they

will sell you it for probably double what a shop further back in will sell it for.

Um, other things that you will find in the souk if you delve a

little further back, is silver.

Beautifully crafted Omani silver.

So that's another thing to look out for.

It's not cheap.

Um, it's not somewhere to pick up a bargain, I would say, but if you

wanted something that was traditionally crafted, then that's something

that you'll find at Mutrah Souq.

And what sort of things do they craft?

Little ornaments.

Is it,

uh, something that you would put as a pendant on a necklace?

Lavish necklaces.

Rings and things.

Yeah.

It's not something that I would wear, but I almost wanted

to buy one just to have it.

Omani jewelry and silver , plays a, a big role in weddings, as dowries, so all of

the items that a, a bride would be dressed in would be just over the top bling bling.

Even if you don't intend to buy some, it's worth having a look in

the windows of the jewelry shops

And do they sell special dishes to burn the frankincense

in, or do people just throw the frankincense into their fire?

So you can do that when you're camping and it creates a wonderful

smell for a short period of time.

But yeah, there are incense burners.

Um, so pottery is another product that you can almost guarantee that that

will have been made in Oman as well.

They use a round piece of charcoal in the top of the burner, and then you,

you set that alight, and then once that's burning a little bit, you put

your frankincense on top, and that's when it gives off the beautiful aroma.

Okay.

If you were looking for some easy day trip options, or even if, if you are staying

for two weeks, maybe pushing into three weeks and you wanted to take a couple of

days further away, where would you suggest going because you took some amazing trips

from Muscat and and enjoyed the region.

Yes.

Yeah.

I think a really good place to go and base yourself outside of Muscat for a

few days would be Nizwa, the ancient city there, which used to be a capital of

Oman actually, on a couple of occasions.

Before the country unified 50 or 60 years ago, it was a, a center of learning and

culture and also the country's capital.

There's an amazing fort there that you can see.

Another Souq, which, between Mutrah Souq in Muscat and, uh, Nizwa Souq, I

would say go to Nizwa, I think you'll see more authentic Omani products.

And it's certainly where local Omanis to Nizwa go and shop themselves.

So you'll, you'll see a little bit more of authentic Omani produce there.

Base yourselves there for a couple of days.

And from there you can visit Jebel Shams, which is Oman's highest mountain.

And if you're feeling really adventurous, you can do that balcony

walk, along the Grand Canyon and get sweaty palms looking at the views.

There's an abandoned village at the end of the balcony walk.

There's a, an amazing pool that you can swim in.

You can also see Egyptian Eagles flying over the canyon.

It's just spectacular.

If you're feeling fit and you don't mind heights too much,

I'll definitely recommend that.

There's also an amazing mountain village called Misfah al Abriyyin.

It's a working village still.

People still live there.

You can also stay there.

The houses are kind of ramshackled down the side of the mountain.

You can walk through it.

There's plantations, there's the Falaj, which is the irrigation

system, which is incredibly old.

It's been around for thousands of years, so it's just one of those places that you

can go and see what life might have been like, you know, 50 odd years ago in Oman.

Just a beautiful, authentic place to visit.

Alright, we're gonna wrap up with some quick fire questions.

What would you say is the top thing to see or do in Oman?

I would say it's visit a Wadi.

Particularly if you're an adventurous person.

They're just stunning and wonderful places for a small or a bigger adventure,

depending on how much time you have.

A tourist trap to avoid?

i'm gonna say Mutrah Souq, there's so much there that isn't so Omani.

You won't find you get hassled an awful lot compared to other places.

I've been to Egypt , and there were places where I felt really under pressure.

You won't feel that there, but you're not going to pick up an awful

lot of Omani genuine items there.

What about your favorite time of year to visit?

November time, you are ahead of the main tourist season,

the weather is cooling down, so it is easier to get outside and do things,

go on those outdoorsy adventures.

It's still quieter.

I think from Christmas onwards, it gets quite busy up until about April time.

What about a top book to get you into the mood for the destination?

So before we move to Oman, I didn't read any books about it.

I've knew very little about it.

Um, but I have since seen some programs that really, you know, set the scene

and would get new visitors excited.

One that I can recommend is, Expedition with Steve Backshall, I

think episode two, he visits the Grand Canyon and he does the balcony walk.

He presents it in a slightly less touristy way.

So it was quite interesting for us to watch that as a family

because we're like, we went there.

We didn't have the donkeys carrying our backpacks.

Obviously Steve needed a little bit more equipment than us because

he was gonna abseil down into the Grand Canyon, which we didn't do.

But we, we recognized the spot that he did it from.

So that was quite exciting to be able to say we were there.

And if you've got a reasonable level of fitness, you can do that too.

So I think that's quite an exciting thing to watch before visiting.

My gosh.

You can abseil the canyon.

My Palms are sweating just thinking about it.

Oh my goodness.

What would you say is the top food or drink to try whilst you're there?

I think Halwa is a really fun one.

They're sweet treat, everybody likes a sweet treat.

If you go to somewhere like, uh, Nizwa Souq, they have whole shops

there dedicated to halwa, so you can try lots of different varieties.

They're sold in little kind of Tupperware containers, that would be easy to

transport home and it's something that can be kept at room temperature as well.

There's a lot of sugar in it, so I expect it, it would last for,

you know, a couple of months.

It would last forever.

Talking of things to take home, what would you say is the top

authentic souvenir to take home?

Not a fridge magnet, not a t-shirt, but something that is really truly Oman.

It's got to be frankincense and a frankincense burner,

obviously for when you get home.

It's something that, when we've had visitors come, we've said

to them, you must take this.

Just the aroma takes you back to Oman.

You can light up at home and remind yourself of all the

amazing adventures you've had.

Claire Hall, creator of Omanwanderlust.com, thank you so

much for unlocking Oman for us today.

Oh, you're welcome.

That's all for this episode of Destination Unlocked.

A huge thank you to Claire Hall from omanwanderlust.com for unlocking

Oman with us from wild camping and waddy hikes, to what to eat, how

to drive it, and where to find the country's most authentic experiences.

If this has put Oman on your travel list, definitely explore Claire's website.

It's full of practical tips that will save you time, money.

And a few cultural missteps.

And if you enjoyed this chat, hit follow or subscribe so you can easily find

your way back for our next journey.

For more guides, interviews and bonus travel content, head

to destinationunlocked.com.

I'm Daniel Edward.

Thanks for listening, and I'll catch you next time.