Review: More Cafe

I enjoy Cafe More for their food and set up. Last Saturday we went there for breakfast after we got back from our summer holidays. I ordered the my normal eggs Benedict and pancakes for my son. We ordered juice and coffee and the usual glass of water with a piece of lemon was served which was nice. However when the food came, it was another story. The buns on my plate tasted stale like a few days old bread and when I went to cut into the poached eggs, the eggs spurted water all over my plate along with the overly soft yellow of the egg. It was just awful. It was not the normal delicious meal I inhale in seconds. I was now even worried whether it was safe to eat the meal at all. 

Then my son said the pancakes were hard. I went to cut it for him and yep, the pancakes were hard and tasted like old pancake mix. Again not like the pancakes we've had there before. We asked for fresh pancakes and the waitress came after awhile asking if we wanted the crepe style pancake. We asked if the pancakes were from a fresh mix or from a packet. The waitress disappeared and came back and said sorry they didn't have any more pancakes left!!! I think we caught the chef and their fake pancakes out! We cancelled the horrible pancakes, we paid and left. I will not return there for food. I noticed they've changed the chef which explains the change in the quality of the food.

ANZO: The Great Gatsby Ball

The ANZO(Australians and New Zealanders in Oman) are hosting a Gatsby themed ball at the end of this month at the Hyatt. You can visit their page to register and find out more information about the ball though I hear they're sold out and have a long waiting list.  I've been to two of their balls and they're one of the best organised balls in Muscat. I've been to a few and I must say the ANZO and Crystal balls organised by WGO are front runners by way of setting, theme, entertainment, food and overall atmosphere. 

www.ANZOman.com

Cafe G in Muscat Oman

There's this little cafe in MQ behind Pavo Real and Bank Muscat that's been there for a few years now. My friends and I frequent this place for their good coffee, delicious salads and delectable cakes. We all agree that they have the best chocolate cake in Muscat. So if you're trying to watch your figure then don't go there too often but for the strong willed, this is a lovely little place tugged in the dark corner of the Al Madina Plaza, a small MQ mall where you can enjoy catching up with friends, yummy food and the staff are really friendly. You'll know you're a regular when they memorise your order!  Yes, I've been going to this place for over five years now and the staff greet me like they hadn't seen me in a long time:) Too kind!

www.facebook.com/CafeG

Golf Ball and Shangri La Barr al Jissah Muscat

The golf ball was a fabulous event. The atmosphere was fun and upbeat. The food was delicious and the drinks were free flowing all evening. The band was a bit dated but they had current music in between using the DJ. The band were golf players mostly so they had done it for fun. Everyone seemed to have had fun though. I sure did.
We stayed the night and spent the next day at the pools. It was fabulous. The room was beautiful and the Bandar Resort pool is just a delight. Our whole family had loads of fun. The Lazy River is just so lovely and relaxing. Considering the heat of summer at the moment, it was quite pleasant out at the resort. The breakfast buffet was included in the rate and it was not a bad spread. We ordered room service later and it was delectable.
Watch out for the over friendly receptionist, that seemed to have been doing us a favour when in fact he was selling us an upgrade under false pretences. So I say, whatever you booked, stick to it because if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. We learned the pricey way but it was well worth every penny really. 

WGO Craft Fair on May 30th

The Women's Guild of Oman(WGO) is having their Summer Craft Fair at the Bahja Hall next to the Jungle Restaurant in Qurum on May 30th from 10am to 2pm. It costs 2omr to enter the fair. These fairs sell all sorts of things from jewellery, clothing to baby wares to baked goods. It's well organised and nice to browse what people make in their spare time.
All proceeds from the fair go to charity.

www.womensguildoman.com

Fahal Swim

This weekend on May 9th is the now sought after Fahal swim. One hundred and twenty swimmers will swim from Fahal island towards PDO beach which is a 4 kilometre swim in total. Registration for this swim closed in 24 hours due to the numbers being reached within that time!

Heavy Rain in Muscat

In Seeb looking at the flyover at the airport. We could hardly see the road. Just before this where the trees are at royal flight the trees swayed so much due to the wind that one tree fell over and just touched the back of our car! We were lucky if didn't fall in front of us. At this point everyone had slowed down so I think everyone saw the tree fall behind us. Amazingly by the time we reached Azaiba the rain had died down and by 5pm the power came back on and the ground was dry again! Today everything is mostly back to normal. A beautiful day at the beach today though.

Diana Krall at the Royal Opera House Muscat

I managed to get tickets to the second show that was added to see and hear Diana Krall at the ROHM. The second show was quite busy and we were seated not far from the stage so we could see the band in action. It was beautiful. All the musicians were so good. Diana Krall's voice was beautiful. It felt funny though witnessing jazz in the opera house. It felt a bit stiff when the music is to move to and to experience and enjoy through laughter and conversation. Krall was very engaging with the audience and made people laugh and she kept acknowledging her talented band throughout the show. She was very good on the piano and I must say I wasn't ready for it to finish and wish it was a more relaxed atmosphere. Nevertheless we're lucky to have seen her perform in Muscat.

A Golf Ball at Shangri La on May 9th.

Shatti Beach

The beauty that is Muscat. Green grass everywhere to relax when it's nice weather and for the kids to play. Proper footpath to run, walk and ride bikes. Love this city. This is just one of many places like this around the city.

Beautiful view from the old Shatti Hospital side. The new Marina cafe.

Moving to Muscat with School Age Children?

If you're looking at moving to Muscat with a young family then I strongly recommend that you do so. Muscat is a lovely family friendly city. Oman in general is a beautiful country for the outdoorsy types as there's plenty of wadis(water catchments) to swim in, canyons to explore, tracks to hike, beaches to enjoy, deserts to venture into and the Omani people are friendly and do not mind sharing their country with us expats who are here to work for them. Single people is a different ball game. However I think it depends on how willing you are to go out and meet people. 

This will be an ongoing post, but in today's post, I want to focus on families that want to move here with school age kids. I'm sure the company offering you a job is offering a nice contract that includes housing, petrol(cheap as chips), power and water and school fees. The latter is what I want to bring your attention to. We have known many people who were met with the shock of the school exorbitant fees that they weren't aware of. Before I continue there are three main international schools in Muscat The British School(BSM), The American and British Academy(ABA) and The American School(TAISM). There is also The Muscat International School, Choueifet, PDO school, new schools that are still growing include TLC and Knowledge Gate International School. These are the ones I know of. There are many other National specific schools such as the Phillipines, Indian, Egyptian and Bangladeshi Schools but the Western expats tend to go for the first three schools mentioned above. 

BSM, ABA and TAISM all have what's called an 'establishment fee' or 'building fee' or 'maintenance fee'. This fee is what you have to pay on top of the normal school fees. Here's the catch. Some contracts offer school fees but they do not pay this establishment fee. Between the three schools this fee varies but they're all quite high. The least costly is ABA, BSM and at the top is TAISM. I'm mentioning this because if you land in Muscat with let's say two or three school age children then be ready to be slapped with this exorbitant fee when you add it all up. If your company includes all this in the hiring package then you are in luck, if not then you better have a bit of cash ready to pay this. I know a few families that have had to leave or put their kids in less established schools because they can't afford to pay this fee upfront. Also make sure your company clarifies how much of the actual school fees they will cover. Some only cover for example 80% of the school fees at a limit. For instance if the school charges US $3000 for the year per child, your employer will pay 80% of say $2000 is $1600, then you will have to pay $1400 out of your pocket. Most expats have the school fees covered in their contracts but there are also those that don't so just be aware of this and make your calculations before you jump on the plane. 

There is also a high demand for quality education and not enough supply however this may change due to more schools opening up but there is usually a waiting list in the three schools so this is another matter you might want to clear up before making the big move. Email the different schools to wait list your children in some cases you pay a percentage to guarantee the places for your kids.

Having said that, the quality of education in the three schools mentioned and others is very high. They hire qualified experienced teachers from around the globe and with multi-national children attending the schools you end up with a broad minded multicultural child. This, to me is the epitome of expat living; the broadening of our children's horizons along with ours beyond the established borders. 

Links to schools
ABA, BSM, TISC, KGIS, TAISM

ANZAC Dawn Service in Muscat

'Lest We Forget'
Yesterday at sunrise the Australian and New Zealand (ANZO) community in Muscat gathered at the Grand Hyatt hotel gardens for the traditional dawn service commemorating the brave men and women who fought for their countries. It was a lovely short service with a good turnout from the community as the sun came up over the horizon. The sound of the trumpet echoed across Shatti beach reverberating into our hearts reminding us all of the sacrifice all those young men and women past, made for freedom. 
The Grand Hyatt had breakfast laid out for those willing to dine there.

ANZO
The Australian and New Zealand Organisation is quite active in bringing their citizens together in Muscat.

Bicycle Oman

Bicycle Oman has opened shop in Ghubra behind the Rehab Hotel. If you're driving from the Grand Mall towards Muscat Private Hospital you will go through the traffic lights after Muscat Oasis Apartments and then you have to go on to the Muscat Expressway as if you're heading to Qurum instead you exit the Expressway again and head for Ghubrah again. So you're now heading back towards the way you came from the Grand Mall, on your immediate right, there is a little exit towards the Rehab hotel and other new buildings here through a dirt track, follow the signs to the Oman Bicycle Shop. 

They had a grand opening of their new shop on Wednesday afternoon and they stock everything you need for the serious and the not-so-serious bicycle rider. They house brands from Germany and others. They can fix your bike and they are involved in encouraging bicycle riding in Oman. We went along to to have a look and for my active child to try out their bikes and skelters (pedal go-carts) quoted from their flyer. And as a parent I was very excited to find they supply toddler seats so you can ride tandem with dein kinder! However they were sold out but they have new ones arriving in two weeks. They have tricycles for the little ones plus sturdy looking balance bicycles as they learn to ride.

I had a go on what they call a sand bike! I'd never seen this kind of bicycle before. It had really thick wheels so I took one for a spin and it's really the four wheel drive of bicycles! It was easy to pedal and very smooth. My partner was told that they were made in Canada riding in the for snow but it's also good in the sand so they've imported them for the desert and from my few minutes on it I must say it's really smooth on hard surface and I can see how it would not sink as fast as the slim wheels in sand. 

I also learned there that Sahara tours organise bicycle tours and made a bicycle track for cycling tours in Oman.

Where: Al Ghoubrah South

Building 966

Corner of Muscat Expressway 

Exit 6, and Boushar Street

Behind Rehab hotel

Contact: Lucky: Phone: 99664710

Email: lucky@omanbicycle.com

 

Dar Al Atta'a organise: The Big Book Day

Dar Al Atta'a is a charity organisation in Oman that helps the poor.

Life in Oman

We arrived here ten years ago as bright eyed newly weds. I arrived two months after my husband had found us an apartment and started his new job. I was apprehensive and excited at the same time. And when I landed at the airport, I still remember that curious feeling of driving from the airport and seeing lots of golden brown sand, date palms and arabian built houses and lots of men gliding around in their long white garments and  women floating around in black elegance from head to toe. I admit it was overwhelming but also exciting at the same time. Like most expatriates I've met, it's hard to settle in at first, but once you meet like minded people and form friendships it's smooth sailing from there.

This is our tenth year and two kids later we're somewhat still happy in Oman and looking at extending our ten year plan a bit further until we know exactly what we're doing next. We've formed many friendships which end when people leave but this is life as an expat. People come and go or you move on, in our case we say goodbye to lots of friends but we then make new friends. The beauty of a transitional lifestyle. However we've also made a few local friends whom we keep in touch with and have an insight into Omani life now and again.

I've decided to blog about our time here and just write about my experiences around Muscat and in Oman in general and about what's going on in Muscat. Sometimes I find out about things after the fact so I will update about what I know is happening around town.