Nowhere in Nizwa...

Even now, in a sort of town, guys walk around in the full dishdisha and kave hats, the local dress, with khjanars or daggers attached to their belts on one side and mobile phones attached to the other...all are very friendly and interested to know why foreigners would come so far when they've only had paved roads the last number of years and it usually took 6 weeks to get to the capital, Muscat, before by camel train..

Can't believe we're gone 3 months already...Heidi got word yesterday that her visa can be processed for Yemen which was delaying us somewhat until we contacted the Canadian Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia...all is well...now we just have to get to the border and then get through bandit country without our travel permits and enjoy the local customs and traditions that have disappeared in the West such as greeting each other for a 5 minute ritual asking after your mother and brothers and it's such a formalized exchange but every person respects it or just sitting on the ground on a mat in a parking lot and serving up some chai/tea at 10 pm with a bunch of friends chewing the fat...there is ample time for everything here as people have too much time on their hands...the weather is hot and dry and this is the coolest month of the year...the local hotels all sport swimming pool memberships and the usual motley crew of Western oil and gasmen along with an assortment of teachers enjoy most afternoons sipping Indian beer and sampling the buffet, a life removed from their Indian and Arab counterparts....we head back for Muscat tonight as it is cooler to travel then and after securing our visas, Heidi will visit a couple of prestigious International schools before taking off for the border...she just loves interviews and the prospect of working again whereas I could quite happily retire from working life...