Ed Sheeran

It's fair to say that Muscat is not known as the entertainment capital, so this concert has been the biggest event in Muscat's diary for the past 5-6 months.

We were expecting this to be a good concert, however, one thing that we were not expecting was for  a city which only experiences about 3 days of rain a year, for the heavens to open and us to get absolutely soaked as we were waiting to get into the venue.

However, even this couldn't dampen our spirits and in a way it made the evening.

Sandstock 2015

Whilst enduring another busy week at work, I received an email from a friend inviting us to "Sandstock 2015" - a weekend of camping and live bands playing in the middle of the desert.

We drove down to Wahiba Sands and after letting the air out of the tyres, we followed the trail of 4x4s out to a GPS coordinate included in the email. We arrived late afternoon and were surprised to find a few hundred cars already there. Despite how busy it was and with no telephone reception, our friends Gil and Amy somehow managed to find us later that evening. They had much better luck finding us, then we did finding our way back to the car after the concert. I say the car, as shortly after putting the tent up, the poles snapped and we were left to sleep in the back of the pickup.

Al Hamra

A few years ago when we came to Oman to visit Jenny's Uncle, we were taken on a day trip into the mountains on one of the most exhilarating drives. Since then, we've been trying to work out where the drive was so we can attempt it again. After trying to describe the step drops and tight corners, we were able to determine that we'd driven the back road from Al Hamra to Wadi Bani Awf.

The road starts out well, with a brand new tarmac road up to the view point at around 3,000m above sea level. We stopped briefly at the viewpoint to take in the scenery and convince Mum that there was nothing to worry about. About 300m after setting off again, the road disappeared completely and turns into a dirt track.

Whilst I had every confidence in the Raptor's capability, the wagon is a beast and some of the turns were pretty tight for such a large vehicle. Whilst it's a bit shaky, the video below gives some idea. All the hairy bits had to be edited out due to Mum's swearing!

The View

After all of the excitement of Nizwa, it was time to head up into the mountains for a bit of relaxation. Our PR & Media company, m media, had recently completed some work for a newly refurbished hotel nestled in the mountains of Jebel Shams.

After a 45 minute drive from Nizwa, we went off road on an 8km winding track from Al Hamra to Hail Al Shas. At 1400m above sea level sits The View Oman, which describes itself as Oman's first of its kind "eco-luxe" retreat with 30 pod style accommodation.

Whilst we were enjoying breakfast, we were treated to a different kind of view. One lady in one of the rooms above the restaurant seemed to be so taken by the beautiful vistas that she forgot to close the curtains as she was getting dressed. Either that or she was re-enacting the scene from the Life of Brian.

The views from the hotel's infinity pool was stunning, but the manager's claim that the pool was heated was debatable. Getting in, gave a whole new meaning to "breathtaking". 

The village of Al Hamra by night

Beautiful sunrise

Return of the parents: Nizwa

Another weekend with the parents and another opportunity to get out and explore. This time we ventured to Nizwa, the former capital of Oman. 

You can't say that you've seen Nizwa unless you've been on a Friday morning and seen the goat market. We left Muscat at the crack of dawn, to drive the 2 hours to Nizwa to make sure that we were there in time to get the full experience.

Just inside the walled area of the souq, was a large ring where local Omanis dressed in their dishdashas, paraded their goats in front of prospective buyers.

In my opinion the biggest winner of the day was the guy selling the rope to take your purchase home. 

After a wander around all the various other parts of the souq, we headed into another fort. Much more popular than the previous week's, but not quite as impressive.

Return of the parents: Nakhal Hot Springs

In January, my parents came out for their second visit. As we'd visited most of the key attractions around Muscat the last time they were here, we decided to explore a bit further afield.

We decided to visit the fort and hot springs of Nakhal, which are about an hour's drive from Muscat. The fort itself was pretty easy to find, but the hot springs were slightly more elusive. Although commonly called Nakhal hot springs, they are also known as Al Thawarah springs, which we only found out later. Al Thawrah derives from the Arabic word to "boil", but fortunately the waters weren't boiling.

Whilst the water in the stream itself was pleasantly warm, there was a concrete bath with a small waterfall. Mum was brave enough to tackle the slippery rocks, whilst Dad stuck to the edge.

After enjoying the lush scenery and the free pedicure from the small fish in the stream, nibbling at our feet, we headed back down the road to the fort. 

Oman has many forts, but Nakhal fort has to be one of the most impressive. It's not clear when the fort was built, but it is believed to be more than 1,500 years ago.