Bikes, Bartering, and Answers To Your Questions!

Hello again!  This week was "Operation: Get A Bike."  We had been planning for weeks now to try and get some bikes, but didn't have a chance until now.  Bicycles are one of the main modes of transportation here, so if you don't plan on getting a car, I would highly recommend a bicycle.  We made friends with a fantastic taxi driver named Ali, and he agreed to take us downtown to the bike shops.  You see, we went to the mall and found some nice bikes, but they were very expensive.  Ali said we needed to head to the "Souq",  which is the main open-air marketplace of the city, which is where the locals get their bikes.

So we ventured into the city and it was truly a blast.  So many cool shops selling every sort of food, trinkets, electronics, clothing, and all kinds of other random items.  We arrived at the two main bike shops in town, which were conveniently located right next to each other.  We surveyed all the different types to see what our options were.  I had originally planned to purchase a Pakistani style bicycle, which is what all the locals ride.  They are cheap and they look super cool.

However, after trying one out, it was a little unstable for me, and I wanted something a little more familiar.   So I tried a number of different commuter style bikes and mountain bikes.  Most of the options here in Oman are either a fixed one speed commuter, or a mountain bike with gears.  The one speed bikes were advertised at 35-40 Rial ($90-$100), and the mountain bikes with gears are 50-60 Rial ($130-$150).  Still, thats pretty dang cheap for a bicycle.   So we all picked out our favorite styles and colors and moved on to the bartering phase!  The two girls picked bikes from one shop, and I found mine next door.  Ali told us that we could definitely get a better price than advertised, and that bartering was acceptable in Oman.  So I put on my negotiator hat and went to work!!  I went up to the store owner and offered 60 Rial for the two girls' bikes.  I told him we would buy both bikes if we could get a deal.  He countered with 75 Rial, and I said no way.  The key to bartering is being willing to walk away.  If they think you're gonna walk out the door, they will settle for less rather than lose a sale - most of the time ;)  So I told him sorry that was too much and I counter with 65.  He then said 72 Rials.  We were getting in the ballpark of a reasonable deal at this point.  I told him 70 Rial was my final offer, if he would include 3 spare inner-tubes in case we got a flat tire.  He said the inner-tubes were 1 Rial a piece so it would be 73 Rials total for the two bikes and tubes.

This is when I had to flex my negotiator muscles and start "the walk."  I thanked him kindly for the offer and said it was too much money and I proceeded to walk out the door.  That's when he stopped me, and said "Alright, 70 Rials."  I told you "the walk" would work! Just don't quote me the next time you walk away empty handed.  So they tuned up the bikes for the ladies, while I went next door and did the same negotiating for my bike.  List price was 32 Rial, and I got them down to 29.  All in all I would say we did pretty good for ourselves!  The bikes say "made in China" on them, and are very sturdy and reliable working vehicles.  We were all pretty stoked.  We took a picture with Ali and said goodbye.  He was such a help to us.  He drove us all around town and translated for us when needed.  If you are ever in a foreign country and need to buy something serious, BE SURE TO BRING A LOCAL.  Even if it's just a taxi driver who speaks a little English.  Foreigners are easy targets for being taken advantage of,  but the whole dynamic changes when you have a local translating all the jargon for you.

We packed up our new bikes and set off to ride back home.  We took some side streets to avoid the bulk of the traffic, and had a blast riding through the rest of the marketplace.  I can't even begin to tell you how liberating it felt after having lived in a couped up apartment for a month without any means of transportation besides taxis.  We were all so excited to be free to travel around.  Now we ride our bikes to the hotel, local markets,  food stands, the beach, and everywhere else in-between.

 Answers to your questions about Oman:
It has been exciting to receive so many questions from readers all over the world, so let me address a few of them!  The questions I received were mainly for details about Oman, so let me give a general description.  The people in Oman are very quaint.  They are very traditional, and more of a "speak when spoken to" kind of people.  Aarabic is the main language, but most speak a little English.  The original native Salalah people from the mountains also speak Jibbali, and are very proud of their native history, which dates back thousands of years.  Woman are treated very equally here.  They can drive, work, vote, hold positions in government, and attend all the same universities as men.  Oman is one of the few countries in the Middle East where all citizens can vote.  People here are very religious.  Ibadhism, which is a form of Islam, is the main religion for Omanis.  Though 1/4th of Omanis practice Sunni or Shia Islam.  About 5% of the rest of the religious population is made up of Hindu and Christian faiths.  While Islam may be the state religion of Oman, they do not prohibit the practice of other religions.  The government also prohibits discrimination based on religious affiliation.  Everyone is free to practice their beliefs, as long as it does not disrupt public worship of Islam.  The muslims here are some of the most kind and gentle hearted people I have ever met.  They are God-faring people who genuinely try to do good with their lives and serve others.  It's clear to see that radical Islam, and Islam are not the same, and these wonderful Omani people oppose the violent choices that others are making in various parts of the Middle East.

Friday is the Holy Day in Oman, and everyone has a special prayer they do around noon, and the shops don't open till after the prayer time is over.  They broadcast the "call to prayer" all over the city on loud speakers.  This let's everyone know that it's almost time to pray and to prepare yourselves.  I really respect these peoples devotion to their faith.  It shapes the kind of people they are, and is a huge reason for the low crime rates and the non-existence of terrorism in this country.   Regarding the shops, there are tons of little markets all over the city that sell everything from electronics, to clothes, to food and toys.  These shops open very early, and are open long into the night.  Many people live above their shops, so they just hang out in the store all day incase customers show up.  Fresh fruit is EVERYWHERE.  There are stands on every corner with fresh fruit.  And it's super cheap and very delicious.  There are alot of fruits which grow right here in Salalah including Bananas, Mangos, Papayas, Pineapples, Coconuts, Grapes,  Watermelon, Dragonfruit, and Cantaloupe(which they call papaya).  Their bananas are super tiny, and very very sweet.  They make the bananas in America seem tasteless.  It must be a tropical weather thing.  When I lived in Hawaii the bananas also tasted very good, and were small in size.

Let me tell you about local dress.  Every country in the Middle East has it's own distinct traditional outfit for the men.  In Oman, this consists of a one piece gown that is usually white (called a dishdash) , and a elegantly designed cap (called a kuma).  They sometimes wear a beautifully woven turban in place of the hat.

For woman, there are two styles I have seen.  One is the traditional Muslim  outfit which consists of loose black robes and a scarf around the head, or a veil over the face.  The other is the traditional Omani dress which consists of a very colorful dress, with a beautiful lace scarf over the head, and adorned with beautiful jewelry.  Many woman also have temporary henna tattoos on their hands and feet.  I have noticed one thing, woman here are VERY good at makeup.  Because many Muslim women have their whole bodies covered except for their eyes, they have become masters of accentuating what little they have to show off.  Seriously, every single Omani woman in this country has gorgeous eyes.

Next let me tell you about local food.  Most restaurants serve some variation of rice, meat, and/or vegetables.  Rice is the staple for most Middle Eastern countries, but they all prepare it very differently.  A typical Omani restaurant will serve rice that has all kinds of seasonings and spices in it.  They will serve hand rolled flatbread with hummus or Bobba Ganoush, and tomatoes and cucumbers.  Most people eat chicken or lamb here.  They usually grill it over heated stones.  It's very delicious.   You will also find restaurants from all the other Middle Eastern countries; Lebanese, Iranian, Turkish, Syrian, etc etc.  There's also some nice Chinese and Indian restaurants too.  If you want American food, you have three choices: Subway, Mcdonalds, and Carl's Jr.  Sooooo many options, I know ;)  European food is very limited as well.  The only Italian restaurant we've found so far is Sabarro Pizza in the mall.  At least I can get a slice of pizza when needed.  I have realized that in order to make the best of my time here, I have to stop trying to live my "American lifestyle" in Oman.  It only makes it harder to adapt, so I just need to eat what they eat, shop how they shop, and experience life the way they do.  It's not hard either because they really do enjoy all the best that life has to offer.  Whelp, until next week, I think that's enough for now.  Thanks again for reading and Ma'a Salama until next time! -Jared

Camels, Kayaks, Cliffs and More Adventures In KHAREEF

Let me begin this week's blog by telling you that I am excited.  And anyone who knows me can attest that when I get excited, I'M EXCITED.  Okay, now that I've set the stage:  I got to see CAMELS in the wild!! And not just a few of them...hundreds!!  IT WAS AWESOME!!! I apologize ahead of time, I'll be using alot of exclamation points in this post!!!

Okay, let me tell you about this week:

The monsoon season known as Khareef is coming to a close here in Salalah, Oman, which means the rainfall will slowly come to a halt, all the lush oases will dry up, and much of the lush greenery will turn brown. We decided to take the day off on Friday and head out with some friends to explore all the beauty that Salalah has to offer. 

We began our trip by heading up into the mountains to explore the lush jungle-like terrain during this season. We drove 45 minutes up steep hills through the most beautiful green scenery.  It literally felt like we were in Hawaii.  I was still in awe that this much forest exists in a country that is 99% sand.  

Our friend planned this particular surprise for us, and we were blown away when we arrived at this beautiful river and he said we would be kayaking!  I thought to myself, "Kayaking in the desert?!?! This is amazing!"  Sure enough, we were outfitted by the locals with kayaks and paddleboats, and sent off to explore the river of this vast jungle-like area of the mountains.  The weather was incredible too, it was warm and lightly foggy, with a little mist in the air to keep us cool.  It literally felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie exploring some ancient terrain that was kept secret to preserve its beauty.  

The water was so crystal clear because the river was created by rainfall.  You could see beautiful plants on the bottom, and I was surprised to see fish as well!  The sound of waterfalls in the distance created an ambiance that was truly peaceful.  We all spoke softly; the place just seemed too reverent and peaceful, or maybe we just didn't want to awaken some magical creature that slept in the hills.  The best part was yet to come though!  After we finished kayaking, they had a small food stand where they served traditional local delicacies. 

We ate fresh mango and pomegranate seeds, stone-grilled lamb and chicken, tea and juice, and best of all POPCORN!  Yup, you heard me, popcorn.  I LOVE popcorn.  

I failed to mention this in the last blog post, but I crave popcorn and they don't have much here in Salalah.  I have seen one random brand of microwavable popcorn in the grocery store, but we don't have a microwave.  So in general I have been craving popcorn and have been unable to find it. Except now I can say that I have, at a charming food stand, in the mystical rainforest jungle of mysteriousness and magic!  Best. Day Ever.  Did I mention it was perfectly salted? Moving on...

Next we drove through more beautiful mountainous scenery and arrived at a waterfall oasis.  In Arabic they call it the Ayn Athum watefalls.  It's a gorgeous cliff that has multiple waterfalls cascading off of it into a lush pool of beautiful green water at the bottom.  This picture doesn't even do it justice.  I brought my swim trunks and was about to jump in, but decided that for this one time only, I wasn't gonna be that silly loud American totally ruining everyone else's peaceful ambiance.  Don't worry 'Murica, I take plenty of opportunities to do this elsewhere.  

Our full day of adventures ended with the icing on the cake.  We drove back back down to the coast, and headed west of Salalah to Al Mughsayl beach, which is an unbelievably beautiful section of coastline.  We parked the car, and the minute I turned around to look at the hillside, what do I see?  CAMELS!  Not just one, not two or three, but hundreds of camels.  Roaming the hillsides and munching on the green grass!  

I was so enthralled!  I sprinted over to where they were and they just kept on doing their thing as if I didn't even exist.  The locals said it was okay to pet them so I went right up to a camel and rubbed its belly.  They are such incredible creatures.  You don't really realize how freakin massive a camel is until you're right up next to it.   The top of camel's hump is probably  about 10 feet high, and it's neck extends to twice my height.  They are very calm and gentle creatures though.  They just cruise around eating grass and growling at one another.  

Please do me a favor, and open up YouTube right now and search "camel sounds". I promise you will laugh so hard at the noises they make.  The videos on YouTube are just like the real thing.  I couldn't stop laughing every time they growled, but they wouldn't even budge when I pet them.  It was almost as if they were saying, "Hey wise guy, while your petting me, you might as well scratch a little to the left, okay now itch a little to the right."  I told one of the locals that I'm from America and he said, I quote: "America, you have lots cow, Oman...camel." (written with distinct Omani broken English)  

After my great journey into the world of camels, I figured I had reached the pinnacle of joy, however there was still much to see.  Al Mughsayl is very famous for a few reasons.  

First, it is the location of some incredible caves and cliffs that hang down like giant icicles, and when you walk under them it feels as though they will drop on your head at any minute.  

Second, there is a massive blow hole along the waters edge, formed from underwater caves emptying and filling as waves crash onto the rocks, causing water to shoot up through holes in the ground.  Everyone stands around the blowhole to enjoy the refreshing mist of water that shoots 20-30 feet in the air.  

This region is also famously known as "The Land Bountiful," where it's believed an ancient prophet  built a ship thousands of years ago and sailed to the Americas.  The locals are in fact very proud of this traditional legend, and believe that it was Middle Easterners and Omanis who originally populated the Americas.  The locals also pointed out that there are ancient petroglyphs in Colorado that match petroglyphs found only here in Salalah, Oman.  If you ever want a good read, google this and check it out.  It's rather interesting because there are no other know locations of these specific petroglyph writings except for Colorado and Salalah.  Anyways, the views were breathtaking with all the green mountain sides and cliffs jutting out of the ocean.  It reminded me of the opening scene from Jurassic Park, where the helicopter flies in over the lush green mountainsides that seem to topple into the ocean below.  It was the perfect end to a perfect week.  Oman is such a beautifully diverse country with amazing people, and even more amazing landscapes.  I feel so blessed to be here enjoying it all.  Whelp, thats all for now.  Thanks for reading! I have received ton's of great questions from you readers, and I'll wrote a post later in the week to answer as many as I can.  Talk to you soon - Jared

P.S. -  CAUTION, CAMEL CROSSING!!!!

O-man do I love Salalah!

Hello again, everyone!  This week I am excited to tell you about life in our part of the Middle East, Salalah, Oman.  Salalah is a very culturally rich place, with beautiful scenery. We feel so blessed to be here playing music.  Of all the many places that we've had music gigs in, I would have to say this is my favorite so far.  Mostly because it varies so greatly from what I'm used to.  Let me tell you a little about the facts of the city.

History of Oman:
Oman is one of the oldest human-inhabited places on Earth!  One of the cities here is over 9,000 years old.  It's been really cool to explore a place with so much history, especially coming from a country that is so young (America).  The city where we live, Salalah,  is the second largest city in Oman.  It is historically very famous because thousand of years ago, this city was the heart of the Frankincense trade route for the entire world!!!  People would come from across the globe to purchase incense & oil here, and then take it back to sell or trade to all different continents.  Even now, you can smell the shops on every street corner, selling all sorts of wonderful herbs, spices, oils, and incense.  These are some of my favorite shops to visit.  Omanis were also the master shipbuilders of the Old World.  They had a worldwide reputation for crafting the finest sea-worthy vessels.  They made rope out of coconut fibers to lash the ship's parts together.

They also breed the finest Arab horses in the Middle East, and have done so for thousands of years.  I didn't know this, but apparently Arabian Horse bloodlines can been found in virtually every breed of riding horse worldwide.  A purebred Omani Arabian Horse can cost you over a million dollars.  My wife's sister is an equestrian so maybe I'll see if I can get her a discount ;)

Khareef Season:
Salalah is also very popular because of it's "Khareef" monsoon season.  Oman, along with the rest of the Middle East, is mostly desert.  However, for about 3 months every year in Salalah,  a thick fog of rain and mist overtakes the region and produces lush green landscapes, waterfalls, oases, and tropical vegetation everywhere.

People from all over the world, and especially the Middle East, come to Salalah during this season to experience this rare seasonal climate.  To someone from the Middle East, it's like being from Arizona and getting to go sledding in the snow for the first time.  There's quite a bit of excitement.  Funny enough though, locals here ask me why the heck I would come to Salalah during it's rainy season, they say to me, "Americans hate this weather, they want to see the sun" haha.  I lived in Portland, Oregon so I can appreciate how the rain makes the landscape lush!

They also have an amazing Khareef Festival to celebrate the season.  They have a fair grounds with carnival rides, food, shopping, and lots of fun entertainment.  Don't worry, I found an old fashioned game of "knock the bottles over with a baseball" and proceeded to embarrass myself in front of many strangers.  My high school baseball teammates would not have been impressed ;). Moving on...




Is Oman Safe?
Everybody asks me about this next topic, so I thought I'd shed a little light on the subject. Let's talk a little bit about crime and terrorism in Oman (or the lack thereof).  After informing people that we were heading to Oman, everyone pretty much said the same thing to me: "Good luck and be safe."  So let me put to rest some of the worries you might have if you're thinking of coming to this beautiful country.  The Middle East is the size of the United states (huge), and although there is confilict in parts of this region, they are extremely far away from Oman.  The Global Terrorism Index reports that Oman and Qatar are the only two countries in the Middle East that are completely devoid of terrorism, and it has no effect on it's livelihood whatsoever.  Also, violent crime is almost non-existent here.  In the last 5 years there have been less then 20 murders for the entire country; back in Los Angeles County, there have been 680 murders last year alone.  Needless to say, we are actually in one of the safest countries in the world.  The reason the world knows so little about Oman is because it's an incredibly prosperous and stable country, thus rendering it boring to the news hungry media who look for stories of turmoil and drama. Bottom line is, terrorism does not exist here, violent crime does not exist here, let's throw a party and dance the night away!  Nuff said :)

Random facts about Oman:

Oman has the THIRD strongest currency in the WORLD!!! Crazy I know.  It's actually been really funny to try and pay for things with my American dollars, and people just simply laugh at me and shake their heads no.  The dollar is very weak compared to the Omani "Rial,"  so if you come here, make sure to exchange all your foreign currency at the airport before heading into the city.  Don't get stuck like I was, with a bunch of useless 20 dollar bills.  The economy here is incredibly stable.  There is little to no unemployment, and I have yet to see a homeless person or beggar anywhere.  Oman is the oldest independent state in the Arab world, and a long time friend to the Unites States.   They have long since opposed and separated themselves from all the age-old conflicts that have plagued the Middle East for decades.  Oman is a huge oil exporter.  This adds to the countries great wealth, along with tourism being it's second greatest industry.  Much like Dubai, the countries coast is lined with luxurious 4 and 5 star hotels.  Mountain Dew is the countries top selling beverage!?!  Pepsi products dominate the market, while Coca Cola products are barely even on the map.  Who would have thought!  One more reason my brother-in-law needs to come visit ;)   Oman is the largest car exporter in the region.   Additionally, its most lucrative exports are gas and minerals.  The weekend in Oman is Friday and Saturday, with Friday being the Holy Day.  Our Mormon church also holds it's services on Friday.  People are extremely friendly and nice here, and it's such a pleasant place to make new friends.  I'd say that's enough details for now.

Day-to-day life:
Our apartment building is 10 minutes east of downtown, and is only a few blocks from the beach. We have lots of little shops and stores nearby, where we can buy produce, food, toiletries, and other conveniences.  We also have a shuttle that takes us downtown on Fridays and Saturdays, and that's when we usually get our major shopping done.  They have two main "malls" here.  One is called LuLu and the other is the newly built Salalah Garden Mall.  Both of these are giant malls that have a grocery store, department store, home furnishing store, theaters, and a slew of other shops and  outlets.   I LOVE going to the mall and seeing all the different style shops here.  AND... it's fun to walk around the mall and get stared at by children who smile and wave to you because you're most likely the first white American they have ever seen before :).  The grocery stores are actually pretty similar to back home.  I can find most everything I would eat back home, just with a more limited selection of brands.  This is actually way more helpful than in grocery stores in America!!!!!! Why in the world do I have to choose between 20 different kinds of peanut butter, 30 different kinds of pasta sauce, and 50 different styles of deodorant?!?!  Sheesh.   Now, there are a few things I am definitely missing from back home.
Let's begin:
First, I FREAKIN MISS WHOLE FOODS .  There's no other way to put it.  If you've ever been to Whole Foods, you understand.  But then again, I can't actually afford to grocery shop at Whole Foods, but I LOVE going there for snacks, lunches, the hot prepared food section, and other delicious particulars that keep me coming back.
Second, I can't find sugar free peanut butter to save my life.  I'm not trying to sound like a food hipster, I just have allergies to sugar, and I also like the natural taste.  You might be asking yourself, "Does peanut butter have that much sugar?"  The answer is YES, and loads of it.  I guarantee you, that the peanut butter in your pantry right now, has loads of added sugar in it.  I dare you to look RIGHT NOW.  Set down your device, walk into your kitchen, and read the label of your organic healthy peanut butter.  Told you ;)
Third, Strawberries.  You can find em, but they're the saddest looking, half white, half moldy, unappetizing strawberries ever.  And they cost their weight in gold too!  So expensive.
Fourth,  I feel strange admitting this one, but I miss celery.  Celery?!?!  Who in the world misses celery?  Well I love the crunch when I dip it in hummus, or peanut butter. (What's up with this guy and his peanut butter?!?!)
Fifth,  I can't find any pepperoni.    I would buy bags of slices pepperoni and eat it with cheese, crackers, grapes, and vegetables.  Its a great source of protein, and so delicious when you need a little savory snack.  Well, tough luck.  You aint gonna find it in Salalah, I've tried.  And believe me, that pink looking sliced pork they sell IS NOT a worthy substitute.

Sixth, I freakin miss Lara Bars.  You may have never heard of these, but they are the most delicious little granola type bars on the planet.  They have all natural ingredients, and have no added sugar.  I feel like a poster boy here, but I didn't realize how often I ate these, until I couldn't get em anymore.



LASTLY,  I crave Mexican food every second of every day.  I really hope this eventually passes because the nearest Mexican restaurant is probably the Taco Bell in Dubai, which won't fix my craving.

I thought that maybe buying some chips and salsa would help my craving, but this didn't help either.  They literally only had one kind of corn chips, which were outrageously expensive (Almost $7 for a bag), and they tasted like the fake chips that come with nacho cheese at the movie theaters. (Okay, maybe I love those nacho cheese chips at the movie theater, don't judge me).

All in all though, I really can't complain because the food here is incredible.  The smells that waft from the local restaurants here are intoxicating.  Everything smells so good, and begs for me to taste and sample each and every last bite.  I will go more into depth about the food here in another post.  Our best friend from work did however invite us over to have a traditional Middle Eastern meal.
So. Freakin. Good. My. Mind. Was. Blown.


I think that pretty much sums up the basics.  You can now consider yourselves more knowledgable about the country than I was when I arrived.  Every day that I'm here, I fall more and more in love with the country, it's people, and it's traditions.  It's a very inviting place that I look forward to exploring more in depth.  If you have any questions about things I might have missed, leave a comment below and I'll do my best to answer.  Until next week, thanks for reading and byebye for now!!!