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Father/Son Trip to Dubai & Oman

Father/Son Trip to Dubai & Oman

Old May 14, 2014, 2:19 pm
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Father/Son Trip to Dubai & Oman

Part 1 - Dubai
This spring break I took my 18yo son to Dubai and Oman as his high school graduation gift.

We took Emirates non-stop service from SFO to DXB. Not a whole lot to say about the economy class flight other than the nearly 16 hours passed quicker than we expected. On-board the catering was pretty good and we enjoyed the I.C.E. in-flight entertainment system.

Our first three nights we stayed at the Raffles Dubai hotel.


Pool and swim up bar at Raffles


Our executive 10th floor room at Raffles Dubai.


Congratulatory cake sent to my son by the hotel to recognize his high school graduation.


Breakfast buffet at Raffles; we ate our breakfasts here rather than in the 10th floor executive lounge. Really a fantastic selection of quality food for all tastes.


Not much of a view from our room. We were invited to move rooms for a nicer view if we wanted but demurred. The Raffles staff was absolutely fantastic from the butler to the lounge staff, front desk to restaurant. Service is really a hallmark at this property.


Walking the streets of Dubai you can run across some very expensive vehicles. But Im guessing the license plate (2 digit) is worth more than the car itself.


The famous Ski Dubai indoor ski facility at the Mall of the Emirates


Jumeirah Beach Resort from the parking lot of the Burj al Arab hotel.


Lobby fountain at the Burj al Arab. We were here for our four course Culinary Flight luncheon - each course served at a different Burj restaurant.




Lunch at Al Mahara seafood restaurant inside the Burj al Arab.


Lobby cocktails at the Burj.


Inside what is currently the worlds largest shopping mall, the Dubai Mall






The McArabia sandwich was pretty good


We had the Dubai Metro car to ourselves for a while!


Highly recommend the Dubai historical Museum. Lots of informative and interesting exhibits.








Trying on some local clothes


Abra ferry across Dubai Creek fare is only one dirham




Please take our picture!


Negotiating the sale of saffron in the spice souk


Anybody want to buy a plastic camel to take home?


Street signs are bilingual making it easy enough to get around


The gold souk


Price of gold in UAE Dirham per gram


Looking for a little souvenir...


Dinner at the chefs table at Hilton Dubai Creeks Table 9 restaurant


After dinner how about some room service fries at Raffles?


Hubbly-bubbly, water pipe, hookah my son wanted to try it. He ordered mint flavored tobacco. I passed on the opportunity.


Gave him a good headache before dinner!


The tallest building in the world as of this writing, the Burj al Khalifa in Dubai


Changing UAE dirham into Omani rials at DXB airport


Continued in Part 2
El Cochinito is offline  
Old May 14, 2014, 2:20 pm
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Part 2 - Oman

We flew Oman Air from Dubai to Muscat, the capital city of the Sultinate of Oman. It's only a short 45 minute hop but a snack and beverage service was still offered.


Mutrah Hotel in Muscat, reportedly the oldest hotel in town


Huge, very clean and comfortable room and quite reasonably priced.


View from our room


Window sill visitor


We visited Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque; it is open to non-Muslim visitors for a few hours on certain mornings of the week.












The main prayer hall contains the worlds second largest single piece of carpet that was made in Iran along with an immense chandelier from Germany.











The Sultans Armed Forces Museum was our next stop.


Visitors to the museum are escorted through the exhibits by a member of the Omani Armed Forces. A bored Omani army corporal took us around on what was probably the fastest museum walk through we've ever experienced!




We took a drive on the road to Sur to see some of the countryside. The landscape made us feel as though we were visiting another planet




After two hours of driving we arrived at...


The Bimmah Sinkhole




Hmm, should I try some camel milk?


Saturday morning and kids are off to school early 6:00am!




We spent one day driving to Nizwa for sightseeing. We spent some time wandering through the Nizwa Souq.


















On the other side of the souq is Nizwa Fort






View of old Nizwa from the fort


20 minutes from Nizwa is Jabreen Castle


National flag of Oman flying over the castle


There was a school field trip touring the castle grounds when we visited


Free multilingual audio guides are available and very informative


If one had to live in the desert some 500 years ago, this is the way to do it






Bahla Fort, the oldest fort in Oman dating back to the 13th/14th centuries; now a United Nations World Heritage Site.


Ruins of the old town next to Bahla Fort


We thought Indiana Jones was just around a corner somewhere here...




Driving through the town of Bahla with my trusty Garmin Nuvi GPS loaded with maps for Oman.


Time for lunch at The Hungry Bunny in Nizwa. We just had to try this place. (It's a fried chicken fast food chain which started in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).


Driving through the village of Yiti near Muscat on our way to the Indian Ocean






Our Europcar rental one of the few firms offering unlimited kilometers for car rentals at the airport


Entering Muscat from the west


Hanging out at Mutrah Souq on a Friday evening






Time for a schwarma snack




Come on Dad, cant I have this shirt?


Exploring Mutrah Souq








Dad, Im still hungry


We ate at a schwarma stand right across the street from our hotel. Four cups of tea and four schwarma was under US$3. One of our favorite meals of the trip!




Time to mail a few postcards then back to Dubai for a day before a long flight home.

Continued in Part 3

Last edited by El Cochinito; May 15, 2014 at 10:17 am
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Old May 14, 2014, 2:20 pm
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Part 3 - Back to Dubai before heading home

We stayed at the Hilton Dubai Creek for our last night of our trip before catching an early morning flight back to San Francisco. For our last afternoon and evening I booked us on the Platinum Heritage Desert Safari. I can highly recommend this firm and tour - yes it is pricey but you get what they advertise and more.


Ready for some dune bashing in the desert outside Dubai.


First we need some protection from the fierce sun


Us with an original 4WD desert vehicle


There is seriously nothing out here










Oryx skull we found


Live oryx we saw


We rode a camel for about 30 minutes across the desert to the camp where dinner was served




Gotta get a tat before going home to show Mom!


In closing my son and I built some more wonderful memories which we will both carry with us for a long time. We're looking forward to wherever the next trip will take us. I personally am looking forward to when he can take ME on a nice trip someday!

More photos and travel galleries here:http://elcochinito.smugmug.com/Travel

Last edited by El Cochinito; May 15, 2014 at 10:13 am
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Old May 14, 2014, 2:28 pm
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Good start, looking forward to the other two parts
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Old May 14, 2014, 5:10 pm
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Originally Posted by El Cochinito
The tallest building in the world as of this writing, the Burj al Khalifa in Dubai
Great shot of the Burj.
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Old May 14, 2014, 6:11 pm
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I don't even have a son, yet I hope to take my son on trips like this one day.

Glad you had a great time.
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Old May 14, 2014, 6:50 pm
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thanks for posting!
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Old May 15, 2014, 7:06 am
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Great photo's, looks like you had an awesome adventure in Dubai & Oman!
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Old May 15, 2014, 7:47 am
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Awesome TR. I love the middle east TRs. They are so awesome to read. Thank you for the great pix as well
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Old May 15, 2014, 8:36 am
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Fantastic TR and awesome pictures! Thank you for sharing.^
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Old May 15, 2014, 8:48 am
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Fantastic TR, thank you so much for sharing it with us, and am sure you son thoroughly enjoyed the experience, it certainly looked awesome. Yes am sure one day he will repay the experience and take you somewhere nice
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Old May 15, 2014, 8:50 am
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Fantastic TR and awesome pictures! Thank you for sharing.^
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Old May 15, 2014, 9:44 am
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Great trip report! I loved the memories you made with your son! Truly awesome!
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Old May 15, 2014, 10:02 am
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Beautiful photos.
Oman is a gem of the Gulf. Omanis are great people too.
Still share at times some sms with my Muscat taxi driver.
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Old May 15, 2014, 10:35 am
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Originally Posted by Forrest Bump
Beautiful photos.
Oman is a gem of the Gulf. Omanis are great people too.
One of many memories from our trip is when we wanted to take a taxi from Mutrah Souq back to the hotel. At the taxi rank the drivers were sitting around drinking tea, snacking on some kind of sweets and chatting as we walked up. We greeted them in Arabic and asked for a taxi. The next driver in turn stood up to take us over to his cab. Before we could leave, the drivers welcomed us to Oman and invited us to try their sweets (sort of a honey covered fritter) which was delicious.

One of the many things I like about Oman is the opportunity to interact with Omanis who are indeed some of the most friendly and gracious folks anywhere. In the UAE about the only Emiratis you'll meet are the immigration officers.
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