Oman and LW - Cutest Birthday Ever

I just celebrated my birthday and had a FANTASTIC time.  Hubby D and I took a nice long weekend in Muscat, Oman.  When we arrived back home, I had this video waiting for me in my email.

It is the cutest video ever.  I am sure little LW is saying, “Oma, come see me RIGHT NOW.”

He needs kisses from his Oma and Opa. If you are reading this in an email, you will need to go to my blog page to watch the video.  http://brendahyde.blogspot.com

Muscat, Oman was wonderful and my birthday weekend this year ranks up there as one of the best ever.

When we arrived (at midnight) they served us cold champagne and cool clothes to refresh us. 

In the room, the hotel had a beautiful floral welcome. The entire room was filled with all kinds of flowers.  The bathroom even had pink orchids.

Champagne and fruit.

Flowers on the bed. There were lots of orchids and rose petals.

It was perfect for me because I love flowers. Before we left Bahrain, some of my expat friends took me to lunch and also gave me flowers.  I see a theme this year.

The hotel, Al Husn at the Shangra-la Resort was wonderful and I highly recommend it to anyone going on holiday in Oman.  We had a gorgeous balcony overlooking the sea, a fantastic bathroom, a well stocked mini-bar and a large living area.

On my actual birthday we went diving at a site named “Shark." There were no sharks. In fact, Oman has very few sharks. But the site was named “Shark.”

Diving at the "Shark" dive site.

On the boat getting ready to dive.

At first, I didn't feel very confident in the water. It had been 16 months since our last dive. However D assured me I would be fine.  The second dive was much more fun.

The reef was filled with fish. They all looked familiar to us but slightly different than the fish in the Caribbean. There were large schools and lots and lots of parrot fish in bright colors. The fish were very wonderful.  The visibility was not as good as the Caribbean, but the fish made up for it.  On our second dive D spotted a large Green Turtle snuggled down for a meal inside the coral. It was a great dive experience.

When we finished cleaning up all our gear, I walked out to the dive operator's pool area and D surprised me with a birthday serenade. If you are reading this in an email, you will need to go to my blog page to watch the video.  http://brendahyde.blogspot.com

That evening we attended the hotel cocktail hour on the terrace to watch the sun set. You really could not see the sun as there was a mountain in the way, but it was fun to sit outside and enjoy the pleasant evening.

The light was getting dim so this is not a good photo.  We had just finished a birthday Skype with little LW and BHB so we were happy.

We had dinner in a fabulous restaurant.  The food was over the top and we had flaming orange crepes for dessert.  Sorry, I forgot my camera so I have no video.  It was magnificent and sorry I can’t share.

The next day we had a great brunch.  I am going to have to do some research on the fruits they served.  Along with passion fruit there were two I did not know.

Slightly sweet and really weird to look at.

We spent the remainder of the day at the hotel’s private, adult only beach. The scenery was unbelievable.

The attendants on the beach met us with a cooler filled with all kinds of treats including an Evian chilled water spray.

View from my beach lounge chair.

We took a kayak out and paddled through the opening in the rocks.  As we were returning, we saw a Green Turtle surfacing. We were only a few feet away from him.

Kayaking through the rock opening. Look closely.

It was a bit warm (37C) and D did not enjoy the beach, but he stayed for me.

The water was very cool but the sand was extremely hot. It was hard to walk anywhere on the sand that was exposed to the sun. D had words for the heat but he refused to repeat them on camera. If you are reading this in an email, you will need to go to my blog page to watch the video.  http://brendahyde.blogspot.com

Sadly, the time came for us to leave. As our driver took us back to Muscat to catch our plane, we traveled through a roundabout that I had missed in the dark when we arrived.  It was filled with coffee pots.  They really love their coffee in the Middle East.

Coffee roundabout.

All the way to the airport I tried to capture a picture of the Sultan that was everywhere all over the buildings.  But each time I clicked my phone, I missed it. After all our birthday fun, my reflexes were not fast enough.

Thanks to the Sultan for a great weekend.  We enjoyed Oman and will certainly go back again.  Perhaps a trip to the hotel spa would be fun…

Cheers,
Brenda