author - oman observer

“Zzzzzzz”, was all I could hear from Mrs J’s tent. She was blissfully unaware of the significance of this day.Today was THE day. The first day of the abalone fishing season. Omani men from all...

“I think we got company”, I called out to Mrs J, who quickly threw a loose dress over her swimsuit to cover up.We had set up our little camp on an empty beach, close enough to hear the surf, but...

Instagram: @rachael_maciver -“How quaint”, Mrs. J gushed as we slowly cruised down the high street of the coastal town of Sadah. Most of the small restaurants, and even smaller coffee shops, had...

“Ohh, let’s stop here and stock up”, Mrs J was as excited as a child on Christmas morning - and just as loud.After a very zen drive on the road from Mirbat, her excitement was heart-attack...

“Watch out for the donkey!”, Mrs J shouted and slammed on her imaginary brake on the passenger side of the Pajero.We were pulling into the roundabout on the outskirts of Mirbat and a local donkey,...

“I really, really need a cup of tea”, Mrs J was getting afternoon cranky and we had not even reached Mirbat yet.So, we pulled off the main road for a tea break. As so often before, we just chose a...

“Please let this be the last time I drag this tent through a posh hotel lobby!” Mrs J sighed with poorly contained annoyance. We had changed our plans of camping a night or two out of our small...

“This seems like a great place to camp”, Mrs J agreed, looking out of the car window “it’s high up, it’s lovely cool and green. Perfect for camping”. Or so we thought.We were on our way...

“They call them the gentle giants, you know”, I told Mrs J as we cruised along the road from Wadi Darbat towards Dhofar’s famed baobab forest.“Gentle? Mrs J looked puzzled.“Aren’t all...

“I honestly never realised one could fit so much into a Yaris”, Mrs J sounded genuinely surprised.She took a step back to admire our packing. The little rental car groaned under the weight of all...

“Don’t stop me now...”Mrs J was singing a well-known Queen hit in a low voice. I sent her one of my ‘stop-that-right-now-or-else..’ looks every mother or wife knows so well. Mrs J ignored me...

“You can’t fight the desert... you have to ride with it” Mrs J exclaimed, obviously in her philosophical mood.”Impressive”, I nodded.“Well, it was actually Louis L’Mour who said it...

“Aaaahhhh, croissants, fresh coffee and real napkins. I could get used to this” Mrs J sighed with pleasure. “Well, don’t!” I replied, while frantically tapping on my phone, trying to find a...

“Is the car really supposed to sound like that?” Mrs J tilted her head and listened intensely to the rat-tat-tat sound escaping from Ol Martha, my trusty old Pajero.It wasn’t supposed to, of...

More valuable than gold, frankincense trees had helped to create a booming trade“So this is where it all comes from”,We stood on the viewing platform and looked out over row after row of...

“Well, that didn’t quite go as planned”, Mrs J remarked as Ol’ Martha, our Pajero stuck in 3rd gear, came to an abrupt halt.Mrs J, who believed in pristine white linen shirts, was after...

“Checkmate!” Mrs J shouted out, completely out of the blue and completely unrelated to anything.“What??” I looked at her next to me in the passenger’s seat.We had left the Ubar museum behind...

“Welcome to Ubar, the Lost City of Bedouin Legend’”, Mrs J read out to me.We had taken a slight detour from our planned route to Salalah, and Ol’ Martha, the Pajero still stuck in 3rd gear,...

“Gooood morning”, Mrs J chirped outside my tent.Chirped, twitter, chipper... all related to little birds deliriously happy to greet a new day. Well, not this old bird.I tried to open my eyes,...

“Sorry, the card machine is not working”I looked at the petrol station attendant in horror. We had driven, without even a tea break, from Nizwa to Haima and Ol’ Martha, the Pajero stuck in 3rd...