The Quaint Port of Sur

Sur, Ash-Sharqiyah South Governorate, Oman

More photos for my ‘travel blog’. Better this than nothing, right?

We stumbled upon this interesting port town on our way to the east of Oman. Here’re some pictures. Sur happens to be the capital of this region (Ash-Sharqiyah). In the past, Sur was known for its maritime trade and boat building industry (it still builds boats). According to an Omani gentleman we met at the UAE-Oman Border Crossing at Hatta (Wajaja), Sur used to be one of the main ports that Omanis used to set sail to escape the extreme poverty and isolation of Oman in the years before 1970. In 1970, just before the current king took over, Oman had ONE primary school (yeah, you read correctly), and that too only up to Grade 5. Omanis who could afford it, snuck their kids overseas for an education and a better future. (Don’t quote me OK? This is what he said, I dunno how true it is!)

Yeah, we discussed all that and a lot more at the Wajaja Border Crossing. This crossing is an experience by itself. In this busy world, nothing will create more rapport and friends than queuing up for 8 hours to get a visa stamp on your passport (and the queue’s only about 50 m long). Wanna have this once in a lifetime experience? Try crossing from UAE to Oman via Hatta during Eid al-Adha, or one of the big local holidays. I guarantee that you’ll meet tons of new friends and get ample opportunities to mingle with the locals. I’d have taken some photos if it wasn’t for the “no photos, or your cameras will be confiscated” rule in the complex.

Anyway, enjoy!








More views of Sur


Lunch, Arabian Style – after (or was it before?) our Chicken Mandi meal (aka the most common Arabic dish around), what else?

At the Edge of Arabia

The Easternmost Point of the Arabian Peninsula (that far ledge on the right), Ras al Jinz, Oman

For a comparison with Perhentian, here’s a completely different beach, devoid of trees and inhabitants. Only sea gulls, and green sea turtles inhabit this deserted coast at the eastern most point of Oman, at Ras al Jinz.

It’s a surreal experience, coming here to watch the turtles lay eggs. There are 2 turtle watching sessions daily, once at dawn, and another in the evening, coz the turtles will usually come only when it’s dark. The Turtle Reserve limits the number of visitors so you'll usually have to book in advance (we did it by email when we planned our trip a month or so before the trip). And when we were actually there, we had to wake up in time to reach the Reserve by friggin 4.30am! Depending on where you stay, this may mean waking up an hour earlier, or more. We stayed in Ras al Hadd (about 20 minutes drive away) so it ain’t that bad.

If you’re a turtle fan (not the TMNT variety), come watch! It’ll be worth it. We saw a mommy turtle burying its eggs after laying, and crawling back into the sea, saw a baby turtle clambering quickly towards the sea (hope it survives). But all this was in the dark before day break, so don’t have any good photos of it! (Anyone caught taking photos with flashes will have their cameras confiscated! One Indian tourist tried and guess what?)

After day break, you are free to roam about the deserted beach for as long as you like, which is what makes it so magical. Terengganu should learn a thing or two from Oman. The last I heard is that there’re no more turtles in Terengganu! What a shame, we Malaysians just friggin ate / harassed them to extinction!


The haunting beauty of isolation – just sound of waves crashing and sea gulls


Sunrise over Arabia, first sun you’ll see over the Arabian Peninsula


Anu at Ras al Jinz beach - completely deserted except for us and another family, the rest of the tour group wasn’t that adventurous. Reminds me of scenes in some horror movie. Those tracks on the beach are made by turtles.


Justin, surprisingly alert and enjoying every bit of it, despite having to wake up at 4am!


Posing with a dead turtle, RIP turtle


Justin having a field day, climbing in and out of turtle dug holes on the beach. (Not every hole has eggs, turtles dig many holes but lay eggs only in one to confuse predators like foxes). The sand is powdery soft, so clambering over the holes actually need some effort.


Trekking across moon land, the empty path from the beach to the Reserve Centre


Ras al Jinz Turtle Reserve, Oman


Replica of a Bedouin Tent, at the Ras al Jinz Turtle Reserve


Dhows (Arabic boats) by the roadside, by the cove at Ras al Hadd


The beach at Ras al Hadd, Oman – treeless for as far as the eye can see


Ras al Hadd Fort, Oman

The Best Holiday Ever

In Anu’s view that is.


Pulau Perhentian!


Crystal clear waters of Pulau Perhentian. There, you can snorkel from the beach itself

I’m in the midst of a holiday blues, …or more like a holiday deprivation blues. Not been to a new destination since last year, and will not be going for some time to come, due to the coming addition to our family. Summer in Dubai can be a real bore, everything’s hazy, sandy and burning hot, not that there’re lots of things to see in winter (since we’ve been almost everywhere already), but at least we can go outdoors for a nice walk in the park…

Leaving here some pictures of a holiday taken last year. Anu’s dubbed this the best holiday ever due to the bliss of having absolutely nothing planned but to sit around, swim and play on the sand. (I admit I tend to like to cramp quite a lot into holidays, see as much as possible in the shortest time ahem… which I don’t think sits very well with Anu, hee). This time we had 2 full days of absolutely nothing, but chilling out on the beach! Very glad that Anu’s happy, …her happiness, is my happiness! :) Kenalah pandai bodek sedikit kan?


Pulau Perhentian Besar, Terengganu, Malaysia – we spent the first night in Coral View Resort, and the second, in a smaller, slightly cheaper, but nicer chalet (as it was much closer to the sea, and all chalets come with its own little outdoor porch, see below), the …Reef (I think), just next door to Coral View.


The Reef chalets (if I’m not mistaken), Pulau Perhentian Besar, where we stayed for our second night in Perhentian, with Justin trying to give a helping hand to the cleaners.


Beach, in front of the Coral View Resort


Anu the Redeemer, Pulau Perhentian Besar, Malaysia


Anu and Justin busy building sand castles. On the left, Mordor, on the right, the Mines of Moria


Justin as a tomato. A little bit of sun and sand won’t hurt, right?






The beach front and jetty at the Perhentian Island Resort, Perhentian Besar




Pulau Perhentian Kecil (i.e. Small Perhentian) – We skipped over to the smaller island for a short visit on the way back to the mainland. Perhentian Kecil was supposed to be the more hip island for party-goers and backpackers, while Perhentian Besar (Big Perhentian) was more for families. I’ve been to Kecil before, mid to late 90’s but I somehow have no recollection at all about my last time here… Was it the parties? Did something which was not supposed to happen happen? Or was it just not memorable enough for the limited memory of my brain?? …I still remember the swell times I and my friends had in Tioman (another island in Malaysia) which we visited much earlier, ...strange huh?


A mosque on the mainland, in Jerteh, Terengganu – yeah, we roamed around Kuala Besut (the boat jetty to Perhentian) and the surrounding area for a while. Tried booking a hotel in Perhentian using the internet hotel booking sites before we reached the jetty in Kuala Besut, and it showed all rooms full (this turned out to be a load of crap, as I think in Perhentian, the hotel operators and tour agents don’t put up everything on the internet for bookings), so we booked a room near the jetty at Kuala Besut instead. Approached a tour operator in Kuala Besut when we got there, and voila! there ARE rooms available on Perhentian. But since we’ve already booked a night in Kuala Besut, we decided to stay and go around the mainland a bit.