Land Rover Range Rover Sport

Land Rover Range Rover Sport


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The 2009 Range Rover Sport


2009 Land Rover Range Sport


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2009 Land Rover Range Rover


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2009 Range Rover Sport HSE


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Range Rover Sport 2009


2010 Range Rover Sport


Concept802 Range Rover Sport

DAILY DIARY: Fireworks and Asian Beach Games Opening Ceremony

Well, this long weekend hasn't been "kroob". The Omani word that denotes something that is mind numbingly boring. I saw the firworks, the opening ceremonies of the asian beach games, was attacked by my sister-in-law (albeit with a bottle of olive oil and a hair comb---but the tears were real!!!!), climbed a mountain which is apparently a shocking thing to do, and witnessed the most awesome Omani Cassanove. You will love his tale. But first. The fireworks.

I would describe the fireworks first, but since firworks are REALLY something you should see for yourself (though it DID involve me climbing a giant wall with neices and nephews attached like glue to my back with my SIL [sister-in-law] and her husband wondering how well I could possibly ever adapt to their family but liking me anyways).

There are more fireworks tonight should you have never experienced the blasted colourful, loud, smelly, jubilant things that result in neices and nephews going "Ala! Jameel!" while you cling to the metal rail of someone's villa gate and wish that the tailor who wripped you off for your lendli [Omani woman's colourful floral printed village dress] had tailored the bottom hem of it a little bit wider so that you could swing your leg up and over that tree branch yonder without wripping it in half. 5 rials for a three rial tailoring job! Really. And your "mafi engleez" was not at all convincing. You're lucky I don't speak hindi.

***I prefer Pakistani tailors EVERYTIME over Indian ones because I have NEVER been ripped off by one yet*** Honest Indian tailor offended by this, as soon as I meet you, I will dedicate a huge apology post to you, and your nation, and offer you free advertising.

Anyways... moving on since I have seen fireworks since the age of two and don't find them as thrilling as I used to, the opening ceremonies in Al Mosanah (past Seeb and Barka for those who don't leave Muscat) were pretty spectacular for Oman. If you missed them, I am sure Omani tv2 will play it again, and again, again, so no worries;D

I honestly would make a very horrible reporter. Please forgive. I also do not own a camera, so I steal ALL my pictures on this blog. Yes, yes I do.

SPORT IN OMAN: Surfs Up

Looking at the calm, almost glass-like surface of Oman's coastal waters, it is hard to envision a thriving surf culture.I mean, besides the idiots that surfed out hurricane (Gonu) in Masirah Island surf, ha ha ha.

Well, for a Westcoast girl like me (California, a theme song running through the brain), I sought out the Empty Quarter sand-dunes as a tween with the help of a Jordanian and we "surfed" down the waves of gold/red sand. It was absolutely miserable hiking to the top of those things in the heat for a short thrill but still... it was something to do.
And while the waves kind of suck here Oman (by my terribly suicidal standards), surfing is still possible in Salalah in season, and Masirah, and a few other places. This site documents surf conditions and wave heights if you are at all interested: http://magicseaweed.com/Oman-Surfing/207/

If anyone else in Oman surfs and knows where to buy boards and equipment here (or UAE) and has any great spots, let me know here, via the comments box. Jazaks (thanks).

And a common question from expats, HOW INDEED does an Omani girl intend to surf in THAT GET-up?????? Answered via this blog: http://ilovehishmatheblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/dreaded-swimsuit-season-ahhhhhhhhhh.html
And yes, one DOES get alot of stares at the Oman Dive Center when they come dressed as I tend to dress;). But alot of smile too. :)

Sport Abaya

I love the Argentina One (though I am not a fan PERSONALLY-no offense Dad).
I want to get one made for my fave handball team. Yes, yes, I KNOW that is ridiculous M & Kh, but I will get a sheila made with each of your shirt numbers;p, so you can know which of you I am cheering for when you play eachother versus style lol;D. M, no more slapping KH ok? I already have my "Oman" abaya for the Gulf tournament, but I need one for the leagues hehehe. Because I am DEFINATELY NOT brave enough to wear the get-up below:
I stole these pics from Um Ibrahim's [currently in KSA] blog, from this post: World Cup abayaat… . Reminds me of these thobes/khandura hehehehe:

letter to the Sultan, to do with getting her a passport OR...

BTW, Sultan Qaboos, if you read our blog, says one member of OPNO, she will wear the above pictured birqa/mask in Omani colours for the rest of her life if you will make it a. legal for her to marry the love of her life without making her move to another country to do so [see the results of OPNO's marriage poll here http://howtolivelikeanomaniprincess.blogspot.com/2010/08/marriage-vote-do-omanis-support.html ], or b. give her an Omani passport for looking like a crazy football fan/Christmas 24/7 Majnoonah. She is also willing to cross the Rub al Khali with bare feet, or whatever else you may ask, like a storybook Sultan from a fairy tale.

I wanna go skating.... Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I want to go iceskating, but you don't understand, no one will go with me. Waaaaaaaaaaaa! None of my Omani friends can skate (and very few of the non-Omani expat ones I know can either). Ahhh, I'll have to settle for hosting a tourist then. The place gets busy with tweens after 6:00 pm, and there are some events I promise I will one day check out (hokcey, figure skating...) but I just haven't gotten around to it because... no one I know likes ice. And I went by myself once before... and the image below represents what followed.
Sooooo.... G&S, PLEASE let me teach you!!!!!!!!!

The only ice rink that I know of in Muscat is in Al Khuwair- Al Khuwair Center Ice Rink. It's near the Zawawi Mosque, Al Kuwair, Muscat (if you're taking a taxi that should be enough directions to get you there). The phone number last I checked was (00968) 24 489 492 .

For now, I have my rollarblades, I guess. Maybe. If no one threw them out. But 50 degree weather kinda sucks for rollarblading.

Handball First Division Championship Winner 2010

The Oman Handball Association (OHA) first division league champions this year.... Muscat Club.

The Khalid Al Wahaibi-owned Muscat Club defeated Ahli-Sidab 28-24 at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Baushar on Thursday, coached by Algerian Khalid Al Ashoor.

Mabruk Muscat Club!

Oman's National Team coach Gorm Andersen said his side is undergoing regular training sessions eyeing the 2nd Asian beach Games. Go Oman!

*The Asian Beach Games is a multi-sport event held every two years among athletes representing countries from Asia, of which handball will feature for Muscat. The games are regulated by the Olympic Council of Asia.

Horseback Riding in Oman

One of my all-time favourite sports, I intend to keep this list very up-to-date for all those interested. As of yet though, I have had no personal experiences with any of the stables. Here is the info I have compiled thus far that I promise to check out:

Al Fursan Stable

Al Fursan Stable (also known as Shah Mohammed Khalili’s stables) caters for riders of all ages and levels; from beginners through to competent riders. In addition to riding and show-jumping lessons given by their qualified trainers, they also offer pleasure trips to Qurm Garden, Qurm Nature Reserve, the Creek, and the breathtaking beach in Shati Al Qurm, all accompanied by a guide.

Qurm Park & Nature Reserve , Muscat
99 386 978

Qurm Equestrian School

Located in the beautiful Qurm Park, the Qurm Equestrian School is open all hours and teaches everyone from beginners to advanced riders. The school offers beach rides, carriage rides and carriage rental for weddings or special events. There are five instructors who provide one-hour lessons in riding and show jumping, for those who just want to ride for enjoyment or those who want to ride competitively. They have four donkeys for small children to ride, and they’ve introduced a Pony Club for kids every Monday.

Qurm Park & Nature Reserve , Muscat
99 339 222

And of course, there are the Royal Stables in Seeb for the RGO

Traditional Omani Fishing Methods

One sport my Omani friends all seem to love unanimously (besides FIFA football) is fishing.

My friends tend to fish with a piece or styrofoam or a litre plastic pop bottle with fishing line and a simple hook, with squid for bait. They always seem to manage to catch at least 5-6 decent fish.

Yeah, since I don't fish (I tried, but got my abaya snagged) this is the extent of my post.

Handball, and life back in Oman

So I am safely in Muscat now, alhamdulilah. I have been living the quiet life, shopping for curtains and cushions at Centrepoint and the Mutrah Souq (I found the above majlis cushion set at the souq), and picking out some new abayas and a new balushi/Omani dress from waaaaaaay away Mutrah (best prices---do not pay 40 rials for a traditional souvenier Omani outfit unless it is for a wedding ex-pat people!---else you are getting ripped off ROYALLY). I pay 15-25 rials (that's a good price) and 25-30 is fair. You won't find this right in the Souq.

Other than that, I am also eating schwarma again (um, why OPNO?). For those of you who do not know me, I had to live on schwarma for a whole month due to lack of a kitchen and fuloos (money) last time round in Muscat. I lost 250 rials by leaving my purse somewhere and now, lol, am skimping on luxuries to make rent. Thus schwarma has replaced my other eating out habits.

But last night me and a few friends went to a handball match between two teams that had players on the National Team (and it was televised live on, like, Oman TV channel 2 or something) at the Sultan Qaboos sporting complex so that must be good right? LOL, we'd never heard of the sport previously so an Omani friend tried their best to explain the rules to us (and how the goalkeeper was related to this shirt number on the red shirt team, and how white shirt player on the other team was their cousin).

Handball as I understood it: the game consists of six players on each side of a kinda basketball court (but with soccer nets) and a round dodgeball kind of ball, and six other players on a bench, with each side typically having one dude in a dishdasha on their bench. His role went unquestioned and unexplained but this man likes to wave his hands a lot and jump up and down. I am thinking he might be the sponsor????? Anyways, so the teams have positions, the center guy is the Captain (and he has to have a lot of experience in handball), and there is, on both the right and the left of him, two fellows who play offensive forward but switch to defense when needed, and then on the side of those fellows, two wingmen who are mainly defensive. Oh yeah, and one long pants wearing (the other players wear shorts) goalkeeper. Though it seems that during the game these positions change and no one keeps them for any particular strategic reason (but I am new to handball so maybe I am wrong?). The aim is to throw the ball (not kick it) into the other team's net. This ball is bounced, dribbled, thrown, and passed, while both teams bash into one another (it is kind of a contact sport like a very tame rugby) but grabbing the arm of the other players when they go to throw it seems to result in a penalty, like two minute bench times. This is a yellow card from the refs. Three yellows cards equal one red card (out for the game) like in soccer/football.

One dude on the white team got mad at the ref VERY dramatically, and tore off his t-shirt before heading to the stands (the ones with the nice chairs and the VIPS) (we sat with the generally barefooted Omani guy-crowd set on the plastic seats opposite, LOL). Thus I am surprised there are less older expat women at the matches LOL, as admission to the games is apparently free, and they can be quite entertaining to watch, with people faking injuries (that's what it looked like to me), and very dramatic hand-waving by the dishdasha bench-dude. Plus you apparently don't have to wear shoes because EVERYONE but us had taken off their sandals and had their feet balanced on their friends chair in front of them. And the fans had drums so it made it all very dramatic.

One thing to note, there were exactly 3 and 1/2 women in the entire stadium during the match. OPNO, ODNO [Omani Duchess Not Omani], one expat blonde lady on the VIP side, and a little girl with her father.

And they made me leave my pepsi outside.

And for some reason the entire exit was covered with ripped paper which must have been fun for the blue-jumpered sweepers to attend to. Our Omani friends could not explain this to us.

And I couldn't find a vid of Oman playing handball, but this is a vid of handball clips, so if you are like me, and have never heard of the sport before, you'll know roughly what it is:

Morrocan Sword Belly Dance

This one is well choreographed.


Okay, one of the BEST film sword dances, LOL, Jade from El Clon.


Not just to echoe you-tubers comments, but good control.

I would love to do this to scare/seduce my future husband LOL.

Popular Past-time: Jet Skiing

K, so the Abu Dhabi jet ski rental industry that I KNEW was predominately run by gangsters (and other bloggers have posted on it), but in Oman it is a pretty safe past-time that even a fully veiled woman can engage in.
see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDWJFEMfVKY&feature=related

You Have To LOVE Football

To be an Omani Princess, you HAVE TO love Omani football. So if you don't know ANYTHING about Oman's football team, catch yourself up with this quick vid of Oman's best goals:

Some basic info: The Oman national football team (Arabic: منتخب عمان لكرة القدم‎), is the national team of Oman and is controlled by the Oman Football Association. Although the team was officially founded in 1978, the team was formed long before, and has established a proper football association in only December, 2005. Players then started to take awards for their efforts. The team has never qualified for the World Cup, but has qualified for the Asian Cup in the years 2004 and 2007, and reached the Gulf Cup of Nations final three times, and won it on its' third attempt.

Prior to the new century, Oman struggled greatly in the Gulf Cup, usually finishing in 6th or 7th place, even when the Cup was held in Oman. It was about 1998 when Oman took the Gulf Cup seriously, and in the year 2003/2004 Gulf Cups an explosion of new talent emerged like the familiar names of Imad Al-Hosni, Ali Al-Habsi, Badr Al-Maimani and Khalifa Ayil, which made the team very successful. Most recently the national team lost to the U.A.E. in the final, and in the prior competition lost to Qatar in a penalty-kick shootout. Finally after losing twice in the final, Oman managed to win the 2009 Gulf Cup of Nations, held in Muscat, while defeating regional giants, Saudi Arabia, in a penalty shootout, 5-6. Oman maintained a clean-sheet throughout the whole competition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oman_national_football_team

Fashion tip for game night---more national colours are worn for matches than National Day:

For more info: http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=oma/news/index.html