The next day, ship docked at Muscat (population: 1.44 M), Oman. Oman is not part of the UAE and is sultanate, not an emirate.
The first thing we did after exiting the ship was pay 10 UAE dirham (equivalent to 1 Omani rial, or $2,60) for two hours of internet time. We spent the full two hours and had no more success than in Khor Fakkan.
the fish market’s modern facade
Having blown much of the morning, we decided not to go into the town center, but, instead, wandered the seaside area. (There were taxis offering private tours for about $25 – 50.) Once again we went through a fish market.
not all that modern interior of the fish market
a fishermanWe walked along the coastline for a bit.Al-Lawatiya MosqueMuttrah souk
We spent some time in the local souk, then headed back to the ship. Apparently, I found out after the fact that we did cover most of this walking tour route.
Things were not very cheap in Muscat with occasional bargains.
We came back to the ship where we found, tied directly behind it, a Korean naval vessel. Go figure.
image from pinterest.com
Muscat’s unusual architecture supposedly shows Arab, Portuguese, Persian, Indian, African, and modern Western influences. Too bad we never got to see that.
Oman is known to be the most peaceful country in the Middle East and is filled with natural beauty. Thus, it’s been gaining popularity among the world travelers. I see Muscat mentioned as one of the great places to visit more and more. Our time in Muscat was too short for us to have a lasting impression, though.
If we ever end up in Muscat again, we should check out some major sites such as the Grand Mosque, Opera House and the Royal Palace. There seem to be good museums to check out, too.
The next port, after a day at sea, was Khor Fakkan (population: 39,500), a city in the Emirate of Sharjah which is one of the seven emirates in U.A.E. (United Arab Emirates). Sharjah is mostly on the Persian Gulf, but it owns 3 towns on the Gulf of Oman including Khor Fakkan. The capital of the emirate is also named Sharjah to make things a bit complicated or simple depending on how you look at it.
Khor Fakkan is an important port and a popular beach town among locals. The area around the port was very quiet, not much activity at all except for a fish and vegetable market.
fish being salted & dried al frescofish cleaning service at the marketis the cabbage big enough?
Sharjah is supposed to be more conservative than Dubal or Abu Dhabi, and western style bathing suits are not allowed on the beach. It was too hot to be directly under the sun on the beach when we were there.
We wandered around looking for a cafe or restaurant with internet. We hoped to cancel the return flights we could no longer use and, perhaps, get at least a partial refund. All the places we came across were small and none had internet. We did come across a small museum, which we entered, but I can not remember anything about it. Overall, not much there.
Most historic stuff and markets are in the big city 90 minutes away on the other coast. We did not have much desire to make that trip, though. It would’ve been easier to get there from Dubai than from Khor Kakkan.
On the way back to the ship, we did find a restaurant with internet. We spent an hour or two online, but were not able to make any headway on airline websites and eventually went back to the ship.
We arrived in Vilnius (population: 544,000) from London’s Luton Airport on Ryan Air (under $50) late at night, and it was raining. We got on the first cab we saw outside the airport terminal and arrived at our Airbnb apartment 15 minutes later. We were happy with this 15 euro ride, but, later, we discovered that we paid a premium because it happened to be an airport taxi that usually cost 2-3 times more than a regular cab.
a coffee shop with sense of humor
Jet lagged, we were up early the next day and walked into town looking for some food, but everything was closed. We finally found an open coffee shop and breakfast of coffee and pastries.
a bakery finally opened up & we stocked up on pastries – so cheap & yummy!
We joined a free walking tour that started at the Town Hall at 10 AM every morning. Our guide was a student at Vilnius University, and she was quite knowledgeable and fun.
a view from the Town Hall Square
She told us how the Old Town was divided into ethnic areas of Jews, Poles, Slavs, and Germans due to the efforts of olden days when the government tried to increase the number of population by welcoming immigrants.
Old Jewish Ghetto area
The walking tour lasted about 2 hours and gave us a feel for the town.
In 1995 a group of artists raised a statue of Frank Zappa and declared the area across the Vilnia River from downtown the independent Republic of Uzupis. The republic still exists complete with a 7 man parliament, a 12 man army and a constitution of 41 articles.
It was a cold and damp day, and a break at a coffee house was most welcome.
The constitution is displayed in numerous languages. Article 13 says: A cat is not obliged to love its owner, but must help out in time of need.
We thought of going to the KGB Museum (Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights) by walking down on their main street, Gediminas Avenue, after lunch, but the rain kept pouring down. We got some rest in the comfy, cozy apartment & walked around the neighborhood before dinner.
Sv. Vito Cafe & Bar is a tiny place down the street from our apartment. What a gem! Great food, friendly service, eclectic setting – at a very reasonable price.
Once again, we woke up very early the next morning. We noticed light snow on the ground. We walked to the Gate of Dawn and saw the famous Blessed Virgin Mary painting.
On the way back, we found one of the best bakeries in town, Boulangerie, open for business. Their morning pastries were perfect.
Our flight to Dubai wasn’t until late so we took a bus to see Trakai Island Castle. We took a cab to the main bus station in Vilnius, left our luggage at the baggage service center, got the bus tickets, and off we went. The trip took only 30 minutes, but, once we were off at Trakai bus station, we had to walk another 30 minutes to get to the castle. There usually are taxis or buses available, I had read, but, it was off season and everything was quiet at the station. We walked through the town of Trakai, an old capital, which could have been more interesting with old wooden houses and such, but it was cold and nothing was open.
We walked around the castle and the surrounding area a bit, then we started looking for a restaurant to have lunch.
Luckily, this one was open & their food was great. We got to try the specialty of this area, kibinai, and dumplings. Their soups were spot on especially on a cold day.
When we returned to Vilnius, we took a cab from the bus station to a modern art museum, MO. It was not a big museum, but we could get a glimpse of an art scene in contemporary Vilnius.
We walked a few blocks to get an afternoon snack at Sugamore, a chocolate and pastry shop. Compared to other things in this town, prices here were on the high side, but, we still enjoyed the break.
I had a mild interest in Museum of Illusions a few blocks away, but, we were getting tired. So we took a cab back to the bus station, got our bags, and got on the bus to the airport (3 Euros). I had heard Uber worked well in Vilnius, but we did not have a local SIM card for our phone, thus, we could not try.
Vilnius pops up on the list of “under the radar must visit city” all over the internet these days, and we wanted to check it out. It did live up to the reputation with the atmospheric old town, reasonable prices, and friendly people. We were not equipped to handle the cold weather (actually, it was not too severe for winter) since we were on our way to tropical weather, but, still we enjoyed our time there. We could imagine how nicer it would be in any other season!
Trip route: LAX -> Vilnius -> Dubai -> Abu Dhabi -> Khor Fakkan, U.A.E. -> Muscat, Oman -> “Almost India” -> Khasab, Oman -> Dubai -> LAX
Small Wide World 