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Last weekend, I went on a bus ride to Marmul . For those unaware of Oman’s oil production capabilities, Marmul is a major oil exploration outpost in the Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) concession area. Marmul is 880km from Muscat and a bus ride lasts around 11 hours. I travelled in Happy Line Transport, a leading luxury coach company offering daily services to Marmul and other PDO locations in the deserts of Oman such as Fahud, Yibal, Qarn Alam and Saih Rawl.
We took off from the Ruwi Bus Station at Muscat around 7am. We stopped at Firq Roundabout in Nizwa for breakfast, which is a major halting point for all luxury coaches operating on the Muscat – Salalah Highway. Before and after Adam, we ran into a huge convoy of military vehicles probably making a ‘base move’ which significantly slackened our pace.
14km from Haima, we turned left to get into the PDO concession area. The bus stopped at Rima, Nimr and Bahja on its way to Marmul (PDO outposts similar to Marmul). A rig move between Rima and Nimr had us trailin
g behind the trailers carrying heavy equipment at a speed of 50kph for over an hour. We finally reached Marmul at around 6pm, 1.5 hours late compared to the normal journey time.
The highlight of the down trip to Marmul was witnessing a beautiful sunset in the desert– a gigantic, resplendent orange fireball dropping down into the sands like a fireball from the heavens right ahead of the lonesome desert highway. Sorry, I have no pic… you just have to imagine the sight. J
I travelled back to Muscat the same evening by car. A journey on the Muscat – Salalah Highway which is just hitting the gas on a straight road in the middle of the desert for hundreds of kilometres can be a pretty boring experience, but do keep a wary eye for camels that can jump in front 
of your vehicle, especially in the night. I did encounter a herd in the middle of the night. As always, responsible driving and alertness on the road pays. I also happened to see the mangled wreckage of what was once a Lexus next to the highway – the aftermath of a deadly collision with a truck – it’s left there as a reminder to all motorists that speed thrills, but also kills!
On a parting note, meet Mittu, the affable kingfisher who is always hanging about my flat’s balcony.
Hello...
The weather's been pretty great in Muscat today, with the clouds sailing past my glassy windowscape at work and the sun playing peekaboo. With people in office discussing their holiday plans from 29 Nov to 1 Dec (National Day Hols in Oman when the country goes off to snooze), I chipped in with my travel plans for my vacation.
I have got 10 more days to go before I take off for a month to India. One definite thing I'm looking forward to this vacation is to do an 'India trip on rails'. Being a train freak myself, it's been a long time dream to travel across India on trains and check out the sights one of the most beautiful lands on Earth has to offer.
The IndRail pass offers an excellent way to explore India on rails for a designated period of time. I will have to go one of these days to National Travel & Tours in Muscat to pick up my IndRail pass. http://www.indiatravelite.com/railway/indrailpass.htm
I will be taking a pass for 21 days, which would cost me around US$ 198 which works out to around Rial Omani 76. And this pass entitles me to travel in 2AC, 3AC, Sleeper and General classes in virtually any train in India for 21 days, without paying any reservation or supplementary charges. Works well for me, since I am planning to hop on, hop off trains as I go places...
I've been taking pointers from friends at work on my Bharat Yatra (Indian Trip)... Chan, the art director at the agency says that it's better to travel in AC class during winter... as sleeper compartments will be all covered up and would get very stuffy and uncomfortable to travel in. He highly recommends AC travel... while I know I will really miss awesome rail sights including rumbling trains, idyllic railway stations and picturesque views if I am boarded in a darkened AC compartment...
Shanty, the copy chief at agency and close compatriot was recommending places of interest to visit... he suggests taking off on the breathtaking Konkan Railway Route with stopovers at Mahe, Karware & Mumbai before taking off for Rajasthan and then coming back to Goa, where he recommends me to spend a few days checking out Goa, Madgaon, Kulem, the babes n beaches till Christmas before coming back to Kerala sometime around New Year...
Will keep you posted on the travel plans... Ciao 4 now!
g behind the trailers carrying heavy equipment at a speed of 50kph for over an hour. We finally reached Marmul at around 6pm, 1.5 hours late compared to the normal journey time.
of your vehicle, especially in the night. I did encounter a herd in the middle of the night. As always, responsible driving and alertness on the road pays. I also happened to see the mangled wreckage of what was once a Lexus next to the highway – the aftermath of a deadly collision with a truck – it’s left there as a reminder to all motorists that speed thrills, but also kills!
