New country: Oman
Notes on first impressions:
Great variety of landscapes compared to Qatar’s flat desert plains. Muscat is surrounded by mountains and there are plenty of green trees within the city.
The overall feel is that of a relaxed beach resort town, where people seem less focused on consumerism than most of their GCC neighbours.
Omanis have ‘normal’ jobs, e.g. as taxi drivers (in fact, taxi driving is a protected profession that employs only Omanis). I feel this makes the people more down to earth and approachable. Compared to Qatar, where the locals, a minority group in their own country, often seem distant, inaccessible and at times aloof. The expat:local ratio of Oman seems more balanced.
The Oman government takes an overall more liberal approach (compared to the rest of the GCC) to the thorny issues of alcohol and pork consumption. Alcohol is still controlled, but bars don’t require I.D, and locals are allowed in. We heard talk of more than one off-licence. And pork is served in hotel restaurants.
