Transit - Oman to Nepal

I had breakfast with Ahmed this morning, before we set off for Muscat. I suspect that there were *very few* guests in the hotel besides us. There was only one other guest at dinner and no one else at breakfast (though we were there very early). Ahmed thought that four guests and a guide checked in late last night, but the hotel was essentially deserted.

The drive into Muscat was uneventful and much quicker than Ahmed had estimated because there was almost no traffic. It had rained again overnight – the ground around the hotel and in Nizwa was all wet – and perhaps that was why no one was out and going to work.

Low lying clouds in the mountains near Nizwa

Even more interesting clouds as we drove into Bidbid

Check-in at the airport was easy – again, the place is practically deserted – and I was earlier even than I had planned. I’ve really enjoyed my time in Oman. It’s a more welcoming and more relaxed place than the other Arabian countries that I have visited (Egypt and UAE) and my hosts have been extremely welcoming and helpful.

Flight from Muscat to Dubai was about the same duration as a flight from Canberra to Sydney, in a 300-seat Airbus, with 70+ passengers on board! I had a five hour layover in Dubai before connecting to Kathmandu. Terminal 2, where I flew from is small and has no long-stay waiting areas. I camped in a cafe for most of the time, working on my laptop (Golf Club stuff) and then decamped to the waiting area and read my book. The place was a crammed the whole time and I couldn't help but think most of the travellers were novices at travelling; they certainly weren't confident with the systems and processes. During this bit I became increasingly frustrated by the milling around, not knowing what to do, and blocking everyone else from getting on and doing it.

The flight from Dubai to Kathmandu was about 3.5 hours, a ~150 seat aircraft crammed full of Nepalese heading home. Another example of novice travellers; they were milling about and pushing past each other in the aisle during the flight. *sigh* Arrival at Kathmandu was OK. The International Terminal give late-70s Regional Airport vibes to me. I was able to work out how to buy a visa online, cleared immigration and customs with no concern, and then waited an age for my bag to come down the small baggage carousel. The KTM airport staff busied themselves taking the bags off the carousel as they arrived so by the time I got there (through two security screenings!) a lot of bags were just standing around; madness to my systematised mind.

Finally, bag secured, I exited the airport, found my driver waiting for me and he drove me in to the hotel in a tiny little Kia(?). It's after 12:30am at this stage, so the city is dark and quiet. What I can see from the car looks interesting; very much 'random Asian' architecture. He finally pulls up in a small street and calls the hotel guy, who comes out to greet me. We then walk about 200m over roads being repaired(?), turn down a lane that looks authentically ancient, duck through a stone archway into a courtyard and stop at a fretted timber door. The guy unlocks the door, reaches over a small desk in the corner to select a room key, then leads me up three flights of steep stairs to my room. He shows me in, points out all the facilities, and leaves me to it. Wait till I show you the room.