1st Week 7/10/06-14/10/06

This is a photo of us at the Edge Restaurant at the hotel. The restaurant is outdoors and is on the edge of the cliff overlooking the Muscat bay.









The photo on the left is of Rod in one of very small shopping plazas around Muscat. They don't have anything like Chadstone.






The 1st week has been about finding our feet and taking everything in. Carrie started work on Sunday, yes Sunday. The working week here at the moment is Saturday through Wednesday with Thursday and Friday being the weekend. We have been told by other expats here the days off might be changing to Friday and Saturday, we will see. Carrie is enjoying work and looks forward to the challenge. Rod has become a member of the spouses association. He has been to a canaster game with the wives already and enjoyed the afternoon. The spouses assoc also had a dinner at our hotel on Thurday night atteneded by roughly 40 people from the company so we got to meet a lot of people. Carrie's boss Tom, his wife Sue is the hospitality co-ordinator of the spouses assoc and has also taken Rod around to the shops to show him where to get what and so on. Everyone is really friendly and is making us welcome. Arriving during Ramadan is an interesting experience and we wonder how much things will differ once Ramadan is over. Rod was shocked to learn the bar at the hotel is closed throughout Ramadan. Alcohol is a no no here at the moment unless you order it through room service. Drinking, eating and smoking are also prohibited in public during daylight hours. On the hotel grounds is a little different as you may drink and smoke by the pool if you wish. Rod was able to have a beer at Tom's so that was good .We have dined at the hotel restaurants most of the time and quite enjoy it. We have ventured out in a taxi to some of the shopping districts and have found them good and we think we should be able to get everything we need.