Greetings from the Middle East!

Greetings from the Middle East!

Well folks, this is the first, but certainly not the last, entry into my blog. I want to preface this with I do miss all of you very much and look forward to the day that I get to see each of you again. But enough of the sentimental stuff, you all know that is not me. First of all if you ever have the option to fly Qatar Air, do so. The flights length itself was helped with a healthy dose of NightQuil, but the great service during the flight, coupled with a great flight crew made the whole experience plenty more sufferable that it should have been. Being able to sleep for more than ten hours on the initial flight, because of the crew, made the inevitable jet lag that much more bearable.

While the flight from Qatar to Muscat was uneventful, with the exception of the loud Indians who refused to let me get any shut-eye, my arrival at Muscat was a eye opener. I was expecting a complicated procedure in regards towards immigration and customs but this was not the case. I waited in a fast moving live to change some of my currency to Rails, and at the same time paid for my temporary tourist visa. After waiting in another short live to see an immigration officer, I collected my bags and went to customs. Customs just involved putting my bags through another x-ray machine that was manned by a half slumbering security guard. Boarding my next flight to Salalah involved going through 2 security sections, before I even got my boarding pass, collecting my boarding pass, going through another security screening, and finally boarding my plane.

When I finally arrived in Salalah, I was greeted by a hotel employee who took me to the Haffa House, a very nice hotel but for its absence of a internet connection. I have now been here for a day and a half waiting to be picked up for my transfer to my “base”.  I am grateful for this because it has given me time to get accustomed to the weather, Alabama in June, to get accustomed to the time difference and to see a portion of this city. I hope all is well at home and please respond to this blog with any news from home. 

.... pictures to follow