I was very lazy for some days in Muscat - with very good reason though: I was waiting for the Indian visa and I entered in the last phase of Marathon preparation (doing nothing for a couple of days).
Nevertheless I managed to get some things done:
- Booked Flight Ticket with Sri Lanka Air. Sounds perfect for bike travellers. Muscat - Colombo - Trivandrum with a 3 weeks stopover in Colombo. One date change for the Colombo-Trivandrum leg is free. Standard allowed baggage is 40kg checked-in +7kg handluggage. An additional 10kg can be purchased beforehand for 2€/kg. Only if also this is exceeded it gets expensive: about 9€/kg. I was promised that I can just roll my bike to the check-in and pack it there. All that for 200€. I hope it all works out as promised.
- Booked Bus Ticket to Dubai.
- Booked Ferry Ticket from Khasab back to Muscat. I already wanted to take the ferry to Khasab, but it could not go because of bad weather. That is why I can visit Kasia&Darek in Ras al-Khaima only after the Marathon. I had met them in Yeghegnadzor/Armenia and they invited me to visit them in RAK. Furthermore they agreed to have some spare parts delivered to them - that is really a great help for me !
- I started the Indian Visa process. After 6 days however I had to collect my passport and still did not have a Visa. I have some more days in Muscat before flying to Sri Lanka, so hopefully they will manage to give me the visa then.
- After months of always being on the move I spent the last week very conservatively: always sleeping in the same bed and always eating the same dinner: Vegetarian Manchurian on the rooftop terrace of Hotel Marina, served by Madhav from Nepal.
- From that very terrace we saw many cruise ships, everyday a new one. One of them was Costa Concordias sister ship - after seeing this huge vessel I understand that it is not a very good idea to drive this thingy too close to an island.
- Backed up all my pictures.
- Sent home some winter clothes. The post office stuff was very helpful. Maybe I am wrong but they all seemed to be from the same tribe: very nice turbans and dresses in unusually fitting colours. I know that the Sultan got the tribes into the government by making some of their leaders ministers. That could be an explanation for that. Postage was reasonably priced: 0,30€ for a postcard to Germany, about 30€ for a 5kg-parcel to Germany.
- Meditated about career opportunities for when I am back.
- Got the great news that I will have a wonderful wonderful visitor in Sri Lanka :D
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