Friday, January 10, 2014

Oman Trip 2: Nakheel Fort And Hot Springs

Finally arrived at Nakheel Fort!:)

I heard it has recently been revamped and renovated.. so it is like a mini museum which gives you insight into the life there..


The buildings here are quite arabic in style.. like what we will see in bastikiya in Dubai..


Even the things that they used in the past also similar..



The cemented rocks that form the wall around the fort...






As it is a fort built for defence, alot of leftover artillery lying around...


Ace pretending to launch the cannon :)

Photo by Max..
Photo by Ace.. hahah :) Who has better photography sense?:P

What beautiful scenery!

Time for a group photo:)



The Fort is surrounded by mountains and the view is breathtaking!:)






On the other side, there are many lush trees as well...

Found an enclove in one of the rooms with tea set inside.. maybe this is how the pple in the past enjoyed their afternoon coffee or tea... sit here, blow wind and enjoy warm beverage:)

Olden coffee or tea maker I think..



Notice Ace looks little worried?

That's cos he was actually high up :) And not near the ground.. whahaha

There are many of such holes.. i think they are meant for them to put their rifles out to shoot pple or wat..

Ace says this is the first and the very last time he is going to a fort.. reason being he had to climb so many stair and he is so tired.. PLUS.. they din have any railings and they lead up high.. as someone with fear of heights, Ace spent most of the time whining and standing still till we hold his hand.. wahahahaha:)



Mr Chua go and climb to corner of the ledge and sit down.. the floor is very far below lor...


If not leh, Mr Chua is doing some other stunt like climbing up the "ladder" on the wall.. that had many cracks in it!!..




That is Ace looking scared.. wahahaa :)










Ace went with Fayth and explored another part of the Fort cos he was afraid to climb up with me... and they found a jail cell.. Ace says there is a hand cuff linked to this..

I wonder if this is bathroom 0r wat...

Cos got part where the water can flow into this pot.. or is it a urinal?

They also found a nice room for parties.. All the next few photos taken by Ace.. I must say I am surprised he has quite a good eye for composition..




The guy who brought us here also told us that there is a hot spring nearby.. we followed his instructions to find it!:)




The water at this part of the spring is however... quite cold...


But in between the rocks where there are pools of water.. there are alot of tadpoles.. and sometimes even small fishes!




The locals were all having picnic and having fun here.. we smell some smell that smell like urine.. we tot the kids upstream peed... wahahhaa.. But our friend told us tat it is because there is sulphur content in the water here :)




We walked upstream and this is the source of the hot spring.. the water here is warm.. but you see so many pple here also dun dare to go in and join the crowd lor:) wahahahah...

Anyway, at this point... I had a bad tummy ache and asked one of my frens to accompany me to the toilet... it was a bad ache.. i had to go.. cannot wait kind.. so boh pian.. I just pray the toilet is ok...

Went inside the toilet.. it is porcelain... phew.. but it is just one hole.. with two places for you to stand.. so if you are doing big business, have to aim properly... no flush also.. just a tap with a rubber hose to wash off...  the hole only as big as my clenched fist.. which is not very big.. so i dam stress also..
But well, at least now I can say.. been there, done tat...

Meanwhile, Ace and Max saw some goats opposite stream and went opposite to take photos...





The shepherd was not very happy to see them take photos of his goats and chased them away. I think shepherds are common here.. or maybe because it is hilly terrain, it is very common to see men on the streets holding a cane tat looks like a candy cane.. but much longer... like those shepherds use...

Then time to go because we do not want to reach hotel too late...

The sunset on the way home..



One thing about Muscat is that all the roundabouts are very nicely decorated:)


We saw this huge mosque.. but no lights.. we tot is the grand mosque but found out it is a mosque building in progress..
Finally reached our hotel!

 Time for sumptous dinner!;) Okie.. partially is leftoevers from lunch and we ordered more...INDIAN FOOD.. whahaha. Max is happiest lor:)

Our simple room..

Ace was given a mattress... Yay! No one kicking me!:)

The boys doing a pillow fight before zzzing :)

And that marked the end of our day1 of the Oman trip! :)

Previous Post: Oman Trip 1: Long Drive To Oman


Oman Trip 2014:
Oman Trip 1: Long Drive To Oman

Oman Trip 2: Nakheel Fort And Hot Springs

Oman Trip 3: Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

Oman Trip 4: Royal Opera HOuse of Muscat

Oman Trip 5: Old Souk And Royal Palace

Oman Trip 6: Secret Garden And Oman Sunset

Oman Trip 7: The Drive Home And Hatta Fort Hotel

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