Wadi Shab... an awesome experience !!!!!

WADI SHAB FRESH WATER POOLS

Arguably one of the best places to go in Oman for its clear fresh water pools. Wadi in Arabic means valley or a dry river bed, but then when there are rains you would see water flowing down towards the sea in these wadi’s.  There has been instances of flash floods sweeping away the people and vehicle to their doom.

Wadi Tiwi Bridge

Water bird... Crane !!!

 

Wadi Shab is located about 165 Kms from Muscat on the way to Sur and is about 30 Kms from Qurayyat and if you take the exit mentioning Wadi Shab on the highway you would come to a dead end… instead go 7 Kms further and take Tiwi exit and go along the beach in a dirt track and around the solitary house and then along the back waters of Wadi Tiwi till such time you see a track across the back waters parallel to the high bridge on the highway as shown on the picture beside this note. While we were going along side the back waters we saw a grey crane in the water and my friend took a picture of the same... marvelous.  Take this route and get on to the asphalt road going right through the village there…..narrow roads take you to a mosque and a school.

Keep going till you get a right turn which goes down steeply to Wadi Shab entrance. Park your vehicle beneath the bridge across the back waters of Wadi Shab and then from here on you need to be on foot.

Wadi Shab bridge

Wading through the back waters

We reached there in the morning at about and being low tide then we were able to wade through the backwaters to reach the opposite side from the place we parked our car. 

Into Wadi Shab

Then keep following the foot trail for over 45 minutes and then you get the glimpse of the first fresh water pool which is quite deep and people who know to swim could really have fun…but then me and couple of others in our group don’t swim so we trekked along this pool and reached the second pool where there is a shallow spot just about 4 feet deep and non swimmers can splash around.

View of first pool

Well since we had been told that there is a pool which is connected to a cave and if you could go through the opening beside the pool underwater it open out to a cave with a waterfall and also sunlight streaking in through the openings in the ceiling of the cave creating a beautiful scene. So we trekked ahead only to find our way becoming increasingly difficult to walk over boulders and navigate around larger rock falls and we kept on going for over half a hour and yet we did not reach that particular pool. Half way through one of the gang climbed on to a huge fall of rock to see if he could find the way to the pool but only found huge boulders strewn with difficult path around to reach the Date palms in the far end of the valley.By this time all the group members were tired and wanted to turn back to the second pool and have a dip in inviting blue water. So we turned back without going to the pool with the cave.

 

Second pool

Another view of Second Pool

 Once back at the second pool we immediately changed our dresses and jumped into the fresh water pool and my it was so refreshing that we never wanted to be out of the water. Four of us were splashing in the shallow part and others were swimming the entire length of the pool and also diving off the 7 feet rock beside the pool. While we having a dip an elderly Omani man came down the side of the mountain and came into the pool for his dip prior to the Friday afternoon prayer. On querying the man we were told that the pool with the cave is about hour and half from the present pool and only persons who know swimming can enter that pool…. Well a blessing in disguise because even if we had been to the pool we would not have been able to reach the cave and experience the splendor mentioned by many people and on Google.

Well after a refreshing swim we had poori and bhajji and then started our walk back to the car. When we returned back to the point we had crossed over we found that the tide was in and the water level quite high to wade back to the car. So we had to take a boat ride back and the boatman charges 200 baizas per person. In all a great trip in long time and we thoroughly enjoyed this adventure.

Wadi Tiwi and the Tiwi beach...Oman

Each time I sit down to write I think I have a great story to tell but then when I start to type out my thoughts my mind goes totally blank and I am at loss of words. I know age is catching up with me but fortunately there is no memory lapse. I promise myself that I would jot down few points from each days experience and I always break my promise since the priorities are to cook food the moment I come back home each day. At times I feel that it would be better for me to step down from the current assignment since it is taking a toll of my physical and mental conditions (quite hectic and nerve racking at times) unlike few years back.

30^th June was a declared holiday and we planned to visit Tiwi beach as few friends stated that it is a lovely beach with white sand. So me and three other friends from our project decided to go there and it was an adventure. I did not know the way and quite a few times I went off course and had to back paddle to reach the correct road. Then going by the signs we reached almost near the place called Tiwi but took an exit which stated Wadi Shab and found ourselves at dead end with no roads leading anywhere except for a dirt track. So decided to take the mud track and the moment I got off the tarmac my tire got flat due to a puncher …. Poor guys who were my juniors toiled to fix the spare tire from the boot and that too at 12 noon with sun beating down directly on us….no shade anywhere in sight.

 

After the change of tire we proceeded to Tiwi and reached the beach not before going along a dirt track across the Wadi Tiwi. The beach we went had pebbles strewn around but no crowd to emphasize that this beach is a tourist spot and we had come to a wrong part of the beach. Anyway we found that there is a trekkers trail in Wadi Tiwi and you need to below the bridge up into the mountains and in this summer it is not worth going on a trek… may be some other time!! On the way out we found a asphalt road reaching to Tiwi beach and some crowd there but then we decided to go back to Muscat without taking that road.

Reached Muscat around 3 pm and all hotels had closed down for the afternoon… so lunch at home for me and my friends had sandwiches’ from Subway & MacDonald’s. We also came to know that Wadi Shab is a much better sightseeing spot than Wadi Tiwi and has so many crystal clear pools where one can have a relaxing swim. So it is Wadi Shab the next time !!!!!

Interesting happenings in India this week !!!!

For years most westerners thought that India is a land of  saints & sadhu’s, snakes and rope tricks  and would travel to this country to witness these but with the advent of media the world know India better these days… a country where corruption rules the roost. There have been many activist who have taken cudgels against this and have had partial success and in the recent past Anna Hazare did garner the imagination of the youth against the corruption prevailing in the country. The latest is the attempt by Baba Ramdev and it is told that more than 3 million people are going to take part in this saga.

Baba Ramdev is  fasting against corruption and recovery of  alleged billions of dollars in black money stashed outside the country can be viewed as a political gimmick. Baba Ramdev who heads a Rs 1000 crore business, did try to form a political party sometime back and it failed miserably and now he has the platform of Anna Hazare’s movement to achieve his dream. Though millions are supporting Baba Ramdev, educated Indians needs to think the following….

• How does one know the quantum of black money being stashed by individuals abroad as none of the persons would declare what they stash abroad? So the figure of thousands of crores is a notional value which could be debated for years to come.
• Practicality of banning Rs 500.00 & Rs 1000.00 notes and what is being achieved by doing so??? .. nothing but to extend the drama of fast for a longer time !!!
• A demand for Technical education in regional languages being actioned by the government would do more harm to the students passing out of such colleges for they would be forced to work within the boundaries of the states they have studied in for it would be difficult for them to converse in a common language elsewhere.

Yes his fast brings to fore the various scams and corrupt official and is forcing the present government to act on priority before they lose their face in front  of the public ( not that they have gained any) but then this is not done like this !! Immense hardship to normal citizen of Delhi due to the hyped fast. Just imagine the Delhi would be paralyzed tomorrow and hardly would there be any work there and there are millions of common people who are on daily wages to earn their bread and butter who would not earn any money today… means that they and their family will have nothing to eat. Millions of rupees are being spent for preparations of the fast could have been put to better use but then who is to question the wanton waste of money. Not sure if Baba Ramdev is spending the money for the arrangements from what he has earned teaching yoga… Rs 50,000/- for front benchers and Rs 1000/- for last benchers as mentioned in the media… god know how any rows of students were there !!!!!

Down south in Chennai we have another drama being unveiled by the victorious Jayalalitha, who is the present chief minister of Tamilnadu and she has put a stop to all the various projects initiated by her predecessor Karunanidi thereby causing millions of tax payer money to go down the drain. I fail to understand vendetta politics which is quite prevalent in India and we have seen that in Uttar Pradesh also and the people affected are the common citizens!!! Who questions these loses and would the Lok Pal bill initiated by Anna Hazare safe guard against such unwanted expenses…. Well all of us have to wait and watch in the times to come if it could do so !!!

 
Well I end this unconnected note with a explanation of Politics given by a friend of mine on Face Book…. Poli in latin means “ Many” and Tics means “ Blood sucking insects” … which would mean that politics mean……”Many blood sucking persons “

Behavior in public places

Each person’s behavior  in public places differ and few of them quite jarring. Couple of incidents which happened during my recent travel comes to my mind. On my return from India I was relaxing in the executive lounge at Chennai airport enjoying my glass of beer and suddenly there was a shattering laugh and loud talk by two British travelers which made the entire lounge to jolt up. These travelers were so drunk that they hardly gave any thought of their fellow passengers trying to relax in a quite atmosphere and the decibel was going up with each gulp of their drink. I was surprised by this behavior of these westerners for generally they behave quite dignified in public…. Probably being in India made the difference !!!! I am sure they may not have reacted this way had they been in their home country. 

The other incident which also happened the same day is breaking of a queue. A popular southern cine actor, thought that he was far superior to all those people standing in the queue for the emigration was sent ahead of over 25 persons to the emigration officer… who rightly questioned as to why this preferential treatment… for all are paying passengers but of no avail !!!

I also read on the net that a woman was arrested for talking very loud over her mobile phone throughout the train journey on a complaint registered by the fellow passengers who had to bear the high decibel level for over 15 hours of travel.

In spite of being educated many people do not have the Etiquette to be followed in  public places and it does show them in bad light among the fellow human beings. World has to learn a lot from the Japanese… even in the worst of the situations after the devastating earthquake and the tsunami the populace in Japan showed that etiquette's of public places have to be maintained in the true spirit… there was no chaos in the relief lines and the population were standing in a queue waiting for their turn to get relief materials. Had it been any other country in the world I am sure there would not have been an orderly queue.. only chaos would have ruled the roost and the might would have walked away with the goodies leaving the meek to beg for the same.

So friends next time you are in public areas have some consideration for the people around you and act accordingly in a proper manner… never talk loudly over your cell phone, put off your mobile or in silent mode when you go for a show in theater and so forth… list is pretty long and I am sure each one of you know them.

Cheers!!!!

 

No chivalry is present these days..........got to live with it as it is !!!!

Days of chivalry and honour has passed right from the time that the mankind started using guns instead of swords !!! But then in wild west even with guns there was chivalry…. No unarmed person would be gunned down. But then these days these rules are not being followed and the surprising part is the Americans openly admit to have shot dead an unarmed man… that is Osama !!! I know it is  hard to digest the fact that any leeway has to give given to Osama , being the Americans most wanted man for last 10 years on account of being instrumental in destroying the twin towers at USA… the very symbol of the land of the opportunity.

But then being shot down by the special forces when he could have been apprehended and tried then hanged or shot would have had a greater importance then what has occurred now. It is quite natural for the Americans to say that it was the commander on the field who took that decision but then please do not forget that the entire presidential team including President Obama was watching the action live !!! and he could always have stopped the field commander from executing OBL and bring him as a prisoner to be dealt judiciously by the USA……. This would have earned them laurels instead  of the label of killing an unarmed man !!!

I do agree with sentiments of thousands of people around the world who have lost loved and near ones to the act of terrorism but would they pull a trigger and kill an unarmed man …. Naaah I do not think so !!!!

Well the worlds most dreaded terrorist has been now rid off by the Americans but then will this put an end to the terrorism…. No it would not and there are possibilities of an escalated activities of targeting the west and this is one of the reasons why the Americans have shut down their Embassies across this region……. A fear of retaliation and I am sure this would continue for a long time. !!!!

Well let us hope that at least with one head of the hydra has been cut off ,there would be a immediate reduction in various terrorist activities being sponsored by Al Qaida till such time they start flexing the muscles under a new leader. This sounds good for the Americans and the west for Al Qaida did not target India,,,,, it is the off shoot such as LET, JEM etc. The black ops against Osama has given rise to clamor from the Indian politician for actions against the terrorist organizations behind the Mumbai attacks………. We can only talk but not perform actions similar to that taken by the USA….. for we are not that technologically advanced and I do not think that an average Indian soldier would kill an unarmed person…..

I know what I have written may have no sense… no beginning or an end but then I wrote what flow through me in last few minutes !!!

People who read the post I would welcome your views and thoughts of the entire OBL operation….!!!

Can you believe it ............ seems more like a conspiracy theory !!!!!

The whole day all most all news channels have been focusing their news regarding the elimination of Osama Bin Laden by the American special forces.. the seal team !! Wow a great achievement to finally punish the person who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the Twin towers killing over 3000 innocent people. But then me being an average intelligent man it makes me wonder the actions taken by the USA in this operation….. is it really true that the person killed was OBL??? If it is a fact why wasn’t the body paraded to the world instead of being buried in sea by the American forces. The normal practice of the seal team is that they would not leave one of them behind even if they have died in action but taking the body of Osama Bin Laden raises lots of questions… why??.No clear answers to these question and many more put forward by various journalists and we need to let our imagination fly high and conceive a plausible theory of this operation.

There are too many loop holes in the versions being told today by the American authorities and denied /accepted by the Pakistani’s  …… or is it a ploy by the Obama administration to garner enough support within the United States for the re election coming up this year !!! I am sure each one of the persons reading this note would be intelligent to understand and contemplate the pros and cons of this story.

The united States says that it is purely an US operation , then how come the helicopters flew to the place without alerting the Pakistan air force or was the radar conveniently switched off with prior information from the US !!! Everything at this stage is speculation and we got to believe what is being fed to us… typical of the media and the politicians.!!!

Here is the clip of the speech given by President Obama about the death of Osama Bin Laden.     

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNYmK19-d0U

A figurehead of terrorism had been eliminated after a span of 10 years and am sure it is a sigh of relief for most people in this world but then as some famous personalities have told in the media that this is not the end of terrorism … it is just a transition of the leader and the war against the terror will never end till all the heads of the Hydra are cut off !!!!!

This note is just my thought of events today and I am an ordinary person trying to live a peaceful life in the world … but then when bullshit is being reported it really irks me for most media and politicians thinks that an ordinary man can be fooled at their whims and fancies……..

Got nothing more to add !!!!!

E- Friendship …. Is it the fashion of the present generation????

Most people active online are having net friends, chat friends , E- friends whom they have never met in their real life and this trend seems to be even more with the younger generation of these days. Is friendship a scarce commodity that we cannot find it in real life or just that we are interested in friendship which has no attachments. Well in my case I have been working away from my family and family for a considerable amount of time and after a long hard day’s work I do not have the time and energy to socialize and hence my getaway is the social networking site chatting with friends made on the net and also with family/ friends from back home. After sometime it had become a regular habit of going online and playing poker or mafia on face book and chatting with various girlfriends I picked up in these games. It was becoming addictive and one fine day nearly year back just deleted poker and mafia games and friends except for couple of them who made me feel comfortable.

Looking back I had been browsing social networking sites like ICQ, yahoo ,IFF nearly 10 years back and till date I have retained two friends of that era who still care for me anytime we chat and vice versa…and we have never met in real life. Each of us on the net search for a soul mate  with whom you could be friends to share intimate details which cannot be shared with your better half for in real life you hardly find such a friend. And in case you do ever meet up with your net friend in real life the whole illusion of soul mate shatters!!!!

I still have never been able to figure out the reason for looking for a friend on the net in social networking sites? Is it because the net friend is just a computer screen in front of you instead of the real person and you are able to discuss the weirdest fantasy without being embarrassed for you may never ever come to face with the person whom you are chatting!! Or is it because the person is withdrawing to himself/herself wanting only imaginary friends or is this quest of friendship a sort of escape mechanism from our day to day mundane routine?? I have no answers to it!!!!

It is a well known fact that there are predators and weirdoes on the net who are stalking people and yet I am amazed that women on the social networking sites quite trust their online partners giving out personal details, mobile phone numbers and their personal details. People need to be careful for it could lead to unnecessary complications.

I still keep in touch with few online friends I have made over the period of time and I am proud have been their friend for they have been a pillar of strength during the harrowing times I have gone through and even today. I have been very lucky to find such friends on the net…. Whom I will never meet in my lifetime!!!!