Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Make the outdoors a part of the household

I'v spent most of my life in Oman. My dad moved in 1973 to a very promising Oman full of opportunities. Most of our early life in oman was spent making it feel like home. My parents always kept us very connected to our indian roots. At that time, most expat families living in Oman led a very disconnected life from anything local.  We hardly ever ate arab food, never spoke arabic and rarely interacted with the locals. So everytime I think back, I wonder what was it that made Oman always feel like home?

In 2004, I moved to Bangalore for college. It was a strange yet exciting change from the uber comfortable life we live in Oman. Strange because you feel like an outsider in your own country. When we discussed life in the middle east there was always one thing that stood out. Kids from most other cities of the world did not go on picnics as often as I did.


One my favorite clicks at Quriyat, Oman
I cant believe we managed to line up for a pic :)

My best childhood memories usually looped around the camps, picnics, desert safaris and hot water spring visits in Oman. The excitement of waking up on a friday morning to go on a picnic was so unique. Just the thought of it brings a smile on my face.


We never felt the need for water parks since we had Falajes and Wadis. We didn't have an indoor mountain climbing wall but we had our wadi treks and who ever needed an olympic size swimming pool when we had the beautiful beaches all around us.  Only when I think back do I realise how amazing every one of those experiences were. It never occurred to me before I moved out of Oman.


Building sand castles = Instant fun

Despite the food, language and cultural differences, Oman's spectacular landscapes have welcomed people of all ethnicities with open arms.

Oman's natural beauty only seems to get better as the years go by. Sometimes we really need to take a good look at what we see around us. 

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