Taqueria La Hacienda Nashville - Carne Asada Tacos

The carne asada tacos are a true measure of good Mexican food. I never
order the #7 with an enchilada, rice, and beans. I don't need the sides and
like to keep it about the main attraction. The meat was well seasoned and
the 2 tortillas were well thought out to absorb the juices from the meat,
onions, and cilantro. The heavy military presence in the restaurant also
give me the assurance that this is a great place.

Taqueria La Hacienda - Nashville

I like to ask my clients for the best places to eat and most of the time
they know and lead me to the local joints that I would never find on my
own. This place near a Mexican grocery store and a converted hardware
store/iglesia de jesus looked good and was full of people. Always a good
sign.

Nashville and Beer

I am off to Nashville for my annual visit and always have to stop at my
favorite beer store - Frugal McDougal's. It is always great but what made
it exceptional this time was the discovery of Fat Tire from the New Belgium
Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado. In my previous blogs I have
lamented how they are not east of the Mississippi and apparently they are
now. I am beyond excited and had to buy a bunch. As usual Georgia is on the
tail end of getting Fat Tire but at least I can drive a few hours north to
get what I crave. Damn you Georgia!

Mosque Zulfa

This was our last stop before driving back into Muscat. It is for the
Sultan and between this, his yacht, and palace - he is living well.

Cheryl at Jabreen Castle

This castle was built by the son of the Sultan who built Fort Nizwa. It was
very interesting place with trap stairs and secret corridors.

Coffee with our Omani Friend

This gentleman insisted we have coffee and dates with him. He was quite
convincing and we pretty much had to go with the flow. He was in the hotel
lobby and spoke about his children. The Omani man who looked 80 years old
attested to the power of dates and how we would be pregnant tonight. He
told us he has 11 children with one on the way. I guess I should believe
it and be careful to not eat too many dates.

Traditional Omani Meal

This was our last meal in Niswa. We had a lot of Indian food while we have
been here mainly because the majority of restaurant workers and laborers
come from India.
You eat the meal family style on the floor in a separate room covered in
coconut wood. The food includes lots of so-called aphrodesiacs like shark
meat and cuttlefish.

Village of Tanuf and Poo

This is an ancient village that is in the process of being restored. Behind
the wall where Cheryl was standing I discovered a local man pooing. I
apologized but think "I'm sorry" means something insulting bad since he
looked pissed.

Second to the Grand Canyon

Near Niswa is the second biggest canyon in the world and we hiked and had a
picnic here. It was another type of landscape that was beautiful to see.

Items in the Arab Mirror...

We were in and out of these trucks all week and I always liked the mirror
label. At least I hope it says the same thing as it does at home.

Technology and Tradition

This is one of my favorite pictures and says so much about Oman. While they
are a very traditional Muslim country, they also love technology. I-Pods,
flat-screen TVs, and cell phones are everywhere and our guide, Khalid, was
as obsessed as I am with my Blackberry. It is good to know my addiction
reaches to the other side of the world.

Niswa Fort View with a Small Sandstorm

We went to the top of the old fort where the various "murder holes" were
labeled. They were places where invaders would cross and have hot date
syrup fall on them.
Once we made it up the murder hole, this view of the town with the mosque
in the background was worth the effort. The sand in the air obscures the
expanded view and you feel it when you are outside.

Tourist Section of the Niswa Souk

You can definitely tell the part of the market that caters to tourists. The
main difference is the EPCOT look to the area, the lack of bartering, and
the endless variety of camel and desert souvenirs. While it is nice, it is
not the reality we have seen in the other souks.

Niswa Spice Store

This store turned out to be a treasure trove of foodie goodness. They had
the best saffron that was a fraction of the cost in the US with 100x the
quality. It also didn't hurt that the store had dried dates.

Nizwa Souk

Next to the goat market, there is a traditional market with fruits,
vegetables, fish, meat, and spices. This market is much more like what one
would expect a Middle East market should look like.

Confused Goat

On the perimeter of the market are the next goats up for auction. This baby
goat seemed happy to see us but when you put out your finger, the goat
would suck on it thinking it was a nipple. Once he figured out there was no
milk, he let out a loud "baaaaa" in protest.

Nizwa Goat Market

Our first full day in the town of Nizwa started with a visit to the
infamous goat market. It is a bit like a traditional auction but there is
poo on the floor and lots of screaming by the auctioneer, the buyer, and
the goats. They try to sell pregnant goats because they generally have
twins so it is like having a goat coupon.

Grocery Fun

I like the idea for this product but am unsure of its' potential use as a
food product.

Happy Baby

We checked into our hotel and decided to go next door to the Happy Baby
family grocery. It was a fun mix of standard household items like
toothpaste along with Arab clothes.

Say No to Hookah

This is a public service poster and it looked funny. I like the X with the
2 happy patrons.

Our Tour Guides

This picture was taken outside of Nizwa overlooking a small oasis valley.
We started with one guide in Muscat in a small bus for 14 people and then
went into the camping portion in several 4x4's for the desert and dune
bashing activities. The one on the left - Pedro - is Indian and was our
cook that made several types of curry for us nightly. The others were our
lead Khalid (right side) and the two drivers - one of which - Mohammed -
was nuts and drove in a very exciting way that added an Indiana Jones
element to the trip.
Khalid is an amazing guide with insight not only into the region but the
culture. We heard stories of arranged marriages, unwed mothers, and how
Oman is fairly neutral with all governments.
This has opened our eyes to a whole new world beyond the typical tourist
traps.

Selling of Chickens

I am fascinated by the signage here in Oman and like the directness of
them. This store only sells chickens and there are no items like Us
Magazine to tempt you at checkout.

Goat in Sinaw

We went to the Sinaw market after our desert camping. It felt good to be in
a town again. They have a regular souk market but it also sells goats and
camels. This goat looked worried.

Naughty Beer

After being in a Muslim country for almost a week we are yearning for beer
and wine. One of our guides snuck off to a tourist village to get us beer
for me and wine for Cheryl. The German beer pictured was about $5 and
Cheryl's South African wine that would be $10 in the US, costs $36 here.
Desperate measures were taken....

Stuck in the Desert

We were "dune crashing" which means driving up and over dunes at high
speeds hoping to not die. It was a lot of fun but you risk getting stuck if
you aren't careful. Guess what - we weren't careful and had to be towed out
by one of the other trucks while we pushed it.

Camels in a Toyota

The title says it all. We were driving for hours in the desert and stopped
to see this guy with his camels. Cheryl almost got bitten by them so she is
braver than me.

Beduan Children

All throughout the desert are these small makeshift sheds where native
people from Oman live. We were welcomed into their desert sheds and given
coffee and dates. It was such an honor to have them do that when they
seemingly have such modest surroundings.

Our Typical Campsite

For three nights we camped in the desert or near a desert beach. It was
"primitive" camping meaning that you went to the restroom on a long walk
with a shovel on the other side of the dune that is pictured.

Omani Toilet

Yes this is real. Even though there is a regular toilet in our hotel, this
is fairly standard. It has a garden hose instead of toilet paper so a soggy
bottom boy is possible.

Sexy Time

I think in the Omani culture these men are the George Clooneys. I was
intimidated to be around the sexiness.

Mosque with Satellite

One thing I have noticed here is that Omanis are really into technology. It
is amazing to see a satellite dish where in some places there is no
electricity. They use generators to watch "The Hills" which seriously is on
every evening with Arabis subtitles.

Yes, This is Real

We stopped by the coastal town of Sur and saw these Portuguese towers used
as lighthouses. This is also where they make ships.

Cheryl on the Dao

We went on a short sunset cruise on a traditional sailing vessel called a
dou. It is made from teak wood and has been made and useed for centuries.
There is a persian rug with pillows to sit and enjoy the sunset view along
with Omanib coffee and dates. Also, for some reason they served us Mickey
Mouse potato chips.

Cheryl, Wind, and a Tour Guide

Our tour guide Kaliel (forgive my spelling) has been very patient with our
silliness. Fortunately, we have many Brits and a few Americans with us. We
are however the youngest and one of the only non-retired people on the
trip. Many of these folks have been on 15 trips with this company to places
like Cambodia, Botswana, and Vietnam. We are rookies and feel lame with our
stories of going to Quebec.

White Castle has No Hamburgers

The adjacent castle to the palace is for visiting dignitaries, etc. It is
even farther from our view but is striking.

Grand Mosque Exterior Entry

The entry is fairly modest but large in scale nonetheless. The woman at the
entrance keeps morons in capri pants and NY Yankee caps out.

Sultan's Palace

This is where the head guy lives. Pretty nice place but as you would
expect, no one is allowed in.

Cheryl with Happy Corn in the Market

After seeing it everywhere Cheryl had to get it. It is regular corn with
lots of butter, vinegar, and spice. Must be the 5th food group.

Grand Mosque Exterior

The first item on the agenda was to visit the Grand Mosque. It is
relatively new from the 90's but is one of the largest if not the largest.
They only allow outsiders in the morning and you still have to respect
their beliefs. The men have it relatively easy but the women have to wear a
head scarf covering the head and dress in long sleeves and pants with no
ankles showing. Once you come inside you are required to take off your
shoes.

Grand Mosque Interior Dome

The inside is quite overwhelming amd the six ton Austrian crystal
chandelier is the largest in the world. The persian carpet in the mosque is
the also the largest in the world covering the entire floor in one piece.

Grand Mosque Interior

The immense size of the space is hard to capture but all you can do is try.
We had to walk on special blue carpet so we don't soil the rug. This was
because when Muslims pray their heads are close to floor and they don't
want to smell stinky American feet.

Goodbye Muscat Festival

On our way out, we were tired and so was this camel. Cheryl has a picture
of me standing near him nervously. Look for it later on...

Happy Corn - Muscat Festival

We saw lots of people in line and I would have taken a picture of it but
there too many women in line (it is a no-no to photograph women here). As
far as we could tell, it was cooked corn in a Dixie cup but maybe it is
sprinkled with butter, salt, or heroin to make it better.

Muscat Festival Sunset

Nothing clever or sarcastic to say. It was a beautiful sight to see. The
first sunset marked our first full day and we are pleasantly surprised at
not only the beauty of the country but how nice and accepting the people
are. The people here speak varying degrees of English but always help you
even if you are being high maintenance. We had a taxi driver who stayed
with us all day and we had him drop us off and pick us up all day and all
over the city. That really showed us the level of hospitality would be
high.

In Muscat They Are "Fries"

We were at the festival and thought they were not going be french fries but
some sort of chips since they were labeled like that. After eating the
salty versus spicy mix (which was very good - by the way), we noticed the
container had quotation marks around it. At least it wasn't a container
saying "meat".

First Obligatory Oman Camel Picture

After our visit to the mall, we went to the annual Muscat festival. From
what I can gather, it is a heritage festival with exhibits and food. As we
entered the festival, several camels were there just hanging out. We hope
they weren't lost.

Bookstore in Muscat

I am unsure what it says but I am sure this book isn't named "Thanks you
for you hopes and dreams, Mr. Bush".

Muslim Happy Meal

I did not get it so do not mock me. It did make me happy though.

Chili's Muscat

You too can still have a bloomin' onion if you'd like. You would be dumbass
to do so in a country with such awesome food but I suppose there is a
chance some surburbanites in a Yukon may show up here with 4 kids.

Old Muscat

We were near this and will probably see it on our official tour but it
looked cool and it was nearby. More information to come later.