I got up early this morning and packed my bags at the Sheraton. I took a taxi from the hotel down to the Al Alam Palace in the new part of Muscat. There are a couple of forts down there, which you aren’t allowed to go into, but you can see from the coast. I walked through the area and took a look at the nice buildings down there, but couldn’t go into any of them.

I walked back toward the center of the city through the Muscat Gate and there were some lovely views along the way. It was so hot though. It was 42*C (108*F) and I was sweating through my shirt completely. There were a few times that I thought about ordering a taxi to pick me up, but I made it a personal goal to walk all the way back to the Mutrah Souk, which was about an hour.

I got into town and grabbed a watermelon juice (which is the most refreshing juice in the world), and then got a taxi back to the Sheraton. It was a good morning of exploration, and I took a much-needed shower and then finished packing up my stuff and ordered another taxi to get me to the airport.

I didn’t get a chance to see the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, but my taxi driver was nice enough to make a stop for me to see it on the way to the airport. It really is beautiful. It wasn’t open to tourists today, but I got to see it from outside, and the gardens, and it was stunning.

I got to the airport (which is a lot nicer than I would have expected the Muscat Airport to be) and had enough time to grab some lunch before my flight. It was a quick 45-minute flight back to Dubai, but I didn’t realise that landing at Terminal 2 was going to be so much more of a hassle than at the big terminal. There is no metro stop at Terminal 2, so you would have to take a taxi to Terminal 1 just to get the metro. You also can’t get an Uber from Terminal 2, so I ended up just having to get a regular taxi to my hotel, which was pretty close to the airport anyway.

I am staying at the Le Meridien near the airport because I’m only here tonight and tomorrow night and then flying out in the morning, so I figured the closer to the airport the better.

The hotel definitely isn’t as nice as the previous two I was at, but it’s nice enough for the next couple of nights. You can just tell this one is a little older and more of a business hotel than the other two. It’ll be fine though. There are a few restaurants nearby so I’m going to go grab a bite to eat and then have a shower and go to sleep. All that walking around in the heat and then travelling really took it out of me. I’m exhausted now! And tomorrow is my last day in Dubai, so I want to make the most of it!