08.23 Once again we were temporarily awake in the early morning by the call for prayer. Now, some hours later, we have woken up. Cars, voices and something that probably is a rooster can be heard. We continue to sleep with the window open at Mutrah Hotel, Muscat, Oman.

09.40 Our hunger and the financial crisis in the United States are temporarily averted. BBC World News is talking about one of these things. Today we will move ourselves down to the water, the sea and what is there. We're going to get there on foot from our hotel. Just follow the street we have outside our hotel.

10.34 We have left the hotel and have started to walk down to the water. We have Italian families just in front of us. They stay at our hotel and will probably walk in the same direction. Right now we are standing and look towards the fortress tower that crowns the ridge in this city.

10.52 We have reached Mutrah, an old fishing harbour, which today is part of the big city Muscat. Here we wandered into the city bazaar, marketplace. It's called Souk Al-Dhalam but also called Mutrah Souk. Here we have looked at and passed the various stores. Now we are sitting inside the Al Ahli Coffeeshop in the heart of the souk for a glass of juice each. The juice is squeezed and prepared here on the premises. It's nice to have a break.

Beautiful mosque in Mutrah.

Christer is walking in Mutrah.

Mutrah Souk.

Christer is drinking a refreshing juice.

At Al Ahli Coffeeshop you can order fresh juice from many different fruits.

11.55 It was fresh and great with quality juice, pineapple and lemon with mint. We emptied our glasses and went outside to withdraw money from an ATM just outside the souk. We have shopped football jerseys and postcards inside the souk. I bought a Saudi jersey for a collecting colleague and a national soccer jersey from Oman to the nephew Max and Christer bought national Omani soccer jerseys for himself and his nephew Noah. We are sitting down and are making up plans for the rest of the day.

12.37 We left the souq and have walked a bit along the corniche (promenade). We went to the port area where the taxi driver drove us the other night. There, we turned and have returned to the entrance to the souk and sat down at Cornish cafe for lunch. It's a small cozy place upstairs at the gateway to the entire market area.

12.52 There are various dishes, mostly from the Lebanese cuisine, on the menu. On the place mat we got were; crossword puzzles, mazes, dot to dot and other fun, both in English and Arabic. At the next table is an English family with children. It is quite small here, more guests than seats as it seems.

13.16 We have finished our lunch. We did not want sit still for too long. More guests appeared to get a table. Now we will see more of Mutrah, Muscat and the corniche.

The minaret on the Rasool A'zam Mosque.

Mutrah, a part of big city Muscat.

Our lunch restaurant, Al Cornish Café.

Christer is enjoying a sunny day.

13.47 We have been walking a short distance along the sea. On the mountain above us is Mutrah Fort, built by the Portuguese in the 1580´s. Before us lies the calm water of the Gulf of Oman. Behind us, the cars rush forward, there is a mosque and beautiful, so beautiful mountains. Now two Americans went past us. We have also seen the Dutch men (who were on the bus from Dubai) again. This is a true holiday, a nice walk on a sunny day in perfect weather. The fact that it is January when we get to experience this feels like an added bonus.

13.57 We are now looking at a long, narrow fountain. Work is going on in full swing to make it work perfectly. A man in a yellow raincoat is in the middle of the water and fixes something. I really like fountains. They're like living art.

14.10 Now we have to rest us again. Before us is the ocean. Behind us is Al-Riyam Park. Up on the hill is a large white tower in the shape of a censer. The censer is seen as a symbol of Oman. We have, according to the map, two kilometers left of this walk.

14.29 Sea meets land in front of us. We are at Kalbuh Bay, a quiet bay with a beach. There is no fine-grained beach but a beach.

A beautiful mosque with mountains in the background, a typical view in Oman.

Beautiful flowers surround the road from Mutrah to Muscat.

A large fountain is one of the many attractions along this promenade.

The white censer above Al-Riyam Park can be seen all along the coast in Muscat.

Kalbuh bay has a small beach.

14.43 We take a photo of the two of us here on the bench at Kalbuh Bay. Now it's time to move on.

14.57 Our walk took us into the real Muscat, the quiet little neighborhood where the sultan lives. Before, we´ve only visited Ruwi and Mutrah. The entrance to this neighborhood was through a large open gate in the city wall, Muscat City Gate. We're now resting on some stairs with a mosque in front of us.

15.10 We are once again at a palace. This time it's Qasr Al-Alam, the sultan's palace here in Muscat. Here it is quiet, clean and beautiful, not a litter on the ground as far as the eye can reach. The current sultan took power from his father 1970. His father was conservative to say the least and skeptical of anything that could change the country's culture and lifestyle. The son however took care of things and during his time in power has modernized the country in a very short time. He has had some help from oil money.

15.29 The sultan, Qaboos bin Said, did not invite us for coffee. Instead we had to take our own initiative and are now at Muscat Light Restaurant and Coffee Shop. Christer has ordered "regular" coffee. I'll try Omani coffee. For this, I take pistachio ice cream. In the cafe next door are once again the two Dutch men that we had behind us on the bus here.

15.59 I was served tasty ice cream, cardamom spiced coffee and dates. It was fresh and tasty. Now we are planning to take a taxi home. It feels a bit too far to walk the same distance again.

Muscat City Gate, the gate to the real Muscat.

Peace and harmony prevails in the Sultan's neighborhood.

Also nice cars can malfunction.

Qasr Al-Alam, the sultan´s palace.

View of the palace grounds and the mountains behind.

Peter is trying Omani coffee with dates.

16.15 We hailed a taxi in the street. We came home to Mutrah hotel quick and easy. The price was affordable for being in Oman. Taxis are more expensive here than in Dubai. Now we will gather energy and digest impressions. Dubai feels so far away and so does the winter at home.

18.06 We heard the call to prayer while we wrote our postcards in the room. It was the maghrib, the prayer after sunset. One of the callers had a light but strong voice. Was it a woman, a young man or perhaps a eunuch who called for prayer? Who knows?

19.05 A moment ago the phone rang in our room. I answered but there was no one who wanted to talk to me. A throat clearing, a click and a few quick honking signals was all that was heard. Once again, we have received a strange call on our travels.

19.40 We've been at the grocery store Khimji's and bought something for the evening. We will soon head for dinner here at the hotel.

20.16 Now we're back in the Gazebo Restaurant, the hotel restaurant. It has again become time to eat. The staff seems slightly confused, as if waiting for someone, something. Yesterday's fine service has been replaced by a slightly absent-minded attitude. We hope that the chef is more focused.

21.09 We're back in the room after a difficult, lightheaded meal. The staff had their thoughts of something/someone else. We were asked about the bill before I had finished my dish. Sure, there was a large group there, but still.

22.43 The fatigue has started to come over us. Something else that has come over us is the knowledge that it is almost time to go home to Sweden and ordinary life again. We still have time to see more of this country tomorrow.

Thursday 3rd of January

09.06 The last sleep in on this trip is here. It's time to go down to the restaurant for breakfast.

09.46 Now the last organized breakfast for this trip is eaten. Well it was not that organized. I had to ask for a fork when no one was to be found.

10.20 It is time to leave the room and prepare us for new adventures. We have one full day left here in Oman.

10.38 Now we are out on the road or more precisely next to the road. We hope that a taxi will show up. It will take us to today's destination. There were once plans to travel by bus to Bahla to see the fort there, a fort that can be found on the UNESCO list. However, it is a two-hour bus ride there and we will get enough of bus riding tomorrow. Instead, we stay in the home district.

10.59 Two taxis with passengers passed. A third stopped and soon it had us as passengers. It took a bit of trouble and misunderstanding before ended up where we wanted, Al Qurm Park (Qurum Natural Park). Our driver who barely listened to what we explained first drove us to a shopping mall. Here in the park are greenery and birdsong.

Qurum Natural Park (Al Qurm Park), a wonderful place for a day out.

The state encourages exercise.

Christer has reached a tidy square in Al Qurm Park.

11.24 Christer went behind a bush, to take a photo of it and we continued further into the park. Now we are resting on a cool marble bench. The birds are chirping and the flowers smell. What if it was the other way around? This park is an amazing oasis, such a park that is so rare in Sweden. You can sit and philosophize on a bench, kids have climbing frames to play in and it's green and well-kept everywhere.

11.49 We are in the heart of the park. Here is a small artificial lake, flowers and a variety of beautiful gazebo in stone.

12.24 We were a shortcut to the sea, but it all seemed uncertain. Miscellaneous roadworks are going on and we were not quite sure which path we would take. Instead, we are back at the place where it all began. We purchased a hot chicken sandwich and a can of cold Mirinda, perhaps the world's best orange soda, each. Everything is perfect and good.

13.10 Strengthened by the chicken sandwich and cooled by Mirinda we wandered off out of the park. Now we have reached the part where Oman meets the sea. I have a beach behind me. The waves are trying to sound more than the cars. It doesn’t work. In front of me is a mangrove swamp, at least what is left of the swamp. The other parts of it have been developed. The mangrove swamp is a nature reserve. Now we are about to walk down the promenade.

An artificial lake in the middle of the Qurum Natural Park.

Christer is surrounded by greenery.

An Omani family is visiting the park.

Peter is having a snack in the sun.

13.46 The walk along the boardwalk continued. On our way we saw nice cars and a familiar coffee chain. It can wait until later. Furthermore, we went over a bridge with steel plates. Now we are resting under a tree. The sun is hot and it heats significantly in the face. Our winter pale skin is not really used to this.

13.56 Enough of resting now we are heading for some restaurants in the vicinity of a hotel. The problem is that we only know of their existence from a map, now we just have to find them as well.

14.07 We have found what we were looking for. We are in Shati Al Qurum. Today there will be lunch at the restaurant Just Grilled. It feels good to sit down for a while in the much needed shade. On the table is a plate. It's not one of those buzz plate that we had in Cape Town 2009. It is to call the waiter or restaurant manager's attention. One of those that Roberth pushed on in Yerevan 2008.

14.38 We are full and satisfied. None of this goes for the man at the next table. He got his dish, cut into the meat and pushed the plate to get there waiter. The waiter brought back the dish, a dish that was wrong. He came in with a new batch of the same kind of dish. Maybe the meat wasn’t grilled as the man wanted.

A long walk under a burning winter sun.

Qurm Beach.

Peter is having lunch at the restaurant "Just Grilled".

15.02 We paid a visit to a small shopping mall after lunch before we started the trek back. On the way we were passed by a number of bikers on their bikes. It was the local motorcycle gang Oman Riders who were out driving. Now we are taking a break on a bench. We wonder where the time and day has gone.

15.57 Time keeps running but we are not. Instead, we sit on the classic Starbucks Coffee. This is the seventeenth country since 2005 that I sit at a Starbucks and write in a travel journal. We sit on the terrace overlooking the nature reserve of mangrove landscape and the magnificent mountains on the horizon.

16.15 Our coffee is soon finished and only crumbs remain of the pastries. Today's tour is coming to an end. The other guests drink all other possible and impossible sorts of coffee. We stick to the simple and straightforward black coffee. As soon as we're done, we will continue wandering.

Quite unexpectedly the motorcycle gang Oman Riders turned up.

Afternoon break at Starbucks Coffee.

16.40 We said good bye and see you later to Starbucks before we carried on. A passing taxi honked, I waved at it and it stopped. We got inside of it and are going back to Mutrah Hotel for much needed siesta.

16.57 It was good to get home. In the elevator mirror, we discovered how red our faces were. Now, the last things will be planned and the last money spent.

17.55 The TV channel Al Jazeera from Qatar have shown an interview with the Swedish football player Zlatan Ibrahimovic, told about gunfire in Switzerland and now talks about the micro-breweries in the United States. Apparently beer from that country is popular. I can not help but wonder how it happened. To quote Monty Python, American beer is like making love in a canoe, it is fucking close to water. Though micro breweries may have a different style. It was certainly the message the program wanted to convey.

18.39 It's time to do the last chores this evening. Right now we are in the lobby. We will surf a bit on the internet. Then we are going out and to buy breakfast and snack for tomorrow.

Peter uses internet in the hotel lobby.

Delicious dinner at our hotel restaurant.

19.19 Internet gave us the information that there is a bus to Dubai tomorrow. It does not depart at 07.00 as it says on our tickets, instead the departure time is 06.00. What is the truth? In our little shop we bought some breakfast and something to eat on the bus trip.

19.41 I've tried to call ONTC, it's the bus company. However, I have not received any response on any of the numbers I tried. So we are not much wiser in terms of departure time of the bus.

20.14 Now, we checked with the front desk. They also mentioned the departure time to be 06.00. However, he said that there are more buses. Well, we'll see how we do. Now it's time for dinner.

21.23 We have come to the conclusion that it will be best to be at the bus station to catch the 06.00 bus. It would be foolish to stay here in Muscat. It is nothing wrong with Muscat but our flight home departs from Dubai early on Saturday. Now we are to pack everything.

21.59 The last "normal" day is coming to an end. The next two days are is mostly a long trip home. Al Jazeera reports on protests in India due to gang rape and murder of a young woman. Further they report about the desire of the President of Argentina to recover the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas from the UK.

Friday 4th of January

04.50 Today we woke up before the call to prayer. We are up really early. It is time to begin the journey home.

05.12 All the possessions we brought with us here to the hotel are almost packed. Now, we'll get a taxi to Ruwi, the district where the bus departs from.

05.24 The reception at the hotel could not arrange a taxi for us. They are, just as in Botswana this summer, not able to call for taxis. Instead, we were advised to go out to the street and wait for a taxi. Somewhat skeptical, we went out and stood on the sidewalk of the deserted street. A taxi actually arrived after a while, great!

05.34 To the sound of the muezzin, we arrived at the bus station in Ruwi. Now it's just waiting for the bus that will take us to Dubai. How long will the trip take? Can we go with it despite the fact that our tickets say 07.00? Besides the two of us are a few other early risen passengers of different nationalities.

05.47 The bus is here, the backpacks are loaded and we sit down, nice!

06.01 We are leaving Ruwi and Muscat. Just before departure, a gentleman stepped aboard. He tried a lot of seats before he finally sat down.

Our ONTC bus takes us north.

We have stopped at the border station Al-Wajaja.

08.39 The man has continued to change seats. More passengers have joined during the trip. Now we are standing still with the engine running. We are back in Sohar where there was a small break on the way here.

09.50 Our stay in Oman over. We have reached the border station Al Wajaja, stamped out and await a further bus ride north. We're supposed to go back to Dubai today. The bus has an international passenger group. We have such people on board from Italy, Germany, USA and Malaysia.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

10.16 Now we're back in the United Arab Emirates. We were asked to fill in a list with such things as passport number, nationality, gender and name before we were stamped out. It is 115 kilometers to go to Dubai.

10.37 We are still at the border. Next to us is a truck loaded with tomatoes. A man in gray has gone through the bus to check in passports and to count us. Now we roll on. Wait, there will be a new stop now.

10.44 It was just the baggage that would be X-rayed. It was much smoother and faster to send the bags on a conveyor belt and X-ray instead of customs officers to delve into each bag.

11.23 The bus made a short stop for passport watching men and strolling dromedaries that crossed our path.

Dromedaries on the side of the road.

12.13 We're back in Dubai again. We're soon off towards the trip last hotel, a taxi driver has found us and offer his services.

12.19 We got out of the bus with our backpacks and just as fast in with them in a car. I wonder if this is a "real" car. It looks like an ordinary passenger car. What is essential is that it will take us to our hotel.

12.27 The taxi driver talked to us and interviewed us about what hotel we are going to. He seems eager to drive us to some other hotels which he claims is cheaper. We have explained that we had already booked a room. He told us, in Indian English, that he is from India. Imagine, who could almost guess.

12.44 It was a long taxi ride past the skyscrapers, parks, mosques and various grand houses. Now we are in room 901 at the Al Sharq Hotel (http://www.sharqhotel.com) in the Emirate of Sharjah. We will remain for a few hours in this emirate. Sharjah is located east of Dubai and is a little more conservative place compared to Dubai, among other things is prohibition of alcohol.

12.55 The Friday prayer was in full swing when we checked in at our hotel. The religious have been followed by something that sounds like a political speech. We hear it through the speakers on the minarets. We are not so good in Arabic, but Syria has at least been mentioned.

14.06 After charging the batteries in ourselves and in Christer's mobile, we are now ready to take us down from the ninth floor and see more of Sharjah.

Peter has just arrived to room 901.

View of Al Rolla Square.

14.40 Now we have seen some of Sharjah's old parts. For example, we managed to see a bank with a special entrance for women, a long city wall (Sharjah Wall) and some chickens which were out for a walk. Now we are down to the Corniche, the promenade. My desire for some coffee is growing stronger.

15.29 It has not been so easy to find a coffee shop/café of sensible size. Almost all the places we found offers Indian fast food of different varieties. Now we are resting a little sitting on a staircase. Christer has been and bought some sweet and wet. It's a completely different feeling, spirit here than in Dubai and Oman. Here one finds no huge skyscrapers. There are heaps of small shops that offer different things. Usually it is the same range along the same street. Moreover, it is quite a lot of Indians here. They are here to work. It actually feels like we are in India.

16.02 We have finally found a bit to chew on. We have ordered mutton burger and orange juice at Al Bathriq, a small restaurant on a street corner. It will be great with food.

Sharjah Wall, a remnant of the past.

Beautiful courthouse in Sharjah.

Al Arouba Street, Sharjah

A simple lunch at Al Bathriq Cafeteria.

16.59 The small meal ended with a coffee each. We paid, got up and went to Al Madeena Hypermarket for some shopping. Now we are back home and will not do much for a while.

19.08 We have showered off the city dust. Here in the room, we found a prayer mat. It is included in the room, what an excellent service. Now we are planning the last dinner in this country. 19.24 We’ve ordered dinner here at the hotel's restaurant on the 3rd floor. Today we will not get mutton. The sheep has left the building, they run out of mutton. We are alone in the restaurant. It was so quiet here that one of the employees had to go and fetch the cook.

20.12 Grilled meat is good. Now we pack what we want to bring back home. Everything should be clear when we get up in the night. We have been at the front desk and arranged for a taxi that will be ready when we go.

20.52 It was an early good morning today and it will be an early good night. Tomorrow there will be an even earlier good morning.

Al Sharq Hotel in Sharjah has a minaret alarmingly close. Is it because of that the rooms have a good price?

Peter has found a religious object.

Saturday 5th of January

01.24 It's time to get up. This must be the earliest we have gotten up on any trip. Soon we will ride a taxi ride to the airport.

01.55 We are on our way in yet another taxi. The streets are pretty empty of cars but there are people up and they wander on here and there.

02.15 It went smooth to get to Dubai Airport and Terminal 1. Our taxi driver was somewhat quiet, silent. Maybe he was tired.

03.54 It went smoothly at the check-in and passport control. At both places, we saw the disgruntled Swedish ladies we saw in Istanbul. This time, they have had overweight on the luggage and had to repack. One could not go back to the check-in and one of the pointed to the Arabs at the passport control and said, "Look there are your hotties". A little setback is the fact that we only have boarding passes for the flight to Istanbul. Now we are having an early breakfast at Potbelly Sandwich. The boarding passes say that we will fly from gate C 8. According to the monitors, the right is C 15. Grease and fat from my sandwich are dripping down in the diary.

Dubai International Airport.

04.33 It was hearty sandwiches. They were clearly satisfying and just what we needed as a basis for a long trip home. Not that bad with coffee for me either. We've been thinking about what makes the Swedes ever so often look so confused and uncertain when they are traveling. Are they spoiled by the welfare country of Sweden? Must there always be an arrow, a guide, someone who tells what is right for everything to work? Now we are sitting at gate 11, yes it has changed again, and are ready for the flight.

04.54 We have put ourselves in the places intended for us here at Pegasus Airlines flight from Dubai to Istanbul. All I want to do now is sleep. I could not care at all about that safety information. There is no major difference this time compared with any previous flights.

07.52 It's time for a short note with the Turkish time. We have initiated an approach to Sabiha Gökcen Airport in Istanbul. There has been a lot of sleep between Dubai and here.

TURKEY

09.05 Some things have happened since we landed. A Swedish lady on the plane complained that the information was in broken English and that we have landed before the schedule. It went well to arrange new boarding pass at the transfer desk. As we stood in the queue for the security check, we heard a roar "you do not touch me" in Swedish. Not so smart to shout to the security people? If you absolutely have to shout to a Turk then why shout in Swedish? Another young man cut in front in the security queue. The man looked at him and asked for the boarding pass. The young man looked bewildered and left. Now we are back at the cafe we were on in the outward journey Altinkiliçlar Kahve.

09.57 Now we sit and wait for the last flight. We wonder what awaits us on the flight, and also back home. The airport is modern but seems significantly undersized. There is too little of everything. It is crowded everywhere.

10.18 We are on board and ready to fly. The ladies we have seen previously complained to another passenger on the problems that they needed to repack since it the weight was too much. He looked moderately sympathetic out.

We are landing in Istanbul.

We are flying somewhere over Europe.

10.39 It is time to return to Swedish time. We are currently over Moldova. Everything is quiet and the fact that there are thirteen hours have passed since we left our beds seems far.

12.27 We are heading into Swedish airspace. Below us we have the Baltic Sea. Our journey home has been going on for a while and soon we reach the next milestone.

13.05 The plane has landed and barely had just stopped at the gate as a number of passengers got up. Why the panic? Here they have been very still for hours so why not for a few more minutes? We sit in the rear of the plane and can not get out that much faster.

SWEDEN

13.48 We are back at the airport. My backpack was among the first in the luggage belt and Christer's among the last. Usually, they come together.

14.19 It had some coffee and sandwiches at 7-Eleven. Here, time has either stood still or gone very quickly. Here is an offer glued. On it, it says "Today is the 13th of December". They offer cinnamon rolls or other pastries for $7.

15.40 We were just strolling around in the Skycity and suddenly we met Patrick, an old friend that we studied together with at the University of Umeå. He is heading to Thailand with his wife, son, parents, father and father's girlfriend. Right now, we sit and talk with them in the Italian restaurant Sbarro.

Patrik is on his way to Thailand.

16.46 We said goodbye and happy trip to Thailand passengers. Now we will arrange with breakfast for tomorrow and dinner for today.

17.29 Breakfast and evening snack is bought. Now we are at the restaurant Alfredo's, for a pizza each. It is just over an hour to train departure.

18.46 Over the past day, we have gone with a taxi and two airplanes. Now we are on the road again. This time we travel by train to Sundsvall.

19.16 Right now, our train travels faster than any train has done with me on board. We're up to a speed of 202 km/h

22.34 For one day and ten minutes ago was the first note of the day. Now it's time for the final. We are back in Christer's apartment and the everyday life. We will remain in this everyday life until we do something else.