Category Archives: Chocolate

Day 240 – Exploring Sohar

look at all this food - wohoo!

look at all this food – wohoo!

It was late yesterday…for Lina and Michael who waited for us to arrive and for us who needed to ride to Sohar and clear a border in between. Thus, we were all rightly tired and took it slow. The best start into the day is a rich and long breakfast so Lina did her best to impersonate her parents who have perfected that art. What I am trying to say: Breakfast was amazing. From a breakfast egg to fresh bread to the veggie platter. As always, I ate too much and as Michael put it, breakfast took three hours. 🙂

By the time we were ready to explore Sohar, it was 1pm. Sohar is not really a tourist destination as we found out when we looked for things to do on the Lonely Planet website. To be honest, it asked us if we’d “gone off the beaten track?”. However, there are still things to look at so we started with a trip to the ocean. When we had looked at the temperature in Oman last week, it was around 25 degrees but today, the car showed a lovely 34 degrees outside. Lina and Michael assured us that it changed only a day ago but such is our luck…it is hot here as well.

These things looks the same all around the world ...

These things looks the same all around the world …

After a stroll along the beach, we drove to a Portuguese fort. There are renovations going on at the moment so it was closed to the public but we still managed to take some lovely shots of it.

The next attraction on the list was Sohar’s only mall. Recently, a “Chocolate Room” has opened there (Lina told me this a couple of weeks ago) so it was definitely a destination. Also, I really needed to keep my eyes open for a headscarf as the improvised black cotton would not do in this weather. So we entered a lovely little shop full of pretty scarfs and traditional male headwear…which were too pricey for us…but Lina said I can have one as a combined birthday gift. 😀 I now got an amazingly pretty, coloured, Kashmir-silk headscarf. So happy!

After this surprising gift, we went to the Chocolate Room and had hot chocolates. Can the day get any better?

Tired, we got home again. Too tired to cook, food (too much of it) was ordered. Well, since a picnic was planned for tomorrow, we were now all set of this as well. 🙂

Day 239 – Customs

We had a great breakfast among Afghan and Pakistani expats in a little restaurant near our hotel. Fresh bread, good coffee and tea all for 7 dirham (less than $3 NZ). Nina wisely ordered a second helping of flat bread to help us through the day should things not go to plan.

Pick-up of our passports with the visa in it!

Pick-up of our passports with the visa in it!

The Iranian embassy was a breeze – half an hour wait and we got our passports with the long desired visas back. We also met another overlander waiting there with us. He actually came from Iran with his family in a big truck but was now in the process of organizing to go back. His story was heartbreaking and another reminder that you just can’t plan for all that can happen on the road.

By the time we dropped off our rental car back at the airport, we had gotten an email status update on the bike. Unfortunately, it was a bit nondescript. Last night we were told it would take at least until noon to get it ready for pick up. Not sure what to do we decided on the half way solution of chilling for another hour and then getting over there to pick it up (which later turned out to have been a bad idea).

We knew that the bike needed to be picked up from cargo village further towards the inner city from the passenger terminal but we had no idea how far it would be. In the end, we decided on public transport because of our bags. After waiting 20 minutes on the right bus, we found out that it was only 5 minutes away. In the bus, I also landed my first cultural faux-pas by plonking down in the women and family section of the bus without realizing it. Another expat in the bus was kind enough to explain and I moved to the back of the bus before collecting a fine.

After wandering a bit in the massive area, we found ourselves in the equally massive customer service area of Emirates SkyCargo. We did not know whether or how much additional fees we would need to pay. 250 dirham was painful but still ok. After that we wandered conveniently over just across the corridor to the Emerati customs office to complete the import formalities.

This is where things went wrong for us. I knew that the U.A.E. is a carnet country and had all our documents ready. What I had not found out in time was that for us to be able to clear customs, I had to have insurance for the bike. The customs officer kindly directed us to a place in the next building where we could browse the internet to try and get Rocinante insured. It was made harder by the fact that we chose not to buy a SIM card for the two days in Dubai (we will sure never make that mistake again). We spent an hour but no insurance I found was willing to insure a non-resident. Defeated, we therefore went back to the customs officer. He was able to help us out and got us in contact with an insurance broker that would sell us one month worth of insurance.

Finally, we had made our way to the insurance company in a mall

Finally, we had made our way to the insurance company in a mall

From there, unfortunately, it took us almost two hours to get to the place where we could buy the insurance. In a series of follies we walked with all our luggage back to the terminal, did not find free WiFi, bought a SIM but realized that activation would take three hours, spent even more money on WiFi and finally hopped into a taxi to what we hoped would be the insurer’s office, with 40 minutes to go before they would close at 4 pm. Luckily, it was close to the airport and we got there in time.

Staff was lovely there and when one of the assistants heard about what we were doing, we got interviewed in-depth to the entertainment of all reception staff. This, together with the insurance certificate really lifted our spirits when we hopped into a taxi back to the Cargo Village.

This time we had all the required documents, but it was getting late. There had been a shift change in the meantime and the new customs officer got right to work. As often on our trip, we realized soon that we were the big exception in the way we travel. Having to deal with carnets does not seem to happen often. After the initial paperwork and payment of another 35 dirham, we were directed to the warehouse for a final inspection and to collect the stamps in the carnet.

Rocinante being delivered to us. Right afterwards, I was told off for taking pictures

Rocinante being delivered to us. Right afterwards, I was asked not to take any more pictures.

After all was said and done, the warehouse foreman looked at me and asked where my pick-up transport would be to get the bike delivered to. When I pointed at the bike he was confused, but soon I could get across that I was indeed intend on assembling the bike and riding it out. They dropped the pallet with the bike on an empty space outside and I got to work.

Nina’s worries that we would not be able to put the bike together were quickly dispersed. A bunch of warehouse workers were eager and helpful in uncrating and assembling the bike. By the time we finished, it was quarter to seven and the sun was about to set. What should we do?

I was keen on getting on the road. After putting Lina and Michael’s address into the GPS, I even thought we should stick with our initial plan and ride there all the way. After all, it was only 230 km. The only uncertainty was if the border would be open all night. Riding in the dark was far less of an issue. We saw from the plane that all major highways are lit at night.

Roadside fast food...really necessary as we skipped lunch

Roadside fast food…really necessary as we skipped lunch

We rode out of the Cargo Village and stopped at the next petrol station to fill up. The attached Pizza Hut provided the long overdue dinner and a chance to check with Lina regarding the border. By now, our phone was activated and we had 3G – wohoo! The border turned out to be open 24/7, so by 7.15 pm we were finally on our way (we planned to leave at 2 pm).

Just as we were finally cruising on the motorway, another issue came up. The ABS light was on and I suddenly realised why: The front sensor was not working … because I put the front wheel in the wrong way. So we pulled over in front of some car wash places and with the help of some volunteered Indian expats flipped the front wheel around in record time.

The road was smooth, in perfect condition and well lit.

Good roads, well lit, almost no traffic. We made good progress

Good roads, well lit, almost no traffic. We made good progress

We made it to the U.A.E. border in a little bit more than an hour. Leaving took a bit of time since we only found out after getting our passport stamped that the customs check point was actually before the immigration one.

Next up was Oman. The visa on arrival was straight forward – if a little painful for our strained wallets at this point. We decided to play it safe and went for the 30 day visa instead of the 10 day one. One last check of our bike insurance and we finally made it through at 11.45 pm.

Knackered but happy we arrived at our friends’ place. With just a hint of terror, we pushed the door bell of the flat we thought would be the right one. Luckily, regarding that it was 12.30 am, it was the right one. We got a warm welcome and collapsed soon after into an incredibly comfortable bed …

Day 226 – Traveler’s meeting

Epic food hipster shot - it was tasty, too.

Epic food hipster shot – it was tasty, too.

It was late yesterday…a nice long sleep-in was in order. Around 11am, we actually left the guesthouse in search of breakfast. Since it was so late already, we had the vague plan of making this breakfast more of a brunch and save on lunch. Arriving at Angel’s Secret, they had an extensive brunch menu and thus, brunch it was. Amazing brunch to be honest. We had everything from a big tea pot with apricot cookies to a French chocolate croissant, muesli with fresh fruit and yogurt to a big hearty egg sandwich. So yummy!

However, I didn’t feel too well today. Nothing serious, just likely that I caught Flo’s runny nose. So back to bed for more sleep and some home-y you tube shows.

In the evening, a big traveler’s meeting happened. Leonie, Peter and Chantal were still in town who we wanted to meet anyway and Chantal met more overlanders at her hostel who were happy to meet up, too. In the end, there were nine of us: Pia, Pascal, Frederic, Raphael, Chantal, Peter, Leonie, Flo and I. Quite the big gathering actually. First, I wasn’t sure if I’d be up for it but in the end, I was super happy that I went even if I left early to go back to bed. It was a nice meeting and our last chance to see off Amsterdam to Anywhere who will be leaving for Myanmar tomorrow.

Day 203 – Plains

The guest house's dog took a liking to Flo...but well enough behaved to not follow into the room :)

The guest house’s dog took a liking to Flo…but well enough behaved to not follow into the room 🙂

We got annoyed with ourselves this morning for failing at breakfast. Or maybe it was just that yesterday’s one was so good that it was impossible to live up to it. The cute little community run cafe we wanted to go to had moved out of town a while back and we were a bit headless in finding another place to go. It was pre-coffee time, after all. So we ended up in the cafe of the resident fancy hotel, paying almost NZ prices while getting airport quality food, 🙁

Nonetheless, the day came into its own from here. The main goal was to cross the empty wasteland that is the central Mekong lowland. 300 km of the main highway following the path of the Mekong until Thakhek, where we would stay for the night to leave on another loop off the main road to explore the central east.

These things are the slowest vehicles on the road here. Mostly because they are totally overloaded

These things are the slowest vehicles on the road here. Mostly because they are totally overloaded

The ride was pleasantly uneventful, we found nice lunch and once again arrived at our guesthouse in the early afternoon. We went with the nr. 1 recommendation from the lonely planet a bit out of town. They had a room, albeit a rustic and simple affair with bare concrete floor and a bed which’s springs were covered by not much more than a layer of rice paper (or that is how it felt like). The whole place was packed with high energy, mostly culturally insensitive 20something backpackers. Then again, they have a bonfire every night. 🙂

Dinner in town was a bit of a disaster – but we used that opportunity to have a good talk about changing our food strategy. I am pretty sure we got it back on track with that.

We thought to finish a quick blog post before hitting the bed that night. I had a beer and we popped down in the common area. By chance I had overheard a young German couple talking about going to Cambodia some time later and used my chance to get rid of our last remaining Cambodian Riel. We got talking over that and soon it was clear that we would once again not manage to catch up on the blog. Tabea and Nils were great company and we spend the rest of the night talking about life, travel and the world.

Day 184 – Sunrise and a treat

Having booked a second night in the budget room and one instead of two nights at the fancy place, our plans crumbled slightly. Since we spent a bit of money on the fancy room, we wanted to get some use out of it and enjoy the amenities. Thus, we would go to the temples in the morning, check out at lunch time and then spend the afternoon lounging and relaxing.

Good plan. Until we decided that it would also make sense to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat today instead of tomorrow so that we could sleep in in our fancy room. This meant that the alarm clock went off at 5am. So freaking early. I mean, we don’t sleep in too much but with the sun rising at 6.30am, there is no reason to get up before 7am. Now there was, though.

Just enough light - and no muppet in the way

Just enough light – and no muppet in the way

We rode Rocinante into the temple complex where we joined the long throng of tuk-tuks all moving towards Angkor Wat. It was going to be crowded. All the “perfect” spots by the pond were already taken. They are “perfect” because Angkor Wat is mirrored in the water if it’s a still enough day without too many clouds. We sat down on the grass a bit away from the pond but ended up moving around quite a bit while the sun was rising. It gets light so quickly before you can actually see the sun. We took some very pretty pictures but with the crowd, it didn’t feel like a special sunrise at all.

Underexposure ftw ...

Underexposure ftw …

When the crowds started to disperse, we sat down at the pond, having a quick breakfast of Nutella toasts. Because sunrise and probably also sunset are such a thing, many kids were running around trying to sell you postcards or magnets. They were all incredibly cute but I got upset when tourists asked them for a picture and then paid them a dollar for it. All you accomplish with that behaviour is that these kids will continue to work there instead of going to school. There are actually signs posted at the temples with “Don’t give money or candy to children, it encourages them not to attend school” and some people still do it. /rant

Ta Keo was the next temple on our list. It’s a pyramid with many, very steep steps and it is currently under heavy reconstruction. Still, we saw only a handful of other people there so early in the morning. Very peaceful.

In a way, Ta Prohm is more impressive than the cleared temples. Nature's power over man is awe inspiring.

In a way, Ta Prohm is more impressive than the cleared temples. Nature’s power over man is awe inspiring.

The so-called “Lara Croft” temple Ta Prohm was the next in line. This temple is mostly a ruin as trees have wreaked havoc with the walls and roofs. Being famous for featuring in a Lara Croft movie, it is picturesquely broken to our eyes. There are efforts to reconstruct a couple of areas. Here, we only managed to be half an hour earlier than the tourist buses.

Being really tired and also hungry again already, we decided to visit Sra Srang and then call it a day with the temple visits. Sra Srang is not actually a temple but a huge basin that was built as the royal bathing pond. The stairs with the guarding lions is still standing but access to the pond is off limits except for the fishermen.

Back at the hostel, we were still in time for a late breakfast so our hunger was taken care of. Afterwards, I still got to nap for an hour before we had to pack and check out at noon. Our fancy accommodation turned out to be fancy indeed. Though we had to leave the budget hostel at noon, check in in the new place was at 2pm. Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived at 12.20pm. We were seated in the lounge on a couch, had wet towels brought for refreshment as well as a lime drink and banana chips. Good signs, huh?

Flo is sceptic...

Flo is sceptic…

About half an hour later, we were shown to our room which was HUGE and lovely and the staff had scattered flowers on the bed and there were swans made out of the towels and the phrase “Florian Bocher we <3 u” was spelled out on the bed…I LOVED it.

Still being tired but also being hot from the motorcycle ride, we jumped in the pool (extra pool towels ftw) before having a second nap in the plushy, comfy bed. At around 3pm, I dragged Flo along to another “dining for a cause” café, this time specializing in cupcakes while supporting Cambodian women in their vocational training. Check out the Blossom Café if you are in Siem Reap!

Uber-rich chocolate cupcake and lime splash

Uber-rich chocolate cupcake and lime splash

I couldn’t really decide what I wanted because there were so many flavours. In the end, I went with peppermint tea and a chocolate hazelnut cake pop while Flo ordered an uber-rich chocolate cupcake for me. He got a lime splash and a raspberry lemon one to his coffee. Very decadent, I know, but so worth it. 🙂

The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging on the comfortable furniture, reading, browsing the net or watching something. For dinner, we walked to the Peace café, another vegetarian restaurant, but it had moved so we ended up in the vegetarian restaurant across the road before heading “home” to watch a movie on the flat screen tv. It was almost like the shortest holiday in history.