Art in Shanghai!

While in Shanghai, I discovered Lin Hairong! I love her art! Mostly of children, but expressive and beautiful. Upon return to the United States I 'googled' her and found all these wonderful articles about her!

Enjoy her art! Enjoy the reads!

Lin Hairong Article One From NYarts magazine
Lin Hairong Article Two From China Today
Lin Hairong Article Three From Art Slant
Lin Hairong Article Four From Art Link Art

I am also including a link to Eastlink Gallery in Shanghai. If you get a chance to visit while you are there- take advantage!

Happy Earth Day to You!

Love our Earth! Treat her well!

Location:Shanghai China

Happy Love Day

Love the place where you are!
"Home is where the Self dwells." -Toni Morrison

Salalah!

The last city we visited was Salalah. I have to say, we kind of decided to just chill out here- sea side. We had a fabulous place, staying with the Kumar's- just outside of town- at an enormous- fine white sanded beach. We felt like we had the run of the place! It was perfect to just relax. The food here- at the hotel was cooked by Mrs. Kumar. We also ate in the neighborhood- not very touristy- but had some serious curries!

On New Years, a local troupe, came to the hotel and played their African Drums and danced a typical "Bedouin Dance" while all the time singing in Arabic. The culture and ethnicity's in the south certainly are more diverse- for some Omanis speak Arabic, Swahili, and well as others.

It is worth visiting souk to get a sense of life and culture in Salalah- sip a tea at one of the tea kiosks.

You can bird watch in Salalah and even hang out with flamingos. You can drive by amazing red, brown, and white dramatic cliffs. You can retreat to your own private nook of a beach or wadi. There are amazing tours to the old tombs and palaces (Like the Queen of Sheba). All this could be yours in Salalah.

The Drive to Niswa

You should definitely want to rent a car in Oman. Driving in the countryside is pretty spectacular. Plus what is more fun than driving down a highway and have a herd of goats or camels (or both) stop you so that they can cross the street!? Not much. I know. It was quite a site!

The red rock, the rough edges in the mountains and the pointy sharp peaks, were magnificent to drive through.

On your way to Nizwa there are little towns along the route. Certainly in the area there are many towns to check out, like Bahla, the Green Mountain, and more. If you go in the spring time, supposedly there are endless trees and fruits blossoming which is another huge tourist attraction to this area. Even though we went in December, the Green Mountain, got a little snow. It made the news!

We went to the famous and amazing fort in Nizwa, twice. What a wonderful way to spend the day ad learn more bout the history and life in Oman. Then we walked around the souk.

We wanted to stay at the Falaj Daris Hotel. But it was full. Instead we ate there. We ended up staying at Al Diyar, a lovely place as well.

Remember to book ahead.

Take a Trip to Musact!

My trip to Oman was amazing! I will break it down in a few different posts!

It is worth spending time researching where Oman is and thinking about its very recent history.

Tourism is still young. Even the number of roads and accessibility to the country is quite young.

With all of this said, We spent a few days in Muscat, the capital. Oman used to be known as Muscat and Oman. Now it is just Oman. So, Muscat is a major part of the country. Things that struck me, the beautiful architecture, the blue/green sea, the organized infrastructure, the gigantic mosque, and the amazing Indian food!

We took a beautiful days walk down the corniche, the seaside board walk. We walk to the old city. There you can see the unique styled palace that looks out over the sea. All through Muttrah and the Old City are museums about history and art in Oman.

We also went to the souk. There they have the old silver, beautiful embroidered hats, which all the boys and men wear in Oman, and other souvenirs that you can buy.

We stayed at Al Falaj. A wonderful hotel set in Rumi, outside of Muttrah. It had a nice atmosphere, free breakfast and pool. We found it quite pleasant to stay there and gave us another look at life in Muscat, outside of the 'downtown'.

We spent each day in Muscat at the beach. We drove to Al Qurum, where the beach is large, clean and beautiful. We had hours of fun playing in the surf and building sand castles!

Here are three of the favorite places we ate in Muscat: Bin Atique, became one of our favorite places to eat. Omani food. My nephew, age 3, would request, "Let's go to the restaurant with a room." Families in most Omani restaurants have a family sections that are divided into rooms. It was actually quite lovely for him and us to have room and privacy. He ate more and had less distractions. You could also watch Omani soap operas on the TV that was in each room (priceless).

Mumtaz Mahal- and Indian Restaurant not far form the beach- was an amazing dining experience. The food was amazing and they had live music. The view from the restaurant terrace is absolutely stunning- over looking Muscat.

Kamat- is a wonderful Indian Vegetarian restaurant that we loved. It was just a few blocks form our hotel in Rumi. Super delicious food.

Muscat was a wonderful visit. Be on the look out for our next posting about our drive to Niswa!