Corinne goes to UAE, Oman and Bahrain 2003. Page 2

Contrary to what one might think, the Persian Gulf arabs show a charming open mindedness towards little me !

Arrival in Muscat, Oman

On arrival at Seeb international airport in Muscat a team of New Zealander rugbymen in the airport couldn't believe their eyes. I guess I was quite the last thing they expected to see out here. When my turn came for immigration the man handed my passport to his sergeant who informed me that there was a mistake in it ... it said M instead of F. I explained I was a transsexual but was taken to see the officer who was shown the offending document... and who immediately sent the man away with a flea in his ear ! I said "What's the matter - doesn't he like my photo ?" The officer apologised for the inconvenience and wished me a pleasant stay, beaming all over his face. This is all tremendously civilised and quite unexpected.

A European woman dressed in a djallabah and Jesus-sandals smiled at me and said "You're going to get hassled non stop here, my dear !" Then there was a problem at the customs.... My stuff was carefully inspected and then the woman found my hormones. Great consternation all around and a great deal of muttering. A third customs officer was called. I explained they were hormones and that I was changing sex. He took the estradiol away to check, then came back and everything was ok. The woman apologised and I left to look for a taxi.

The 20 km. ride cost the equivalent of € 25. Muscat is a lovely small city with many old buildings, black mountains and a deep blue sea. There is a great deal of greenery too... lush palm trees, lots of flowers... no skyscrapers... very nice !

The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Muscat

The Crowne Plaza Hotel sits atop a cliff in Qurum, overlooking the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, surrounded by lush gardens and flowers of all descriptions. I was very nicely welcomed and I explained to a friendly Indian lady at the reception that I was only in Muscat for 2 days and would like to see as much as possible in that short period. She kindly arranged a 4 hour tour for me the following morning.

I then put on my denim miniskirt and took my camera and wandered around the grounds and pool. Unfortunately the hotel beach was closed, apparently because a recent storm had eroded half the beach away and guests were not permitted to enjoy the remaining half. I felt much too fat and pale to go to the pool so sunbathed in a bikini on my balcony, took a shower and re-did my make up, dressing in jeans, hiking boots and black halterneck t-shirt as I wanted to go for a long walk as soon as the day cooled down. It's far too expensive to use taxis or to eat in the hotel.

A pleasant night-time stroll...

As the sun was going down some of the vicious heat began to subside so I set off on foot along the winding corniche road. Just about every single car that drove past honked at me and I received endless comments in arabic. It got to be very exasperating, especially as I had no idea whether they were insulting me or just saying good evening (or indeed something a little spicier !). A taxi kept stopping next to me and the driver began masturbating. I'm well aware that, when abroad, one should try to accomodate local customs but this did seem somewhat excessive... I had to wave down a policeman on a motorbike to ask him to tell the taxi to stop bothering me !

Corinne gets propositioned, again and again...

Some young boys on bikes followed me for ages and one came up behind and smacked me on the bum. Anxious to distance myself from them I accepted a lift from a young guy in a BMW to a shopping centre where I ate a cheapo Lebanese meal with water - let's hope I'm a kilo lighter tomorrow... I decided to play it safe and took a taxi back to the hotel because I couldn't work out in which direction to walk. The driver, who looked no more than 16, asked if he could come up to my room then started playing with himself and trying to hold on to me.

Before I could get into the hotel the driver of a big Mercedes asked me to sit and talk for a minute. He also asked if he could come to my room... for a bj for $ 100. I wonder if my estrogen is giving me a female odour which men are picking up subliminally ? They certainly seem to be getting more insistant... and I wasn't even wearing a skirt ! And before any wise-guys say anything, it can't be my tits coz I haven't got any (well not yet anyway).

Next day - a personal guided tour of Muscat

Went to breakfast wearing my purple long-sleeved t-shirt, jeans with pink leather belt, and beige wedges. Looked kinda cute really. Afterwards I met Sohail, the bearded Omani guide who was in fact the owner of the tour company. He looked very resplendant in his turban and flowing white robes. We went off in his 5 litre 4 wheel drive gas guzzling tin can. I was, most unfortunately, unable to go inside the mosques because of my lack of decent head gear, however a quick photo outside the Al Qubrah Mosque gives the impression of a cultural visit, doesn't it ?

How's this for a pretty beach ?

Having looked around the centre of Muscat Sohail said that, because I was showing such genuine interest in my surroundings, he would take me off the beaten track to see a very pretty piece of coast line which was normally too far away for the 4 hour tour. Hmmm... was this going to turn into a snog and a grope behind the sand dune then ? Actually Sohail was a real gentleman and never propositioned me once. The beach was indeed absolutely beautiful as you can see behind me. Sadly it was due to be developed into a hotel resort... one more piece of the world's remaining coastline goes under the concrete.

Up into the coastal mountains

We climbed up a little way into the mountains. It was incredibly hot and the altitude didn't make much difference. Luckily I had by white brolly to protect my fair complexion from the sub tropical sun !

The castle

Next we returned to Muscat and Sohail took me to see the fort overlooking Al Muttrah port. We didn't have time to go in but at least I saw it from the outside !

The souk

The last stop on my lightning tour of Muscat was the Old Muttrah Souk which was very clean and pretty. Lots of gold, all way beyond my financial reach but that didn't worry me coz I'm more than happy with my cheap plastic jewellry ! I don't know why all the vendors stop what they are doing to look at me. I can't afford to buy anything here chaps !