Monthly Archives: September 2007

Ramadan experience at Barr Al Jissah

Posted on by
Reply
Last night, we were invited by Shangri-la’s Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa to experience the atmosphere of Ramadan at the popular Sablah area of Al Bandar hotel.

The Sablah area was transformed into a local village with traditional Arabian tents and live entertainment. Though the weather is getting cooler by the day, the outdoors is a bit on the hotter side, and so is the Sablah area. Thanks to some heavy-duty fans, we didn’t feel the heat much.

As the divine smell of frankincense filled the air, we were greeted with a dose of Kahwa (Omani coffee), dates and nuts. Soon the menus started to appear on the table. Sadly, I am unable to recollect the names of a few of them. Nonetheless, we had hummus, qubbs, chick peas and some other pulses (yikes, I forgot the names again).

Our main course comprised of skewered meat/chicken sprinkled with veggies and finger chips. Since I am not into mutton for some years now, I tucked into those succulent chicken pieces. They were juicy and quite well made, and probably the best ever I had in Oman till date. Later, the Iranian chef told us that they had marinated the chicken for 24 hours by adding a bit of olive oil, and nothing else. Soon, the chicken shawarmas arrived, minus the mayonnaise. It tasted good too.

Sadly, we were so full that there was hardly any space left to relish a variety of Arabic desserts. The chef told us most of the preparations were oil and fat-free, something which enthuses me these days. On the whole, it was a pleasant experience, and much different from the mundane stuff on offer in other joints in town.

Hot Kahwa being served for guests.
Arabian tents dotting the Sablah area.

The duo performing live at the venue.
The skewered meat/chicken platter.
Iranian chef at work.
An array of Arabic desserts.
More Arabic desserts.

Hummus, qubbs, dips, etc.

Jet Airways will fly to Oman soon

Posted on by
Reply
A CNN-IBN report says:
The lucrative Gulf routes will no longer be the sole domain of public carriers, Indian and Air India. Jet Airways and its subsidiary Jetlite could be the first private Indian airlines given permission to fly there. Civil Aviation Ministry sources tell CNN-IBN that Jet could soon fly to Dubai, Abu Dabhi, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Yippee! This means Indian expats can fly home with cheaper airfares and more comforts post-January 2008. Another area I wish the rates could be more competitive is the long-distance telephony from Oman to India. At 200 baisa a minute, it hurts your pocket.

Maids get their due

Posted on by
Reply
A report in Arab News says:

India announced it would impose tighter restrictions on the recruitment of household workers, especially maids, beginning Sept. 1 as part of a new measure to check abuse of its contract workers abroad.

The new regulation, which covers 18 countries including Saudi Arabia, will require a mandatory $400 monthly salary and a security deposit of $2,500 in the form of bank guarantee with the Indian mission. The new rules would also set a minimum age of 30 and require employers to provide their domestic servants prepaid mobile phones.

The new measure, according to the circular issued by the Indian Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, will cover maids, butlers, cooks and drivers employed in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Libya, Jordan, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Brunei, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The 18th country is Iraq, and the norm will be enforced as and when India permits citizens to go and work there.

This is a welcome step, though it will affect middle class families who would want the services of part-time housemaids. In Oman, $400 per month translates into RO 160, which is quite exorbitant for families with a monthly income of around RO 600. The new ruling means the maids will no longer be able to enjoy free visa regimes that allowed them to work for multiple houses in a day.

But, this is a good deal for maids who are subjected to exploitation time and again by their sponsors, both locals and Indian expats. Like I say always, the main enemies for Indians in Oman are the Indians itself, and nobody else. This holds good for the Indian maids too. In most cases, the maids are not paid the promised salaries for months together, which affects the maid’s folks back home who depend on her income for their living.

There are enough and more stories of how maids are ill-treated by not giving them proper food or making them slog like a donkey. So much so that some maids run away from their sponsors, and work for other families without proper work permits or documents. Finally, they use the amnesty facility to get away from the mess, and return back to their homeland. It’s the same old sad story in almost all the Gulf nations!

Inspiration

Posted on by
Reply
Over the past few months, I have been noticing that my Oman-centric posts are being featured in a local media publication, albeit with a heavy dose of re-writing. They are unable in their efforts to douse my ‘personal flavour’ off the posts however hard they try to. Continue to get inspired, guys. I have no issues whatsoever!

24×7 mode

Posted on by
Reply

With Ramadhan soon approaching, Sultan Centre has taken a calculated risk of opening their stores round the clock, starting today. I am sure Ramadhan period will provide the ideal base for them to test waters. With most of the hypermarkets closing by 12am during normal days, there was a void to fill the 12am to 8am slot. I am sure Sultan Centre will fill that void.

I hope they come up with a midnight buffet for ‘night birds’ at their Jeans Grill restaurant. During weekends at least, it will be a super duper hit.

Meanwhile, Flavours, the multi-cuisine restaurant has opened its second outlet adjacent to Supa Save in MBD. Interestingly, they will be open round the clock, and takeaways delivered 24 hours.

I hope their MBD branch does well since the very place where Flavours has commenced operations has seen three different restaurants in three years.

Find an expat winner and win RO 100,000!

Posted on by
Reply

For the last two years, I recollect coming across a handful of expat winners in the weekly draws conducted by Bank Muscat. I was told the basic criteria to qualify for ‘Al Mazyona’ draw is that a person should have a ‘healthy balance’ in his/her account. I can understand that a majority of the middle class expats do maintain a thin balance, but what about those wealthy businessmen or professionals who have made Oman their second home for decades now. Why aren’t they winning either? I am flummoxed.
Meanwhile, things are looking much brighter with National Bank of Oman (NBO). An Indian expat has won NBO’s Al Kanz mega prize worth RO 50,000. Lucky chap!