Oman in the Mirror

The title of this blog may be a little misleading, there is nothing virtual about my travels no matter how much I would sometimes wish this were true. My title “VirtualTourist” has it’s origins in two parents, one an Ex-pat bar and Improv theatre in Amsterdam called Boom Chicago and the other what I do for a living. Two years ago my colleague, Adele, and I had a unique opportunity to explore Amsterdam at length and found ourselves repeatedly at the bar at Boom. On a couple of occasions we decided to put our skills to the test, with moderate success, in a weekly trivia night and we needed a team name which we derived from what we actually do for work. One of the photo products I shoot is called a Virtual Tour, it is a 360 degree panoramic image, hence The VirtualTourist.


I have been in the Middle East for almost two weeks on assignment work shooting 360's of lobbies, pools, bars and hotel rooms, sometimes at very awkward hours. After a late shoot and a long day I found myself staring at my reflection in an elevator mirror and wondering if this is indeed the face of exhaustion. I am almost finished my assignment in Oman and tomorrow I will be leaving for Dubai for two weeks in a city regarded as Las Vegas on Crack.

This afternoon I took advantage of an opportunity to get into the city for a couple of hours. I was dropped off on the Corniche, in the port area, and left to explore both the tourist and fish souks. The tourist market is a labyrinth of corridors, stalls and vendors selling spices, frankincense, fabrics and cheap trinkets. Everyone was my friend and everyone wanted to show me what they had for sale. The exchange between the vendors and the tourists is a well practiced dance, vendors seem to know exactly what the tourists are looking for even if they don’t. During my short tour I was offered t-shirts, head wear and textiles and I did my best to smile and wave my way through the crowds.

The fish market was a little more interesting, crowded, hot and smelling of the day’s catch, I noticed much that I can’t imagine seeing in the market on Granville Island. Tiny shark, whole tuna and dozens of other kinds of fish were piled on mats lying on the floor. The fish market experience couldn’t be more different from shopping at home. It is these experiences that remind me that I am indeed a long way from South Granville Rise.

Well in a fit of homesickness I am going to take a wander down the beach to “coffee corner,” it is a little plaza with a Starbucks, a Costa (UK) and a Second Cup. A Second Cup? I haven’t seen a Second Cup since the last time I was in Montreal. If only there was a Tim’s!