My first days in Muscat

It all seems a blur…the night before leaving for Muscat I was having all sorts of nightmares, and even wanted to drop out of the flight! But then I guess destiny has something else in store for me and I am simply following on. I vividly remember Sunday morning, getting up at crack of dawn, hurried taxi to airport, all my folks wishing their final good byes, custom and security clearance, the laborers on the adjacent seats on Oman Air, watching the sea in awe from my window seat, the Arabic announcements on flight, the small Muscat Airport... upon landing in Muscat the clearance from Airport did not take long and thankfully a pick-up was arranged, from where I proceeded to the arranged service apartment.

First impressions about Muscat is that it’s a very clean city, though its small in size and nothing near a modern cosmopolitan. However rule of the law is feared and respected with constant vigil maintained by authorities in all forms, Sultan is a God here. However the cleanliness of the city is remarkable, I can’t imagine this cleanliness and maintenance anywhere in India. Also the city is blessed with a very bright sunshine and there is no pollution, a stark difference from Delhi. Moreover there are a good number of Indians around, so one feels not very far away from dear motherland but the differences cannot be ignored also, all your blogger profiles except the blognames and Facebook appear in Arabic here

Perhaps the only couple of things one has to be careful about are never to get involved with the feared authorities and the killer traffic on the road. Apart from this, the people appear friendly and helpful, atleast till now. The city is not at all hard to settle in and first few days have been pleasant and hassle-free, though I guess the real test will start once I move out of the company accommodation. A good feature of this city is the proximity of residential apartments to the workplace, one can actually do without a conveyance! Also the cost of living is reasonable and essentials are available nearby. The only drawback is the entire city goes to sleep after 9, though there is a cabaret bar near my apartment

On workfront it is all very challenging for there is nothing in name of HR here. I have been meeting different employees past some days, but I doubt if I could have ever got anything more daunting and testing at this stage of my career. I am aware that I am in for interesting times but am not intimidated by the uphill task awaiting me. After all good money demands good work too

My weekend starts on Friday and work week commences on previously lazy Sundays. This weekend I plan to go house hunting, a major concern for me is to find good housemates and then look to find my feet in the city soon. Will keep all of you posted, though replying to comments may take sometime.