Wow Time can Fly

Sur, Oman

It's been a pretty big couple of months, to say the least.

I am in fact now married to a beautiful woman. I've accepted a new job in Oman and my whole life has changed around. So far everything has been pretty great. For those that don't know, the wedding was on August 4 and although the day was a usual bundle of stress I am really really REALLY greatful to all the people that came all the way from Canada. Mom, Dad, Pa, Matt, Jeremy and Melissa. Thanks all for coming! It meant a lot! I will put some photos on here in the next couple days.

After the wedding came a sort-of honeymoon in Olympos in Southern Turkey. I say sort-of cause about a million of Sadife's friends managed to tag along so it ended up a little less personal than we would have liked. Still, Olympos is one of my favorite places in Turkey now. A fantastic beach with huge Roman ruins overlooking the whole site. Best of all, no big (or small) hotel chains to be found.

In the beginning of September I arrived here in Oman and have been "working" throughout the month. I put it in quotes because so far we have had no students and I only come in for an hour or so each day. Not bad for 2500 a month +housing/utilities/medical! Buuuuuut the party is over and starting next week we expect students to start rolling in.

Oman is a lot nicer than Saudi Arabia. The people here are equally (or possibly more friendly) but the key is they are much more open minded. Sadife is comfortable here and isn't forced to wear the head to toe black abaya. She normally walks around in t-shirt and a long skirt/pants. We are staying in a small city (about 60,000 people) by the name of Sur on Oman's east coast. Our flat is only a five minute walk from the sea where there is a nice beach and a promenade for walking. About 50 km south is a popular beach where giant turtles come to breed all year round. To the north about 150 km is Muscat, the capital, (and a little further on is Dubai) and to the west a ways off are the sand dunes. It's a very centrally located place with lots of good opportunities for outdoor activities. The only downside is we need a car... which isn't too hard once we get a work visa... but we have been waiting a month now and there is still no sign of it. Hopefully it comes soon as we'd both like to get out and about and start experiencing the country a little.

I'll also post some pictures of my apartment and a few of Oman in the coming days. Right now I'm writing from work and as such I don't have access to all my files.

One last piece of news... Perhaps the main reason it's been 2 months since an update here is I have been working a lot on a new website which is also a "blog" on this trip but is being designed in a much more professional way. Check it out and let me know what you think. http://www.onwalkabout.net/ I will have more pictures on there as the time goes by. For now I have published 2 different articles in 4 different online magazines and I hope to get a few more as time goes on. I will be updating the site regularly starting in November.

I think that's it for now. Check back in a few days for some photos and I hope everyone is doing well!

Half-Time Numbers

Izmir, Turkey

Well, I am a month late... oops...

But here are the numbers for the first year of my trip, as begun 6 months ago... wow, I have been gone a long time....

From June 25/09 - June 25/10


Intercity Flights Taken: 13
Intercity Busses Taken: 35
Intercity Trains Taken: 12
Intercity Ferries Taken: 6
Cities Cycled Between: 7
Missed Busses/Trains: 2
Cars Rented: 1

Times hit on by girls: 9
Times hit on by guys: 1
Times fallen in love: 1

Times Couch Surfed:10
Panick Attacks Had: 3
Times Lost Something: 1
Times Robbed: 0
Times Seriously Sick: 2
Injuries Received:15
Streetshows Watched: 25

Caves Viseted: 4
Castles Visited: 8
Religious Buildings Visited: 26
Cities Visited: 49
Countries Visited: 15

Times I've been Lost and Taxi's taken have been eliminated from the list... the numbers were just too numerous! I've also eliminated Times Watched TV. But don't judge me! I spent 5 months in Saudi!!!

Also, I added Cars rented and times sick.

That's it for now. Will write more later! I'm getting married in a week!

Wedding Plans

Izmir, Turkey

I'm getting married. Three weeks to go. After a nightmare of a week running around, basically being the government's bitch, we finally have our permission to tie the knot and thus choose a date. As it turns out, August 4, 2010 will be a pretty important day for me!

So now the running around begins... We wanted a small wedding. Just a few people, family and friends..... no such luck. Okay, it IS small, compared with many... probably about 50 people will come. But still, the amount of work we have to put into planning it is fairly large. The good news is, we don't have 6 months to stew over all of it. We'll just put our heads down, get stuff done and in three weeks we can relax! Not a bad deal. Besides, our honeymoon will be in a place called Olympos named after the Gods. It's in Southern Turkey along the sea. Long white beaches, green hills, and houses in the trees. Gonna be awesome!

Also, consider this an open invitation for anyone who wants to come. It looks like a return flight is going for about $1200 with only one stop over. So that itself is not so bad for Turkey. If any of ya'll have some vacation time and want to head out here, send me an email wcarne@gmail.com and I will help you find a good ticket and a place to stay!

That's it for now, just a quick update. I don't imagine I'll write much in the next few weeks, but I'll try to get back to things in August. Still not sure where I'll be off to in September but Oman and Istanbul are the front runners. Will let you all know!

Also, I have published the first of many prospective travel articles based on this trip. If you'd like to read it, the first is online at www.travelmag.co.uk/?p=2215. Hopefully I will be able to get it published in a few more places as I go.