Dubai Visitors and Early Adventures of Baby L: Muscat, Oman!

We had planned to go to Oman back in November, but due to some visa issues, we had to cancel the trip at the last minute.  So on the second attempt at Oman, I took Miss J to the Omani Consulate here in Dubai, we got her a visa stamp in her passport, and we were good to go!

But before we left, we learned that my sister's husband's parents were taking a little vacation tour to Dubai - so of course we had to go see them!  They spend most of the year in Hong Kong, so we hadn't seen them since Danielle and Jonny's wedding in 2015. We found out they were staying a night at Atlantis as part of their tour, and Baby L LOVES fish, so we met at the Lost Chambers Aquarium.  Incidentally, this is also the same aquarium that Danielle and I did our tank dives last year!  Baby L was a little doll, walking around saying "Fish! Fish!", and it was nice to see Jonny's parents, even if only for an hour or so.

Baby L, a very pregnant mommy, Mimi, and Richard

Baby L loves her some fish!

Baby L didn't really want to be held, because walking up to the glass is way more fun

We left the next day (Baby L's 18-month birthday!) for Oman.  Having Miss J with us while travelling made managing Baby L so much easier.  I know, I know, tons of parents travel with their kiddos without a nanny...and yet having her best friend along for the flight was definitely great for Baby L.  Plus, it's means that G and I get to take a real vacation, and Miss J gets to go somewhere she wouldn't otherwise be able to go...so win win win all around.

We chose to fly instead of drive since Baby L and cars have about a 90-minute maximum, and the flight there was a little rough. We've gotten a ton of use out of our mountain buggy bagrider suitcase - we purchased it for full price on Amazon.com, and I am not receiving any bonuses for stating that I love the product!

Jet Set Baby!

When we arrived in Oman, we were able to skip the visa collection line since I'd gotten everyone's visas in advance.  This was a huge time saver.  We breezed through immigration and met our meet & greet outside customs to be whisked off to the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa.  It's about a 45 minute drive from the airport, and it's nestled between the coast and the mountains just outside Muscat. The resort has 3 different hotels, Al Husn for adults only (mental note for future trips!), Al Bandar for the more business-focused traveller, and Al Waha for families.  We had a "family" room, which was basically 2 rooms connected by a very narrow entryway.  The rooms were a bit dated, but having the adjoining rooms was nice because we could close the entry to the hallway, and Baby L could wander between the 2 rooms like she owned the place.

Baby L and Miss J spent time exploring the resort while G and I took long naps, went to the spa, had nice evening dinners, and generally relaxed for our last getaway before Baby #2 graces us with her presence.

Babymooners!

I would give the Shangri-La a 3 out of 5 stars - the resort itself was beautiful, and amenities like pool and spa were great.  The rooms were pretty dated and looked fairly run down, which is unlike any Shangri-La I'd been to previously, and the room service menu was pretty limited (seriously, what kind of family-focused hotel doesn't have PIZZA on the room service menu??).  The Shangri-La also didn't have an Asian restaurant on site, which was surprising since the Shangri-La chain is based in Hong Kong and started in Singapore.

Baby L making friends at the pool

Baby L VERY interested in the horsey horsey, but afraid to pet it!

We spent 3 glorious nights at the resort, and while we didn't see much of Muscat other than the mountains, we had a blast.  I think Baby L's favorite thing was running up and down the long hallways of the hotel. Since it was carpeted and "family friendly", we pretty much just stood at either end of the hall and let her run free!

The flight home was much better as we flew Emirates instead of FlyDubai and we were able to get the bulkhead seats with extra legroom.

Perks of travelling with a lap infant

The flight attendants on Emirates are usually super baby friendly and this trip was no exception. Fortunately for us, Baby L was sooooo exhausted from her adventuring that she passed out about halfway through the 1-hour flight.

Sweet snuggly baby!

The next time Baby L gets on a plane, it will be as a big sister!!!  Only 2 months left until Baby #2 joins us, and we can't wait to meet her!