The other side of the Omani postcard

I have been working and living in Muscat, the cosmopolitan capital of the Sultanate of Oman for over 15 years now. In a sense, one could say I'm a ‘fresher' here as I know scores of expatriates (mostly from the Asian subcontinent of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) who have been living in Oman for over 30 years now !!

Personally, Oman is a breathtakingly beautiful, clean, neat and well-maintained city. The roads are really superb. Anyone who's from Asia can't fail to notice and appreciate that. Omanis by nature are a calm, collected and friendly bunch of people. Always polite and courteous toward one another, as well as with all the expatriates impartially. This is perhaps the best part of Oman. Expatriates are treated with regard and respect – something which is not so common in the other neighbouring countries of the Gulf.
Interestingly, my very first and most memorable experience of Muscat (which I still remember like it was yesterday) was when I landed for the first time at the then Seeb International Airport (now called the Muscat International Airport), I was greeted by pin drop silence. I found the airport's arrival lounge so quiet, despite teeming with passengers, that the silence was almost deafening !

Things have changed quite a bit during the time that I have spent here. Traffic in the roads has grown dramatically, resulting in frequent traffic jams on all arterial highways. But more importantly, given the population imbalance between the locals and the expatriates, I can now see a certain growing animosity between mostly the younger generation of Omanis and the expatriates. Jobs too are becoming scarce for the expatriates given the government's thrust on providing gainful employment for the locals – particularly the large number of youth who pass out of colleges every year.

Oman is still a great place for all expatriates to live safely with families, work hard, earn good and save well. But for how long is really the question.