Job Discussion Forums

[Win Some Lose Some]

This is a more generalized question than my previous posts. Just wondering what the folks who live (or have lived) in Ibra would say about this.

Thanks.

P.S. I'm guessing that there are no trees there.

[lizziebennet]

Watch camels on the side of the road
Watch camel races
Ride a camel
Eat a camel
Look at goats
Eat goats

Visit the old buildings in different sites nearby like old Ibra
Visit the different watchtowers families used to have in times past

Drink overly priced, watered down drinks at Ibra hotel
Swim in the Ibra hotel pool (although not often because it is often closed)
Eat the overpriced and less than tasty food at the Ibra hotel

Rescue ferrel kittens that have been abandoned by their mom
Rescue puppies/dogs that are not being cared for properly

Eat at the two Turkish restaurants in town which you will soon discover serve the best food in town
Eat at the 'Golden Star'
Catch food poisening when you try the local restaurants especially if you
have a sensitive stomach

Smoke shisha in the desert under the stars with football games playing in the background

If you have a friend with a 4x4 you will find yourself wadi bashing and also going out onto the nearby Wahiba sands which are not as good as the sands in the UAE for dunebashing but are spectacular...

If you need Starbucks, beaches, malls, all-you-can-eat-sushi, and supermarkets that sell stuff from back home you will find yourself in Muscat on the weekends. You might consider getting a car although the drive is dangerous to say the least but the Muscat expressway is a fantastic addition and will get you to Qurum beach 20 minutes faster...

Take the plunge, if you like living in completely foreign places you'll love
Ibra. It's a once in a lifetime experience and will leave you with interesting stories for your grandkids. Plus the students there are lovely so teaching should be a joy IF you have good management which hopefully you will.

[madrileno]

Ditto to everything Lizzie Bennet mentioned, particularly watching goats (there are a ton in Ibra).

Just fair warning that if you want to maintain your sanity, you'll want to get out of town at least once a month. There's only so much to do in Ibra, and only a few restaurants and only one grocery that's a comfortable walking distance from your flat. This coupled with the fact that all the teachers live in the same building will make things really unbearable really fast, so you'll want to have a little escape every now an then.

[eslbear]

The dune bashing and desert camping are excellent and a truly unique experience. The nearby Wadi Bani Khalid is a fantastic fresh water swimming area as well. Take the highway one direction gets you down to Al Ahskara and Ras al Hadd and Sur for beaches, turtles, mild surfing and the other takes you Nizwa for shopping or farther on to Muscat for everything else, although now with the new Lulu in Nizwa, pretty much all of your food and bits and pieces can be found there.

eslbear

[frankincensed]

What to do for fun in Ibra? Why not just do what most of the teachers last year did: drink until you fall over every night, fight in the hallways of the apartment building, steal the tests other teachers created and give the answers to your students, and generally make life a living hell for your colleagues. It's great fun, and no one at ELS will seem to care!

[posh]

Sounds great frank! Isn't there any wacky-baccy to calm them down?

[thegoodprofessor]

Anyone know the average cost of a small furnished duplex or house with a fence in Ibra?

[the lowlander]

Ibra, like most, if not all places in Oman, is what you make it.

There are no bright lights, and there are no available hot Omani chicks.

If you fancy an Omani bloke, well that's a different matter, but that is a particular minefield all of its own.

Most places in Oman are most definitely not "all singing and all dancing" and probably never will be.........ever.

In truth, there is very little, in Western terms, in any of Oman's towns. You have to make your own amusement, be it wadi bashing, or star gazing.

Oman is not a destination to consider if you're looking for excitement, booze, or "hanky panky".

Nor is it a destination if you want to make any serious cash.

However, it does have a unique charm all of its own, and I would recommend it for those who fully understand what they are getting themselves into in teaching terms, and who also fully understand the cultural realities of the country, and the fact that they will be living, for the most part, in the middle of nowhere, in Western terms.

So, either stay well away, or give it a try.

I spent a number of years there in various locations, and have a great deal of affection for the place.

It's worth a go if you know what to expect.

Google Earth your proposed location.

Etc, etc.

[isabel]

Ibra is not for the faint of heart and the short of imagination.