Skip to main content

Muscat airport, a transit

While transiting through Muscat airport for the first time the impression it gave was that of a humble small time airport. The flooring was old and no ample waiting space with broken chairs in waiting area. So had to just hang around the gate till it opened up. During that time read flyers saying that the target is to become one of the top airports in the world by 2020. Then what is this that's before your eyes, clear mismatch!
Once the gate opened the queue extended to the adjacent two gates as the area was small. As the queue started moving, a fellow passenger working in Muscat joined behind and asked if it's the same flight  he's looking for and got introduced. He said Muscat is a cosmopolitan place and no one is left out. Lot of Indians work here and enjoy good climate with access to native food as well. 
Now with everything going well what about the airport was our question to him. From the airport bus which was taking us to the aircraft he showed us the adjacent almost completed new airport which was to be inaugurated soon. Oh! this is the 2020 airport then..
On the return back to Chennai it was the brand new airport. Very comfortable for international passengers, flight status and sign board at the right places, offering good shopping experience, hygienic rest rooms, lounges and huge waiting area. Movement from one gate to another made easy with great accessibility in place. It was fun comparing to the old airport seen for the first time :)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Anjaneyar Temple - Gerugambakkam, Porur

 Very recently we came to know about the Anjaneyar temple built by actor Arjun is at Gerugambakkam. On a Sunday evening we drove towards this place. We need to detour from the Kundrathur main road to reach this temple and from then on we need to face a rough and patchy road. In just 5 minutes one can reach the temple. A small residential street leads to the temple. Very near it one could see few small stalls mushroomed up to sell pooja items. The vehicles have to be parked in the street near the temple gates. First is the corridor were few trees are seen.  On taking left is the entrance to the temple and you can see the Lord Anjaneyar much ahead. Here too are few trees uniformly spaced out. There is a coconut farm adjacent to this temple. There is a shelter above Lord Anjaneyar, but for that it is a open air temple. Facing Lord Anjaneyar and to the left and right corner are two shrines - one for Lord Ganesh and the other for Lord Anjaneyar's - Lord Rama, Lord Lakshmana and God...

Beach - Marakkanam

Born in the coastal area one realises the beauty of the beach only in instances where you have to stay away from your place for a long time or a person from non-coastal area appreciates the beach and call you lucky for coastal nativity. When Tsunami occurred, we are sure no one wanted to live in a coastal region. Having said that, over the weekend we went on a drive while resulted in experiencing the beach, back waters and the canal in Marakanam, roughly 120 kms from Chennai and 20 kms from Puducherry. Suddenly on a Saturday morning we decided to make a short trip to Marakanam where our friend has a farm house and called us in for a visit. After completing the weekend chores and a quick lunch, we started the drive towards Marakanam. We took the Chennai by-pass route to Vandaloor and then to ECR, crossing Mahabalipuram to reach the small town of Marakanam within 2 hrs. Numerous prawn Hatcheries in this place occupy the seashore. There seems to be around 53  Hatcheries in this stretc...

Dhandayuthapani Temple - Nadupalani

 Nadu Palani Murugan Temple - Achirupakkam  On a Saturday we decided to go out on a short trip and zeroed-in on Nadu Palani Murugan Temple. Less than 100 kms from Chennai, this was a long time item in the bucket list.  Achirupakkam town is where this temple is located. Achirupakkam is near Melmaruvathur. We took the Chengalpet route via Tambaram. Driving through Chromepet, Tambaram and Perungalathur was a mayhem on the Saturday afternoon traffic. We took a break at Manoj Bhavan at Mamandur. Hotel has lost the earlier charm and so was the food. As guided by a person near the hotel, just in 15 kms you can see an arch at the left side on the highway itself for Nadu Palani Murugan temple. From the arch, one has to drive into the village for 6-7 kms to reach the temple, at Perukkarani village. We had to take a ticket of Rs.50 to drive in the car to the small hillock. Around 100 steps, its a easy climb too. At the foot hill are Lord Anjaneyar and Lord Idumban on either sides fo...