Just another trip to the grocery store…

Well, sort of.  We woke up last Thursday without a plan for how to fill the day.  So, after some browsing through some tourist books, we decided to hit up Al Hoota Cave.  Al Hoota Cave is a couple hours from Muscat and was opened to tourists in 2007.  Supposedly, the Oman government was surprised at the throngs of Omanis (inspired by the country’s recent emphasis on tourism) that turned out to see the cave.  Now it’s one of Oman’s most popular attractions.

However, along the way (only several km from the house, actually), we got distracted by the Nizwa Vegetable Market sign and turned off the highway.  Groceries at a grocery store in Muscat (similar to an American grocery store) are very expensive.  For example, the Oreos shown below for RO 3.990 (USD $10.37).  Produce can be just as expensive and it’s hard to get it fresh.

 

Therefore, we decided to see what the Nizwa Vegetable Market had to offer.  It turns out, the Nizwa Veggie Market has a LOT to offer!  Many of the people were quite excited to see the likes of us – we stood out just a tad – and were loving the fact that we came with a camera to document the 120 degree grocery shopping experience (who doesn’t enjoy sweating while shopping for onions?).

Truck leaving the market – probably bound for a local grocery store or restaurant

The market is a large car port (if you will) with vendors filling up almost every square inch.

Limes

This guy wanted me to take a picture of him with his lettuce.  So cute!

Melons and dates

Dates at varying stages of ripeness

Now, shopping here, though it looks similar to your local weekend farmer’s market, is nothing like you local weekend farmer’s market.  In Denver, I would stroll with my coffee, have Chloe on a leash, and browse….not so much the case here.

Let me give you an example.  Say, I am interested in buying some bell peppers.  So, I walk up to a table containing boxes of bell peppers…

Vendor:  You like, ma’am?

Me: Yes, How much?

Vendor:  600 baisa/kg – then he grabs a bag and starts filling it with peppers before I can even register the price I was just quoted or begin to calculate how many peppers = 1 kilo.

Me: shaking my hand No sir, I am just shopping.  So, I walk to the next table to find out how much their peppers are – with every vendor in between shouting at me on the way to view his offerings.  Turns out, their peppers are 400 baisa/kg at the next table, but they don’t look quite as delicious as my first friend’s peppers.  So, I go back and say: I can get peppers down there for 400 baisa/kg. 

Vendor: These are better, but OK! 500 bais/kg!!  As he again starts excitedly filling a bag with peppers, but not necessarily the good ones.  He is rapidly tossing the sad looking ones into the bag.

Me:  Okay, but take all those peppers out of the bag and let me pick them.  I start filling the bag with good peppers, though he keeps trying to sneak in some sub-par ones, which I promptly remove.

At last he thinks we have filled the bag with a kilo of peppers and weighs it to confirm.  “One kilo – 500 baisa",” he says.  I pay and as I reach for the bag he opens it up and plops in one last (very sad looking pepper) and says, “for you for free".”  I smile, take a picture and carry on. 

The plan was to make ratatouille for dinner, so we basically went through the same process for tomatoes, eggplant, onion, and zucchini.  Brian also decided to go for some dates and a watermelon (“No sir, not eight  watermelon, just one.)

Finally we finished at the market.  Then, we had to take all the vegetables back to the house before continuing on to Al Hoota Cave.  Not a problem though.  We now know where to buy vegetables for MUCH cheaper than we pay at the store.  And while we are probably still paying more than the locals at the veggie market, both we and the vendors think we are making out like bandits, so everyone is happy.

Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed in Al Hoota Cave. But, we had a nice lunch along the way.

Saw some goats, nice scenery, and some mosques….

And, my first Omani cemetery (you may not know this about me, but I really like going to cemeteries – all over the world).  In a traditional Omani cemetery, bodies are  buried and one stone is placed at the head and a stone at the feet.

So, until next time, we will be making the most of the last few days before Ramadan when the whole city shuts down.  Though, I expect Ramadan will provide some more interesting sights and experiences to share.