Childhood School Trips and Visits

I have published some of my childhood experience when I was still in Oman in my previous post; it was about Parks that I used to visit and some play centres that don’t exist any more. This time I will go back to how school visits and trips were arranged and where or which destination our trips used to be planned for.

In all schools that I have been to always planned nice visits or day trips to places that are considered to be useful and combines fun, enjoyments and education all in one. Our trips used to consists of us the pupils, the head-teacher and some teachers who didn’t mind take the responsibility of taking care of students and check on them all the time.

Our trips were divided into indoors and outdoors trips and sometimes a combination of both depending on where we went. Some schools didn’t mind us to bring along a relative with us in many cases only one was allowed and in they would prefer a student so they could benefit from the trips the same as us.

Indoor trips:

Visiting Museums and Exhibitions, they took place within the school hours for an hour or two and then go back to school.

The Science Museum (aka = Mot-haf Al-Tefyl): This museum had a big reputation when was launched over 15 years ago. It had a good number of visitors visiting it every single day, well this was to my knowledge at them days. We had the chance to visit it and it was awesome. We had the chance to try things in there such as the gravity experiment, the magnetic force, the current flow, the generating of energy, the solar system group, the Galaxy group…etc. at them days you will hear every one talking about it and everyone will make a big effort to try to get a chance to visit it or at least to have a glance. Again it was one of the things that every one of us would feel proud to have visited the place and it’s like it adds a credit in our list of “Where we have been!” again just another thing that our generation used to think in that way.

The Historic Natural Museum (aka = Mot-haf Al-Tareekh Al-Tabeey’e): This museum was and still is a place that attracts everyone despite their age. This place is about the flora and fauna that lived and still lives in Oman and their historic approach and changes within the years. Every time I visited this place makes me feel that I am visiting it for the first time; its just that it is so amazing that you can never feel bored to go around it as many times as you can. There was always an addition to the collection whenever I’ve been there. One of the most breaths taken things is the bone structure of the giant wheal, sea creature’s fossils, old plant and animal’s fossils that lived in the Omani sea and land over thousands of years ago. There are as well as numbed wild animals, insects and reptiles.

The Historic Omani Museum (aka = Mot-haf Al-Tareekh Al-Omani): This museum really takes you back to the old Oman and the current. If you ever wanted to know more or wondered about the Omani history including how did the Omanies ruled and managed to include Eastern coast lines of Africa and the Southern coast lines of near Asia to its empire then this museum is the best place to discover about all the events and the outcomes. Also this museum presents the old Omani life style that the Omanies adopted in the old days in relation to traditional clothing, house decorations, habits and attitudes especially when it came to hospitality. It also brings the secrecy of the handy crafts business in Oman and how big impacts it used to have on the economic including importing and exporting things from and to the world via the sea trade and the land trade.

The Book Exhibition was the most approached exhibition of the year by and always attracted every one from various age. Although it used to run for a whole week but was always packed! The exhibition presented all sorts of books, cassettes, CD’s, charts, posters, journals…etc despite the categorization of the books. Any thing that can be thought of or wanted can be found in these exhibitions. Plus they used to be cheap to buy books from such event. I used to save up a lot and my mother always encouraged us to read more books, so she did not have much restriction to how much I wanted to spend in buying books.

Outdoor trips:

Visiting Forts: These types of trips were always the best, because you get to hang out with your friends and classmates for a whole day out of the classroom restriction. Plus your teachers will be your friends and not the horrible teachers, not that they are always horrible but some tend to be serious in the class room and when they are in these trips they come out of their shell and appear in their norm.

The reason that they are done out of the school days and most of the time take place over the weekend, is that it takes a bit of the time to get to where we want to go and also it is always nice to take our time to discover and observe and learn rather than rushing up and to roam around and not getting the chance to learn a thing.

It always great had to visit places and forts where battles had taken place or where they used to be houses for people and you could still see some remarks and evidences left behind them. Though in some moments they used to be spooky places to be in, especially if you were left behind by your group or some one decides to play some naughty tricks on you.

We always combined our fort visits with other activities such as having lunch by the beach, or in the parks, or visiting the hot water or spring water spots/location and we land there for some lunch and then continue with our visits to other forts.


Some examples of forts/ locations that I have visited in the past are Barka,Nakhal, Rustaq, Sohar, Nizwa, Saham and Muscat [ The Twin Forts]. Some examples of hot water/ spring water are Al-Kasfa and Al-Thawara.

One time we were taken to Widam Al-Sahel and it’s where the Marine headquarter of the navy force is based. It was the most enjoyable trip I ever had and was full of learning. We learnt a lot about our navy force and how things do work, especially with the missiles and the sub-marines. The Navigators or the navies made us proud to be Omanies and the effort that is taken on board to protect the country and represents Oman to the world as a great force to our country.









Nakhal Fort

Barka Fort











Nizwa Fort










Rustaq Fort













Ayen Al-Kasfah











Ayen Al-Thwara





Has any one visited the above places? What did you think of them?

If you’ve been to more places can you please list them down and tell us what you thought about such trips?

Childhood Entertainment!

I remember when I went back to Oman in the age of 6, there were different things and places for kids to get entertained or enjoy our free time.

I remember that we used to go to Al-Riyam Park in Muscat/Mattrah & Wadi Al-Kabir Park an average of three times a week after the Asar prayer with my father [ May Mercy cover him], and when we are back we do our home work and have dinner then go to bed. We used to enjoy our short trip to that park a lot. Although at them days the park only had the normal play ground, the play grounds that did nit require any electricity or power supply. The games on the play ground used to be so simple yet you can have so much fun without having to feel bored. You get to play with other kids and enjoy your time till when you are called to go home or have a snack.

Another park that I used to enjoy going to is the Al-Naseem in Barka/Rummis. It’s a huge park and had all sorts of game starting with normal play grounds to the electrical or power supply games/rides to the steaming train that cruise you around the park in half an hour. It used to be fun to go there for a day picnic. I remember it used to be a big deal to go to that park especially on Eid days. We used to go in big number nearly most of my cousins, aunties and uncles from all age. We take food with us and we camp in a location that we consider it to be the centre or meeting point, we get to scatter across the park in groups and then we all go back to the one point to either have rest, or have a snack or get extra money for the games/rides. I don’t remember any one moaning or complaining about the trip, as by the end of it every one will be tried and exhausted, and will only want to have a shower and sleep with a big smile on their faces and feelings of enjoyment.

In the same period of time there was this place that I was always big fond of it, and every time I go there I feel that I was in a different world and when I come out of it I go back to my real world. I guess as a child we are ought to have our imaginary moments with the aid of the surroundings. Any way the place that I am referring to was located in 3rd floor of Oman Commercial Centre (OCC), it was called the Sindbad Centre. There were many rides in them and you keep on jumping from one ride to another and you queue for some and as you change your mind to play you will be next to ride! It used to make me laugh when ever this thing happens to me, its like my mind waits till when I want to change my mind then things do change to the way I want them to be. I used to love buying candy floss and the buttered popcorn, plus some sweets from the vending machine. As I said before once you get into that area you would feel to be in a different world and when you come out of it then you are back to reality. It used to get dead packed over the weekend and on Eid days. But more over the weekend, just because it used to be ONLY ONE DAY of weekend and that was Friday. I always wondered what happened to this place; and why was it closed? I always thought it used to make good money for as I said it was always full and you would wait for ages to get a ride…

With years passed, Al-Khuwair Park was our centre place to meet and arrange a time to spend to meet up with our cousins and play with the rides, then when we are done we go and by Shawarma and go by the Sarooj beach and sit by the beach and have our dinner then we go home, with our mother’s company. We used to enjoy this allot and we never felt bored, infact it used to be a great thing for us to spend these precious time with our mother and the cousins and we set our own games by the beach until midnight and then drop every one home and we go home after that.

Al-Qurum Natural Park became our number ONE place for a good walk and nice time rowing the boats or the rowing water cars in the lakes. Seriously it was really BIG time for us. We used to spend hours in that place and sometime we used to bring our snacks and game with us and we sit somewhere and have our own circle and play with Uno cards, playing cards, Questions/quizzes cards …etc.

I don’t know why, but it used to be a big deal if we mentioned to our friends’ at school that we’ve been to the above places and other places over the weekend or even the week days. It used to built the reaction of “WOW, REALLY! I WISH I WENT WITH YOU!” this kind f reaction made you feel so special that you have gone to these places and other didn’t or they missed it on that certain week and makes you feel lucky somehow.

The current generation had changed its look and view in how to live their childhood or even how to have fun I mean “REAL” fun. Many of them don’t even know any of the parks above and some will know them just because they will use such places as a dating/meeting point and not look into these places to be the most pleasant places to have some fresh air and have nice entertainment with family members.

May be because this sort of entertainment is what was available at that time and our generation did not get into the deep of the modern technology and its brain wash and those we were not dragged into demanding or greediness to have more of the brain entertainment rather than physical entertainment. May be in our time we were looking into having fun more with other kids and enjoy our time with them playing on the same rides or games rather than having to spend hours on game boy or play stations or any of these known gadgets that only allows you to play with the computer/machine rather than with other people or kids.

I feel pity to our current generation and the once after them, that they will or already lost the real meaning of being a child and live their childhood in the genuine way with no stress or living in the machine bubble with one aim in their mind is to WIN over the machine in the games provide in the gadgets.

The truth I miss going to the above places and every time I say when I go to Oman this time I will make an effort to at least pass by and see how they look like but sadly I am always visiting Oman for a short period of time and I don’t even get the chance to say hello to my own family members.

May be there is at least one member in here who will know exactly what I mean by what I wrote above! [Well I hope there will be one at least] :s