We went to Musandum today, which is technically in Oman but which is separated from the rest of that country by the entirety of the UAE, perhaps in a bid to extract more visa fees from visiting foreigners. I'll write more about Musandum itself another time, including how a dolphin swam along in the turquoise water next to our boat as we sailed among the fjords.
Then, later that afternoon, entirely by chance, we spent four hours together on a hired dhow, cruising along the fjords. There were only two parties who had hired out that dhow from that group of sailors on that day at that time - their party of five and our party of six. It was a fun afternoon with our Korean friends.
But this post is about the Koreans who wouldn't go away. We first ran into them at the border crossing from the UAE into Oman. As they got out of their car next to us, one of them asked me about Oman car insurance and after I gave him the information he needed, we exchanged friendly well wishes for a great trip in Musandum and said goodbye.
Then of course we saw each other ten minutes later at the Oman half of the UAE/Oman border crossing.
Then, later that afternoon, entirely by chance, we spent four hours together on a hired dhow, cruising along the fjords. There were only two parties who had hired out that dhow from that group of sailors on that day at that time - their party of five and our party of six. It was a fun afternoon with our Korean friends.
We parted ways (again) at the dock at the end of the boat ride and I'm sure we all thought that was that. BUT NO. At the last moment on the way out of town, we decided to stop at the LuLu Hypermarket that is randomly in Khassab. A few of us had a hankering for some Pringles so I headed to that aisle. In the extensive chip aisle, who did I see browsing the selection but the Koreans?!? "How funny that they are in the very aisle I am in!" I thought. Then I noticed that they were right by the Pringles. Then, as I grabbed a can, I noticed that one of the Korean men was holding the exact kind of can of Pringles that I had just selected: sour cream and onion, reduced fat, supersize can. WEIRD. We said hello and goodbye (again!) to each other and parted ways, surely for the last time.
Except then we saw them at the Oman/UAE border. They were in front of us in the passport control line.
And that was the last time we met.
I'm thinking next time we should just arrange an outing together with the Koreans ahead of time. It would really cut down on the awkward non-goodbyes.