Thopis is an oil town or oil industrial area. Country Oman, full name of the Country Sultanate of oman.
This is a friendly country with very likeable people.
Saih Rawl is about 300 kms away from Muscat Capital of oman.
If you live in Saih Rawl , that would mean you are employed by petroleum Development Oman or contractors, or subcontractors.
People mostly live in wooden boxes called port a cabins, yes they are trans ported in big trailors and then put on skids, connected to electricity and water supplies, then cooled with aircondiners.
This is hot and dusty place, people cometo work here because of industry pays more than average wages.
Nearest town where you get facilities like hospitals and banks, you have to traavel about 100 kms to Nizwa.
The roads are wide enough to carry portacabins on trailers sideways ( three to four cabins on a truck) and on the sides, enough vacant space to build five lanes more.
What is surprising is the huge electric transmission towers criss crossing the desertl
This desert is not just sand dunes, but cracked rock covered by layer of sand, sometimes, nil sometime half metre high.
So planting trees is not easy, small plants okay, not big trees.
Yet, in our camp, there are date palm, not planted by any one, but growing from seeds left after eating dates.
Growing wild I saw, adampu, a creeper with fleshy leaves and pink flowers.
Who are the people here? They are oil workers with special skills in cracking subterranian rocks, sending metal tubes into well casing, cementing the well casing to the bore holes, and then, most of all drilling holes down yonder were there are layers of hydrocarbons. The word hydrocarbon is used because, we are looking for and producing, oil and gas.
Back to people.
I found local Arabs in plenty, People from Europe, Americas, West Indies, East Indians ( that is real place called Hindustan, and most of , all, among expatriates, malayalees, also known as malabaris and mallus. (mallu are the ones who are settled in the USA, never mind, let me use it.
The Indians are poorest of them all. some work for about Rs,8000 per month, and never go home on vacation for two years.
Local arabs are on 2/2 schedule, that would mean they work for 2 weeks and then have holidays for 2 weeks. Europeans and most of other expats go home after 5 weeks stay.
