Snowy encounter in Al Jabal Al Akhdar

With the weather just perfect for a day in the outdoors, we decided to take our kids Shaivya and Maninee on a trip to Al Jabal Al Akhdar last Wednesday. Setting out from Muscat at three in the afternoon, with two suitcases full of warm woolen wear, we headed for the Green Mountain on what we expected would be a memorable outing. It was 23 degrees when we left Muscat, but soon discovered that with every 15 km covered, the temperature dropped a degree. Thus, when we reached the Jabal Al Akhdar Hotel on the summit, it was a nippy 4 degrees. The next morning, we set out again to explore the surrounding landscapes, armed with enough warm wear to fend off the cold. We went next to the picturesque villages of Al Ain and Wadi Bani Habib, and drove further uphill to a place called Shnoot, where were piles of snow draped around the surrounding countryside. Although inhabitants of Jammu and Kashmir where snow is pretty commonplace, we could never imagine a similar setting in Al Jabal Al Akhdar. We paused to ponder this incredible sight of snow an encounter that we will remember for a very, very long time.