January 2008
It is very difficult to sum our Oman experiences up in a one-page document. Oman is just the opposite of the UAE, where the people are friendly and the countryside is beautiful. Like I said in the ‘Living in Dubai’ section, Oman was our escape from the madness and unfriendliness of Dubai. This was the place where we felt extremely at home and welcome. The countryside is in some ways very similar to Namibia. Our latest Oman excursion was mid-December 2007 when we went down to Salalah. It was a gruelling 13-hour drive through the flattest, most boring road we have ever driven on. But it was the fact that the road is straight and boring, that attracted us to do this ride. It gave us time on the bike with nothing else but our thoughts, and our thoughts with God. It also brought back memories of 3 years ago, when we entered Oman for the first time from Yemen. We saw the sites where we camped next to the road, where we had our first Omani-Chicken briyani and Mumtaz tea and also where the GS broke its rear wheel bearing and we had to hitch a ride on the back of a truck to Muscat. Down at Salalah, the scenery changes dramatically to something out of Africa. The rolling hills, mountains, vegetation and animals were a reminder of what parts of Africa look like, just gorgeous! The whole trip was a 3250km ride in 5 days The BMW F800S was not the most comfortable on the way back into some strong headwinds but was perfect on the many twisty alpine-like mountains passes down at Salalah. If you ever have the opportunity, I urge you to visit Salalah, you will be amazed at what you will find down there. Whenever we planned an excursion to Oman, we had a choice of 5 main areas to visit, and apart from Salalah, we visited all areas of Oman more than once, Musandam, Ras Al Hadd, Muscat, and the Hajar mountains.
The ride down to Ras Al Hadd is approximately a 1700km return trip from Dubai, and we did a few 3-day weekends down there in both summer and winter. The main attraction for us is the Turtle Nesting area, where turtles come and lay eggs at night. The other attraction is the pleasant scenery all along with the road from Ibri to Ras Al Hadd and back to Muscat, never a dull moment, always something beautiful to treat your eyes with. On one occasion we were part of a bike group of 16 motorcycles that drove there and back in 3 days. It was called the Turtle-run and is organised by CMA-Dubai. Muscat is the capital of Oman and is not just another city, like most capitals I’ve been to. It is relatively small and has enormous local character. Apart from the friendly locals and Indian expats, it has a beautiful setting with mountains on the one side and the ocean on the other. There are lots to see and do to get our minds off the stresses of Dubai. The Hajar Mountains has endless adventurous options and places to explore. We have not been to half of all those places. We’ve been to Nizwa and the surrounding areas, as well as Jebal Shams, the highest peak on that mountain series. On one occasion we drove from Nizwa to Rustic through some 4×4 tracks (with a 4×4) in the rain!
It was a special experience, as it was mid-summer (August 2006) and the temperature dropped down to below 20 deg for about an hour while it was raining We also have a special friend, Shauwn, who farms near Rustic, and we visited him a few times and slept over at his farm. The closest of all the Oman areas to us is just 150km from Dubai and is called Musandam. We went to Musandam on various 1 and 2-day excursions. It has a beautiful winding road next to the coast that is ideal for a motorcycle ride. When you reach the town of Kassab, the tar road ends and the gravel road will take you to the heights of the mountains with stunning scenery.
We also camped a few times there and once stayed over at the Golden Tulip Hotel. At that location, we went on the traditional dow trip and saw dolphins and snorkelled.