For the second Eid long weekend, David had a total of six public holidays to use (10 days off!!). After considering many options on where to go, we decided on a driving holiday to Oman. Our good aussie friends here, the Whitfield-Lowes (Jo and Andrew, and their daughters Georgia and Lauren) were planning a similar trip so we teamed up.
Day 1
We set off on the morning of Friday 12th of November, driving towards the border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The drive to the border is an easy one, Qatar has recently upgraded the road to four lanes in each direction and is of very high quality. Once at the border, there are various checks we had to go through on the Qatar side. Once through, it was across the 2 or 3 km of no mans land between the check points. Here we saw the wreck of a land cruiser, it looked like a recent accident and an impressive one, we wondered which country’s ambulance service responded…
Then it was the Saudi border and the fun began. It was CHAOS. Being the start of Eid vacation, it was busier than normal with about six lanes of cars jockeying for position. There was also a huge queue of trucks, fortunately in a separate area. We finally got through to customs where there was a quick check of the car then on to buy insurance for Saudi. After that, there was about six lanes of cars converging into one to get out of the whole process. There was one final check of the papers by a very chatting and friendly Saudi official (excited we were Aussies) and then we were through. A strange sign at this last checkpoint said “Please make a promise to end the proceedings”! We promise never to try this at the start of Eid again! Total time to cross the border, about 3 hours!
Mon was by now in her abaya for the drive through Saudi, no taking turns driving through here! The road was a bit ordinary, the drive very boring. About 120km to the next border.
So, with Saudi behind us, it is now time to enter Abu Dhabi, part of the United Arab Emirates. Getting out of Saudi is reasonably quick. Getting to the UAE border, there is again, about 6 lanes of cars jostling for position. We get to the passport check and are told we have to park and go into the “arrivals lounge”. Mon and the kids stay with car, Andrew and I venture in with passports. After some investigation, step one is iris scan. Officer did not look very interested. He gave us a torn off piece of paper on which we had to write passport details. Step two was waiting in world’s slowest queue to get passports stamped. Piece of paper we had to fill out was discarded to one side. Then we were back in the cars, and through these fancy whole car xray machines that did not seem to be working, we were then in the UAE. A quick stop to buy insurance and then on the road again. Total time at border, about 2 hours. Fortunately, we had planned to stay in a hotel about 30km from the UAE border and arrived at about 5pm. Total travelling time was about eight hours, distance covered was less than 300km. Slow going!
We enjoyed a nice buffet dinner at the hotel while the kids played on the lawn outside the hotel. We all slept well, it was a tiring day.
Day 2
In the morning, it was back to the buffet for the breakfast. We then decided to enjoy the hotel facilities for a while before hitting the road again.
We then hit the road, heading toward Al Ain in the far east of Abu Dhabi, right on the border to Oman. An uneventful drive with no borders to cross. On the way there we drove to the top of Jebel Hafeet, just to the south of Al Ain. It is a 1240 m high limestone mountain that emerges from the plains of Abu Dhabi. It is the first time our Pajero has driven up anything higher than a sand dune or a freeway overpass, but manages it without problem. Right at the top, one of the Abu Dhabi royals has built an impressive palace. The car park also seemed to be a place where local hoons went to do their circle work (probably in Ferraris and Porches).
We checked into our hotel and enjoyed dinner at an Italian restaurant in the hotel which served very good food. Georgia taught Johnathan some moves out on the dance floor!
Day 3
Another good nights sleep, then up to see a bit of Al Ain before crossing the border into Oman and driving on to Muscat. The guide book mentions the camel market as being interesting so we head there. The guide book warns us to be careful about not getting ripped off by people giving tours. We get ripped off by people giving us a tour. We see lots of camels, as well as goats, and sheep.
We hit the road, setting out for Oman. The border here is a bit quicker than previous experience but still takes a while. Another stop to buy insurance after passing the border and then on to Muscat. The first part of the drive is quite scenic through the mountains. We anticipated the drive from Sohar to Muscat along the coast would be really beautiful with sea to one side and mountains to the other. It turned out it was not so exciting. Quite built up and not one glimpse of the sea. We get into Muscat quite late and discover there is no booze being served at our hotel except for the minibar because of Eid. We survive. Dinner that night on the balcony of an Iranian restaurant looking out over the sea, very pleasant.
Day 4
Get up and another breakfast buffet. We then set out to see the sites of Muscat…
In the afternoon, we went back to the hotel where the we relaxed and the the kids played in the pool and on the lawns.
That night, we went to a friends house for a barbecue dinner. A very nice evening.
Day 5
The next day, we were up early. We had organised for a guide to meet us at the hotel the next day to take us to see some of Oman for the next couple of days. Fehdi (we think that’s how its spelt) was our friendly Omani guide. Firstly, we headed south to stop off to look at a sink hole.
Next stop was Wadi Shab, further south. We parked on the northern side, and had to cross the water at the sea to get to the walking path. We asked our guide about the tide, he said no problem so we continued into the Wadi. It was very nice with rock pools and cliffs, palm trees, and old mud houses.
After walking back out of the Wadi, sure enough the tide had come in so we couldn’t wade back over to get the cars. It required a 20 minute walking detour to get to the road and go over the bridge. We began to wonder about our guide…
It was then onwards for quite a long drive to our desert camp for the night – Hamdam camp. By the time we got there it was dark so did not really know what surrounded us. We had an ok buffet dinner, enjoyed the camp fire and some traditional music before heading to our tents for the night.
Day 6
Awake early with sunlight coming through the tent. We found we were in the middle of the dessert surrounded by sand dunes.
It was then back on the road again, heading north to drop off our guide at Ibri before heading back to the border with UAE for another night in Al Ain.
On the way we stopped at Nizwa to look around the souq and the old fort there.
On the way back to the car park, Mon and Jo stop off to purchase some “must have” hanging clay pots. Andrew and David proceed to the car park with the kids where a large crowd has suddenly amassed. The traffice is growing and quickly reaching grid lock. He can only guess it is the start of celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the Sultan being in power, which takes place the next day. The girls finally arrive but it takes quite some time to get out of the car park, stop at a dodgy restaurant for dinner, then hit the road again for Al Ain. We cross the border quite late and it is very quiet. We get to the hotel about 9:30 and discover we have been upgraded to an Emiri suite – very nice, shame we are only there one night!
Day 7
After a bit of a sleep in, we have a slow start enjoying the pool and playground at the hotel before hitting the road once again, headed for the city of Abu Dhabi. A short, easy drive. That afternoon, we go for a walk on the corniche which is very nice. The Whitfield-Lowes are off to the Jonas brothers concert that night and the Brinks go to a nice seafood restaurant.
Day 8
The next day, we try to go to emirates palace hotel for morning tea but no luck, closed due to visiting dignitaries. We then drive around a bit taking in the sights before heading to Ferrari World to soak up the Emirati culture (well, they seem to have a passion for expensive sport cars!) Ferrari World is just opened and is the world’s largest indoor amusement park. We spent seven hours there. The kids loved the rides and the play area. Lots of flash cars to look at, and things to do. The highlight for Dave and Mon was the ride on Formula Rossa, the world’s fastest roller coaster, 0 – 240km/hr in less than 5 seconds, it is mind blowing!!! Check this You Tube video out showing the Ferrari F1 drivers on their first ride:
That night, Mon and the kids enjoy the last dinner with Whitfield-Lowes, David stays in the hotel room with a dodgy stomach – maybe the Formula Rossa was too much for him. It is a long drive the next day with two border crossings.
Day 9
An early start as we are worried about the border crossings taking a long time. It is a long drive to the first border, over three hours. However, it is very quick – much less crowded than last time, all done in about 45 minutes. The mind numbing drive through Saudi follows and again, the border is quick, another 45 minutes or so.
And then the last stretch home, the highlight of which is seeing the long queue of sewage tankers waiting to “dump” their loads in the sewage pond just next to the US air base.
And then home, by 3pm. About 600km in 8 hours – a very good run. We enjoyed our holiday, it was a lot of driving, 3000km all up, and took patience at the borders, but it was all worth it. Oman is beautiful and Abu Dhabi is spectacular with very ambitious growth plans based on all their oil wealth.
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