A TR from Dubai and Oman, the rest

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linne
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A TR from Dubai and Oman, the rest

Post by linne »

Here the last part of my TR from Dubai and Oman.

I have to split it up in replies because of the many pics.

You can find part 1, 2 and 3 here:


http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... =3&t=25186

http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... =3&t=25205

http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... =3&t=25237


MUSANDAM

The Musandam peninsula is a part of the Sultanate of Oman, but it’s laying out to the Strait of Hormuz and with boarder to the United Arab Emirates. I had read an article about the place and want to visit it, even though it wasn’t so easy to come there.

If you drive from Muscat to Musandam you have to pass a boarder twice. In Tripadvisor it was told that it can take some time to cross the boarder and can give complications especially with a rented car. It’s also possible to fly from Muscat to Khasab, the main city in Musandam, but the schedules did not fit very well into our plans. But I found out that there also was a ferry going and not a common ferry, but the world’s fastest diesel driven passenger catamaran. That sounded so interesting, that we decided to sail from Musandam to Khasab.

To book tickets to the ferry cost a lot of time. The company didn’t answer my emails, and it was difficult to find the right persons to talk with in the phone. Finally after about 3 weeks I got the confirmation for our reservation. Now we just had to cross our fingers for good weather. The trip was sometimes cancelled because of bad weather.

In Muscat we again used time to get the tickets, because we had to pick them up latest the day before leaving. So we had to do it, before we left Muscat for our roundtrip. A lot of bureaucracy but people were friendly and helpful.

Luckily it was good weather the day, we returned to Muscat from Jebel Shams. We delivered the car and were ready to board. We had to come about 2 hours before leaving, and there was nearly the same security as in an airport.

We don’t have a good picture of the ferry, but if you are interested you can see and read about it here: http://www.taif.me.uk/ren_hol/ren_hol_hsf.htm

Finally we came on board, everything was nice and clean, and the seats were like in an airplane with a little table in front. There wasn’t numbers at the seats, and we just sat down, where we saw the first free seat. But an official came and asked us to go to the next room, named the family room, a nicer room than the one we came from. We wondered, why we had to move, but when there was filled up in the room, we could see that only tourists and Arab people were sitting there. No guest workers. We had previously seen that guest workers, mainly from Pakistan and India, were treated poorly in Oman. At the airport there was a new arrived large crowd of men, who was directed to having to stand in a straight row and were treated like cattle. We of course didn’t like to see that, but it’s so difficult to judge. People from Oman is said to be the friendliest Arab people. We have only been in Dubai and Oman, so we cannot say, if it’s true, but we didn’t meet any unfriendly persons from Oman. And maybe the guest workers have a better life in Oman than they would have had in their homeland? I don’t know. But still we don’t like to see people being treated in this way..

But we enjoyed the trip. Much more funny to sail than to fly. The trip took 6 hours, and included in the price we got a delicious meal. It was windy, so outside we weren’t allowed to go all the way to the ship's side.



So we couldn’t come close to take a photo of the wake from the boat



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A nice view from the window




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When we drove with the bus from the ferry office out to the harbour, we fell into conversation with a woman from Australia, who was travelling alone. She had a seat just behind us on the ferry, and we found out that we were going to stay in the same place in Khasab, a bed and breakfast room in a villa.

In the family room there also was an Arab woman, who was travelling alone. I was a little confused
because she smiled to me several times, as if she wanted to come in contact with me. I of course smiled back, but we didn’t talk with each other. Suddenly she left her place and sat down on the free seat besides our new girlfriend from Australia. They had a longer conversation, and she told us afterwards that the Arab woman had invited her to visit her the next day and had told that she would like to show her Khasab. It seemed, as if she wanted to be a guide and would like to practise the English language. But she was a little strange, and her English wasn’t perfect, so our girlfriend didn’t really know what to do. At that time we didn’t know that we would meet the Arab woman later.

During the sailtrip we have hoped to be able to see the Strait of Hormuz and perhaps Iran, but before we reached the strait, it became sunset, and so dark that it was impossible to see anything..




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In Khasab an Indian, who was hired to take care of the guests in the villa, picked us up. He drove us to a supermarket, so that we could buy some goods. It showed up that we had to make the breakfast ourselves. I hadn’t noticed that it’s only was bed and no breakfast.

To go around in the supermarket was really an experience. It was clean and very nice and with a wide range of products. Many of the other customers were Arab women in burka and with a black mask for the face, which is typically for women in this part of Oman. Their cloth were clean and newly ironed, and they were elegant with high heels, lipstick, perfume etc., so I felt totally wrong in my knickers, barefooted in sandals and a little sweaty.

Our room in the villa was fine, some of the things needed a little renovation, but satisfying to the price. And like nearly all houses in Oman a wall surrounded the house. They are built so that you cannot see the females in the house, if she perhaps was without the burka.


Here the villa and our room:



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There wasn’t a table either in the room or outside, so in the mornings we had our primitive breakfast sitting on the doorstep – which amused us.



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In the villa we also met a young couple from New Zealand, who was on honeymoon. We decided to take a Dhow cruise on the Khasab fjords the next day all together, which the Indian assistant arranged for us.

In the evening we talked about how we were looking forward finally to be able to go out snorkelling.

And became so disappointed the next morning, because it was windy and raining, and our assistant told that perhaps the owner of the boat would cancel the trip.


But after about an hour the weather became better, and we went to the harbour and the boat.


Two nice young men took care of us, the captain was from Khasab and could speak English, and so he could tell us a lot.


The Dhow was made ready for relaxing.


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We were regularly offered tea and also had lunch on board.


The captain stopped in different places in the fjord to let us snorkel. It was regrettably a little disappointing. Brown corals, only small fishes etc. We had read that it should be very good to snorkel in Musandam, but for us there were nothing impressing. I don’t know, if it was the weather, or whether we simply have seen so many other beautiful places that we are hard to impress.

Anyway it was a wonderful trip. Our captain was very clever to attract dolphins, and get them to swim a race with the boat, jumping up etc.. It was so entertaining. And although the fish and corals could not impress us, so could the beautiful scenery.


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Some places we could see deserted located houses, which could only be reached by boat.
Our captain told that he was born in one of the houses, and that his mother still lived there and was one of those women, who wore a masque. Interesting.



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linne
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Re: A TR from Dubai and Oman, the rest

Post by linne »

After the Dhow trip we enjoyed to see the fishermen’s freshly caught fish




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and had some of them for dinner in the best fish restaurant in Khasab, not an elegant place, but tasty and cheap food.




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The next day we were on a mountain trip to Jebel Harim, the tallest peak in the mountain, about 2.100 m. Again together with the Australian woman and the couple from New Zealand. And again the scenery impressed us.



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On the way we also visited and old cave, which have been occupied until a few years ago.




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Late afternoon hubby and I went around in Khasab for ourselves to see the town a little more.

We visited a small castle, some stores and the harbour. On really many houses there hung signs that advertised with import / export. We wondered, why there was so many, and which goods were traded with. Later we asked the Indian assistant. He told that the trading mostly was about smuggling to Iran. Because of the restrictions imposed by the international community lacked the Iranians various products, but then they could get the missing through Khasab!



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Until now I had booked everything beforehand. But the last two nights we haven’t decided where to stay. I didn’t know, if we perhaps preferred to stay in Khasab the rest of the vacation. Furthermore we haven’t decided how to come from Khasab to Dubai, where we had to return with the airplane.

After being in Khasab for 3 nights we thought that it was enough. The snorkelling wasn’t as
fantastic as expected, and there wasn’t any nice beaches near the town. Not much happened there, so we were ready to try something else.

South of Khasab and on the road to Dubai lies another of the seven emirates, Ras al Khaimah.
Ras al Khaimah was told to be a smaller Dubai and with beautiful beaches. The road from Khasab to Ras al Khaimah should also be very beautiful. It runs along the coast and between mountains.

So we decided to go to Ras al Khaimah and to find a nice hotel to stay - needed a little luxury now. Unfortunately it wasn’t possible to rent a car in Khasab and deliver it in Dubai, which we have hoped. But it’s a problem to cross the boarder. We asked our Indian assistant, if he perhaps could drive us, but no, he had to get a special permission to come into the United Emirates. But he promised to find one from Oman, who would drive for us.

Later he told us, that he happened to meet the Arab woman, we saw on the ferry, and she had offered to bring us to Ras al Khaimah in her car. We were a little hesitant, he didn’t know her very well, and we found her strange. So we asked he Australian woman. She had accepted her invitation given on the ferry and had been together with her for some hours the night before. She said that she was very special but not crazy. So we accepted.

What a trip we had.



We were picked up on time. Hubby asked politely, if he had to sit on the backseat, knowing that a muslim woman normally didn’t like to have an unfamiliar man beside her. But that was not a problem for her, so he sat in the front seat, and I in the backseat. First she had to deliver something to her mother, who took care of her children. Coming back she suddenly lifted hubby’s arms and sprayed arm spray under them. He was quite confused - he had just taken a bath, but he didn’t ask why ,just smiled. Then she had to put petrol on the car, and she behaved like a queen and directed people around her.

Finally we were ready to drive. She drove very fast with the windows open, while she talked and pointed at things, we should see or stuck her head out the window and scolded drivers who, in her opinion, didn’t drive in the right way. All the while I sat and clung firmly to the back seat.

It was a winding way in a very beautiful landscape, but it was difficult for me to relax and enjoy it.
I had to admit that I was a little nervous, even though she was a very kind and open person.
She told about her children and her family, told that her husband was in the hospital in Muscat, and she should visit him afterwards.

Then we came to the boarder. We had been told that it could take some time to pass the boarder because of the lot of bureaucracy there. But she led us to a person, she was familiar with, and very quickly everything was okay, and we could pass.

On the internet we had seen a very nice Hilton hotel, where we would like to stay. When we arrived there, the ”queen” didn’t park as other guests, no, she drove right up to the entrance and parked there, and she and hubby went in to ask for a room. Meanwhile I had to stay in the car and wished the earth would swallow me up. People were looking after me, and I didn’t feel as a member of a royal family. Finally they came back, no room to get, everything was occupied.

We continued to the next big hotel, and the same thing happened. I was left in the car, which was parked in front of the entrance, and all rooms were occupied. But hubby had been told that there was a nice resort outside the town, where they probably would have free rooms.

So next stop was the resort, and we got a room.

Now it was time to say goodbye to our chauffeur. She had used more time than expected, so we paid her more than agreed. She protested, wouldn’t have all the money, but accepted finally. Oh, it’s so difficult to know what’s the right thing to do concerning tip. I hate it. But she had been very helpful, and we have had a funny experience, which we wanted to show her.


Here a picture of me and the “queen”.


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The resort was fine, there was a lovely beach and nice pools. The room wasn’t expensive, but the food was. Most of the people there seemed to be charter tourists and most of them were Russians.
The weather was lovely, actually the best we have had during the vacation, so we enjoyed it at the beach and at the pools.


We stayed in this room



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just close to one of the pools





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There was also a beautiful garden



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Late afternoon we rented a car to be able to drive into the city Ras al Khamia.
We ended up in a very big and modern mall, had our dinner there, and found it interesting to study how different people you could find in the mall. We saw men in western clothes and sports shoes on, which were followed by women, who were completely covered so that only the eyes were free. He ate and drank at the restaurant, she sat next and could only watch. A strange sight - wouldn’t take a photo. We also saw young girls in short skirts, and many Arab women in burka looking for lingerie, perfume, shoes etc..



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linne
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Re: A TR from Dubai and Oman, the rest

Post by linne »

DUBAI


We left the next day after having a short beach visit. In the resort they had reserved at room for us in a 4 stars hotel in Dubai, again to a reasonable price. We still had the rented car, so we drove the way to Dubai ourselves, we found the hotel, delivered the car and began to make us ready for the final. A visit to one of the most beautifuL hotels in the world, Burj al Arab.


Here a link, if you are interested: https://www.jumeirah.com/en/hotels-reso ... j-al-arab/


You have to reserve a table some days before, and when you get the reservation, you are told when to come, how many money you minimum have to spend, and how the dress code is. I had reserved a table in the Skyview bar from home. There are several different restaurants. In the bar you only need to use about 60 dollars per person, and it’s on the top of the hotel, the 27the floor, which we wanted to see.

We took the subway to a station close to the hotel and were deeply impressed with this. Like everything in Dubai the subway was clean, tidy and efficient - and cheap. We have only seen something similar in Singapore, and at that time we thought that it must be the best subway in the world. From the station we had to go with a taxi to the hotel, but then we got problems. All taxis were occupied, so we had to wait for a long time, before we finally got one.

But when the taxi chauffeur heard, where we wanted to go, we were asked to leave the taxi again. There was only a short way to the hotel, but because of the traffic, it would take him too long time to get there. We were now a bit nervous about being late, so we had an unpleasant discussion with him, before he finally gave up and drove with us. A bad experience, but we wouldn’t let it spoil the evening.

The hotel is on an island. We arrived via the bridge, our reservation and our dress was controlled, and we were allowed to go into the very impressing lobby with a lot of gold, a fountain, and a aquaria as a part of the sidewall. Beautiful.



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Some of the other rooms:




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And the Skyview bar



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We were welcomed by a very friendly and polite waiter, and had what we found was one of the best tables in the bar - in a corner very close to the window and with a fantastic and unhindered view to all the lights in Dubai. An orchestra was playing soft music, and it was such a relaxing atmosphere there. There were a lot of drinks to choose among, and we started with two alcoholic drinks. But first the waiter brought us a rack with different nuts and filled cornets. We were explained everything about the nuts and the filling, but I have forgotten it.


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The drinks were very good. Later we ordered some small tapas and some fruit drinks. Everything very tasty. At a time the waiter came and removed the rack. I was a little disappointed, because there were still some nuts left. But shortly after he came back with the rack filled up with other sorts of nuts. We never have had such a service in a bar!


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After about two hours we left the bar again and took the nice elevator with mirrors down to the lobby. We have used a little more than what was the minimum, but it was worth every penny. A wonderful end to our holiday.


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The next morning we had a very good breakfast at the hotel with a lot of different courses, a taxi to the airport and pleasant flight to Hamburg with our head filled with exiting experiences from a part of the world we haven’t visited before.


Linne
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waterguy
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Re: A TR from Dubai and Oman, the rest

Post by waterguy »

Very cool trip I enjoyed all the reports
Tom
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Re: A TR from Dubai and Oman, the rest

Post by PA Girl »

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to share your trip with us!
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liamsaunt
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Re: A TR from Dubai and Oman, the rest

Post by liamsaunt »

Thank you so much for writing this fascinating report! You saw so much and had some great adventures. Where are you off to next?
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
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shoemak38
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Re: A TR from Dubai and Oman, the rest

Post by shoemak38 »

Again WOW, thanks for the reports loved all the photo's what a trip you had
jmq
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Re: A TR from Dubai and Oman, the rest

Post by jmq »

Thanks Linne - still interesting to see and get first hand accounts about places I would never go
When we come to place where the sea and the sky collide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
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linne
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Re: A TR from Dubai and Oman, the rest

Post by linne »

liamsaunt wrote:Thank you so much for writing this fascinating report! You saw so much and had some great adventures. Where are you off to next?

We don’t have any plans at the moment. But I dream about a short trip to Sham el Sheik, where I had my best snorkel experience ever in the nature park Ras Mohammed. We were only there for one afternoon in 1995, but it should still be very good.

I remember that you were interested in hearing about the snorkelling in Oman. We didn’t have fantastic experiences there, but the possibilities should be better in an area more south than we were.

Just now we are looking forward to come to Spain next Sunday for 3 weeks. We hope to see some beautiful flowers in this vacation, because we are going in May this year.

Linne
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