An Audi and the Road to Dib(b)a

We took our first road trip since being in Dubai...out to Oman this past weekend. For those of you who don't know where or what Oman is, it is one of the neighboring countries, a Sultanate (thus it is ruled by the Sultan of Oman, Sultan Qaboos), to the East of the UAE, along the Gulf of Oman. Geographically, Oman is separated into 3 parts: Muscat, Madha and Musandam...there is the main region which houses Muscat, the capital city, which lies strictly along the Gulf of Oman, there is a very small speck where the city of Madha lies, which is actually within the UAE, and finally there is the northern tip, Musandam and the capital, Al Khasab.
This is where we traveled to.


Musandam lies at the furthest east point of the Arabian Peninsula and is completely separate from the rest of Oman by the UAE. It lies directly south of Iran and controls the main navigable stretch of the Strait of Hormuz, through which the largest percentage of the world's crude oil passes (articles range from 40-90%, so we will just say "largest"). It is simply amazing, with breathtaking views of the Arabian Gulf to the West and the Gulf of Oman to the East, straddling the Hajar Mountain range in the middle. The highest point of the Hajar Mountains lie in the Musandam Peninsula, where they reach over 2000 meters. They are referred to by the locals as 'Ru'us al-Jibal' which literally means "heads of the mountains." As you will see later, we actually drove through the Ru'us al-Jibal, and hit 2087 meters, in Wayde's Audi!
Warning: Don't try this at home! ;)


So our trip began leaving Dubai City and then the Emirate of Dubai all together, traveling through the Emirates of Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al Quwain and Ra's al Khaimah - seeing some beautiful mosques, cows walking in the middle of the roads in R'as al Khaimah and a family of camels to boot - finally arriving in Oman.



Upon entering Musandam (Oman), you immediately take notice of how unchanged and unspoiled the landscape is...this area is known for being largely untouched by the modern world, and it shows and feels it. There are small quaint fishing port towns all along the coast, literally with 2-5 homes, some with villas that sit with the mountain range behind and a crystal clear view of the bluest waters of the Arabian Gulf out their front door. Just incredible! And there are these little fishing ports along the coast, tucked into the beaches of the Gulf, with small wooden boats and colorful torn pieces of fabric and blankets in them, just banked up on the shore waiting for their owners...so neat. Even the boats seem to have a story!



Our first stop in Oman was about 30 minutes in, stopping at a beach, all of us running to the waters edge to feel the warm clean water! Unexpectedly, we spent over an hour there, picking up shells, just walking in the water, taking photos of this serene beautiful jewel with towering mountains and turquoise water, chasing the little silver fish in and out of the water, and bothering a few crabs along the way! It was awesome and playful and childish, such a welcoming experience!



Back in the car, we headed back on the road to our final destination, Khasab. We took lots of photos out of the sunroof of the beautiful mountain forms, sometimes feeling like the rock was just slithering or marshmallow-ing off the mountain, ultimately, causing us to name each type of rock-form we saw - slithering rock, marshmallow rock, slipping rock, demon rock, deck of cards, etc. I felt like I was in a movie, finally realizing that there is no movie ever made that is this good! There were mountain goats everywhere, and the sky was this 'crazy' shade of blue...

We arrived in Khasab, passing the Golden Tulip Resort and Spa along the way...we tried to get some rooms there, but they were all booked up (although we ended up eating dinner and breakfast there), so the nice concierge called and booked us rooms at the Khasab Hotel...and on our way we went for another 2.5 km, right to the center of the little town of Al Khasab. We meandered our way around a few rotaries, and pulled up to the luxurious Khasab Hotel, Christmas lights strung around the sign and trunks of the palms. We parked and walked in and the good thing was, it cost 1/3 the price of the Golden Tulip, so....we took two rooms (only after seeing them, not loving them and quickly realizing this was no Ritz, to say the least), asked where we could get some food and, around 10pm, settled in for the night.

(PS...Apparently the best food was at the hotel restaurant, highly recommended by all of the hotel staff - where you can order chicken fingers and veggie spring rolls and wait 1 hour to get them. Needless to say, we took our chance, and regretted it for the next 2 days. So we headed to the Golden Tulip for their buffet, which we also regretted for the next 2 days. Overall, I don't recommend stopping off in Khasab for good eatin' unless you want American Fried Chicken...they honestly have that.)

The night broke into another beautiful 'crazy blue' and sunny morning in Oman, and we headed back to the Golden Tulip for some espresso and free breakfast (don't ask) before hitting the road....the road to Dib(b)a that is. I spell it with "b(b)" because depending on what part of Musandam you are in, or even more specific, what part of Al Khasab and surrounding areas you may be in, the spelling changes from 1 "b" to 2 "b's" and even with an "e" at times, like Deba. So we ate and took some photos off the terrace, and headed out, back past the Khasab Hotel toward the sign that said Dibba with an arrow pointing left. We took a left and about 30 feet to the left, the road changed from paved to dirt. I made a bet with Wayde for 1 dh that the road would be paved again, for sure. Needless to say, I lost BIG TIME.




So we drove. At one point, Giuseppe called out that we should turn around, that the Audi was not going to make it around this one turn, where the dirt was soft. I said no way. Let's go. And so we went. 2 to 1. And not only did the Audi make it around that turn, but it made it 53.3 kms into the Hajar Mountain Range, reaching points of over 2000m, with nothing but towering mountain side and steep, dropping cliffs keeping us on the 1 lane dirt road. A few pee stops along the way, and we made our way to the old river basin in a valley between the towering mountains. That is where we stopped for a snack, comprised of an green apple for me, and sausage and crackers for the boys. At this point, we figured we were almost 1/2 way to Dib(b)a, and we would be good until we got there. So we ate, pee'd and hopped back in the car.

Unfortunately, this is where our journey on the road to Dib(b)a sort of ends. About 15 kms ahead of us was a military check point. We should have known something was going on when another car that was also making the trek flashed their lights at us...as if to signal some trouble or something. However, we took the chance, and like those before us, were stopped by a young Omani man with a machine gun strapped to his side, asking us where we were going. We told him we came from Khasab and were headed to Dib(b)a. He said "No road to Dib(b)a." But we were sure HE was wrong (ha!), and proceeded to tell him that we had just come from Khasab and he pleasantly asked for our passports....a glimmer of hope. He spent about 2 minutes staring at Giuseppe's passport and again, said "No road to Dib(b)a. Go back to Khasab."

For a little while, as we made our way back up the steep and curving dirt road, we chatted about all the possible reasons he would not let us go. "It must have been because we didn't have an SUV, maybe the road is really bad." But the travelers before us were turned away, and they were in a small SUV. "Maybe because we are not locals, not Arab, just tourists." But the car before us had 4 locals/Arabs. That can't be it.

So we blamed Giuseppe. Clearly, it must be the Italian. I mean, he looked at his passport the longest!!! I'm kidding. (Note: when we arrived home that night, we checked on-line and realized that there was a military check point and NO ONE was allowed through. We figure this might have something to do with the whole lots-of-oil-passing-through thing...;) )


As we headed back to the border, we stopped off again at the beach so that the boys could take a swim in the Arabian Gulf (the salt content is so high, Wayde actually became a buoy!) and I walked, collecting shells, spotting a dead ram along the way. How it got there gave us something to ponder on our 2 hour journey back home to Dubai. (Our best guess - and clearly the most obvious answer - is that it clearly jumped from the mountain, bounced off the jersery barrier, slid through the water culvert and landed on the shore...or maybe it fell off a boat!)

In the end, our journey was without regret, 100% - even though we never made it to our final destination. We went off-road in an Audi (like real off-road - none of this riding through the dunes or driving on the hardcore rock-hill at the Range Rover dealership...), climbed to the highest points of this incredible mountain range, touching the sky with our fingertips and ultimately, and most fulfilling, being able to tell this story and create memories for ourselves to be able to tell our kids one day.

Can't wait to share with you all our next exciting journey...and all the stories we will have and the memories we will create!!!!

Byeeeeee....love d :)

PS: check out our Flickr account for all the pics...it is taking a lot of time to put in a picture for each event, so I will get to it over the next few days...but until then, go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bellablu2007