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Script added:
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 though ts 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 what parts of
Africa looks 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 head winds, but were perfect on the many twisty
alpine-like mountain passes down at Salalah. If you ever have the
opportunity, I urge you to visit Salalah, you will be amazed what you
will find down thereWhenever 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 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 ocation 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 ocation we drove from Nizwa to Rustic through some 4x4
tracks (with a 4x4) 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, that 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 Khassab, the
tar road ends and 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.
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