1000 Arabian Nights Camp in Oman

Sunday March 11, 2012

We arrived last night at about 5pm into our camp after driving 11/2 hours in the desert. Before coming into the desert we had to stop at a garage to let the tire pressure out of the 4x4 tires to be able to drive on the sand. If the tire pressure was kept at the rate for city driving we might have rolled over or got struck in the sand.


Driving through the sand dunes.

 We got checked in after having a glass of ginger tea and went to our tents. The tents have their own bathroom facilities and two beds or double beds with carpeting on the floor and towels sheets and blankets supplied. If you are someone that gets hot like me, I suggest that you bring a little motorized/battery operated fan that you can use. I took one of the chairs and sat outside and just looked at the sand dunes and watched the sun go down. It wasn’t that clear to get a great sunset because of the fine sand that was blowing around, but it was very pleasant, and so quiet. I think of living in the city, and forget how noisy it is and not sure of how to deal with silence. It is like the silence that you get when you have a hearing problem.




 


Our camp in the desert of Oman.




One of the tents at the desert camp.

 The weather got cooler in the evening and when the sun goes down it gets very dark, except for the moon which was full the night before last and it was fading a bit. The stars are so clear. The group slept early and this morning I got up at 5am and waited for the sunrise over the sand dunes. Some adventurous people decided to climb up the dunes to get a better view. It was so much fun watching since I do not think they realized that it is very hard to climb in fine sand, each step you take you sink farther and farther in. Once the person got to the top they would just sit and think to themselves “I made it up here, now how do I get down?” Well, you get down either by sliding down on your butt or having a snowboard to do some sand surfing, which is quite a sport in Oman enjoyed by the locals and the foreigners.

I was asking the group what they thought of this trip since I have two people in the group that have never traveled to the Middle East before. They said that what they saw in the Emirates they expected from the media, but they were very surprised at the amount of English spoken in all the countries, also the amount of foreign workers.

They expected that their would be more local workers even though I tried to explain that it was not the case except for Oman, where the ruler has been pushing for the Omanization of the country. English is spoken by so many that they thought it would be an area they could come back to and not worry about traveling on their own or with a partner. They were surprised at the beautiful color of the water, not having pollution, and the beautiful sandy beaches.

They were not sure how they might be taken as Americans, but found that everyone was very friendly.

They expected the foods like chicken and lamb, but for some reason did not realize the amount of seafood that we would have on the trip. They were also surprised at the mixture of foods from India and Pakistan, and some of the spices that are used.

Some comments from the tour group:

• Great food everywhere
• Vehicle 4 wheel drives are comfortable
• Drivers are excellent
• People are warm and friendly
• Hospitality
• Hardly anyone speaks Arabic
• Many speak English well
• We were the only Americans that we saw
• People have a sense of the future
• Felt very welcomed, no issues being American
• Very different then she has been before
• Not expecting so much of a Indian and Pakistani influence
• Very clean was not expecting to see this
• Was not expecting a Nigerian guide
• Thought before he came that this would not be safe- people perceptions are very negative
• Told people that he is going to Dubai and they said I thought you were going to the Middle East
• Thought of the movie Sex in the City that was filmed in Dubai
• Loved the food since it was all natural and very good food of vegetable tomatoes, onions
• Oman is the Vermont of the Middle East
• Lots of Germans and Italians

Leaving the UAE and Heading into Oman

Friday March 9

At breakfast this morning my friend Saeed from Abu Dhabi came by to see me and visit with the group a bit.  It was nice to see him and for the group to be able to talk to a local.  Our guide and driver from Oman were supposed to see us at 8am but they did not make it until 9pm.  It seems the person in charge of passport control on the Omani side was too tired and delayed getting to work.  He did finally show up and they were able to get through and arrive by 9am.  We said our goodbyes, then on the bus I got a call from my friend Saeed - it seems that the driver wasn’t sure of the way out so he gave directions and a tour as we left.  On the phone with him he was giving us a tour and I was translating to the group from Arabic what they were seeing.  The guide from Oman was Paul from Nigeria and he said he was also learning since he did not know these things.  Quite interesting way of giving a tour!

We got to the border and had to do the formalities of leaving the UAE.  The man at the desk was very happy since our group was laughing all the time.  We paid a fee of $10 each and then out the door.  We then drove thru no man’s land for about 5 minutes and got to the border of Oman.  They had just changed the rules for visas on arrival to the country - it used to be $60 and now it is down to $15.  This happened a week ago, so everyone was happy to save a few dollars.  Found out though that they will not take cash in any currency, they will only do credit cards - no debit cards.  So, the guide put this on his card for us and we paid him back.  This is not something they have in print yet so it might be hard for some clients that do not bring a card with them.  The border office opens at 9am, or let me say the people start to come at that time, so we did have a bit of a wait. The banks were closed so no way of exchanging funds.

We finished the formalities and headed on our way to the Jabreen Fort which is closed on a Friday but we could look at the architecture on the outside.  The weather here is so different. Very warm for March - running about 80 F, but a dry heat.  We got to the Jabreen Fort after driving two hours from the border.  The fort was built with bud brick and dates back to 1670.  Beautiful place.  From there we headed for Bahla and then to the date groves of Al Hamra and a short walk to the site of Bait Al Safah. We walked into the date groves for about 10 minutes and got to a beautiful old home made from mud brick.  Inside we had some local women that were making bread, incense, and roasting coffee.  It is a three story old home and each floor had something different.  Some of the women did not want their picture to be taken so then covered their faces and we took pictures of them roasting coffee, etc.  We went to the top floor and had some tea, coffee and dates.  A couple in the group tried some local costumes and we took pictures, and sat in the house and felt how cool it was inside from the weather outside.

 We left here and head for lunch at a small truck stop.  It was interesting in that the waiter and also the owner of the place were all Indians so they spoke no Arabic.  I found an Omani who spoke Hindu and got some local food ordered for the group.  The workers from the kitchen were looking out the window at us so the group decided to visit the kitchen and look at what they were doing.  Everyone was laughing trying to figure out the crazy Americans and everything they wanted to see.  Our guide speaks no Arabic, but the driver Yousef is from Oman and speaks, Arabic and English fluently.

 We started the drive to Nizwa and thru the desert and the high mountains to get to our hotel in the middle of nowhere it seems.  This was a good day in that we got the group to the hotel early (5pm) so they could rest and relax since we had been moving for the last couple of days.  Relaxing evening and ready for the desert tomorrow.

Some photos from the tour so far

Here are some of the photos Rita has sent us so far from her tour in the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai Museum.

Traditional architecture and decor in Dubai.

Crossing Dubai Creek on one of the local water taxis.

Local water taxi on the Dubai Creek.

In the Gold Souk in Dubai.

Hotel inspection - we are seeing several properties so the agents will be able to help their clients plan their vacations or business travel in the Emirates.

Finally on the ground in Dubai

6th Mar

We land in Dubai after a 15 hour flight and are totally exhaust. We are met at the airport and taken to the hotel for check in and dinner for the group. Everyone eats and afterwards we go directly to bed.

7th Mar

Today we start the city tour, but before that I have arranged a meeting with the tourism board and they give us a presentation of where Dubai is now and how it got there. For a country that is still so young, it is growing fast.

There are 7 million people in the Emirates which is Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Ajman, Um Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaima, and Sharjah, but out of those only 950,000 are Emiratis, the rest are foreign workers that are in the country.

In Dubai you have a total 2.4mil and 200,000 locals, Abu Dhabi has 2.2million and 400,000 locals. I also found that the prices in Dubai are quite a bit higher. So you have people that are commuting from Abu Dhabi to Dubai for work and the distance isn't that bad with the freeways, but now a trip that years ago would take only one hour is now taking two hours or more depending on rush hour traffic. When a lot of construction was taking place in Dubai it was even worse. The average rental prices for homes outside of downtown Dubai in the suburbs is $1500 a month, and in the city is two to three times the price. There have recognized "expat" neighborhoods where the foreigners in the Emirates live.

All Dubai citizens, once they get married to another person from Dubai, is automatically given $20,000 cash USD and a house, not an apartment but a house and for each child they are given an allowance of $300 per month.Their education and health care is all paid for. They do have a pretty nice life in that there are no worries for them. This is one of the reasons that even if an a person goes to study in the US they will return home to Dubai. Wouldn't you?

Quite an interesting discussion. Then we started to see the city, and all the construction - every kind of building that you can image from the beautiful high rises to the very unusual architecture. Every architect that wants to try a new way of bldg or a very different looking build if they find someone from the region to sell this to he can get a permit to build here,

We went to the Dubai Museum, which is one that I really love and the best interactive one that I have seen in the Middle East. Upon entering, there is a map and it shows digitally how the area was total desert and how, with money, water and building started. Their is greenery everywhere. With desalination plants they are able to bring water from the sea to keep this going. Most of the workers are from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Philippines, etc.

This is one of the only Arab countries that I can come to and not speak Arabic. One of the group members was taking Berlitz class in Arabic and each time he tries it I would laugh since the people he was talking to would look at him to figure out what he was saying or what language!!

We took one of the boats across to the Creek to the old side of the city and into the souks of gold and spices etc. Not like the souks of Egypt and Syria, etc, also most of the shop keepers where from Pakistan or India. Saw a lot of Afghans and people from Sudan and Somalia, too. The Americans that you see here are mostly people working for big international corporations like Microsoft, medical companies, or were visiting their family members who worked for those companies. There are branches of the big medical centers in the US such as Mayo Clinic. We also heard that diabetes is quite big problem here and they have now opened an education center about this disease and how to control it. There is so much sugar in the diet, which back in the 60's they did not have this problem since the sugar was always natural. You did not have it in coffee - you were served coffee that was just coffee and a date next to it for the sweetness. Now you are getting coffee with sugar and also a date.

In the afternoon we went on a number of site inspections at some of the hotels in the area, since the group I am escorting are travel agents that come to check out the destination and see the properties that their clients might like. Afterwards we went to the Jumeirah Mosque and then to the Madinat Jumeirah Hotel.

After this we headed to Abu Dhabi going by Jebel Ali Port and world largest man made port and onto Yas Island. We saw the Corniche and the water that is beautiful turquoise today, and then went to visit the Heritage Village.

Arrived into Abu Dhabi late and went directly to check in and have another beautiful dinner at the hotel. Real fresh seafood, Arabic cuisine, and wine was flowing for the group and they did drink!

On the flight to Dubai

Here is a post from Rita about the flight experience on the new Seattle-Dubai route of Emirates Air.

The Emirates is really a very interesting group of people that are flying this carrier. It is definitely more multicultural then any other flight I have ever taken. If you take Royal Air Maroc most of the people will be Americans or Moroccans. When flying Saudi Airlines you will have Saudis and also Americans and Europeans. But this flight you have Ethiopians, Europeans, Indians Pakistani, etc. You have flight attendants that from all different countries. On the flight I am on you have almost 11 languages spoken. You have people that have never been on an airplane, which I have not seen since the early 70's when traveling with Royal Jordanian. I talked to the flight attendants and they also mentioned the same thing.

I was so hoping that I would be on one of the newer Emirate airplanes that would have a shower in the first class cabin, but it turns out that is only on the New York, London, and other Dubai to Europe flights, but not on the Seattle leg yet. They do have the individual cabins with the bed and a sink and bathroom and the door closes and you can really sleep, but no shower! This is the Boeing 777-200 fleet.

The service is good and the flight attendants are really very good and quite considerate and accommodating to all the people. The food is excellent for plane food - lots of different choices. Also there are over 100 choices for movies - from the top shows to the older shows from the late 50's.

Off to the Emirates!

Rita is off to the Emirates, trying out Emirates Air's new non-stop service from Seattle to Dubai. She is traveling with a group of travel agents to help them understand the region better and provide better service to their clients when booking vacations in the Emirates and Oman. Below is her first post on this tour from late yesterday afternoon.

Today is the day that I am flying out of Seattle on the direct Emirate flight that started on the 1st of March, 2012. I was told that the first flight on the 1st was sold out, and actually oversold.

I got to the airport and checked in, all went very smoothly. They had a lot of new agents that are being trained by Swiss Air reservation crews, very strict on the size and weight of the luggage and especially the carry on for now. They make everyone put their carry on bags into a bin to see if they will fit, or if they will have to be checked in. The staff is very friendly and they seemed very excited about the new route. I talked to a number of the Emirates Air employees and they are hoping that this will be as big as the Los Angeles and San Francisco routes for them. They are also thinking that this will probably be in demand by the corporate travelers and also for people going into India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, more so than other parts of the Middle East since the connections are long and may require an overnight stay in Dubai.

I am in their lounge right now typing this out and it is similar to other airline lounges in the US. They have all the drinks you want from soft drinks, coffee tea and alcoholic products, and fruits, cheese and crackers, cookies etc. The lounge in SeaTac is at Gate 9 in the "S"concourse. It is being staffed by Club International. The lounge today is pretty empty as they said that the flight was light today. I think the full flight on the first day was all the people wanting to take the inaugural flight.

Looking forward to the trip to Dubai and Oman, but still not sure how I will be after 14.5 hours flying all at one time without stopovers - even in business class or first it will be hard.

More to come after I arrive in Dubai.