Qada Tourist Hotel Khasab

... Khasab or a larger city.<br><br>We rode around for 2+ hours before heading back to the harbor. By then it was around 1pm and the sun was oppressively hot; the kids all had sun-burned cheeks and everyone was ready for a cool car and some ice cream from a convenience store. After stopping at another beach on the road back home for a small lunch and play in the surf, we had a fluid cross back over the border and in fifteen minutes were back home.

... accented and broken English, which had me driving around for a bit until I found it across the street from where I was before. I went up to the little house (it was basically a little trailer like construction companies use) and they told me to go to the place I had thought it might be. I drove across the street and went over to the dhow to meet the contact Vinoey ("Vin-oo-ey"). I was the first one there. They asked if I wanted a snorkel and fins---they cost ...

... passing beach until I finally stopped at one---this one was the biggest, had great sand, and I could drive all the way to the water's edge without getting my tiny car stuck (it was just past the too-expensive-for-me $100/night Golden Tulip Resort). I took a quick dip, but didn&#8217;t venture too far out since I was swimming alone and didn&#8217;t know what the undertow, shark, etc. situation might be. The water was really warm and just slighter cooler than the air ...

... Travelogue: DAY1 Musandam Peninsula is also termed as the Fjords of Arabia and it is situated at the tip of Arabia. Offering such a pleasurable and beautiful drive once we cross into Oman. The border crossing is at about one and half to two hours from Dubai and the fun starts from here. The road winds right at the coast offering breathtaking views and the scenery keeps changing at turns. This is the first trip of the traveler family in the year ...

... in the 4 wheel drive vehicle were 2 other travellers doing the tour, a Scottish girl working in the English embassy in Dubai and a French man of Algerian birth. We enjoyed conversation of travels and time flew as we sped North towards the Oman border at a casually average speed of 160kms per hour. After about an hour and half we stopped at a seaside resort and picked up another couple. With already 5 of us in the car this was ...

... go hand in hand). All my years traveling I have never seen a border quiet like this. B and I threw ourselves and our passports into the throng of hundreds. There was no order to it, just get in and push! First we had to pay for our exit stamps and fill out the cards, then you needed to "line up" separately to have your stamp issued....in theory it should be easy. Well 2 hours later we were still jammed in ...

... The beach was just there, but the downside was that we would start roasting very early in the morning. So we headed to the mountains. We went up almost 2000m in the dark, following small trails on steep slopes. The rocks there are arid, sharp, unwelcoming, almost lifeless, yet very impressive. The full moon light revealed many details of the landscape, between glittering and dark parts of the valleys. The last bit of trail to reach the "campsite" was quite rough, it was a very ...

... was only a few hours, but passing the border and waiting for a car which had gone to the main part of Oman (which is hundreds of km away) caused some delays. The meeting point in Musandam was the golden tulip resort, where we could enjoy the terrace while craving the clear swimming pools beneath, only imagining how cool they were. At least the air was a bit less hot, compared to the 50degC of the previous week. Even ...

... but it is safe to say that i was mightily ****** off. On leaving that room i was taken to a table where several customs officals went through my main bag with a fine toothcomb. I realised that i had some pirate DVD's in my bag that were wrapped up in a black big bag. When they found this bag it did look very dodgy and they got very excited and were dissapointed to see it was only DVD's. In the ned they let me go but it ...

... home. <br>The trip back was very relaxing with more refreshments served and everyone watching the world go by at the prow of the Dhow or on the cushions on deck. We also saw more dolphins on our return journey which was an added bonus. <br>Back in Khasab it was time to say goodbye and the convoy split up to head home (via the Ras Al Khaimah Starbucks!). <br>A great weekend with good friends in a really unique environment! <br>