Beauty has an address - Oman
Truly.
That is the tag line that the Oman Ministry of Tourism uses for its promotion of the sultanate, and I think the line does it total justice. There is something romantic yet mystical about the desert, that leaves a lasting impression. A beauty that only a barren deserted landscape can create.
The way it all started is that my friend Helen was turning 40, and as one does for that great milestone, you just simply have to throw a big bash. The celebration was to start in Dubai where she lives, but it was the latter part of the 5-day party schedule that really caught my attention. A 3-day boat trip up the coast of Musandam in Oman.
Since I haven't had a chance to really discover much of the Middle East, and it's very high up on my to-do list, I was really excited.
In the early evening we boarded our 81 foot Yellow-Banana Dhow (yes, that's what our boat was called) in Dibba, a small fishing village right across the border from UAE. The first night was going to be the longest sail, for we were heading for the very north eastern tip of Arabia. It took about 6 hours to get there, so it was well past midnight by the time we arrived.
That first night I recall the coastline having an ominous feel. Under the nearly full moon you could see the shadows of the rock mountains plunging into the black sea on the port side. The massive rock wall followed us throughout the entire 6 hour journey. Eerie!
There were more than 20 of us onboard, all Dutch except 3 of us. And we had a great time. From Helen's family to all her friends from different periods of her life, we all bonded wonderfully. It's an amazing sensation when you realize how easy it is to establish an immediate bond with friends of friends, after all, they often have similar qualities to the ones that you so admire in your friend. Some sort of serendipity!
That first night we played a dangerous drinking game with dice called Mexican-tje … invented by the Dutch … late into the night. Well, this happened every night.
And when it was finally time to go to bed, I did something I haven't done in 10 years. Slept on a boat under the stars! Nearly half of our group decided to sleep outside. With a cloudless sky and a moon just about to burst out of the sky, it was perfect. As I lay on my thin mattress on the front deck of the boat I gazed into the sky. Orion was right above me. The stars were twinkling on the ceiling, the warm evening enveloped me, complete silence, complete darkness and the water still as an ice-covered lake.
I finally dosed off … and woke up very early, with the hint of the first morning light. When I opened my eyes I saw it. The dawn light illuminating the solid red-rock mountains on the coast. The first light touching the apex of each mountain and spilling a can of metallic red paint down every slope and straight into the sea. It was magical! In the distance I spotted dhows gliding across the morning water. I presume fishermen. And as the sun moved towards the middle of the sky, the colour of the rocks changed from a vivid desert red to a completely white-washed effect due to the strong and bright mid-day sunlight.
What was amazing is that throughout our whole 3 days on the water, we passed not one town on the coast. The Masandam coastline was completely un-inhabited. Not a soul. You could especially sense that at night, for there were no lights on the coast and no sounds. Utter silence. Just deserted Arabia.
The days were fun-filled: snorkeling, swimming, tanning, diving, kayaking and dosing around. And eating and playing games with new found-friends and laughing. Lots of laughing.
As we were making our way back to Dibba, to head back to Dubai airport, our glorious trip was coming to an end. A thought crossed my mind.
Thank god they have oil. For if it wasn't for that, the locals would really have nothing!
HOW TO GET THERE:
For some historical reason, Oman is territorially split up into three areas. Musandam, which is where we went, is on the tip of the Arabian peninsula, right above UAE. The vast majority of Oman, including the capital Muscat is south of UAE. And then there is a tiny territory belonging to the sultanate, right in UAE. How did it even get there?
The drive from Dubai to Dibba in Musandam takes you through the endless flat desert of UAE and takes about 2:30 hours. The border crossing is very simple. When we crossed, an officer came into the bus and we just waved our passports and that seemed to be enough. I imagine that since Musandam is land-locked, they're not that strict with immigration for you really have no where to go.
TOUR COMPANY:
The dhow boat belonged to Al Marsa Musandam who arranged the entire trip and did a fantastic job. They have four boats of varying sizes and can organize day trips to 7-day trips.
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