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ADO2301 Adventure Dubai & Oman

Monday, February 20, 2023 | Angela | Asia

Hello and welcome back to Dubai. Or as the local's would say - Ahlan-we sahlan.

I am very happy that our last year's scouting tour of the Emirates and the neighbouring Oman has now officially become an integral part of the Edelweiss tour programme.

Tour guide Angela arrived a day earlier and took the chance to visit some sights of Dubai before she travelled out to the desert to the start hotel.

Arrival in Dubai - one day ahead of the tour start

The first point of attraction was the gigantic Dubai Frame
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The Frame was built to give the visitor an idea of the sizes of the original small town of Old Dubai and the mind-boggling buildings of the New City of Dubai. Looking down to your feet, however, might be a bit scary for some people. As soon as you step onto the first obscure glass floor, it opens up so that you can enjoy the view to the bottom of the Frame.
The other sight to be visited was the Museum of the Future
Arabic is a beautiful language, which is perfect for the creation of calligraphic patterns
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Amazing views from inside the Museum
Starting the visit of the museum, the visitors will be lifted up to the top floor by a "space elevator". On the way back down visitors can explore different approaches concerning our future life on the planet. What looks like a real window is only a picture of future Dubai.
One section of the museum is about the Amazon and its ongoing deforestation.
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On the way back down you may come across one or two strange creatures

Welcome Briefing and Motorcycle Handover

In the morning our first impression was our ready-to-go motorcycle fleet for our Adventure Tour Dubai & Oman
Some impressions of our hotel in the desert. Although our tour start is Dubai, our hotel is located in the Emirate of Sharjah. But who can tell where is the beginning or the end with that much sand around you?
For those riders who arrived earlier, the pool was the place to be

Day 1 : from Dubai to Al Aqah (Emirate of Fujairah)

Finally !! The first riding day of the tour has started. All the riders were eager to go
We made a bee-line to our main highlight, which actually was two highlights in one.
Before the exciting highlight, we gathered some strength eating a delicious light lunch.
And then ... there you go ... if you are really looking for an adrenaline kick, you should join in for a ride of the World's longest Zipline.
Thomas and Uwe - ready to go. Wearing this harness felt more like wearing oversized plastic diapers
There you go - Uwe, Thomas, Angela and Rob are ready to shoot down the mountain
Our four witnesses, waiting by the side of the restaurant
Up here on top of Jebel Jais you will also find this meeting room, which is supposedly the highest in the United Arab Emirates.
This is the zip line's end point. Of course, there are experts ready to catch you
The final stretch to get to the shuttle bus parking you also do on a zip line, this time, though, in a sitting position
Angela and Thomas are totally happy to have done this. What an exciting experience it was !!

Day 2 : from Al Aqah to Sohar (Oman)

Our second riding day lead us from Al Aqah in the Emirate of Fujairah to Sohar in Oman.
We spent the night in an absolutely beautiful hotel by the Golf of Oman
Our first highlight today was the oldest, still in use Mosque of the UAE
It is actually so small that you could almost miss it when driving past it
Gabi from Germany and our local driver Ibrahim, in fact, were hiking up to the tower to see the view over the coast.
Those who want to see the mosque from inside, need to leave their shoes outside. And the women are requested to wear a head scarf.
Having a coffee break in these countries is quite an unusual but entertaining experience for us. You just park your motorcycle in front of the coffee shop, you remain with your motorcycle and the shop owner is serving you coffee outside. By the way - the coffee shop is so small, our group wouldn't have been fitting in there anyways
The second highlight of the day was the Hatta Dams amidst the Hajar mountains. One purpose of the dam is to supply the water for Dubai city.
While trying to get a group picture we had some fun moments watching this extremely large group of Indians taking a picture
Nach unserem Mittagessen in Hatta haben wir die Grenze von den VAE in den Oman überquert und sind mittlerweile in unserem Hotel in Sohar angekommen.

Day 3 : from Sohar to Muscat

From the past to the present - our today's hotel has a miniature model of a typical Omani Dhow boat on display. Later in the tour we will learn more about this means of transport.
Before leaving for todays ride, Robert from Switzerland is adjusting his navigation
Joke and Rob from Holland are waiting for the signal to start.
Right at our first stop we get the chance to chat with this hospitable omani gentlemen
Soon after the first stretch of highway we take a right turn and find ourselves between the mountains of the Hajar range.
What a nice bike the Yamaha T7 is. Although it is a bit more demanding on the driver's rear end, it turns out to be the perfect choice for the dirt roads in the mountains we will be riding later in the tour.
Sometimes the Oman has larger sections of roads with only few bends, but always offers dramatic scenery
Even the simplest restaurants here in Oman produce really good food. It is approved by Thomas
Everyone is amazed by our beautiful hotel on the outskirts of Oman's capital Muscat

Day 4 : Restday Muscat

During our rest day here in Muscat we take the opportunity for a short ride out to the "Grand Sultan Qaboos Mosque". The impressive and gigantic white building is located on the opposite side of the town.
Inside you will find this gigantic chandelier, which weighs about 5 tons. It is decorated all with Swarovski crystals.
And if you are patient enough you can try and match the bottom ends of the chandelier with the dome's pattern, which supposedly is possible - according to the local guide.
Every mosque has a Mihrab, the corner where the Imam conducts the prayers. It always points direction to Mekka.
One of the mosque's 5 corner towers. A mosque mostly has only 4 towers. This one has 5 to represent the 5 pillars of the Islam
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In the gardens of the Grand Sultan Qaboos Mosque
After having visited the mosque, we went into downtown Muscat, respectively to the popular Muscat Corniche. There you will also find the Muttrah Souq, which is comparable to a huge supermarket of daily things that you need (or don't ).
Visiting Muscat, you can't miss out on the Sultan's palace. The building by itself, which has been designed by an Indian architect, no doubt looks very attractive to the visitor's eyes.
The blue mosque of Muscat
It is very difficult to describe the beauty of our hotel. But this picture of it gives you an idea. Nestled between the mountains and the ocean, it allows you to relax in a peaceful setting.
This Indian wedding party offered us nice picture of people in their yellow and orange Sari dresses.

Day 5 : from Muscat to Ras al Jinz

Starting from our wonderful Hotel in Muscat today, we will be headed towards our southernmost location on the tour. Passing by the city of Sur the Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve will be our next destination on the travel itinerary. As the name already says, we will be watching the giant green turtles, which are home to this beach of Oman, later in the evening. Along the way, however, there is a lot to see as well.
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Right after we left the hotel, we started our first stretch of dirt road on the tour. At first, everyone in the group had to get used to riding on unpaved roads. But pretty soon, it was great fun for everybody.
Dietmar from Germany got used to riding the dirt road pretty quickly
Of course, we always have a chase vehicle following the group all day long. Ibrahim from Touratech Middle East is driving the FJ.
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This southern part of the Hajar mountain range has a brighter colour of stone. As a contrast, the mountains northwest of Muscat have a much darker type of stone.
All the riders are happy
After having left the dirt road, we continued further south to our second highlight, which was the so-called Bimmah sinkhole. A sinkhole, by definition, is a piece of land whose bottom part has been washed away by the water underneath it. Lucky us could enjoy a refreshing swim today.
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We left the Bimmah sinkhole after a delicious snack lunch and continued for a while alongside the Sea of Oman.
The Omanis are very hospitable people. This woman and her daughter were very happy to meet us on the road. They stopped and asked us to take a picture with her.
The next sight that we visited was the factory of the Dhow boats. This impressive Dhow is exhibited in the near-by Dhow museum in Sur.
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It is very interesting to see the way these Dhows are being built.
Not only tourists come to see the Dhow factory. You will also see a lot of Omanis coming to visit the last Dhow factory that is left in Sur.
Thomas (and actually everyone else) is very impressed by the sheer size of nails being used to build the Dhow.
The girl looks like a future motorcyclist
For sure the biggest highlight of the day was the walk down to the beach where we found three of the giant turtles. Our Omani guide explained us all about these sensitive animals.
We were also lucky to see some of the hatched baby turtles on their way into the ocean. What a difference in size.

Day 6 : from Ras al Jinz to Al Wasil

Good morning !! We all slept very well in our tents next to the turtle beach.
And off we go - from the southern-most point in our tour we will be headed back north from now. First stop was in the Wadi Bani Khalid. The water that runs down from the rocks forms an inviting pool.
Everyone has their own way how to use a wheeled barrel The boys use it to carry people's stuff from the parking to the pools in the Wadi ...
... and Andreas uses it for a minute of concentrated thinking ...
In the late afternoon we arrived at our desert camp in the Wahiba Sands desert.
Shortly after having checked into our rooms, we were being shuttled up one of the sand dunes for the sunset.

Day 7 : from Al Wasil to Jebel Al Akhdar

A calming experience in the desert comes to an end and we were being shuttled out again to our bikes in Al Wasil
It is a weird sensation to see the desert blossoming, but it is true. The Wahiba Sands has a lot of small green bushes growing.
Lunch break with unexpected guests - Omanis don't think twice about loading a camel onto their truck if they have to transport it for a longer distance. An entertaining "sight" for us, for sure.
The camel made growling noises, which turned Gabi a little more cautious
One of the counties Falaj water channels the Omanis use to water the fields of fruits and vegetables.
The small village of BIrkat Al Mauz shows many of theses Adobe brick houses
But some of them have been refurbished and, like in this one, have been transformed into a Café.
Joke, Thomas, Andreas and Rob enjoy the delicious coffee they produce inside where it is nicely air-conditioned.
Ingrid, Uwe und Robert prefer to drink their coffee outside where it is nice and toasty
At the end of the day, everyone in the group agrees, that our out-of-this-world beautiful hotel on top of Jebel Al Akhdar sure won't leave any wishes unfulfilled. The spectacular sunset is part of it.
As is the dream dinner buffet.

Day 8 : Rest day at Jebel Al Akhdar

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On our rest day on top of Jebel Al Akhdar we had two groups of travellers: Those who also wanted to ride on the rest day and the others, who wanted to fully enjoy the beautiful hotel.
Angela took Andreas and Rob out to a ride to the neighbouring mountains near the town of Nizwa. And of course, Ibrahim came along with the chase car.
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The view of the mighty mountains (approx. 9000 ft.) simply is impressive.
While Andreas and Rob stayed up on the top, Angela and Ibrahim walked a bit further down to take the picture of the dramatic mountain scenery.
In the end, Dietmar, Uwe und Robert, who stayed in the hotel, couldn't make it a full day without a motorcycle ride They took their bikes out to ride the Jebel Al Akhdar pass down and back up again.
The mind-boggling views from our hotel

Day 9 : from Jebel Al Akhdar to Al Hamra

At the morning briefing: all the riders are looking forward to master today's adventures
Sight number one was the village of Misfath al Abreyeen. It is a good example of an original Omani village.
Robert always find new "friends"
The sun compliments the village's narrow alleyways and their light brown houses. We find our coffee stop near the fields of banana trees and date palm trees, which are watered by the same Falaj system we have seen the other day.
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Add a comment Rate this post
Uli Fischer
Saturday, February 4, 2023 at 21:14

liebe agela so cool wir freuen uns heute schon auf 2024 diese tour mit edelweiß zu fahren habt spass und eine unfall freie tour lg aus der schweiz
Angela
Sunday, February 5, 2023 at 20:17

Hallo Uli,
vielen Dank, wir genießen jede Minute hier im schönen Oman. Und ich freue mich schon, euch das Land im nächsten Jahr zu zeigen.
Liebe Grüße, Angela

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