From high-rise buildings to high-rise mountains

Musandam, Oman – November 2021

As soon as Alina and Liana finish their Sunday shifts at Expo 2020, we pack our bags into our car and drive north on Sheikh Zayed Road. We watch the scenery change from skyscrapers between Dubai Marina and Business Bay to dunes on the side of the highway and finally to the one-story buildings of the villages and outskirts of Ras’ al-Khaima. The first adventure of this outing awaits us at the Omani border. We know that we’re technically not allowed to take the rental car out of the UAE. But, we also know that in the Middle East these rules are sometimes flexible if you ask in the right way (and are women travelling on their own).

So the three of us enter the border control’s office and are warmly greeted by two officers. A third guy, in traditional Omani dress, appears, once he hears us talking. He also greets us with a big smile and asks where we’re from. They stamp our passports without any fuss and then direct Liana to the office where they sell the additional car insurance. While she pays the extra fee, Alina and I are introduced to the wonderful scent of Omani basil, which the guy in the traditional dress generously dabs on our forearms in the form of perfume. Once Liana re-appears, we’re good to go and slowly drive across the country border.

After only one turn of the street to the right, we’re on the coastal road, which takes us all the way up to Khasab. To our right steep cliffs rise high above our heads, and to our left the gushes of waves from the Arabian Gulf dance below us. We’re in awe and soon have to make a first pit stop to admire the scenery. A few more photo stops follow on deserted beaches and picturesque ports. There is not a lot of traffic, and I practice my new skill of “taking pictures with Liana’s professional camera while leaning out the rolled-down window”. In the late afternoon, we reach the northern tip of the coastal road and the ascend to the top of the cliffs begins.

Hairpin turns take us all the way up to a remote village and back down on the other side. Then we get the first glimpse of Khasab Bay. Deep down below us, we see small speed boats and big slow Dhows cruising about. After another quick photo session, we’re back on the road for our last stretch and shortly after reaching our hotel in Khasab. The Atana Musandam Resort is conveniently located close to Lulu Hypermarket, where we get our snacks for the next few days. After a little drive through the old town, which is refreshingly lacking modern buildings and skyscrapers, we make it to our dinner spot: the Grilled Fish & Meat place Liana found on Google Maps.

It’s a feast. And that’s an understatement. We order the mixed platter with a side of 2 different flatbreads. First, the friendly waiter covers the steel table in a parking spot in front of the small shop with a sheet of thin, striped plastic. Then we’re given a family-sized box of tissues. And finally arrives the biggest platter of assorted grilled meat and seafood I’ve ever seen. We’re digging in like there’s no tomorrow, ripping apart shrimps and removing bones from fish and chicken. Meanwhile, car after car filled with big Arab families pull up around us and collect their takeaway orders. There is only a French couple sitting down next to us, who’s “eating in” that night. Shortly after they take their seat, I hear the sound of an explosion behind me. Liana and I turn around, and look towards the sky when Alina exclaims “fireworks!”.

While the sky is lighting up time and time again, we finish up, head back to the car and drive towards the coast. What first seems to be a huge traffic jam at second glance turns out to be dozens of pick-up trucks parked on the right lane. The Omani families are all sitting in the bed of the cars, looking up at the shower of colours. We pass the standing cars and continue to a beach outside of town we saw earlier. We park our small Nissan on the sand and enjoy the full moon, which is now visible above the bay. Once back at our hotel, I go for a swim in the pool, and then we head to bed. The next morning has a lot in store for us.

We start our day with a delicious Arab breakfast including flatbread, scrambled tomato egg and “foul”. Then we drive to the old Dhow harbour, where we hope to find a fisherman willing to take us on a cruise around the area. The port looks kind of deserted. Only a few goats are climbing around the small abandoned boats on the shore. We finally find a big sign stating the prices of half-day and day trips. And only a few minutes later, two men appear. The younger one speaks good English, and we negotiate the price with him for a half-day tour with the older man’s boat. Shortly after, Mohammed Ali shows us to his vessel. The small, white boat is nestled between bigger, wooden Dhows. We’re quickly out of the harbour, and running up towards the Strait of Hormuz.

But before we reach the small strip of ocean separating the Arab Peninsula and Iran, we take a sharp right turn into a fjord lined with cliffs even higher than the ones we saw yesterday. The way the dark blue waves with white crowns hit the beige rocks is marvellous. We’re the only boat in the area, and the serenity of the FJORD is exactly the change we needed from Expo. Occasionally, Mohammed Ali shows us some rock formations on a small flyer with rough descriptions in English. Then he points towards the shore, and we try to figure out where we can spot a “big mouth fish”. After about an hour, we reach the bay where one can supposedly see dolphins playing in the calm water. But they didn’t get the memo about our arrival, so we continue to the swimming point close to Telegraph Island in the middle of the fjord.

After a refreshing dip in the ocean, we snack on our baby bananas and cookies, while Mohammed takes us back to the dolphin point. He talked to the captain of one of the Dhows before and confirmed that the big fish should be there now. We’re more than happy with this excursion as it is, but Mohammed is determined. We go in circles to create waves, and after about 2 minutes we see the first dolphin jump, soon followed by a second and third one. We drift about with the dolphins in tow for quite a while, and I don’t know who’s happier – us or Mohammed or the fish. When we finally turn towards the open waters of the gulf, we take in the last seconds of tranquillity before we enter the busy shipping lane.

This adventure isn’t over yet. Read part 2 here. 🙂