Thursday, February 1 - Dubai to Oman

We set out for our trip to our final country, Oman. We did another loop around Dubai and saw even more construction. The Burj Dubai is still under construction and already the tallest building in the world. It will be 160 floors. They are building two floors a week.. It will have about 30,000 apartments and there are 20,000 employed to build it. No on knows for sure how tall it will be. They keep those things pretty quiet. The top floor will be some sort of weird expandable thing so if someone in Abu Dhabi builds a taller one, they can trump that!

The largest property developer in the world is in Dubai. As I mentioned on an earlier post, they are building all these reclaimed Islands. Dubai has 74km of coastline naturally, but with all the reclamation, they will have 1600 km!!

The Emirates has the second busiest road system in the world, second only to Hong Kong, with 283 cars/km.

We swung by another camel track. Child jockeys have been officially outlawed as they used to be as young as 2 years old, with the then legal age being 5. The kids would be screaming their heads off and this would of course make the camels go faster. There is actually a law suit pending in the U.S. against the ruling Sheik on all of this. Hence the creation of the camel robot jockey that I discussed in a previous post. You can't bet on the camel races as gambling is forbidden in the Qu'ran.

The ruling Sheik here is the 5th wealthiest person in the world.

A geography lesson:

The entire Arabian penninsula (comprising Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait is 1 million square miles (the size of India) and has 40 million people. There are no permanent rivers or lakes and most of the region is classified as desert. It is 1/4 sand dunes. To the east the peninsula is separated by the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman with the Strait of Hormutz connecting the two. This is a very strategic part of the world as 40% of the world's oil comes through the strait. It is mainly controlled by Iran and is considered a real choke point. If Iran gets worked up and closes the strait we will be looking at $200 barrel oil. The red sea is to the West of Saudi Arabia. Check out the map on the bottom of the blog for more details and double click to make it larger.

Our drive continued through the Hajar mountains. We passed through the Emirate of Fujairah which borders Oman. We drove along the coast and saw the port in the town of Fujairah near the Omani border. This is where a lot of the oil is shipped out to the west. I have never seen a site like this in my life. I counted roughly 400 tankers waiting on the horizon, lines for miles and miles waiting their turn to gain their cargo. It really hits home where the petroleum comes from that we use back home. And this port only handles the oil from this area...most comes through the Persian Gulf.

Crossing the Omani border from the U.A.E. was one of the most authentic travel experiences I have ever had. The particular border crossing we travelled through is seldom used by foreigners. First you gave to get processed out of UAE. Then you go through a second stage exit crossing. It takes a while to process a bus of 17 people, so the impatient locals are getting out fo their cars to see what's up and if they can jump the queue.

Then you cross to no man's land and the Omani border lies ahead. This is where it got interesting. There seemed to be some trouble. There were many phone calls made, many agents showing up, and a very worried driver, Ishtar, and our guide Aili. Appartently, there was a problem with our driver's visa. They would not let him into Oman. No Ishtar, no bus, no entry to Oman.

Here is what I wrote during the long wait, caught between UAE and Oman.

STRANDED IN NO MAN'S LAND:

I write this as I sit in "no man's land' between Oman and the UAE. Ishtar has made the journey many times, but this time they are forbidding him to enter. We've been here now 3 hours. We are waiting for another bus and driver from the Omani side of the border to take us to Oman.

As I write this it is 7PM - a beautiful full moonlit night. I am sitting just feet away from the border post kiosk. The traffic is sporadic. Sometimes occassional, sometimes there is a line to cross. We are the only westerners here. The chief border agent is very apologetic and kind. There is the familiar smell of grain in the air (familiar to a farm boy such as myself) as truck loads of bagged grain pass across into Oman.

I sit between the two Omani checkpoints...not permitted out to UAE or into Oman....where vehicles are having their trunks inspected by guards. It is fascinating to see the locals get out of their vehicles to open their trunks for inspection, dressed in all manner of Arab guard...young and old. They just opened the second lane so I moved closer to the Omani border to get out of the way.

There was a football (soccer) game two nights ago between Oman and UAE so many cars drive by with Omani or Emirati flags hanging out of their window. Some have even painted their entire car in temporary paint with the flag of their favourite team.

Those passing through don't know exactly what to make of us sitting here...waiting endlessly.

Some on the tour are getting restless, but I am soaking up every moment, capturing the sites, sounds and smells of this once in a lifetime event.

The land is flat and barren to the east with the lights an oil refinery glowing in the distance. Immediately to our west is the Hajar Mountains, but a security fence separates us from them. We are not supposed to take pictures, but we do. It's a good thing as the site of us sitting on the ledge with barbed wire fence is priceless.

We are free to move about within no man's land. I offer the guard in his kiosk a Coffee Crisp during a lull in the traffic. The treats have been a big hit all trip...among local kids and Omani border guards! I have prepared a goodie bag for Ishtar for his 3 hour trip back to Dubai.

Heavy trucks are starting to cross now. The sound of gears and hydraulics interupts the quiet calm now and again.

A little boy of about 8 passes by, in his robe and scarf, and smiles.

An old man with a weathered face opens the trunk of his beat up Toyota. It is full of fishing nets.

There is a shift change and the border guards' Arabic is broken occasionaly by "Canada" as they explain this strange situation to their colleagues and why there is this gaggle of Westerners in the Omani no man's land.

Aili and Ishtar pace nervously as they await the bus from Oman. The head guard from the first shift just came back (I thought he had left) and says "No bus yet?" He says he only has one extra room or he'd have us all at his place for the night.

Everyone is telling stories of home and their travels of past. Some are reading, others are napping on the bus. I'm like a kid in a candy store taking it all in.

Ken from Louisville buys us all Pepsi from the sole vending machine. I've exhausted by Marlboro's so Ken's wife offers me one of hers - king size!!

My coffee crisps make the rounds and Lucy offers cheese balls. Three young Arabs just passed by and say "How are you?" to all of us. Friendly folk in this part of the world. They love to see Westerners.

Ishtar changes from his dress shoes to more comfortable sandals. And still no bus.

The bathroom facilities are rather unpleasant so most of the ladies pass on Ken's offer of Pepsi. No toilets...just a hole - common in these parts.

Dinner will be late tonight. Ahhh, it's prayer time....the sound of the Imam calling prayer can be heard in the distance from Oman. Lucy points out that "we've been here two prayers"! As much as I am enjoying this experience, I hope it doesn't last three prayers.........

Well, the bus did arrive to great cheers from the group. Aili kissed the bus upon arrival. There was no trailer attached, like our first one, just a luggage rack. The propects of having our luggage on the rooftop for the 45 mintute drive to Sur, Oman was not appealing especially given the way these folks drive. Alas, we opted to pile it in the back of the bus and cram together.

With a new driver we set on our way through the Omani border without incident, saying good-bye to Ishtar. Thankfully, the detention was just two prayers long!