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Spotlight on Oman
I have spent nearly 3 weeks in Oman and even though I would prefer to live in Dubai than in Muscat (the Capital of Oman), I strongly believe that Oman has so much more to offer as a holiday destination.
Firstly, it has countless hiking trips on offer in the canyons or in the mountains. If you enjoy diving and swimming with wild tortoise, then the coastline awaits you. If you are interested in understanding how the tribes lived and how the Forts were organised, then you can visit them.
In terms of my stay in Oman, I have been lucky to be there when the weather was warm but not too hot. It was around 40 degrees but the level of humidity was not too high so even with my full motorcycle kit on, I was only loosing 5L of water per day of sweat so that's ok no? ;)
Thanks to this good weather and because Oman is a very safe country, I was sleeping outside without a tent. I was sleeping directly on the floor, either in the desert, in the mountains or in petrol stations and parking. I only set my tent up once, just because of the humidity. Yes, this month in the Golf region (UAE and Oman) has been good from an "adventure" point of view as I was washing myself with less than 5 litres of water a day and was cooking my own food with my little gas cooker. On the menu was pasta and tuna with cucumber or cucumber with tuna and pasta...
However, even though I enjoyed this lifestyle, I was still curious to stop next to a Marriott 5 Star Resort and see what they could do for me. Actually, since I spent the last 4 years of my life in hotels, I had collected thousands of points and had obtained the Platinum Status in their loyalty scheme. Upon arrival, the Manager welcomed me with a big smile (unlike her assistant) and upgraded me for free to the Royal Suite. For 2 days, I therefore lived like a little king and enjoyed the facilities. I hadn't slept in a bed for more than one month so the comfort was welcomed.
Oman has been amazing in terms of hikes and discoveries, and I would strongly recommend a hike in Wadi Shah or Wadi Tiwi, or a hike in Salalah. Moreover, I would encourage you to spend at least 3 days in the Musandam region of Oman. Don't spend too much time in Muscat, unless you want to increase your chances of being interviewed by a local newspaper like I did :)
However, Oman hasn't been great for the bike and I feel she will welcome a bit of rest in the coming weeks. I shouldn't forget that I have been extremely lucky in this last month as I fell at 30 km/h due to a wet tarmac and skidded over 4 metres but ended up with no injuries. Then, a couple of days later, my chain broke after a long excursion in the desert and it didn't block my wheel. At that time, I was also lucky because a local saw me on the side of the road and dropped me at the closest garage by car. A week later, and this time round, in an even more remote area, my motorbike stopped working. The battery was on but the engine didn't start. I was in the middle of nowhere by the sea and had just drove off-road in the mountains. There was nobody around me so the next day I decided to walk towards the closest village situated 25kms away to find help. Luckily, on my way, I found a pickup from the Army and they helped me out by putting the motorbike in their pickup, and we drove to the village...
If you have questions about where to go in Oman or if you want to double check where I have been, please check my itinerary.
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From the 10/12, I will be in India. After that I will be lucky enough to travel through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. More on that in the upcoming newsletters!
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Thank you for your interest and let's stay in touch!
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