Al Ain

Al Ain Air Show and Mubazara

Lake District

Travel Month:

Feb 2009

Country:

England

Attractions:

Mountain driving, sight seeing

Total Distance Covered:

750 Miles


Travelogue:

It all started with a quick search on Facebook to find some old friends. Suddenly a very small sized picture with a familiar face of an old friend of mine took my attention. I did not meet him in the last 18 years. Because the picture was micro, it was hard to make sure that it was infact Atif. I had to shoot an email and then to wait for over a month. Finally I received a message of concurrence that this guy is none other than Atif Maqsood. We were best friends in school days and then the flow of life took us to our fate and we moved on with our busy lives and never could got in touch for such a long time. One major reason was that we picked up different subjects in high school so life just moved on. Well once we knew each others whereabouts by exchanging emails, I finally made a plan to visit Atif and Wasim in the UK for our reunion for a couple of days. The plan executed on the 6th of Feb 2009. Wasim has been an old and tested friend and each time I visited UK in the last ten years, I have stayed with him in Milton Keynes. I mentioned only Wasim and Atif as we were from the same college and this reunion was planed like that, but there are some other very good friends that I met in the trip including very good friends Rehman & family and Afzal. Both these fellows are my friends from college days and its always a pleasure meeting them.

I boarded the plane at 10am to Heathrow, the flight was uneventful on British Air except for a four seat treat I received. It was good to have four seats to take some rest. The flight was mostly empty and there were only a few passengers aboard the flight. After landing at Heathrow I came out in the lobby just to find out that the weather has been terribly bad forcing most of the public transport to cancel and people even couldnt move their cars out of their parkings due to pile of snow behind them. I was aware of the bad weather earlier butI could not change my program due to the weather only and took a chance. England gets snow only once in a while especially the big cities like London that does not fall in the snow belt. Therefore they were never prepared for the currect series of storms they received. Had it been Canada, the amount of snow received by UK would have been just a normal amount of snow for them. Obviously, different areas are equiped with the sort of weather they face. But current weather condition in UK directly effected our plans to go to Manchester to join Atif and to continue to Lake District as per our original plan for a few days holidays.

Wasim was waiting in the lobby with a baby rucksac at his back. He was looking like a camel with a little hump on his back. It was a surprise for me to see him anyhow because he had reduced about 21 kg off his poor body shape just to get ready for our trip across Europe in the coming months. He made it to the airport on train from Milton Keynes as he could not move his car either. We had a plan to head straight out and join Atif in Manchester to continue our journey to the Lake District where we planned to stay for a couple of days. The whole plan had to be changed now. The road to Manchester was trecherous and we had to reach Milton Keynes first to get our ride anyhow, and for Milton Keynes we didnt have any transport leaving us in afix.

We sat in the waiting area, thanks to terminal 5 and kept discussing the situation. I was least bothered as long as I was with my friends. We contemplated staying in a hotel or at some other friends.

Moreover Rehman called and he said nobody goes anywhere without visiting their place in Craydon. His emotional blackmail helped us and we scrapped our program to reach Manchester that day and headed to Victoria Station on the tube to catch another to Craydon. It was cold and snow was still coming down from the skies.

UK has seen such weather after 20 years, its the same number of years that I've not seen Atif....what a conincidence! London and other parts of UK were put to stand still as England doesn't seem to be prepared for such weather.

Well it was rush hour when we left Terminal 5 and all trains were packed with people returning from work. Rehman joined us from one of the stations on his way back home as well. We finally made it to his place on taxi from the tube station in the dark, while it was still snowing. Here we met Samha (Rehman's wife) and their lovely children. Samha was cooking a lovely Nihari for us while we went ahead to pick some naan and kebabs from the market. The food was delicious and we fed the hungry stomachs to the brim. A little walk in the snow was taken to keep our digestive system function properly after all the abuse we did to it, with the extra and rich eating. All three friends sat late into the night and notes were exchanged, we caught up for the last few years, discussions on various topics ended very late when it was called a day.

Rehman backed out from joining us due to the extra day in our plan as he had work, therefore he drove us to Milton Keynes so that we could pick up Wasim's car from there to continue to Manchester. We left at 6 in the morning when it was still dark. The roads were very slippery due to the snow turned ice on the roads. The temparature was well below zero and it was even colder due to wind. There was not much traffic as it was the weekend. Weather was still bad and we were hoping to pull out Wasim's truck from the pile of snow he left it in. We got dropped off couple of streets away from Wasim's place, so that Rehman would not get stuck on the icy small streets. We walked with my luggage to Wasim's house.

We met Wasim's family before we drove ahead. Wasim has three adorable children, who woke up early on a weekend day to meet us up. We continued our journey and did not forget to put a shovel in the car as a precaution. The drive was nice but the scenery was nothing compared to UK's scenery in the summers when it is lush green. We crossed Birmingham from the bypass toll road and had a coffee stop. We spoke to Atif on the way a few times as he was anxiously waiting for us.

People who have driven in North America will consider this a short ride but it is long for people living in the UK. It was a 3 hours drive to Manchester. The old friends finally meet, the emotions could not be explained. There was a time when myself and Atif used to spend full days together. We would go to school on bicycles and after school we used to spend the day together either at his place or mine. We used ot play cricket for hours and used to enjoy the food our mothers cooked for us. If I say that we were inseparable then it wont be an exaggeration. Those were good old days and those memories we cherish today. Today I work in the technology and HR fields and Atif is working as a Doctor in the the UK while Wasim is working in the technology area too. Life goes on, professions move friends away from each other but there are times like this when you get a chance to get together after several years without having it on the cards. Its life, which is amazing.

We drove to a restaurant close by to have a bite before we hit the road to the Lake District. Chicken Karhahi and mixed grill was served and we did justice to it. Soon we were in the hilly terrain heading Windermere Lake that was our first proper stop. On the way we left the highway and took the smaller roads. UK is full of single roads those pass through small villages and farm houses provided beautiful scenery. One could leave the highway to go through the side roads to make it to the same destination but by adding another few hours to the journey. But for me UK's countryside is always very attractive and I love to go through the side roads rather than the highways.

I remember when I was doing some projects in the UK I used to travel miles and miles without having a particular destination in mind just to enjoy the nature and scenery and I was never bored. Today was special anyhow that I was with my two old and best friends so even the land scape was not the priority. The priority was to catch up for all those years lost. We took full advantage of the time and discussed all those years we spent together. We did not forget to talk about our other friends who have done good for their lives and the ones who could not make it to good and still struggled for good life. Our prayers are with all of them.

We drove aimlessly through the bottle neck roads and continued our journey. It was very refreshing, weather was fairly cold and windy. We stopped at several place, clicked tons of pictures, changed our course many a times but still continued towards Windermere Lake. It was mid afternoon when we made it to the windy lake. The Swans, ducks and several other birds were enjoying themselves in the lake and due to the weather condition there were not too many people out there...good or us. We took a chilly stroll and then decided to go on the lake cruise. Next 1.5 hours we rode the waves and talked and talked with keeping a good eye on the stunning scenery around the lake. Myself and Atif stayed on the deck for quite some time and faced the below zero winds bravely.

This lake is surrounded by nice hills, some of them were snow covered providing a feeling as we were in the Northern Pakistan or Nepal facing the 8000ers. I have seen similar sceneries high up in the mountains but here in England where there are no 8000ers we were getting similar views. There is a road going alongside the lake on one side dotted with mobile homes, hotels and houses. The other side shows some summer retreat houses hidden in the trees. Behind on both sides there are mountains.

Windermere is the largest lake in this area and most visited offcourse. I summers it is hard to find a place to stay in this area and the whole of UK and other tourists flood the Lake District. The celebreties have their summer homes in the mountains. Lake District is very close to the Scottland so it is inherriting the natural beauty from there. I never expected that there would be so much of population at this location. But to my surprise the Lake District is full of small villages and you hardly drive for some time to reach the other settlement. But all the towns and villages are very well maintained and whereever there is any historic place it is very well preserved. Thats makes the whole of UK as a historic place because you find such place everywhere in this country.

By the time our boat docked it was evening almost. We had a coffee to warm ourselves up before we started the journey again. We crossed Ambleside and kept going towards Kiswick. We crossed a point where there are mountains on either side of the road and there are some nice hiking treks going up. We kept it pending until the next day to climb one of them. It was turning dark when we reached Kiswick. The scenery around this town is breathtaking as it is sitting in the middle of green mountains. A very well placed beautiful town. We spent some time here and then discussed where to spend the night. The good thing was we were traveling without any particular plan in mind, and as it was flexible we were not worried about where to reach at what time. We evaluated the situation and then booked online at one Travelodge some 40 miles away from where we were in the historic town of Kendal. We started towards our destination when it was dark and cold. Through the small roads, enjoying ourselves we managed to reach our hotel. Once we were unpacked all three of us in the same room, we went to the high street to find something to eat. We had a long walk in the closed markets to find something and stopped at a nice Pizza place. After dinner we had some more walk to explore the town and then drove back to the hotel. It was very late when we went to sleep.

I was up even earlier than my usual time due to the jet lag and Atif was the next to join me and we talked and talked until morning when Wasim joined the gang. After a refreshing shower we were out on the road to explore more lakes and towns of the Lake District. We wanted to do some hiking as well. At Ambleside we stopped for breakfast and to browse the outdoor stores those have always been my choice to visit. They had very nice but very expensive stuff.

Next stop was to climb the mountain but Wasim and Atif were not ready however I convinced them to come along with me. It was a snow track climbing at a steep angle and we were not prepared at all. All three of us were wearing the joggers and had no other means to help us go up. Soon we found out that it was very slippery and cold. Wasim trekked with us for some time and then gave up to go back to the truck. The remaining two continued and stopped at a small water fall coming down from a stream through the snowy mountain. We passed some other climbers who were very well equiped with sticks, ice axes, crampons and what not. One suggested us that we should not continue, but we continued for another 30-40 minutes. We only walked on the soft patches and not on the track as it was very icy and was impossible to walk on at least for us. Temperature was close to zero or below zero. We had a lot of fun, took a lot of pictures and were children like, like we were 20 years back. The time was reversed and we had come out of our aging process and felt at young as one could be. These feelings are hard to explain.

We started our descend on the slippery slopes and came back in the car to warm ourselves up. We were in the drive again, now going to the ocean. We were heading towards Whitehaven a Cumberian town and port in Northern England. That would our last stop before we head back to Manchester. The road was nice and the views were spectacular. We went through the mountains and soon were getting glimpses of the ocean far down on our right. The scenery had opened up and the mountains were just behind us. We also saw the UK's largest Windmill park generating power. Again this town was very historic and contains a lot of historic building and monuments. We clicked some pictures near the light house and the old castle.

The journey back to Manchester was bit boring as we were coming out of a nice scenery and a wonderful area. We dropped Atif where he had parked his car and started driving back to Milton Keynes. The drive was terrible because of the snow and rain falling the whole way. Visibility was reduced and the spray from the highway made it even more difficult to drive. But we kept making progress and by 8:30 pm we made it safely to Waseem's place. Dinner was ready for the hungry souls, thanks to Wasim's wife.

This leg of the trip was over with a bang and left lasting memories with us.

Oman Camping

Area:
This area falls between Hatta and Burraimi in the Hajjar Mountains. There are a number of oases in this area. The Falaj system (water channels for irrigation) is used for bringing water to the fields from far off mountains. The main crop is Dates and vegetables.

Travel Month:

Jan 2009

Country:

UAE and Oman

Attractions:

Mountain driving, Camping, Off-road

Total Distance Covered:


Travelogue:

DAY1

Report coming soon.....

Musandam

Area:
Musandam Peninsula is the northern tip of UAE but in Omani territory that is separated by UAE from the mainland Oman. Khasab is the main town in this area that boasts the highest mountain of this area i.e. 2200m called as Jebel Hareem.

Travel Month:

Jan 2009

Country:

UAE and Oman

Attractions:

Mountain driving, Fjords, Coastal drive, Ocean, Camping

Total Distance Covered:

475 Kilometers total out of which 125 Kilometers was dirt track and offroad.

Travelogue:

DAY1

Musandam Peninsula is also termed as the Fjords of Arabia and it is situated at the tip of Arabia. Offering such a pleasurable and beautiful drive once we cross into Oman. The border crossing is at about one and half to two hours from Dubai and the fun starts from here. The road winds right at the coast offering breathtaking views and the scenery keeps changing at turns.

This is the first trip of the traveler family in the year 2009. What a start for this year by starting this trip on the early morning of Jan 1st 2009. The night before was new years night and the kids didn't want to sleep to celebrate at mid-night despite knowing that they would have to leave very early in the morning. John and his son Zak couldn’t make it to our place for over night due to fog, now they'll have to travel an extra two hours to catch up with us early. Sohail, Nabeel and their families would join early as well at the gas station.

Finally it was time after sleeping for a couple of hours. We woke up to make the kids ready, the luggage was already packed in the truck last night. In no time we were on the road to make our first stop to get some ice and then the second at the gas station to wait for others. Morning was very foggy and the drive real tricky. The journey started with four trucks carrying 7 adults and 8 kids. We stopped at Ras Al Khaima for some Arabic breakfast and finally reached the border to cross into Sultanate of Oman. It used to be a simple check post on UAE side but now they have a nice immigration office and border crossing and ironically they charged us 25 dirhams for each passenger to exit the UAE, while Omanis charged only 10 dirhams per person to let us enter their territory. We were already on the coastal drive in no time. This road has one of the best views and the next 40 kilometers was right on the coast going up and down the hills. On your left you would see ocean making geysers after hitting the sidewall of the road and on your right mountains rising up.

The next stop was Khasab the only town on this side of Oman other than a few villages doted on the coast. It offers amazing views with the town snaking into the gorges offered by the mountains. From here a dirt track leads towards Wadi Bih then into RAK or into Dibba. Unfortunately we as expats cannot drive through to any of the two destinations mentioned because the border crossing is military operated and is not an immigration border. See our other blog to check story on the other side of the check post. The track crosses through the highest point in this area at 2200 m above sea level. This rise in height is achieved in less than 30 kilometers.

Our target was to reach the top and then do some off-roading in the mountains before finding a good spot for camping. When we were very close to the top, John had a flat tire on his rear left wheel. The tire was replaced after a bit of learning on how to change a tire on Ford Explorer sportrack truck. Without having a spare it was decided that they will sit with others to continue our off-road drive and we would collect the truck on the way back. We drove on a very rough and steep track for some more time and reached a spot from where we could not turn our trucks and the track going further was closed with a wall of rocks. We had no choice but to reverse on the steep surface for about 400 meters before getting enough space for turning back. We parked our 4x4s at the closed location and hiked up to the top to have a view of Khasab port that we had left many kilometers behind through the mountains and here we were standing tall overlooking the same spot with our binoculars from far. Priceless views from this place. Finally we headed back to where the 4x4s were parked and started our descent. The journey back had another leg of exploration to Khor Al Najd, once a small flat surface blocked by high mountains on one side and by ocean on the other. Now a dirt track goes right down to the spot and seems to be a popular one for campers. The seven kilometers track takes you high up and then brings you right to the zero above sea level. The track is very steep and one should negotiate it on low gears. After reaching there we had our lunch and then decided to camp out there only. Let me explain this place, a body of water creating huge lake has come into the mountains leaving the fast flow and noise of sea far behind. This offers marvelous views from anywhere you see it.

Sohail and Nabeel's families planned for the day trip only and were getting ready to head back while we pitched our tents. But after seeing our dedication and love for this activity we had put them in second thoughts about staying over night. Once they decided we had this question that how were we going to accommodate four adults and three kids, because Fazeel the fourth one was already staying with us. John being named as Macgyver who would find solutions for us threw this idea of making the back of the truck a tent for two. Myself and John made a camp with Tarps at the back of his open truck and the land cruiser was also made shelter for two people. The remaining we had to fit into our two tents. This exercise created excitement and children really took interest and helped in building the tarp tent on the Ford. The two women who were not staying were driven to the town of Khasab so that they could do little shopping as a compensation of staying in the bush.

The night came and the best fire pit was ready courtesy our official MacGyver of the trip. We had a huge fire, put on by the kids and all of us. The night continued with enjoyment of sausages on the prongs and especially with the wonderful environment and feel to be away from the day-to-day chores. The disturbance was very much felt from the people having their generators put on with lots of lights around their tents. That really kills the purpose of camping by having exactly the same comforts of the city. That continued late in the night and it seemed like sleeping in a factory rather than in a bush. It was a terrible night at a magnificent location.

DAY2

The sleep was again very short last night. After we were done with early morning activity behind the rocks we started getting hungry. Time to prepare breakfast then. We had a good breakfast and the two 4x4s with Sohail and Nabeel's families left for Dubai. We debated for not staying at the same spot for the second night due to the disturbance we experienced last night and finally decided to wrap up to go to some other location. We headed back to Khasab to find a nice spot along the beach. On the way stopped at a cafe to get children some snacks and then reached next to the Golden Tulip Hotel where there were some other campers already dotted along the sea. The weather was very nice and the views were amazing. We pitched our tents and had a little look around. Due to the long weekend there were quite a few parties camping there.

Kids enjoyed at the sea by making their clothes wet and dirty. There was red tide on the whole of East Coast for the last 6 weeks but fortunately this spot was clean and the water was not of terrible red color. Once we explored the area, we started cooking some nice chicken and chick peas. We had bought some biryani earlier to add to our dinning that night. The food was delicious and the environment was priceless.But the wind was really picking up by then.

A nice firepit was prepared and a fire was started to enjoy the camp fire which is the most important activity while camping. This I have learned in years of camping that without a good fire its really to take the dressing off of a nice cake. Therefore a camp fire is a must activity. Kids love it as much as the elders love it. Its give you a good warm up, a very good reason to sit late around it, enjoy exchaning notes, telling stories, cracking jokes and telling others about your travel experiences. A very good teaching time for the kids as well.

Well we never knew what we were heading into and only noticed when the wind changed into a storm. It was gusting at a very high speed and it seemed very difficult that out tent will survive the night. We used all our luggage to hold the sides but had to borrow everything from John's truck to dot them along the inner side of the tent. Finally had to open all four windows to let the air have some passage to cross through. Fortunately it wasnt a cold night with all the wind gusting crazily. Soon we got to know that this was not the only thing to ruin our sleep, there were people driving to the site in a big number, one after the other and they would put their lights straight at our camps to have a closer look. I don't know what was wrong with those Khasab people. It was if they were coming to see the nuts leaving the comforts of their homes and fighting the storm in the middle of nowhere or may be it was kind of zoo for them to see the city people there. Whatever that may be I'll choose secluded places for camping as I always do but don't know what on earth made me choose such a place on this trip and we experimented to this level even on day 2. We could not sleep anyhow due to the storm which continued into the next day. Another terrible night for us and another wonderful sleep for John and Zak at the back of their truck. I'm so jealous!!

Our expensive inflatable mattress added fuel to fire and gave up during the night and made our night even more uncomfortable. One would think who wants comfort on a camping trip! Let me tell you one tip...Do not buy these inflatable mattresses which are made to fail one day!!

DAY3

Third day started very early because we never slept the previous night. I got up and clicked some pictures of early morning sea waves and the surroundings. It was a very fresh feeling and then the walk with my wife on the beach finding nice shells made the day. Today is going to be relaxing one. We tried to make breakfast but the wind never allowed us to do anything. So we planned to wrap up and load up the trucks before we go to find some breakfast for us and bait for fishing. Bringing down the tent was a task but we managed to do that somehow.

Sajeel and Fazeel wanted to learn driving at the age of 11 and 13 in the wide-open area. I finally gave up and gave them a try. Sajeel did it while witting in my lap because he couldn’t reach the pedals to accelerate or brakes while Fazeel did it by himself. Kids went crazy due to the adrenaline to pump more gas. It was their first experience driving and I remember when I did it for the first time and the excitement, that was a wow!

We drove to the town and had breakfast and then peeked into shops for some window-shopping. It’s a nice little town to explore. You will see a lot of tourism shops offering the Dhow Cruise for half or full day. We opted not to take it this time due to the red tide in the sea and moreover the Dhow are without side rails and we would be running after our hyper children whole the time. And it was more of a camping and driving tour then relaxing on the Dhow.

We were able to find the bait for fishing and John did the trick to fix the rusting fishing rods. He has been doing fishing since his childhood and children found a good teacher in his shape. We came back to the seashore to try luck. Everybody did cast into the sea without and positive outcome. We decided to try at an other place while driving back in our lunch break but that didn’t help either so we finished the fishing venture by going fishing without a catch. We enjoyed the coast drive on the way back and stopped at a few places for sightseeing and then for lunch before finally making it to the border.

We entered into UAE and after one hour or so we reached home after a three days of very interesting and tiring trip. Looking forward to another one.

Wadi Bih

Area:
For reaching Wadi Bih one has to cross through Sharjah into Dhaid followed by Masafi and finally Dibba. At
Dibba we enter into Omani territory. There is no visa required but your passport is checked while entering into Oman from UAE.
The dirt track starts after only a few kilometers and then enters into the mountains for a breathtaking ride.

Travel Month:

Dec 2008

Country:

UAE and Oman

Total Distance Covered:

450 Kilometers total out of which 100 Kilometers was dirt track.

Travelogue:

DAY1
We were planning for this trip for the last few days and despite there was a restriction of 12 cars we could not refuse to a few enthusiasts who signed up closer to the travel date and the total 4x4s were 14 in this trip. We started gathering at the ADNOC gas station on Sharjah-Dhaid road at 6:45 and left for the destination at 7:30 after a briefing. We were so fortunate to have a number of angels/children in this trip and the youngest one was only a few months old that stayed over night in the freezing cold. This was the maximum number of children I’ve seen on any of the club trips so far. 22 kids to be more precise.

We reassembled at a petrol pump right after entering into Oman not before negotiations with the authorities to request them enter a 4x4 who forgot their passports. After a few minutes of imploring they were kind enough to allow us to continue our trip. Everyone were very excited here, we gave a few minutes to the kids to run around and the others to use the bathroom facility at the pump.

The drive ahead was incredible as we made our way through the canyons on to the snaking up track. We had our next stop soon after we entered the gorges to let everyone apply their hiking skills to explore some caves looking over the dirt track. All the kids climbed up to where their parents or skills became a barrier for them to continue. But the sense of achievement was acknowledged by then and they were looking forward to the next stop already. Not to forget that some younger ones made their (at least) one parent use their climbing skills first time in all these years passed by, just to catch up with them.

The second stop was at the shepherd’s hut very close to the top at about 800 m high. For reaching here one has to go through the beautiful gorges followed by very steep track spinning up high. A Pathan has been living there for the last several years and his job is to feed and protect a bunch of goats, his Arbab has kept at this place. He gets his supplies weekly and lives with no one around in the area, earning a salary of 800 dirhamsa month. There is a small graveyard and remains of an abandoned village here. We also saw some new huts built here not a very long ago.

The views from one side of this hut were amazing. Children enjoyed running after the goats and roosters. We had a group photo (courtesy Faisal Zaheer) at the open field while we were continuously hit by a very cold wind all over. Wind was gusting at a high speed and was asking us, can you handle me whole night?
Jessil and myself then started locating the campsite coordinates provided to us but to no avail as both the GPS were pointing us into different directions. Therefore we thought to continue our drive and will figure out where to camp later in the day as the convoy was getting impatient.

We drove through the highest point on the tract at just over 1000 meters and experienced the same cold gust. The track starts descending here towards Wadi Bih and we reached at about 400 meters in just a few kilometers. The Omani checkpoint allowed us to pass through the barriers to visit the area closer to RAK. We were split into two groups at this point as 6 4x4s stayed at the top and wanted to enjoy it up there. We prepared lunch at this stop while the kids started their fire pit with a nice fire. What a hearty meal we had with all the variety available warmed over the stove. Everyone was stuffed and ready for the hike we planned for. We met a tire flat on one of the Prados. With so much help available the team changed the tire in no time. Many of the participants saw a tire change on a Prado for the first time so a bit of classroom setting.

Our next stop was a few miles ahead where we left the track and drove towards the hiking area as far as we could drive. Everyone stopped, jumped out and started the hike. We had a good one and a half hours hike and started back to find our campsite. After reaching the Shepherd’s hut five 4x4s left us after a Goodbye, as they only joined for the day trip. But we couldn’t find the other 6 who stayed at the top even through cell phones or radio. Anyhow we finalized our campsite but not next to the trucks rather at about 50 meters below from the dirt track for us to take the entire luggage down and then bring it back the next morning. The team did a great job with all the helping hands available including the children and the women. Jessil and company appeared on the radio and then physically at about the sunset time. They had a run towards Khassab and back after negotiating with the border checkpoint courtesy Habib (a local bro). Though this group camped at a different spot a little ahead of the other one with Jessil leading them, we had a couple of visits from them.

The tents were pitched and it was difficult to negotiate with the cold wind blowing at a high speed. A big fire was started in a big fire pit to make us feel better but the temperature drop with the wind really took its toll and slowed down the kids. A feast was prepared. Faisal & company, Khalid & company made excellent BBQ while John cooked steaks and jumbo prawns on the tripod grill. All this created such a fairytale atmosphere that is impossible to explain here and could only be experienced under the stars, cold and shivering, sitting next to the fire pit, baking patatoes, making hot dogs and mash mellows on the prongs made out of hangers.

I must appreciate the great company at the site in the shape of Faisal Zaheer, Rashid Tufail, John Price and their families who made it all the way from Abu Dhabi and were not late at the assemble point very early in the morning. Not to forget Khalid Bhai, Vinu, and my family.

The fire was made into charcoal; the lights were put out to enjoy the sky and the atmosphere around the pit. Absolutely marvelous!! Everyone was retired at or around midnight to experience a very chilly night. A few of us could not even get a sleep but somehow survived. Tough creatures!

DAY 2
Very early morning when I finally gave up my struggle to warm my body after forgetting my sleeping bag at home and tagging myself with my son half uncovered I decided to put on the fire. Right after, I got to know that I was not the only one as Khalikd Bhai crawled out shivering and we both started the fire to bring our bodies back to acceptable temperatures. It was wonderful sitting next to the pit despite having water flowing out of our eyes due to smoke, owing to the wind changing directions rapidly. Well Murphy’s law! What could you do about it? Soon my kids Sajeel and Iman came out followed by everyone to get the warmth of the fire.

Freshly prepared breakfast. Sausages in egg, fried eggs, hash browns, khageena, cheese and several types of bread topped with tea and hot chocolate are a few things to name that filled our stomachs. The sun came out and the things started to get to normal. While in the mean time the second convoy left for Dubai who camped a little ahead. After the breakfast Khalid and Vinu left for Dubai leaving three vehicles behind to explore further, not before they made a few trips of carrying luggage up to the trucks for us. Finally all 4x4s were loaded and we hit the track again. We had numerous stops for sightseeing and cave exploration and made out of the canyons onto tarmac early afternoon. Dibba beach was the next stop where kids collected shells and colorful rocks. We drove on the beach road through Khor Fakhan into Fujeirah had a quick bite on the way. Stopped at the Friday market in Masafi to buy some fruits and finally making it back home 7ish.

An excellent trip, an excellent company and an excellent DRIVE of 450 kilometers.

Thanks everyone!

Courtesy: I organized this trip for www.meoffroaders.com and all the participants were members of this offroading club.