On June 28th, our family awoke reluctantly at 5:30 a.m. We got ready for the day, packed towels, snacks, bathing suits, and lots and lots of sunblock. We met a bus at a nearby hotel at 6.
We were heading off to Musandam, Oman. Oman is a neighboring country to the UAE known for its picturesque natural landscapes.
The bus ride was 4 hours long, and we didn’t bring anything to keep us from getting bored. The best choice was to catch up on sleep. After our initial pick up, the bus made approximately 5 more stops, picking up about 15 more people. Most of them were in groups. Some of them were not the most considerate, or seemingly aware of the fact that there were other people on the bus who might want some peace and quiet. One man started sawing logs, the loudest I’ve ever heard! Another man was watching videos on his phone with the volume blasting. The videos themselves were so random. One cool thing we saw out the window were camels and goats. Not the most exciting, but still better than nothing.
After a very long 4 hours, the bus finally stopped at the UAE/Oman border for two passport checks, then we were on our way. Five minutes later, we boarded a big repurposed fishing dhow at the marina. The floors were covered in blankets and pillows were propped up on the walls for comfort. It was two floors, so we chose seats on the shaded lower deck. There was also a cooler filled with ice and cold water and juice. If you were really heat immune or needed your daily coffee, there were also hot beverages.
It was a 30 minute boat ride to an alcove where the tour operators offered various planned activities. The ride actually took us 45 minutes because we first stopped by some limestone caves (which were cool but missable in my opinion). The sea had very large swells that day and our boat rocked violently from side to side. We kids were all seasick and took some dramamine. We all still felt sick, even with the medication, but thankfully no one threw up. When we finally made it to the alcove/activity spot, we were all relieved to get off the boat.
The first activity offered by the boat crew was banana boat riding. Ansel and Charlotte were not tall enough to participate, so Mom took them snorkeling while Dad and I rode the banana boat. It was kind of disappointing, to be honest. The boat wasn’t very fast. After a few slow turns, the crew dropped us off on the beach where we swam and played until all the banana boat rides were complete. The beach was mediocre; it had a couple cool shells, but quite a bit of litter and not much to offer in terms of sealife. We met back together as a family on the beach, where Mom informed us that the snorkeling was also nothing spectacular and we informed her that the banana boat was a failure. Then we took the “speed boat” back to the main boat. We kayaked, which was fun, had lunch, (prepared by the crew) and headed back.
The 4 hour bus ride seemed a lot longer on the way back. Same snoring, same phone. Our stop was last and we arrived home at around 9:00 p.m. Since the bus ride was so long, we had not eaten dinner or showered, so it ended up being a pretty late night.
To conclude, the overall experience of traveling to Oman and riding the wooden dhow was fun, even though none of the activities were independently exceptional.
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