Getting the hell out of Dodge

So, the heatwave continues - 45 degrees, 65% humidity etc etc - and so the search goes on for ways to cope. Lesson #2 in 'How to Beat the Heat' feels a bit like cheating, but getting out of the Gulf, even for a short time, is certainly a winner - thousands of Omanis, Saudis, Emiratis, expats and basically anyone who can afford an air ticket can't ALL be wrong. And for those left behind there are benefits too - less cars on the road, cheap deals to keep us here, work pace slowing down for the brave who remain (except me, boo ...)

Orange is 30+, red is 40+ ...

Last week I got to try out the escape tactic with a long weekend in Jordan, which was mainly a chance to catch up with friends but had the added benefit of being a good 10 to 15 degrees cooler - no need for AC! being able to sit outside! I even got to wear a little jumper at night! The Jordanians, of course, were all complaining about how hot it was, but as a seasoned Gulfi I can now use that wry smile that I used to see on the faces of Saudis in Amman in August - hot? if you say so ...

loving a cool beer in the sunshine ...

I made full use of the pleasure of being able to be outside, getting up to all the usual shennanigans - bumping around the desert in a beaten-up old jeep, lots of sitting in nice spots having tea, and food food food galore ...

another nice cuppa

my fave - exploring the desert dunes and peaks

pretty pretty ...

And I got to try a new amazing thing - microlight flying! The flex wing microlight that I used is basically a chair with a lawnmower engine hanging underneath what looks like a handglider wing. I must say that flying a microlight feels like being suspended in an armchair 1000 metres up in the air - but not scary, really! If you ever get the chance, I thoroughly recommend this as a way of seeing the world from a different angle - and it goes pretty fast too, definitely exhilarating!

getting strapped in - although I have had sturdier seat belts on easyjet ...

up, up and away!

Lawrence of Arabia's Seven Pillars from above

Wadi Rum at my feet

getting to peer into those crannies that are normally hidden away ...

safely back down to earth - whoop whoop!

We never really grow up ...

... we just learn how to act in public.

Being grown up in public ...

... vs in the privacy of my own home!

FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO NOT BE GROWN UP!!!

The Ultimate Staycation

The local sport at the moment is complaining about the weather - as if it's any surprise that the temperature is in the mid 40s again ... in the Gulf ... in summer ...so I am determined to buck the trend (now there's a surprise) and show people why it still rocks in Oman, even if the tarmac is melting, you burn yourself on the steering wheel of your car and you can't use those oh-so-funky touch phones because of the humidity ...

So here is lesson #1 in "How to Beat the Heat"; the ultimate staycation. As town empties out for the summer and the thermometers go doolally, all the big hotels start offering stupidly cheap deals in an effort to stop turning into ghost towns. I fully intend to try them all, and started this weekend with a stay at Al Bustan, Muscat's original luxury hotel. Chuck some stuff in a bag (forgot underwear, but never mind eh!), a twenty minute drive, and me and my mate Hilary were all of a sudden in another world ...

A world where all the little details stacked up to make a little cocoon of luxury - the super attentive staff, the little cool box of fresh face towels and water sprays, the temperature-controlled infinity pools, the overdosed cocktails, the sheer sheer relaxation of it all ...

My spot for the weekend

View from the bedroom

Does it get any better?!

And then there is the food ...

Breakfast

Second breakfast

Afternoon tea!

Oh, bring it on ...

Ocean magic

It's summer, and I'm spending a lot of time on boats
dressed like this ...

going to places like this ...

and this ...

with people like this ... 

Fun people, silly clothes, stark landscapes and cool(er) ocean breezes are all magical enough, but every now and then it just gets even better. A couple of weeks ago was one of those moments, when I saw this leopard shark and Jon managed to film it (and no, it wasn't a baby, it might even have been as big as me ...)

Baldrick's Bar is open!

Well, I have been having lots of fun with my best buddy M, who has now sadly buggered off and abandoned me ... but has left me with a nice little addition to the party pad - my own cocktail bar! We've been talking about it for ages, and he brought all the cocktail stuff out with him. Then we sat down and discussed what I wanted, he did a stonking design, and a lovely carpenter I know made it up for us.

The new bar on it's first day in the corner of the balcony

Loving the stylish curved corner

Mixologist extraordinaire of Baldrick's Bar
rocking the Lederhosen look ...

Last Thursday was the opening night of what we have christened Baldrick's Bar, when I got to invite all the lovely people that I've met so far to meet each other and try a little cocktail or six. It ended up being a wierd mix of diplomats, divers, defence contractors, business people and a liberal sprinkling of nutters. Could have been strange, but actually ended up being very jolly and a whole lot of fun - with people already in the pool by 7.30, it was always going to get silly, but in the nicest possible way!

Yes, there was even a flyer!

Did we have fun? I think so ...

Even the barman ended up in the pool with a mojito!
In fact, I think I remember the pool becoming
pretty much one big mojito by the end of the night ...

The Perfect Respite

So, you've been bouncing across the sands of Wahiba, little grains lodged in every nook and cranny and the skin on your face stretched by the sun ... where do you want to be? Well, the short answer is Wadi Bani Khalid - only a 45 minute drive away from the last of the dunes, a little wonderland that couldn't be more different ...

Driving up the valley past the date and mango plantations

Shallow pools with baby fish ...

... turning into your very own Olympic-sized swimming pool!

Ah, the bliss of it ...

So, you get a beautiful swim in the cool water (almost chilly in fact!), shared with the water reeds and fish, and to top it off clouds of multi-coloured dragonflies - apparently a sign of a healthy eco-system, but also so so magical ...

The Omani cauldron

Wow, it's been a crazy month - lots of visitors to keep me busy at home, a week's holiday in March that feels like it was years ago, and let's not get into the shenanigans in the region ... Plus the weather has decided it is time to get hot and stinky, already had 39 and it's still going up. Phew!

So, a lot to catch up on. So let me start with a bit of Oman that I just hadn't gotten around to visiting until Mike and family gave me the excuse - Oman's desert. There are so many different kinds of desert, some flat, some hilly, some stony, some even trying to be green, but Oman also has the classic sand dunes that you see in all those movies, English Patient style. Ours are called the Wahiba Sands ...

OK, so maybe not that bit, but then the desert is very rarely just sand in my experience ... and thank the lord for that! Those poor camels need to eat something after all.

And having a few twigs also means water, which means that camps can be set up. Yes, I know we could have just set up tent near a dune somewhere, but Mike's parents are not quite that adventurous, and it is nice to have a bed to sleep on, a sheltered area to escape the midday heat and someone churning out food and tea. The 1000 Nights Desert camp is 40km into the sands - literally the last stop for a thousand kilometres - and just getting there is a pretty exciting drive up dunes and through shifting sands ... my car getting put through its paces!

So there's the civilisation of the camp, but it's only a quick clamber up the nearby dune and over the other side to find yourself alone in the desert wilds ... stunning! The Wahiba Sands has rows of parallel sand dunes that can be 50ft high, with lots of little breaks and dunes in between. This is the dunes at sunrise, before the lines get blurred by the sun overhead and the heat haze. Definitely worth waking up early for ...

And hey, it wouldn't be a desert without camels ... am actually just listening to a radio programme on desert travel and how the Empty Quarter in Oman was pretty much the last unexplored place on earth, which even fifty years ago was only crossed by the odd Bedouin caravan and the last great explorers like Wilfred Thesiger. Now of course, the oil men have come, but there's still plenty of space to sit and ponder the harsh wonder of nature ...