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Part one – UAE – to SALALAH Well it all started with disappointment, my wife and kids visa was not granted till Thursday evening so we decided to go directly to border and apply for manual visa, we started at 1:00 AM sharp from SHJ to Hatta Border and we reached there by 2:30 hrs, it took 2 hrs to finish formality at border by the time we entered Oman it was 04:30 – 05:00 hrs. Stage- 1 - Hatta Border to Ibri - 05:30 am – 09:00 am We took below route from Border to Ibri our first stop was at Lulu hyper Market. The view from marked segment is awesome with hills, animal grazing and Wadi’s with few water ponds in between. Stage – 2 – Ibri – Haima 10:00 – 19:00 with 1 hr stop after 250 kms and Petrol Filling Next route from Ibri to Haima is very boring and tiring with only Flat lands till horizon with no view or Town in between, you get small villages in between after 200 – 250 Kms, Fuel stations are available after every 100 – 150 Kms. It is consisted of both two ways and 4 Track High ways, Work in progress to make it 4 Ways highway. Haima is big town will most of the facility and most of travelers stop for final stage preparation. Final Stage - Haima to Salalah – 19:00 – 23:30 Hrs From Haima to Thumrait again its barren land with no life in between, petrol stations are very rare so fill when you see one, No Lights on roads and its two way not very difficult but it makes challenging with Incoming Traffic. You start seeing mountains and greenery once you cross Thumrait things begin to change with green Lush Mountains and misty climate This is Part one of the journey, I’m not updating the things to do in Salalah as most of us know about Salalah. Part 2 to follow soon – Salalah – UAE

We know that too, and Sri plan to exit by 9 to keep an hour as a buffer till 10 AM for any extreme recoveries or problems. Depending on the situation and actual heat in sand we might play around till 10 AM.

Would recommend to put some dielectric grease on the battery terminals to prevent this issue from happening.

I fully support this. Been doing morning drives during the summer, it doesn't get hot until around 10-11 am.

That's why I have kept an extra one hour and we are starting at 5 am just to be on safe side. 😁

Just checked my Dubai Police Fines to see the 50% reduction for the second quarter. What a great relief......! 500 become 260 400 become 200 600 become 300 I know website fine amount icon has some border issue, but its readable at least.

My car not starting after several attempts, even after leaving the ignition switch on for few seconds before turning the engine. Ignition switch is making the click noise as it always does but car not starting at all. There was no engine misfire, engine oil leak nor any car starter problems noticed before. Please help guys.

Gentlemen. Could you please suggest me some safe and remote areas when we can practice different types of parking such as angle, parallel, reverse etc. Place has be away from public and has to be very safe.

Totally agree with @Javier M as something very similar happened with my Mustang and I kept on charging with my other cars for over 2 hours and in end spotted the metal corrosion on battery was responsible for not starting the car. In my case there was a partial cranking after every a minute or two and I kept on charging the battery. This is the dielectric grease usage in several places to prevent corrosion.

Or maybe after his weather observations and scientific analysis that night at the tip of the Fossil Rock, when the breeze only started at around 4 am 😂

...and perhaps an alternator that has not been whacked with a hammer to keep it running.

OMG dude, Swaihan & early morning drive... Can't get any better but isn't it still a bit too hot in the morning?

This good advice and no offence intended, but the no spark triangle mechanics look for is air/fuel, spark, and compression. You need these 3 things to make an engine start.

Could be still your starter is funky it happens when at multiple attempts it just starts but then gain out of the blue it will not start...it's a good time to take it to workshop

Couldn’t find the original thread but here’s the gearbox and transfer box I know some of you think I’m a crazy dreamer but this is crazy than anything I could ever dream up. It’s real

It came out of a 1980s GMC G series van. Can’t find much information on it but it was produced for less than 2 years.

I called recovery today and they have tried to jump start but still car hasn't started. Lights are all on, just that engine is not cranking at all. Finally recovery guy, open the battery terminal and clean the green powder stuff from inside the battery terminals, responsible for partial contact. After 30 minutes of detail cleaning and patience, car finally started in a single attempt. They also checked the battery and said it's working fine on both when car is switched off and when car engine is running. Thanks for all your help and advices, really appreciate it here.

I’m currently exploring beautiful Sri Lanka (not off-roading) and will be back end of the month. Missing you guys, and the sand between my toes 😂

Hoping for some day time newbie meets soon!

Lots of UAE drivers

Usually most them are here...

Most of the deserts here are formed in grid shape so just face in anyone direction and keep going you sure will end up on the street to the other side...

I agree, I can't think of a single practical advantage this set-up could possibly have. I'm also thinking that this was a proof-of-concept design that was dropped when the designers realized that the whole thing was more trouble than it was worth.

Well done, enjoy seeing uae plates in oman

Yes its working

The petrol station is working? I can fill my tank there? I am 10 min away

There are plenty of sandy areas where you can drive without a licence, look out and see. I am in sports city, there is a big sandy area where I drive to and let my wife drive around in my car. She has learned how to drive forwards and backwards, now she is learning to use her mirrors to park. Look around and see. If you have a 4x4 just go to a desert area and have some fun. Pick a big area with nothing to crash into

Got a pic?

Patrol Y62. That curve top of steel bumper made me catch it. Also they are available with this golden color.

Try at boarder... Since this visa's are in process I cant guarantee that.. try your luck.

Google Map was not supporting in oman when I visited last year.. I had tried HERE WeGo maps which works perfectly. Download this app and oman map before you leave as a backup.

(Photo : Hancheng Li)

Tonite , Are you planning

@Sidshk When are you planning to leave. You mentioned 3am. But not the day.

@Sidshk all the best and happy journey, drive safe. One of the most scenic ride I have ever taken was this route: Salalah - Mirbat - Hadbeen - Hasik. The total distance is around 200 kms (one way) from Salalah. Hasik is worth two-hour drive with some of the most gorgeous mountain views and incredible seaside drive along the coastal road. There is not much to see in Hasik but if you continue along the road from Hadbeen to Hasik, look for some interesting limestone formation overhanging the cliffs. You can also plan your trip as below: (I had never tried this route but sure next time when I visit I will definitely take this route) Haima (half way to Salalah from Dubai) take LEFT to – Shalim via Ash Shuwaymiyyah via HASIK via Hadbeen via Mirbat via Taqha to Salalah this route will add you around 100 kms to your Dubai to Salalah trip instead of driving 2hours + 2hours from Salalah to Hasik and back to Salalah. Plan your trip that you reach Haima in the evening and stay there at night. There are few hotels in Haima (you can google and check). Next day early morning start your trip and by evening you can reach Salalah. You can also visit Anti Gravity Point at Mirbat on your way to Salalah Location to visit on your way: Canyon View Point (between Ash Shuwaymiyyah – HASIK. (I had never gone here) https://goo.gl/maps/oV7w5MasnWuw9K9DA Anti-Gravity Point Mirbat - https://goo.gl/maps/Hh15Rsh7kPK6k2Ha9 Route: Haima to Salalah Via HASIK

Have been using break oil if it's stuck or bleeding both workout good...just leave it over night and see how things go update 1 down 5 to go...

Brake oil isn't a lubricant or penetrating oil and very hygroscopic too.

@adil I only have wonderful memories from my visits to Oman and I absolutely adore the hospitality and helpful attitude of the people. My comment about the drivers is not meant in a bad way, but as you know there are far less speed cameras installed and i felt the driving by the Omani locals was sometimes really crazy. And yes that might young people mainly but they mess it up for the others.

Apply clear/transparent ones. Sometimes cops will give you ticket for changing the color of your car.

As I know brake oil is like a paint stripper. Might cause corrosion. So not sure if it can be used

Blown way out of proportion and some masala added by the media, there isn't that much uninterrupted desert left in Dubai and most of the UAE that you can have a scenario where you are lost for days and end up dead, specially in the Dubai side. Pick a direction, any direction and start walking and with in a few hours, a day at the most you will bump into someone or something. Or simply call for help on your cell phone, like the people in the story did. P.S : Barry is right, people are so reliant on GPS nowadays I swear they couldn't find the way to their bathroom from their bedroom, let alone navigate in the desert. To this day I get a little chuckle when people ask or share GPS tracks for the desert.

@Barry, I could not agree with you more. But then again, perhaps they needed Syd at first to recognize that they could do better- and boy, did they ever do better without him! I occasionally listen to their Syd era stuff, and I still don't get what they were doing back then. To me, it is still just senseless, pointless, random noise, and I am sure that at least Roger and David still cringe with embarrassment when they hear it.

Nice band, with lot of energy

Gene Simmons is the Morrisey of metal. Pretentious twat with a lot of views that don’t fit in with being a decent human being.

I have never liked KiSS or their genre of music, so what ever it was that Simmons did, passed me by. What did he do that was so bad?

Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish all Scandinavian.So same same but different. And blegh! I hate acoustic guitar unplugged style covers. Only unplugged covers that were worth its salt were Nirvana doing their own songs. My fav cover has to be Land Of Confusion by Disturbed and Hello by Leo

Leo is Norwegian. I used to like his covers. But after you hear 2,3-4 there is no originality. Everything is in the same style. Faux metal with distorted guitars and trying to growl instead of singing. If you want to hear a good cover musician check this guy out

The last Metallica album Hardwired to self destruct wasn’t a bad effort. It’s no Master of Puppets but there a few decent stand out tracks on it. The majority of modern metal sucks, most of it is screamo and metalcore crap, baby’s first metal band kind of music. There are some bands making good music though. Striker from Canada put out some good stuff, like a mix of NWOBHM and speed metal. Anybody got any love for Die Antwoord? Now that’s something interesting to listen to. Just a shame they stopped making music but they haven’t officially disbanded so hopefully we’ll see something from them in the future.

That's just the grumpy old man in you! Do you ever recall your dad saying the same thing! bah new music, what new music, good music ended in the 40s! Lol I agree most of today's stuff is just meh at best but there are still some good artists out there and every now and then a good tune comes along from crappy ones too. P.S : Never been a fan of Pink floyd, hate the Beatles and Elvis Presley. Jimi Hendrix was mediocre at best and his only claim to fame was dying young. CCR, Eagles, The Who, Journey among many others I can dig from the 70s and being am 80s child I like most of 80s and 90s stuff. Even weird britpop stuff like Bros Blue Mercedes SlyFox Sanita etc etc

For me there is no.more good live band guitar based music worth listening to for atleast the last 15 years. All the big metals bands either stopped or went weird aka Metallica. They most recent music that I can think off that I really like is Bruno Marrs 24k magic. www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqyT8IEBkvY And recently a friend introduced me to some house music that Ive also started to dig www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi1OVCtfYgo www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVxRXt0pKnI www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUSy25teF40