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I am at the garage now, will update soon. Thanks all for the short but intense drive 😁

For many, Oman is tucked away somewhere in a corner of the Middle East, and even though you might have heard abouts its beauty, its hospitality, and its variety, it is quite large and takes a bit of preparation to explore. We decided to take a road trip over the last couple of weeks in Oman and it was no coincidence as to why we chose July. Every year, the Khareef (monsoon) blesses the Salalah region with clouds, rains, and turn the region into a green paradise. That includes daily temperatures around 26 degrees, and a lot of fog. As we were trying to escape the Dubai summer heat, we reckoned this was a great trip worth taking as we talked about it for years but kept postponing due to COVID and other issues. The main plan looks like this: Dubai to Nizwa: 420km to cover in Day One. Enjoy Nizwa old town, and Jebel Hatt/Akhdar. Nizwa to Salalah: 876km to cover in Day Two. 7 days exploration around entire Dhofar-Salalah region. (wadis, trails, beaches, etc..) Salalah to Duqm: 676km to cover on the 10th day, following coastal road and few stops in-between. Duqm to Sur: 518km on the 11th day, mostly along the coastal road, with planned stop at the Sugar Dunes. Sur to Dubai: 654 km on the 12th day, along Muscat, stopping on the occasional sinkhole but no wadis. (we explored those in 2019) Important Notes: 1. As we were traveling with one vehicle only, we were careful with off-roading and stuck to gatch tracks and existing trails as much as possible. 2. The drive from Nizwa to Salalah is long and boring (not scenic). You'll find petrol stations along the way where i recommend keeping your car always topped up. The temperature was +40 degrees, and you don't want your car to breakdown on this road so make sure it's serviced and fully inspected before embarking on this trip. 3. The main road that goes through Salalah is the Route 47, also called Sultan Qaboos Road. Although this is a stunning road and perhaps even one of the most beautiful roads in the world, the fog made the visibility in many places almost impossible to drive. Especially once the elevation exceeded 350m it became very difficult to drive, and the cows crossing the streets on the mountain villages did not help either. This also meant that some of the waypoints we wanted to visit closer towards the Yemen border took hours to reach and we even had to skip a couple of them. 4. Military checkpoints. The Dhofar region has a couple of military checkpoints. We did not face any issues but needed to carry our ID's at all time. 5. Rain, and lots of it. I was happy we got new tires installed two weeks before the trip, and the car underwent a full inspection as well. At times we could not even distinguish the color of the car anymore as it got so dirty from all the mud. Luckily carwashes were easy to find. 6. The Salalah region is predominantly Sunni, while the rest of Oman is mostly Ibadi. Throughout Oman we were advised to dress modestly and even then, we got a lot of curious stares and looks It felt like being back in Saudi in many cases (restaurants with family section, etc..). But overall, the people are very friendly and helpful. Further in this topic i will shortly describe the areas / waypoints we visited, with some photos to visualize the experience (although difficult). Stay tuned for more trip updates!

Thanks @Shaun J .. yes actually was a stupid one.. just a lose nut causing bad connection .. once we tightened it all was ok and we drive out with no issues. thanks @DP1011 for a wonderful drive .. route, pace, and overall one of the best. Was pleasure to meet and drive with you all and special thanks to @Looper and @Anoop Nair for staying back and keeping company until we found the lose 🔩.

thanks @DP1011 for the drive, great weather for it. drive faced quite a few issues throughout however all manager expertly by our team of Marshalls. Thanks @Islam Soliman and @Looper for supporting the drive. hope your jeeps okay @Julien Recan and hope you didn’t take too much longer to get out that last patch with the overheating vehicle @Islam Soliman thanks to everyone in the convoy for an enjoyable morning in the desert @Davie Chase hope you can appreciate my flags shown in the first picture in person soon. Flying proud!

Except for Liwa, this was my first trip to the AUH desert. The drive yesterday was full of issues but the way we as a team faced it made it non-issue. Personally, I discovered that my deflator was off by 5 psi. It was a good fun day out blessed with kind weather. Hope to be back !

Good luck! I had to drop mine in the garage too... axle seal leak I think... 🤦‍♂️