Day trip to Fujairah

One of our goals during our stay in the UAE is to explore the country and not take any opportunities for travel for granted. Tyson and I decided this week to take a day trip to Fujairah located on the east coast of the UAE on the Indian Ocean among the Hajar Mountains. After inspecting a map, we decided that the shortest route to Fujariah from Al Ain was a road that went right through the country of Oman. The first interesting thing to note about maps of the UAE is the roads are never really labeled on a map and if they are they either have a number or a name that might be one thing on the actual road and another on the map. I never realized how much I depended on Google maps until I couldn't use it anymore. The days of getting directions with an address are over while I am here.

Tyson and I packed our bags and headed out for the days adventure, not really sure what to expect. We left Al Ain on the road to Dubai and turned off when we saw the signs for Fujariah. Luckily there weren't any speed cameras on the road so we could travel quickly. It wasn't long before we began to see the Hajar mountains on our drive. The mountains are very rugged and steep and barren without a plant or tree on them. If I had to imagine what another planet might look like, the Hajar Mountains would be it. The landscape that led to the mountains often looked like images I had seen of Africa with short trees that were level at the top.

When we initially crossed over to Oman without any incident and noticed that the portion of Oman we were traveling through seemed less developed and more impoverished than the UAE. There were many roadside stores and villages were a lot of goats were tied up. We even passed a few donkeys tied up and of course camels. Parts of the road were a little treacherous due to sand drift making the surface of the road uneven and causing some sliding (especially for the SUV's passing at 100+MPH). Luckily it was only in one of the lanes and so we were able to avoid most of it.

The road went out of Oman, back into the UAE and then returned to Oman once again. This is where our trouble began and we realized that perhaps traveling through Oman wasn't the brightest idea. At the first check we noticed some buildings with windows with Passport control written on them so we got out and went to window and got our passports stamped. Tyson and I have figured out the way to navigate any new country is to see what other people do and just mimic them..."when in Rome" :) The next stop we realized was a car search and so we pulled up to a spot after waiting in line and got out of the car, opened the trunk and after a brief search we were once again on our way. Little did we know what else waited for us. After a few minutes we came to another checkpoint where we had to show our passports at a drive through window and we were asked to come inside without any explanation. We parked the car and went into the building and I noticed that all western looking people where being directed to come in and then I realized the woman in front of us was forking over cash and I thought we might be exempt since we were just driving through. We had to fill out a entry form (the same ones you fill out when you fly into another country), show proof of our car insurance to show it covered Oman and then had to pay 90 Dirhams ($25). I was flabbergasted considering we would only be driving through the country for 10 minutes, but what choice do you have? We drove for our 10 minutes and then had to pay an exit fee at another checkpoint of 20 Dirhams and when all Tyson had was a 500 Dirham bill, the man proceeded to give him about 70 in rial, the Oman currency and we were left having to exchange the money later and lose even more money with the exchange fee.

We finally arrived in Fujairah and drove around for a bit to see what we wanted to do. The town was a mix of traditional arabic style with newly constructed skyscrapers surrounded by beach and mountains. We decided to eat some lunch at small cafe across from the beach. We both had chicken shawarma wraps and fries and Tyson got a fresh mango juice that he sucked down so it must have been tasty. The cafe also had shisha and several Emirate where there partaking in the shisha (which is tobacco smoked from a hookah). I went in the bathroom to change into clothes for the beach and came out wearing shorts, not short shorts, but not the capris I usually wear and you would think by the looks I got I had come out of the bathroom naked.

Tyson and I went to a public beach area where there were picnic areas and cars just drove right onto the beach and could drive along the beach as they pleased. Within two minutes of being in the water, Tyson emerged telling me he had seen a sting ray and neither of us were too keen on staying in the water after that. The water wasn't cool like I expected and was accustomed to from the Atlantic Ocean, instead it was as warm as bath water. We decided to go rent a jet ski instead and not tempt the sting ray with my accident prone self.

The jet ski excursion was fun and it felt good to ride along with the wind whipping through our hair (not to mention it was so hot and HUMID there, which we weren't used to because there isn't much humidity in Al Ain). I threatened Tyson to play nice and we rode along an alcove that we were warned to stay inside of. Everything was going well until Tyson got more brave on the jet ski and took a turn to sharp and the next thing I knew I was screaming TYYYYSOOOON as I we where both thrown into the Indian Ocean. Tyson thought it was hilarious, me not so much. I was finally dry in my shorts and t-shirt and now I was soaking wet once again!

We finally decided to call it a day and drive back to Al Ain, this time staying in the UAE instead of attempting Oman again. We agreed that at least our little detour gave us another stamp in our passport and it was another lesson learned. On the way home we stopped at a roadside market called Friday Market outside of Fujairah and were bombarded by sales pitches for fresh fruits, vegetables, large tapestry carpets and knick knack crap. We sampled the fresh mango and couldn't resist buying a kilo (2.2 lbs) of them -they were so sweet and delicious and also ended up buying local watermelon and okra - strange combination I know.

We decided to have dinner at our favorite local cafe in the city center of Al Ain that has the most delicious stuffed grape leaves and kabob meats I have ever tasted. We weren't expecting all the traffic (which in Al Ain is not normal) and congestion from construction and forgot that EVERYONE comes out at night because that is when the heat somewhat subsides (to a cool 95 -100 degrees) and so the city center was bustling with people and cars. Not to mention the side alleys always have Emirate who decide to just stop and park their car wherever they please, blocking traffic which causes a lot of honking and back up until they decide to move. What a mess. Tyson and I decided the next time we would just take a cab to the city center and let the cab driver deal with the chaos!