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Desert Storm II
There are some things you expect will be complicated, simply because they exist. When we left our passports and visa applications at the Indian Embassy late last week, the arrangement was to retrieve them after three working days at Emirates Post in downtown Abu Dhabi. It seemed an invitation for something to go wrong, more than just a little bit of anxiety in handing passports to a foreign party in another country. Our concern was needless. Allowing for a margin of error, we turned up at Empost after three and a half working days, an assistant immediately (no queue) took our tracking receipts and was back within two minutes with passports intact and visas for India. All done, like clockwork. What a system.
The irony is that, since then, we have decided to delay our travels to India and explore more of the Middle East. The prospect of Oman has captured our imagination, Time Out saying of the Musandam Peninsula: “It’s a place where time has not so much stood still but gone slightly awry. Abandoned coastal towns, Persian smugglers and cave dwellers still roaming the mountains, it’s an adventurer’s idea of ‘old Arabia’ that remains blissfully unaware of itself.” Jade’s friends all say it is beautiful country and not to be missed, treasures such as Sohar, the birthplace of Sinbad the Sailor, the old town of Muscat, tropical reefs and turtle colonies. We will drive, even though the guide book warns that driving can be pretty rough and ready, “so keep your wits about you”.
The other morning a thick fog kept the sun at bay until around midday, so we were not surprised when we woke to what appeared to be another pea-souper today. It was not until we got outside did we realise that we are in the midst of a desert sandstorm. Visibility is down to 600 metres, the sight a thick haze of dust; the road verges too are building up with sand, the inside of the house silting up as we watch and everything feels just that bit grittier. Al Jezeera news tells us that the storm has caused Formula One testing in Bahrain to be abandoned
The forecast is that this weather will last for two more days; it is likely we shall get the bus to Dubai for the weekend.