My Walk To Oman

Today marks 30 days in Abu Dhabi, which means my tourist visa would have officially expired had I not walked over to Oman, a neighboring Gulf country, yesterday. (Though I was politely informed that, in fact, I really have 40 days from point of entry--you get 10 free days because, uh, I have no idea why but you do, just don't expect anyone to tell you this before you plan your border run).

Adam and I set off in the morning to Al Ain, a city that lies approximately two hours east of Abu Dhabi. Our plan was to drive to the border, at which point I'd walk alone over to Oman (Adam has no passport while his residency visa is being processed, and the rental car had no Omani insurance, so walk by myself it was), get an entry and exit stamp, and then walk right back to Abu Dhabi. Easy peazy. Afterward we'd see the sites: the national museum, the Al Ain Oasis, the zoo, etc.

Sadly, we spent most of they day in our awesome economy rental car, listening to even awesomer radio stations (I think my favorite song was the one that looped "No you didn't. Yes we did. No you didn't. Yes we did." in swaggah style, over and over again). We drove toward one border port but turned around before reaching it because our Lonely Planet noted that the Mazid entry was exclusively for Gulf residents. We drove about 45 minutes to another border port, only to be told that there was no way I'd be able to walk to Oman because it was 47 kilometers away (as I huffed my way back to the car the thought did cross my mind, "If only I'd brought my running shoes..."). The friendly border dude was kind enough to give me this map and direct me, you guessed it, right back to the Mazid border port (f*&% you, Lonely Planet!):

It took us another 45 minutes to trespass the city and get back to Mazid. On the way we stopped at a gas station where I decided the only thing that would sooth my seething frustration was junk food (and since this had now become more of a road trip than a visit to Al Ain, junk food seemed necessary): chocolate-covered hazelnuts and Lipovitan Honey, aka Japanese Red Bull, for me, and a Power Horse for Adam:

I'll spare you the gory details of the actual border crossing, but let's just say it involved camel groaning, about 12 different interactions with people in 10 different offices, and one border guard slipping his phone number into my passport should I "need anything at all." I got back to the car where Adam had begun tearing little pieces of paper into the words "Wait here," because he'd started to worry and was going to come find me, but didn't have a pen to leave me a note.

In the end, the trip was totally saved by a visit to the Al Ain Palace Museum where the late Sheikh Zayed lived for a time with his third wife, Fatima, and their five children. We found out that Sheikh Zayed fathered 30 children--19 boys and 11 girls--by six or seven wives (I, for one, was thoroughly impressed). We roamed around the grounds, saw the master bedroom, and lounged for a bit in the swanky VIP sitting area. Then we grabbed some delicious grub and drove home with the full bellies I've come to expect from a Lebanese meal.

Highlights of the crazy border-crossing day include CAMEL SPOTTING (yes, I screeched like a little kid):

And this ridiculous beverage (nuts & cream on top, fruit and sugar on the bottom):