Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Ops Jalan Sakan : Planning for Road Trip

We've been talking about wanting to go to Oman for years. YEARS!

Ever since Taufik was stationed in Muscat for a short time even way before Ilham was born and came home with pink shells that he collected on the beach. When he was offered the job in Saudi, the first thing he thought of was how we would have a chance to visit Oman. But then I got pregnant (hey it wasnt my fault alone, k?), and we had to wait for Izani's passport. I was so jealous when Lollies went there a few years ago, but we chose to go back home for the winter holidays instead. Then we travelled somewhere else instead (not that I'm complaining). Finally, finally, prompted by our impending return home, we decided to make this trip happen.

We are making this trip with a good family friend whose kids stayed together in the same house with my kids when we were doing our Hajj together. Heck, we spend so much time sleeping in each other's houses, we're practically family. I think my kids are gonna be glad of the company, and I am looking forward to having some complete family pictures taken (instead of Taufik taking a picture of just me and the kids or me taking a picture of him and the kids).

Aaaanyways..
Kak Faridah borrowed some books on Oman&UAE from the library and gave me one to read and I also browsed the net alot. I was put in charge of accomodation which will then govern the activities that we get to do and places that we get to visit.
Now basically we're 80% done with the planning. We've got the general idea and timeline and I've booked all of the accomodations. We've just got to work on the details.

So here's The Plan:



Click for larger map.
Blue line is our route. Numbers in orange dots are dates in April.


April 2
We'll drive from Khobar/Ras Tanura really early (so early that some kids will need to be carried to the car in their jammies), stop for breakfast in Hofuf, then hope to reach Abu Dhabi by lunch time. I had planned to stop at a friend's house for lunch, but we'll see how it goes. If we dont get to, maybe we'll stop by on our way back instead.
We'll drive on to Al-Ain, and spend the night there.

April 3
We hope to be able to drive to Highway 21 to Nizwa via Al-Qabil (and not go through Buraimy), but we're not sure whether we can do that. We hope to visit the Bat Tombs (if we can find it), Bahla fort, Jabrin Castle, then Jebel Shams before going to Nizwa for lunch. We'll spend the afternoon in Nizwa before heading to Ibra to spend the night there.

April 4
After breakfast, we'll shop for some stuff for lunch and head for Wadi Bani Khalid for a swim and a picnic. After Asr we'll drive to Al-Mintirib where we'll meet the guy who'll drive us into Wahiba Sands for a night in the desert, sleeping in a bedouin wool tent. I am *so* looking forward to this.

April 5
We'll drive out of Wahiba Sands and drive towards Sur, where we hope to take a look at some traditional dhow making, then head towards Muscat via the coastal road, with stops at Wadi Tiwi or Wadi Shabs if we have time.
Sleep in Muscat.

April 6
Full day to spend in Muscat to sightsee, shop, visit friends, etc.
Must. See. Muttrah Souq!
Sleep in Muscat.

April 7
Travel to Dubai, with detour thru Nakhla and Rustaq. Hope to reach Dubai by lunchtime (if we're not detoured by anything else) or at least the afternoon.
Sleep in Dubai.

April 8
Full day in Dubai.
Wishlist items here are Madinat Jumeirah, The Aquarium in Dubai Mall and meet up with Nazrah somewhere, anywhere.
Sleep in Dubai.

April 9
Maybe visit a few friends for breakfast, then head home.
Maybe visit that friend in Abu Dhabi if we didnt get to visit her before.
Important: Must get into Saudi border by noon, and reach home by dusk because Saudi highways are very poorly lighted!

So that's our plan..
Would appreciate if you have any suggestions or tips for our travels. :)

13 comments:

  1. nak dengar all the great stories when you're back..
    have a safe and joyful trip ya.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Take lots of photos ya. Eieeee... kita tumpang seronok. Bestnya Oman cantik.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous6:49 PM

    Road Trip Music: English Patient soundtrack.

    Srala-la-laaaaamm....

    Take lots of photos!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Neeza,
    hee hee.. jangan risau, I will DEFINITELY write about it, even if no one is interested to read ;)

    BF,
    Kita akan bawak 2 (dua) camera!!! Tapi gambar cantik ke tidak, tak tahu lah ya.. (But then again, kalau tempat cantik, camera tak canggih pun mesti gamabr cantik, kan?)

    D,
    I am packing my white shirts!! And my long flowy scarves!! Cuma I'm a bit lumpy to pass off as Kristin Scott Thomas tho. :P
    p/s Happy 3rd Birthday Aliff!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. wah wah bestnya!! tapi chop. bila u nak balik msia nih? jadi ekk?

    kat dubai u dok mana nanti?

    ReplyDelete
  6. my wife and I....dengan hormat dan rendah diri menjemput Puan Elisa dan suami ke kediaman kami....untuk menginap serta makan minum dan mandi manda....sebagai tetamu kami.
    berbesarlah hati kami sekiranya dapat bertemu puan dan puan hajah dan haji serta rombongan nanti.

    pp

    ReplyDelete
  7. waaaaaaah.. enak bgt jalan2.. met jalan2 ya tante elisa..

    ReplyDelete
  8. wah wah wah. ini betul-betul jalan sakan. Oman memang best and the people just so wonderful. masya Allah. You will love the mountains, the fort the view. ah segala lah.

    ReplyDelete
  9. seronoknya.. enjoy and enjoy tau.. tak nak pergi tengok dolphin kat qantab ke?

    ReplyDelete
  10. bestnya! dah lama tak pergi on road trips. have fun!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. bertique,
    Balik Malaysia... sepatutnya in July.. tapi haritu big big boss mintak stay sampai December lak. Pastu big boss macam reluctant nak let go.. so we'll just look and see how lah.
    In Dubai nanti we'll be staying in Golden Sands. Accommodation in Dubai mahal giller lah... :P
    Eh kitorang nak gi makan2 rumah PakPayne, u tak ikut?

    PakPayne,
    Terimakasih .. rasa2nya untuk tidor tu, mungkin tidak lah, sebab kami ni ramai benar.. nanti menyusahkan PakPayne saja, tapi kita makan2 okay?

    diah,
    makasih diah... kelak kami pulang ke Malaysia, kita jalan2 Dumai yuk?

    Lolls,
    I am looking forward to it !

    Ummi,
    This trip tak sempat tengok dolphin. Maybe next trip lah, we go exclusively to Mussandam aje.

    famy,
    I guess you dah habis sedara mara yang nak kawin?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous12:11 PM

    I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.


    Sarah

    http://laptopseries.net

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nice blog..! I really loved reading through this article... Thanks for sharing such an amazing post with us and keep blogging Drive Thru Technology | Drive Thru Speaker Post | Drive Thru Solutions

    ReplyDelete