First night in Kuwait

Dreaming of hanging off a few days at the beach, we headed off to North of Kuwait city.
It was armageddon!
Huge tuned pick-ups having drag races on the beach, practising full power while pulling theRead more
Kuwait city, skyline & 30km of promenade

3 days of Kuwait city, getting our washing done and eating in a restaurant with wonderful food, what a pleasure!
Among other, I wanted to visit the Sheik Abdullah Al Salem culture center, anRead more
Crossing into Saudi Arabia

We have entered Saudi Arabia.
The most striking element is the women who, to a dominating percentage are covered with an Abaya cloak, Hijab headscarf, and Niquaab face veil, which only leaves a smallRead more
Bahrain, and a bottle of wine!

Bahrain was a bit of a disappointment offering much more than glittery skyscrapers at night and otherwise being dusty and without much charm and natural beauty.
But it had one highlight, alcohol isRead more
Christmas will be in the desert!

We are now heading toward the Oman border and will then be heading off into the sand dessert for 5 days
I hope not longer!!!!
There will be no Internet!!!
Should we not report back, then please comeRead more
Ar Rub'Al Kahli, what a name!

Ar Rub' Al Kahli, is the largest sand desert in the world, covering 1/4 of the Arabian peninsula, and that is where we are heading!
Christmas in the sand, no internet!

Today we will cross the border into Oman and follow a desert track for 7 days. Away from everything including mobile network.
Margot and I want to wish all who are following this blog a wonderfulRead more
Rub Al Kahli - Second night

Rub'Al Kahli, "the great emptiness"

"The great emptiness," which is brimming full of beauty!
At the time of writing this, we have been in the desert for 5 days driving along the Oman border, crossing huge ancient flat lakes that haven'tRead more
Christmas eve & sand training

Today is Christmas eve, normally cold and snowy, for us it will be a gruelling day training how to drive in sand (you need to only remember two things: reduce your tyre pressure by more than half andRead more
Fourth night, now driving for real

Today, following the beautiful evening yesterday, we needed our sand skills for real. Over and over again, the track had been covered by sand drifts requiring us to drive around, frequently throughRead more
No.5: how crazy is this, a bath tub!

What a crazy day today!
Driving in the middle of the desert, and suddenly in front of us, is this huge white bath tub, and believe it or not, it is filled with clear cold water.
Within seconds, TommyRead more
No.6: a day with big challenges

This morning, a huge shock! In the early morning hours, Andi's 10-ton truck suddenly dropped 20 cm's. Waking all. Who later stood around marvelling at this catastrophy. A system used for letting airRead more
No.7: Today, hard-core sand driving!

What a crazy day!
Like yesterday, it started gently at sun rise, cool and without wind.
Then the sun came and with it a wind that gathered force during the day until a fully fledged sand storm hadRead more
No.8 - It's all about psychology

Today I realized to what extent Driving in the sand is about psychology and that only a part is driving skills.
But let's go a step back.
The day started really cool. The wild sand storm of last nightRead more
Salalah

Yesterday afternoon Margot and I separated from the group after we had driven out of the critical part of our desert trip and headed towards Salalah on the coast.
We desperately needed to get backRead more
Two days of total paradise. Alone!

After the beautiful sunrise on the morning of New years day, this unbelievable coastline helped us top it again!
We headed down the coast, onto off-road tracks and then up a really steep hillRead more
Fizayah beach

Fizayah beach started off with two beautiful fish that we bought from the local fisherman and grilled to the sound of the waved. Now, what a start!
The next day, at sun rise, I walked off on theRead more
And another incredible morning

One day goes, another dawn breaks. This morning, I woke up in the dark to watch the dawn start slowly at first and then explode as the sun came up. Then suddenly camels walked across the beach withRead more
Wadi Ayun

A WADI is a perennial river or spring that starts and disapears again.
Wadi Ayun is in the middle of a stone desert above the escarpment of the coast. When you see the landscape, you can not imagineRead more
Wadi "Darbat"

Along the coast of Oman, there is an escarpment where the terain jumps from sea level to about 1000m in steep cliffs. All along these cliffs, there are waterfalls and springs where ground water exitsRead more
Sardine run

Today we returned to Salalah for our "every 10 day meeting" with the group to coordinate the next 10 days. This is the beauty of the travel concept of Mantoco. As a principal, everyone travels aloneRead more
Waking up with the Flamingos

Dawn and sunrise is my time!
Baobab forest

And then suddenly, an area full of Baobab trees which are supposed to be in Africa.
How did they get here?
The old Gondwana contintinent that broke apart? Slaves brought from Africa to Arabia?
All IRead more
And up the coast we go
