Border Run to the UAE

Two weeks ago, on a Thursday, I jumped in a van with a Spaniard, an Australian, an American, a Brit and two Omani men to make the 2 hour trek to the United Arab Emirates border. In order for the Omani government to start the work visa process, I needed to first exit the country and cancel my current visitor visa.  It takes 2-4 hours (Omani time) for a work visa to be processed at the border so the plan was for us to just hangout in Dubai (the emirate, not the city) until we got the call to come back. The drive to the UAE was actually pretty nice. Rolling sand dunes, rock mountains, and a few camel ranches.  I was pretty excited when I thought I was going to Dubai city, but as it turns out, the entire emirate (state or province) is known as Dubai. So we never actually made it to Dubai city but were taken to a huge mall called Dragon Mart.  As soon as we pulled up to Dragon Mart I felt an immediate rush of familiarity because Dragon Mart is an Asian market.  

Dragon Mart "The Great Mall of China"

Dragon Mart
"Where you can find one in a million or a million in one"

 How ironic that my first big shopping experience in the Middle East would be at an Asian market decorated with Chinese lanterns and full of shops with China made products. The shopping in this mall was extremely disappointing as I was expecting some big flashy mall that seems to be typical of Dubai. I did manage to snap a few pictures of some interesting items and landscapes, so it wasn’t a total loss. 

After waiting in line for an hour at the border, we finally all got our work visas stamped in our passports and given the green light to return to Oman.  The whole process took about 8 hours and we arrived back at work just in time to make it to our staff party at 7pm.  Hopefully my next trip to Dubai will be a little more exciting!

Mountains in the UAE

UAE Flag painted on the mountain top.

Thought this was hilarious! Can't decide if it's a mis-translation and should say "pure" soap or if it's to wash away your sins & restore virginity.

Sand dunes in the UAE.

Second Impressions of Sohar - I found all the people

 My first impressions of Sohar, as it turns out, weren’t entirely accurate. Due to jet lag, my sleeping patterns were all mixed up and I wasn’t really making it out of the house during peak hours. All the shops that I thought were deserted are actually up and running, they just close from 1-4pm when it’s really hot out! Smart hey?! I obviously was driving around between 1 and 4 when all the people in Oman are inside to escape the heat. Now that I’ve officially started my 8am to 4pm workweek, I have a better feel for the hum of the city.  Traffic during morning and evening hours almost triples, it’s still nothing near Taiwan traffic but it’s similar to traffic at home.  The round-a-bouts during rush hour traffic are super congested, which is why there's tons of construction going on as they are building fly overs to help ease the traffic. I tried to take a few photos of the city, but it's hard to do when you're in a car. Oh and for my Taiwan friends that are reading, Sohar is hot, but mild humidity, which means I think it’s more tolerable than Kaohsiung heat! I can actually stand outside for 10 minutes without sweating, which I could never do in the summer in Kaohsiung! But it’s still hot hot here, like so hot that when I get into my car after work my jewelry heats up instantly and burns my skin. 

Just a random herd of goats in the city. 

The roundabout known as "R2D2"

Typical scenery when you leave the main road. Nice houses, houses being built and dirt. The main road boulevards have grass and other landscaping, but people's houses don't. Kinda makes sense, it's the desert. 

Camel Crossing! 

Ok so it's not open yet, but I'm very excited Sohar has a Quiznos!
(Haha Kaohsiung)