Part 2
Oman is a country blessed with nature in abundance, beaches, mountains, deserts and lots of greenery. The mountains, though bereft of trees, can be seen in different shades of brown. Jebel Akhdar, a hill station 300km south of Muscat enjoys a temperature of 15 to 20 degrees celsius even in summer!
Stopping by in between to enjoy the scenery, we continued the trip.It was 18H:30 by the time we turned right at the IBRI town junction to proceed north west. I utlised the stretches without speed cameras to drive close to 140 kmph. My mondeo indicator was showing 25% level. We thougt we will drive further and top up at the town of Buraimi. After crossing the towns of Sunaynah and Hafit we turned right and drove 30 kms further in the direction of Buraimi. (Note: google earth will be able to provide an idea of the terrain and the route better than mere words can express!) Enroute, we were perplexed, getting welcome messages from Etisalat, the telecommunication service provider of UAE.
After a while, we hit a check post. The very fact that there was a check post did not give me a comfortable feeling. Requesting my brother to stay back in the car I walked towards the check post and explained to them our intention to reach Sohar via Buraimi. I also evidenced him our residence cards showing that we are bonafide residents of the Sultanate of Oman. The guard was courteous and explained that the border was porous with no proper delineation between UAE and Oman. Hence, if we wanted to cross the check post we need to produce our passports.
Oh No! I never imagined that our luck would reach such a precipice. Unlike in India, where you can talk/ plead/ bribe your way, here nothing of that sort was possible. Silently I walked back to the car, my mind meditating on that small needle of the fuel gauge that showed near empty. The fuel warning lamp was not yet on, though. We reverted back, dreading the thought of getting stranded with a dry tank.
On reaching the T-junction, instead of turning left I turned right on seeing a village towards the border with Al Ain of UAE. Not finding any fuel station there, we approached the Al AIn check post to try our luck. The ROP (Royal Oman Police) guard told us that if we drive back towards Ibri, we can find the next station 5 kms ahead. Back on the road, the low fuel level indicator came up, prompting us to save fue by switching off the aircon and reducing the speed to an optimum 80 kmph.
The fuel station did come but there was no fuel. When we taked to the attendant he mentioined that if we drive approx 50 kms the next station will be able to serve us. At this juncture, I called the manager of Budget rent-car from whom I had leased the Mondeo an an annual basis. He took the required inputs from me regarding the trip meter reading, amount of last fuel filled etc and came up with the info that we could perhaps still make it to the next station.
With hanuman chalisa on our lips, we stretched the miles as best as we could and finally managed to reach the next fuel station. I told the attendant to top the fuel to full tank. The vehicle gobbled up almost 65 litres of fuel! With the time showing 21H:00, we picked up a sandwich and drove back on the same road across Hajar mountains. Night driving on the ghat section on a wonderful road with proper cat's eyes and reflectors installed was a pleasurable experience.
We turned towards Sohar and on reaching the camp I dropped my brother. He was concerned that I had to drive another 300 kms to Muscat in the middle of night. I allayed his fears and told him I would call him on reaching home. On the way back, despite the superb road to muscat, I realised I was not alert enough due to fatigue. I stopped by at a road side tea shop for a break. Feeling better, I drove further and reached home in the wee hours of the morning. Needless to say, after a quick call to my brother, I fell on my bed and slept like a log.
Lessons learnt were:
1. Talk to someone who has already done the route ( a la T-BHP members)
2. Carry your passport along if you are going near the borders
3. Never let the fuel go below 25% level. Procarastination can prove disastrous.
4. India is not the only country where road directions need to improve. |