A Weekend of Adventuring

This weekend was amazing.  I got to explore and frolick (yes, frolick) in the desert, which I've been dying to do since first seeing horizons of nothing but sand while travelling around Khobar and Damman.  On Friday, my best buddies and I drove to the Oman border for the primary purpose of renewing my visa, a fairly painless process that costs 50 dirhams and also to sight see a bit at Al Ayn, the highest mountain in the region.  

Heading out on our trip to Oman.  I wanted to take pictures of all the camels, penned and wild, we saw, but we were definitely going too fast for that.

Some people find more adventurous ways to travel on the highway.

Yes, that's a camel vet.

Castle thingy in the middle of a round-a-bout, of which there were a plethora.

Goats in a truck

Idk, I thought it looked like a knock-off kabba

The fine looking establishment at which we dined

The man even gave me smiley potatoes instead of fries when asked.   The bill for 3 people came to 35 dirhams.

Climbing to the top of Al Ayn

You can only get a good, unobstructed view if you climb a locked fence, which we did with little hesitation but to the bewilderment of onlooking Indian tourists.

Going for a little climb

And descending without dirtying my shoes

Aforementioned 'best buddies'

Anyone know what this bird is called?

The next day, we had our AUD Safari.  For 50 dirhams, we got a full day at an adventure company in the desert.  We were picked up from campus in off-roading SUVs for a drive through the desert, culminating in an evening at their campsite that included a dinner, shisha, and performances.  This whole day resulted in SO many pictures, I can't even begin to go through and edit them.

A fantastic Sufi dancer, us white people call them Whirling Dervishes 

He holds umbrella type things for effect

And lights up

The most popular performance of the night was most certainly the belly dancer

Please note that I did not post too many pictures from these trips because I don't want to spatter other people's faces on the Internet without their permission.