The Next Challenge

Tag: Oman

  • Dishdashas and Dates – 10 things I’ll miss about Oman

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    Tim Moss
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    Tonight I fly back to the UK after five wonderful months in Oman. It makes me sad to think of all the things that I will miss about this country. Here are ten of them: Dishdashas – Worn by almost every Omani in Muscat, 90% of them white and invariably combined with a taqiyah Wadis…

  • Walking Across the Wahiba Desert – Part III

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    Tim Moss
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    Morning broke with a heavy dew. The moon was behind us and illuminating the thick mist in the valleys below. We each had a litre and a half of water left and, we reckoned, some three hours to the edge of the dunes and another 10km to the road from there. Since last night’s hike…

  • Where would you go for your final three meals?

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    Tim Moss
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    After a few months living in the Middle East I find myself routinely feasting on Arabic breads filled with any combination of houmous, olives, fresh lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and peppers. Perhaps with a side of stuffed vine leaves, possibly washed down with ripe water melon and natural yoghurt. Delicious! As well as being tasty, of course,…

  • Walking Across the Wahiba Desert – Part II

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    Tim Moss
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    It is a rare treat to watch both the moon set and the sun rise in a single sitting but that is how we started our second day. Twelve hours later we would catch each celestial body in the reverse role but there were many more dunes to cross before we reached that point. So…

  • Leaving Oman

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    Tim Moss
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    In three weeks’ time I will be back in the UK after five glorious months in Oman. I will be very sad to leave. It is a truly beautiful country with some of the most stunning scenery I have seen anywhere on my travels so far. I would recommend it highly to anyone with an…

  • Walking Across the Wahiba Desert – Part I

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    Tim Moss
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    I was amazed that we found it at all. I’d zoomed in as close as possible on Google Earth to trace the fine lines of what looked like a dirt track ending at the western edge of the sand dunes. I jotted down the coordinates, punched them into the GPS we’d borrowed and was trying…

  • Tour of Oman Bike Race

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    Tim Moss
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    Yesterday afternoon I scrambled to the top of a rocky ridge above the corniche at Mutrah to sit in the sunshine and watch the final stage of the Tour of Oman. A cycling stage race like the Tour de France, the event is organised in part by cycling legend Eddy Merckx. From my limited experience…

  • Running the Wadi Bih Relay

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    Tim Moss
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    Last weekend I competed in the 19th annual Wadi Bih relay here in Oman. It was probably the best event I have ever entered. I was in a team of five with Laura and three people from the local Muscat Road Runners club. We had 72km to cover between us and a jeep for support. Arriving the night…

  • Crossing a Desert this Weekend

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    Tim Moss
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    What are you up to this weekend? I will be crossing a desert. Since arriving in Oman I’ve been a little transfixed by the idea of desert travel. It’s not something with which I have any experience but it’s easily romanticised: a rolling sea of deep orange dunes beneath a brilliant blue sky and luminous…

  • Dude, Where’s My Tent?

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    Tim Moss
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    Masirah island sits in the Indian Ocean just off the east coast of Oman. It is around 50 miles long and 10 miles wide. It has a single town called Hilf on its north western coast and little else besides 90 miles of ring road; somewhere off which lies our tent. “Well, the speedo said…

  • Cycling Around Masirah Island on Christmas Day

    Cycling Around Masirah Island on Christmas Day

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    Tim Moss
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    Excitement quickly penetrates lethargy as the alarm sounds early on Christmas morning. Waking swiftly not to open presents but to ensure we have enough time for a 90 mile bike ride. And it wasn’t actually an alarm that woke us first but the sound of fishermen and the cacophony of seabirds outside the tent we’ve…

  • 2010 Review – A Year of Adventures

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    Tim Moss
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    How has your year been? As another precious one slides by, I’ve found myself, as ever, wondering how it’s passed so quickly. So, to make myself feel better, I cast my mind back to the adventures I’ve had over the past twelve months. And it’s worked a treat. What a year! This is the first…