On Tuesday 2nd May Shady had to travel to a hospital around 100 km south of Abu Dhabi because of his work and he took me there with him. We left Abu Dhabi in the morning and we got to the Al Gharbia hospital around 10am. We were driving next to salt flats. Shady spent around 5 hours working and I waited for him inside the hospital. Most local women wore niqabs and I wore a sleeveless T-shirt and a knee-length skirt. Few women beckoned to me but otherwise nobody paid attention to me. There was a restaurant in the hospital where people from South East Asia worked. I tried to walk outside the hospital but the temperature reached 42°C that day in the shadow and in the parking lot it was 50°C. I literally felt how my nose was burning from breathing hot air so I had to return to the air-conditionned hospital.
When Shady finished working we had a lunch in the restaurant in the hospital. We ordered rice and meat. Then we drove to the Liwa oasis. There were many palms trees and sand dunes. Shady's car got stuck in the sand and I had to push it out while it was so hot that I slightly burnt my hands when I touched it. Shady thought there was a lake in this oasis but we couldn't find it.

There was a huge sand dune which is called Moreeb dune and as I found out later it was a place fordrag races. Firstly I thought it was too dangerous but later we decided to climb up the dune, it was very steep and around 30 metres high. Our hands and feet sank into the sand but I made it to the top. 

Then we started sliding down the dune but the sand made humming sound which I found sinister and I ran down quickly. Then we drove back to Abu Dhabi and we saw herds of camels on our way.
On Wednesday I slept till noon and Shady picked me up in the afternoon and we went to the beach where we spent around 2 hours. The beach was closing at sunset and everybody had to get out of the water. Then we went to eat shawarma with French fries and it was very tasty.
On Thursday Shady took me to the beach around 1pm and he went back to work. I spent there all afternoon but I got a bad sunburn despite putting a lot of sunscreen. The sun was already very strong in Emirates in May and I spent at least 3 hours on the beach. It was around 38°C that day. I got a lot of unwanted attention on the beach as I was a single woman and I had to talk with several guys while one of them even bought me some juice. Then Shady picked me up and we went to spend my last night in Emirates in a hotel in Dubai. I had pizza with seafood for dinner, it was good but the taste was different from pizza in Europe because there put different kind of cheese. Then we went for a walk and to a beach bar Barasti. You can watch the video from the bar here. We had some drinks but we didn't stay there for a long time because it was already late.

My last day in Dubai was Friday 5th May. We got up late and we had our breakfast around noon in Belad Al Sham restaurant. We ordered Damascus breakfast with makdous (oil-cured eggplans), youghurt cheese Labneh, olives, eggs, cucumber and hummus. Then we went to the beach near Burj Al Arab where we spent some hours. I swam in the sea but my sunburn got even worse than before.

Then Shady took me to the airport because my flight to Prague was departing in the evening. I was very thirsty and I drank a lot of water and mango juice on the way to the airport. The flight took around 7 hours and we got dinner on the plane, it was rice and meat and also a cake. We also got some drinks. It was a comfortable journey but it was hot on the plane.

On Monday 1st May in the morning we went to visit Abu Dhabi. Firstly Shady took me to Emirates palace which is a luxurious hotel. We entered and admired its grandiose lobby and spiral staircase.

We couldn't enter firstly because Shady was wearing shorts and the guards didn't let us in. He had to go home to change. I also wore revealing clothes but it wasn't a problem.

Although it was a hot day the sky was cloudy. We went to visit Umm Al Emarat Park with a botanic garden. Then we spent some hours on the beach, the water was around 27°C. We should have hurried up because my flight from Dubai was departing after 7pm but Shadi told me that we had enough time to visit also Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It is the largest mosque in the country made of marble stone and gold. It was decorated with carpets and huge chandeliers. You can watch the video here.

Unfortunately we lost too much time while visiting the mosque and it was 5pm when we left. Shady still thought that we would make it on time but we got stuck in a traffic jam in Dubai. I saw sunset from the highway at Burj Al Arab and the panorama of skyscrapers which make Dubai's skyline impressive. I phoned my mother and told her that I was going to miss my flight. We arrived at the airport more than one hour after my flight departed. I wouldn't really mind missing my flight and prolonging holidays but the problem was that I was supposed to start a new job in Prague the following day and I didn't know if the new employer was willing to wait for my return. As they were willling to wait for me my start date at a new job was postponed by two weeks. 

When we got to the airport it was evident that there was nothing we could do and we left. I didn't want to take another flight the following day so I bought later another flight ticket for Friday afternoon.

We had to go back to Abu Dhabi but before we went for dinner in Dubai to the Yemeni Zam Zam restaurant. We ordered fish and rice and the food was juicy and very tasty. We returned to Abu Dhabi late at night and on Tuesday Shady took me on a desert trip to Liwa oasis. 

On April 30th was my birthday. I had to figure out how to get from Muscat to Nizwa that day so I posted in the group on facebook the night before if anybody was travelling that way and could take me. Prem from India replied to me that he was going the same way and he would pick me up from my host's place in the morning. I offered to pay him but he refused because he had a fuel card from the company. We left Muscat around 9am and we had to hurry to Nizwa because I had to continue travelling to UAE the same day. We drove there 2 hours and I admired the landscape, the road was surrounded by mountains which were dry and without vegetation. You can watch the video here.
When we arrived in Nizwa we went immediately to visit the fort. Nizwa fort is one of the oldest forts in Oman. It was built in 1650's while its underlying structure goes back to the 12th century.



The fort is fascinating with a great view on palm plantations and mountains. When I walked there remembered the game Prince of Persia.                                                 

After visting the fort we met Rommel from couchsurfing. He was from Philippines but he worked in Oman. Prem had to go back to Muscat because of his job but I went to Rommel's flat. We talked and he prepared rice and chicken, it was very tasty. He had two cats. I wanted to visit the city but he didn't want to go out because the temperature reached 38°C that day. It was around 15:30 when we went out to look for a bus which would take me to UAE. We went to several bus ticket offices but everywhere we were told that there were no bus from Nizwa to UAE and I would have to go back to Muscat. I couldn't afford going back because I didn't have enough time so I decided to hitch-hike to UAE. Rommel was strongly against it and recommended me to take a bus to Muscat. I waited until he left and then I went to the road and hitch-hiked. Drivers were obviously not used to seeing hitch-hikers in this part of the world, two of them stopped and asked me for money to take me to Emirates which I refused. Finally a guy Youssef stopped and took me around 10 km to a highway. He was nice and he told me to be careful because when it was dark people became bad. He asked me why I didn't take a private car with a driver to UAE and I told him that I had no money. Then he gave me 5 Omani Rials which is nearly 11 Eur and dropped me on a highway. I got a lot of attention there and soon after a couple stopped and asked me where I need to go. They said they were going to Bahla which was around 30km far away but it was on the way to Emirates so they took me. The couple was around my age but they didn't speak English much and they didn't pay any attention to me. There was loud music playing in the car and I didn't even attempt to talk to them as they showed absolutely no interest in me. They stopped in Bahla and while I was just dragging out my suitcase of the car another driver pulled over. His name was Ahmed and he was 27 from Badiya. He said he was going to Emirates for work. He took me Al Ain which is on the border. He was apparently very delighted about his hitch-hiker but he didn't speak English well therefore he used a translator in his phone. He was typing while the car was speeding on the highway. We were driving over 100 km/h and several times I was scared that we would drive out of the road. I just prayed that we didn't crash. We drove through a storm and then Ahmed stopped to buy me a cup of a tea and a thin pancake with cheese. I heard strange noise from the back of the car and he showed me a box with two small rabbits. He told me their mother was killed by a cat and he was going to give them as a present for his small son.

We crossed the border and Ahmed said that he would continue driving to Abu Dhabi the following day because he wanted to stop overnight in Al Ain to visit his family there. I was invited too but I couldn't stay because I had to continue to Abu Dhabi the same day. There was a bus after 9pm and it costed 25 dirhams. I got to Abu Dhabi at 23:30 and I sent SMS to my host Shady from Palestine. I waited in front of a shopping mall and he picked me up there. 

We went to the sea and we took photos with the buildings illuminated at night.

Then we went home and I went to sleep soon because I was tired after spending all day travelling.

Before coming to Oman I had done research about places to visit and Wadi Shab was definitely one of them. I couldn't figure out how to get there as I couldn't find any bus going there from Muscat. The only possibility seemed to be renting a car which I couldn't do because I haven't driven since I got my driving licence and that's been 7 years already. Another option would be renting a car with a driver which was too expensive. Therefore I posted in a group of facebook for the people from Muscat and I asked if anybody wanted to go there with me and I could pay for fuel costs. I found a Pakistani guy Sam who lived in Muscat since many years. We arranged a meeting on 29th April at a shopping mall, I hitchhiked there, two girls took me firstly but I was upset because we wasted a lot of time when they tried explaining me that it wasn't reasonable to go to Wadi Shab at this time because it was too hot and already around noon. Finally they dropped me at a road where another guy took me to the shopping mall and he called Sam who came to pick me up. We went inside the mall because he wanted to buy a swimsuit but I was wearing sleeveless T-shirt and short skirt and someone came to tell us that I was inappropriately dressed. At the entrance to the mall there were pictures warning tourists against inappropriate dress code but I had no other clothes with me so I couldn't change.

Then we drove towards Wadi Shab but it was a long way, it took more than one hour to get there. We passed Tropics of Cancer while driving in the mountains. We didn't manage to find the Binmah Sinkole therefore we went directly to the Wadi Shab. We took a boat which took us across the river.

Then we had to walk nearly for one hour on the rocks along the riverside to amazing natural pools with a turquoise water colour. It was already 4pm when we got there and the last boat was going back at 6:30pm so we didn't have so much time to spend there. I enjoyed swimming in these pools and the water temperature was very pleasant. Then I swam into the cave with a waterfall, there was a rope which could be used to climb the waterfall and jump in the pool but I wasn't courageous enough to do that. 

After spening amazing 2 hours in Wadi Shab we had to hurry back to the river in order to catch the last boat and we arrived there just in time. It was sunset when we got to the car and we heard a muslim prayer Allahu Akbar sang by Muezzin. You can see the video with this prayer here.

Then we drove back to Muscat and we stopped in the mountains above the city to take some photos. We had a great view on the city with all the lights. 

Then Sam took me to a local restaurant where we had delicious dinner, we ordered soup and also rice with lamb and salad. 

After dinner Sam took me to my host's place and I had to ask my host Harout if I could stay for one more night at his place and he agreed. I got to his home around 11pm and when I announced him that my birthday would be coming in a few hours he baked a cake with honey for me and we ate it together. 

I arrived in Dubai on 26th April in the evening and I found out immediately that I had no place to stay that night. I had a contact with several potential hosts from CS before coming to UAE but due to bad arrangement nobody was available to host me. After some hours of waiting at the airport I managed to contact an Indian guy Mohsin who lived in Dubai and he came to pick me up. He hosted also an American girl at that time but he was leaving to Saudi Arabia the following day and even though I could have stayed at his place longer I decided to travel to Oman for 3 days. My host told me where to go to get a shared car to Muscat but when I got there I found out that it wasn't a right place. I had to take a taxi to Deira where we found a bus which was departing at 3pm so I got there just on time. The taxi to Deira costed 50 dirhams and the bus from Dubai to Muscat costed also 50 dirhams. The bus driver spoke English very well and also many other people in the bus. We had some conversation about Oman and everybody told me to come to Oman in summer and visit Salalah because it was very green at that time and obviously it was a popular holiday destination.
While we travelled towards Oman the landscape started to change and it was hilly.
When we got to the border I just found out that the cost of a tourist visa for Oman just quadrupled. I had to pay 20 OMR for tourist visa which was around 50 Eur.

I captured a sunset while travelling in the bus. I ate one meat sandwich during the journey so I wasn't hungry. I had to take a taxi to my host's place. My host Harout was an Armenian guy born in Syria. We talked together and we bought some food but then he had an Indian guy coming to visit him and I spent some time on the internet before going to sleep.
In the morning I wanted to go out to visit the city while Harout didn't want to join me because it was too hot for him. I went out and I hitch-hiked to the old city Mutrah while my driver stopped at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque to take some photos.

When we got to Mutrah it was early afternoon and the temperature reached 35°C that day but it was very humid. I went to the Mutrah Souq but it was too early and most shops were closed. I took a photo with Ismaeil who worked in one of these shops.

Then I went out again and I admired the panorama of Mutrah. I tried to go for a walk but the sun was so strong that it was almost unbearable to stay outside and streets were empty. 

I had to return to the Souq after a while and stay there till 3 or 4pm when the weather got more pleasant. I did some shopping that day in the Souq, I bought 4 different kinds of incense as the Omani incense is one of the highest quality and its smell is very intense. 

I walked along the coast and I watched Al Riyam Park Observation Tower which looked like an alien spaceship. I looked for a place to swim and finally I found a local beach with families. I swam in bikini there but it wasn't a good idea because everybody there was conservatively dressed and women usually wore a hijab. I even asked someone to take a photo of me but one woman told him off, she didn't even seem to be angry at me but apparently she was upset that he talked to someone like me. 

I went to the water and I stayed there also after the sunset and during twilight. Then 6 modestly dressed women came and sat on the beach just a few meters far from my bag. I am usually not a shy person but I became very insecure at this moment, I watched them for about 5 minutes and hesitated to go out of water. Finally one woman read my mind and she brought me my plastic bag which I used to cover my body while getting out of water. Then I got dressed and I walked towards Mutrah while the sky was jet black. 

I walked in the Mutrah Souq and it was very crowded in the evening, you can see the video here. I went to shops, I bought some souvenirs and I talked to Indian guys working in these shops. I bought some meat sandwich but I didn't like it very much. Then I wanted to hitch-hike back to my host's place but I had to take a shared bus instead. The first bus I got in was going in a wrong direction so I had to get off and wait for another one. The bus driver was 21 years old and he didn't speak English well. The bus was crowded at first but then people were getting off and at the end I found out that I was alone with the driver. He was watching a porn on his phone which wouldn't really bother me but then he took us to an empty secluded road and started to make indecent proposals which I didn't agree with. After a brief but vigorous fight I pulled down the window and I threatened him to kick his mirror to pieces which made him come to his senses and he took me to my host's place. It was a scary experience but I was glad that nothing worse happened. 

We got to Bandar Abbas on 24th April just around the sunset. It was hot and very humid. We spent some time looking for a hostel, we found one but the receptionist told us we couldn't stay in the same room although there were 3 beds, I had to get my own room. Then we went outside and we walked in the city and bazaar. I was wearing a straw hat instead of the scarf, I received many strange looks but noone told me anything. We found a restaurant near to the coast where we ate rice with fried shrimps. I removed my hat because the restaurant was empty when we came but after some time it started to fill up with people. Nobody paid attention to me but when we were leaving some young girls were greeting me and laughing.
Kynsley was tired and he went to the hostel while me and Mohammad went to the coast. Mohammad smoked shisha and I asked him to sing and I recorded it, you can listen to him here. The sea was smelling really bad and there was a rat on the rocks but the atmosphere was great. There were many families around enjoying their evening at the coast.
When we returned to the hostel we went to sleep and I set on air conditiong to 20°C but the room got so cold at night that I was waking up even though I slept under a heavy blanket. I was too lazy to get up and increase the temperature.
In the morning we got to the port to take a ferry to the Hormuz island. We met Sadegh from couchsurfing who hosted us the following night. When we got to the island we saw tv crew who was shooting live TV. Kynsley wanted to make fun so he jumped in screaming but they were very upset about it.
We rented a tuc-tuc and the driver took us to the red stone fortress. We didn't enter because it didn't look very interesting. Near to the fortress there were local women selling souvenirs to tourists. Women in the south of Iran dress in the same way as women in Western Sahara. They wear long piece of fabric which they wrap around their body. Some women wore traditional masks on their faces. You can watch a video which I took there.

Then our driver took us to beautiful mountains. This island is called also the rainbow island which depicts it very well. There was salt everywhere on the ground and also in big crystals on the mountains.

I felt like in a fairy tale. We took many photos but they can't capture unique beauty of this place. It was very impressive.

Then we went to a rock which is on the cliff high above sea. It was a bit dangerous to go there but we couldn't miss an opportunity to take photos in such a wonderful scenery.

On our way we saw many women without scarves. I felt like being in a free country. Later we went on the beach and I swam in bikini. The beach was empty but tuc-tuc drivers had good view on us from the road. We enjoyed to frolic on the beach and in the sea, it was sunny but not too hot, the temperature was around 35°C that day and the sea was around 27°C. 

Our driver brought us lunch which consisted of rice and chicken and we ate it on the beach. Then we had to leave because we had to take a ferry back to Bandar Abbas. After arrival I drank golab and we went to Sadegh's home. He couldn't speak English very well and he made an impression of rather reserved and not very talkative person but we spent nice evening together. We walked in the bazaar where I bough some clothes and we returned to Sadegh's home. 

In the morning I woke up early with headache but then I managed to fall asleep again for some hours. After 10am Kynsley and Mohammad woke me up because they were leaving to the north of Iran. I stayed alone with Sadegh, we went to buy a flight ticket for me to Dubai, I took it on 26th April in the evening. I wanted to visit Bandar Abbas but Sadegh didn't want, telling me it was a commercial city and there was nothing interesting to see. We spent all the afternoon at home, Sadegh cooked spaghetti for us and in the evening he took me to the airport and I flew to Dubai. I paid 125 Eur for the flight ticket which was quite expensive because the distance between both cities is around 300 km and the flight took around 40 minutes. The plane reached the flight height and it started to descend soon after. Many women who got on the plane with scarves removed them during flight. I had an impressive view on Dubai with all the lights. Just when I got there I had to start solving the issue where to sleep during that night. 

We arrived in Shiraz on Saturday 22nd April late in the afternoon. Kynsley and Mohammad found a host Reza on CS and I found another host for myself on CS whose name was also Reza. We could have stayed all together but none of us wanted to cancel our previously arranged accomodation. Fortunately they both lived close to each other so it was easy to drop me at my host in the evening and in the morning to pick me up.
When we arrived in Shiraz after 4pm we met firstly my friends' host. We left our luggage in his car and we explored the city. We went to the Pink Mosque which was close in the evening but a man nearby told us that the best time to visit this mosque was in the morning between 8am - 10am. I didn't know why but I learnt it the following day.
Then we walked in bazaar where we saw copper pots, wall clocks, various spices, Persian clothes and other goods.

We were very hungry because we spent a long time travelling and we didn't eat anything since morning but it took us a long time until we found a restaurant where we wanted to have dinner. We order pomegranate rice, chicken and vegetables. It was tasty but we ordered also yellow dessert which I didn't like because it the taste was similar to Khoresht Mast but my friends really enjoyed it.

Afer dinner we went to the citadel where Mohammad smoke shisha and I drank golab. 

We met Reza who took me by car to my host Reza. We talked for a long time about history and political situation in Iran and we went to sleep late. On Sunday we got up at 8am and Reza prepared breakfast for me, we had eggs. Kynsley and Mohammad came at 9am and their host took us to the Pink Mosque.
The morning sun shining through stained window cast colours colours on the carpet and walls. It is better to be there already at 8am when the light is across all room, but we got there around 10am when the sun was higher and the light shrank. We still had a beautiful view on rainbow colours and we took many photos there.

TThis is the view on the mosque from outside in front of the pool. It looks also astonishing. 

I have to admit that my choice of clothes was a bit unfortunate that day because there was a floral motif on the walls and also on my blouse and it matched very well :). I look like a chameleon on this photo.

I used to think that I have visited so many places that nothing can surprise me anymore, but there was one place which Iran which surpassed all my expectations. This place is called Shah Cheragh which is a funerary monument and mosque and it was a breathtaking sight. That's how I imagined real Persia. I walked inside with a tour guide who explained me everything about this mosque for free and she was very knowledeable. I also took a video inside the mosque, you can watch it here. As you see, the interior is decorated with the mosaic of mirror glass. Kynsley went also inside the mosque but I was in the ladies' part so we couldn't join each other there.

Outisde the mosque there was an imam lamenting and many guys surrounded him and they also lamented. I had to wear chador also on the courtyard. My host Reza joined us there and we walked together to the Umbrella Street which was nearby. There are several umbrella streets in Iran but I saw only this one. You can watch the video here.

In the afternoon we took a taxi to Naqsh-e Rustam which is an ancient necropolis with ancient Iranian rock reliefs cut into the cliff. Kynsley managed to enter Persepolis and Necropolis with an Iranian ticket but I had to pay full price.

Then we visited Persepolis which is located 12 km far away from Necropolis. It is an archaelogical site which depicts the history and culture in the Persian empire. The site is large and it was very hot there early in the afternoon. The ruins were amazing and there are wonderful wall carvings and statues like double-headed Griffin statue still remaining. It was definitely worth visiting.

On the way out we met this cute little girl :). I got her parents' permission to take a photo with her.

We returned to Shiraz in the evening. We found a restaurant where we ate rice and meat and then we joined our hosts. We left Shiraz on 24th April in the morning and we took a bus to Bandar Abbas which is situated on the Persian Gulf coast. It was a long way there (more than 8 hours), we left Shiraz at 10am and we got to Bandar Abbas just at the sunset. Once we stopped on our way in a restaurant where we ordered rice, meat and vegetables but we had to eat very quickly because the bus wouldn't wait. Here you can watch the video which was taken in the bus, we talk about our trip there.
The landscape was delightful with trees and mountains. I watched it for some time but then I got tired and I fell asleep. The seats in the bus were comfortable and I slept some hours. I woke up when we were approaching Bandar Abbas.