LIVING with BEDOUINES in the desert of OMAN (WAHIBA / SHARQIYA SANDS)

The desert, the home of Bedouins and camels, a raw and challenging environment to live and to survive. Only two hours from Oman's capital, Muscat, you find the Ash-Sharqiya Sands Desert that was formerly known as Wahiba Sands. I joined a Bedouin family in their camp and learned more about the fascinating life under the burning sun of Sharqiya Sands. My travel partner left yesterday, and this will be my first day of riding alone in Oman, and I will go to another desert today. Hello, everyone. Today I'm riding to the desert, but it will be a bit different to our adventure in the Rub al-Khali Desert, because this desert is only about two hours from Muscat, so this is the desert that most Oman visitors have on their itinerary. There is not only the vast Rub al Khali desert in Oman that we visited in the beginning of this trip, but many tourists choose to visit the more accessible Sharqiya Sands Desert instead that was formerly known as Wahiba Sands and is situated about two hours from the capital, Muscat. Therefore, many former nomadic families these days run desert camps to share their beautiful home with visitors. Yes, I'm going to a desert camp now. I know that these kind of touristic camps sometimes don't have the best reputation, but the one I chose is a family-owned business. And it was the first camp in the Wahiba Sands desert and is still only run by Bedouins. So I hope to get a little glimpse into their desert life. Went off from the main road to the town here called Al-Wasil and that's where I will hopefully meet my guide. Normally, all people who self-drive with cars meet much later in the afternoon to go to the camp together to not get stuck, but I was told that I will not make it with a motorcycle, so my Bedouin guide will pick me up here, and let's see. In the township of Al-Wasil, I was lucky enough to meet Humid, who offered me a ride in his Toyota Land Cruiser, so I would not get stuck in the sand with my motorcycle. Humid comes from a Bedouin family, but he is not a nomad anymore. He actually studied engineering, but now works in the family business and lives in the desert. And before heading to the raw desert, he took me to his sister's house where I could park my motorcycle and got invited to dates and Omani coffee. When we entered Sharqiya Sands, I immediately realized the difference to the Rub al Khali desert. While it took us a long time riding through the flats before the dunes started at Rub al-Khali, here at Sharqiya Sands, it felt like we were driving between dunes and walls of sand, basically as soon as we left the gravel road of Al-Wazil. The desert Sharqiya Sands was formerly known as Wahiba Sands, which was named after a tribe. And you might still find the Wahiba Sands expression in many travel guides. But Wahiba was renamed to Sharqia to avoid disputes between tribes. Nestled between the golden dunes of Oman's Sharqia Sands lies the nomadic desert camp. Rashid and his family started with guided camel safaris in the early 1990s, and established the nomadic desert camp a few years later. Many tour operators have since copied the idea, and you can find everything from luxury five-star camps to very basic tent accommodations in Oman. But not many will offer you a glimpse into the authentic Bedouin lifestyle. The huts and sitting areas in the camp are built from palm tree leaves and other natural resources. Lighting is provided by candlelight and solar energy. But my personal highlight were the shared showers and toilets, al fresco. So do you guys wanna see a very luxury desert shower? That's the shower and with an open sky above you. So having a shower in the middle of the desert with the open sky above you is definitely a thousand percent more luxury than our little Kubal Khali desert excursion. To get a better glimpse of the everyday life in the desert, Hoomi took me to the camels of the family. Camels have always been important resources for life and survival in the desert. And they were not just normal adult camels, but as well a little baby camel. What is this nose ring it has? Because she's been for racing, and she has strong head. Nice, so you're a race camel. In the afternoon, life in the desert comes to a halt, and everybody rests. The high temperatures make it nearly impossible to move under the burning sun. But when the sun started to settle, Hoomi picked me up again, and took me first to their goats, and then to the next adventure, a sunset car ride in the remote dunes of Shakia Sands. So who is the best driver? You or your brother? You. Me! I've done a dune ride in cars with experienced guides already several times, but it never loses its magic. If you are an adrenaline seeker or just want to experience the incredible surreal landscape of endless sand dunes from another perspective, this is for you. Oh my God, the dunes, and it's very fast and a little bit scary, only for me though. I bet it's scary, it's good. Right before the sun was setting, Hoomie and I decided to climb to the top of a dune. And Hoomie explained to me how important family is in the Omani culture and why the desert is not a scary or harsh place to him, but his beautiful home. And even though he is used to these views on an everyday basis, I could feel how amazed he still is of the haunting beauty of Shakia Sands. Watching the sunset from a dune is always a pleasure. The desert has always been the home of nomads. And today, people like me are lucky because there are still a few Bedouin families left who make their home, the desert, accessible for foreigners. At the nomadic desert camp, it's as well awesome if you're traveling alone because everybody comes together for Omani coffee, dates, and dinner, and enjoys the story of so many different journeys. Unlike afternoons, mornings in the desert are full of activity. There were even some birds singing who woke me up at 5.30 a.m. But when I got up, I realized that Humid and his family had been even up earlier, getting camels ready for a ride out, and preparing breakfast, including handmade, over-the-fire baked bread. And then it was time. This morning, I was not getting on my motorcycle, but on the back of a camel instead. So this is the view from the top of a camel. Here we are, the people are on camel ride, and soon they're going to start the race. I hope the best for them. Let me tell you one thing, camel riding is much more of a challenge than you might think. When you get on the camel, it will tip you forward when they get up because they get up with their back legs first. And their walk is as well quite unusual when you experience it from their back. But Nomadic Desert Camp as well organizes tours from one to several days to really explore the desert from a camel's back. Where are you going today? I don't know. Where should I go? Maybe stay tonight in the desert? Nah, I think now enough desert. So that was it. last minutes here at the fantastic desert camp, which was really, really nice. And now I actually don't know where to go. I will figure it out once I'm out here of the desert. There are several options. We will see. Now I'm getting a ride in the best car ever. Absolute favorite Toyota car It was hard to say goodbye to Hoomid and his family and to leave the beauty of the desert behind. but I knew the desert will always be there. Like me, it would change with the days and the months that would pass by, but I was sure that we would see each other again, here or anywhere else in the world where there are deserts to explore, because the desert is still calling me, no matter where I go. So off we go here from the little town, and I have not made up my mind where to go. I think I will go to Badi Bani, which is one of those places where you can swim just to look at it, and then we will see. Like always, it felt good though to be back on the road, the unknown ahead. How did you guys like the desert adventures of Shakiya Sands? Did you prefer this desert or the almighty Rub al Khali that we visited in the beginning of the Oman journey? Leave me a comment, which is your favorite desert on earth? The next episode will take me from the desert to another wadi, including a refreshing swim. And I will join the most important camel market of the country and learn how to participate in a camel auction. Tune in next Thursday to enjoy more of the series Oman Overland.