Author Archives: Geoff O'Reilly

We set out from Dubai for the 160km drive through the desert and mountains to Fujairah to rejoin the ship … it was a fascinating drive … excellent road, of course … … the fence is to to keep camels … Continue reading →

We took a Big Bus tour in the morning. Dubai has big buildings (many look empty) …    … and extraordinary roads. But off these freeways, terrible traffic …    … many suburban mosques. The Sultan has decreed no-one should have … Continue reading →

More low key than Dubai, but it is the “capital” of the UAE and where the real money is. I arrived back from Sydney via Dubai late in the afternoon, 24 hours before the ship. I walked out and found … Continue reading →

The ship arrived in Muscat on another beautiful morning sailing past a rocky coastline, white buildings and Fort Al Jalali …    We docked at Port Sultan Qaboos Cruise Terminal right near the Sultan’s private “yacht” … I joined two … Continue reading →

After 4 days at sea with lights off and curtains drawn at night so as not to attract pirates(!), Jan arrived in Salalah, Oman. Not one of the world’s great tourist destinations! Because I wasn’t there, Jan thought she would … Continue reading →

After we cooled down from the heat of Petra we boarded our bus and headed for the Wadi Rum, about an hour and a half away … Upon arrival we dressed for the occasion … … and headed for the … Continue reading →

Petra … “a rose-red city half as old as time” We docked at the port city of Aqaba.. it was hot and very hazy due to the effects of a current sand storm. I teamed up with friends Tom and … Continue reading →

Blistering heat … sand … and oh, soooo many flies … Sounds like fun! We started the transit at 4:30 in the morning … first in the convoy … but couldn’t see many of the followers for the dust. When … Continue reading →

Another day of touring on my own … this time the ship had changed departure time and so our five and a half hour tour was reduced by an hour so we were off and running from the moment we … Continue reading →

Geoff had returned to Sydney and I boarded a bus for a 12 hour day visit to Jerusalem. A 3 hour bus ride and we had our first sight of the city. Our first stop was at Mount Zion situated … Continue reading →