Oman

1. see Sur and Salaleh
2. Oman's desert hinterland borders the Empty Quarter, the bitter desiccated land, which knows nothing of gentleness or ease' made famous by Wilfred Thesiger in his 1959 bsepook Arabian Sands.
3. much of it is forbidding gravel plain, but Wahiba, with its dunes of honey-coloured sand & rust red valleys half-a-mile wide, enclosed by dunes of a uniform height of about 200 ft...blocked at intervals by gradual rises of hard sand, is a stunning landscape
4. when to go? Sept to May
5. alternative place to stay (other than 6senses) in Musandam Peninsula is the Golden Tulip in Khasab $239 (secluded, arid, diving 2-3 hr from Dubai)
6. in Muscat stay at the recently renovated Al Bustan Palace www.ichotelsgroup.com 360GBP

• pristine desert w/Oryx & mountain wilderness
• Qurm Natural Park Muscat festival in January
• Hajar Mountains
• coral gardens w/psychedelic squid
• check out Majlis al-Jinn -- 158m rappel- world's 2nd largest cave
• 
  12 September CX745 HKG 23:55 DXB 04:25+1
  8:30
  15 September CX746 DXB 18:20 HKG 06:10+1
  7:50