Bahla is home to one of Oman’s biggest and best preserved forts. Before leaving, we wanted to see it. Unfortunately for us, while the fort is excellent, it doesn’t come with much else. There’s nothing in it and there are no signs labeling different parts of it or describing its history. All we could do was wander through it and disturb a few bats.

But the rest of the day was dedicated to one of the highlights of this trip. Cindy and I booked two nights at a camp in the Oman desert. We would ditch our car, be driven into the desert in a 4WD, and just stay there. There’s no electricity or cell phone reception. Just us and sand. We couldn’t wait.

We drove to a designated meeting point–a gas station in a small village by the desert. At 4 PM, Naser arrived and we followed him to a spot where the paved road ended. There, we left our car, took our bags, and Naser drove us into the Wahiba Sands. He gave us a tour and showed us some lizard tracks, snake tracks, and fox holes. Then he drove us up a dune so we could watch the sun set.

The camp itself is neat and tidy. We ate dinner in a common area and sat around listening to absolutely nothing. The quiet of the desert is deafening and we were there under a full moon. A highly memorable experience.