A Visit To Amal

UAE border control: Where are you from?
Me: Al Ain
UAE border control: Where are you from?
Me: Al Ain
UAE border control: What country?
Me: America

Oman immigration officer: Where do you want to go?
Me: Dhank
Oman immigration officer: You want entry and exit visa?
Me: No just entry
Oman immigration officer: You going to Emriates?
Me: No we are going to Dhank.

Oman border control officer 1: Where you go?
Me: Dhank
Oman border control officer 1: Give me your paper. I look in car
Me: gave him paper and popped the trunk.
Oman border control officer 1: waves us through
Me: “Hmm he didn’t even look in the trunk or shut it, we’ll just go over the speed bump hard enough to shut it.”

Oman border control officer 2: “Where’s your paper?”
Me: That guy back there took it
Oman border control officer 2: You must have paper.
Me: He has it.
Oman border control officer 2: Okay go back and get it.

We make a u turn and go back

Oman border control officer 1: Must check car.
Me. Pop trunk and get out.
Oman border control officer 1: Stamps my paper and gives it back to me

Oman border control officer 2: have a good day.

Me: AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!

Drive to Dhank only directions were “go to a certain roundabout and then call.”

Pull over to call and put on hazard lights, a car stops and stares at us. I honk as it pulls off, he backs up and this time rolls down his window, we wave to let him know there is no problem.

Waiting for brother of friend to come and get us
A white car drives by 6 times it finally stops and rolls down its window.
I roll down my window.
White car: Hello
Me: Hello
White car: How are you?
Me: Good, thanks be to God and you’
White car: Good, thank be to God. What are you guys doing?
Me: Is your name Hamdan?
White car: No
Me: NO NO NO (rolling up window as quickly as possible)

Return to Emirates:

Oman border guard 3: I need money
Oman border guard 4: Laughing
Me: Why?
Oman border guard 3: You must pay (he is laughing)
Me: Why?
Oman border guard 3: I need 2 riyal per person
Me: None of us have money. I’ve never paid before
Oman border guard 4: laughing hysterically
Oman border guard 3: There are 4 of you and no one has money?
Me: No
Oman border guard 3: Fine go to the next window

Oman border guard 5 (female): Where’s your paper
Me: He didn’t give me one.
Her: You must pay.
Me: But why, I’ve never paid before.
Her: Wait a minute. (She comes back with paper). You’ve got wasta.

We finally leave Oman

Emirates border, there are 5 lines but only one with a person working. The sign above it clearly states Emirates and GCC citizens only. I drive through and am told to go park and go inside. We go inside the building, there is no one there. We finally got stamped back into the country.

After our eventful day we had to stop for Ice Cream!