To start let’s have a quick update from this year’s Explore at the Royal Geographical Society. Did you know there are more than 90 organisations on the RGS’s books looking for volunteers or staff to join their expeditions?

To give you a prime example, the gates have just closed for gap-year students with a lust for adventure and a passion for environmental science on The British Schools Exploring Society’s Extreme Arctic expedition to Svalbard this spring.

To find out more and search the database of organisations looking for people just like you, go here.

In the next two articles I’ll be profiling some of the opportunities available and giving you ideas for two years of space exploration, driving skills and tactical firearms on British soil.

Being Bedouin - A Talk

The evenings are drawing in, but it’s time once again to girdle your loins and brave the weather for an evening at the National Geographic on Regent Street.

This months speaker, Mark Abouzeid, is flying in directly from expedition in Jordan to join us on the 24th. His talk “Being Bedouin” will be about the disappearing desert culture of Wadi Rum, accompanied by video and images.

“How do you capture the entire character of a culture that has no written record, has lived for centuries in relative isolation and exists in complete harmony with one of the world’s most extreme environments?”

I’ve worked closely with Mark over the last couple of years, from the North Pole to the desert, and I can guarantee that he is a totally engaging speaker and this is an opportunity not to miss.

He is one of the founders of the Bedouin Heritage Project and I’ll be featuring some more videos from them over the coming weeks.

As ever the talks are free and last an hour and you will retire to a local hostelry after.

WHERE: 1st Floor, The National Geographic Store, 83-97 Regents Street, London W1B 4EW (see map)

WHEN: 6.30pm, Tuesday, 24th November, 2009.

Full details on the talk below, more details on the weekend here, or go to: www.rgs.org/Explore.

George McGavin Lecture: Full Details Explore 2009 Friday night lecture Exploring biological discoveries from the ends of the earth. A talk by George McGavin · Friday 13 November 2009 at 18.30 · Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London SW7 2AR Cost: £10. Free to Explore delegates and speakers. A handful of scientists and some of the world’s top wildlife filmmakers have visited remote locations in the dense jungles of Borneo, Guyana and Papua New Guinea to document the wealth of wildlife that lives there and highlight the threats to its survival. Working in these difficult environments can test people and equipment to breaking point but the rewards are more than worth it. Nothing else comes close to exploration and biological discovery for drama, excitement and danger. George McGavin shares his exciting discoveries with film clips from his three BBC expeditions, with a talk to open  the Explore 2009 weekend. George McGavin is an Honorary Research Associate of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and Visiting Professor of Entomology at the University of Derby. His research has taken him from the tropical forests of papua New Guinea to the caves of Thailand and from the jungles of Belize to the savannas of Tanzania. George has written numerous books on insects and other animals , and was the chief scientific consultant for the BBC landmark series, Life in the Undergrowth, presented by David Attenborough. He co-presented Expedition Borneo a five part BBC series shown in 2007 and Lost Land of the Jaguar, a three part series screened in 2008. The most recent BBC expedition series,Lost Land of the Volcano, filmed in Papua New Guinea, will be shown on BBC1 in September 2009.

Watch the Video: What is Explore?

Ever wanted to plan your own expedition? Raise funds? Learn how to communicate and navigate, deal with logistics and politics when you’re on the road, or find out what to do with all that information and experience when you’re back?

Then you need to get yourself along to EXPLORE – the expedition & fieldwork planning weekend. Held each year for the last four decades it’s where the potential explorers of the future meet to plan their expeditions, network, and learn from those who’ve already been. 

It’s the kind of thing I wish I’d known about years ago.

The weekend includes lectures and workshops with expert speakers in all fields designed to help you realise your dreams and give you the opportunity to mingle with other like minded people. So don’t sit there wondering ‘What if?’, make it happen.

You could be designing and leading your own expedition before you know it, whether it’s a mountaineering and trekking expedition, tropical forest expedition, polar & arctic environment, desert and savanna environment, above and below the oceans, river canoeing and kayaking, vehicle based expedition, or a bicycle expedition.

To find out more click one of the following links or watch the ‘What is Explore?’ video presented by Paul Deegan.

Programme | Speakers | Opening Lecture (with George McGavin) | Book Online

Top 101 Adventure Twitterers

Barely a week on the web and I’m at number 47 on Mindaugas Markus excellent new travel blog and online TV show Abroadening, but hey, it’s in no particular order so I’m chuffed to bits.

So check out the top 101 adventurers and while you’re there why not make their day and sign up to their tweets?

Here’s the 101 Most Awesome Adventure & Travel Twitterers You Should Be Following in full.

Don’t forget to add Markus and me to your own Twitter feed:

Originally appeared in the Friday Magazine in Gulf News

Skiing to the Pole | Gallery

The true geographic pole of 90 degrees north is one of the most inaccessible places on the planet. It’s where temperatures of -20 to -30 degrees C are considered balmy. The only life you’re likely to see there are seals, bearded scientists, or possibly the polar bear that’s been silently stalking you for its supper.

Unlike the South Pole it’s not even on dry land. It lies beneath a shifting sheet of ice that stretches from the shores of Russia to the glacial plains of Canada and Greenland. But now thanks to the enterprising Russian agency VICAAR the North Pole is becoming more accessible. In addition to ice breaker tours in summer they also operate the floating ice camp Barneo during the month of April. A time of year when the daylight lasts all night and the ice is still solid enough to support you.

From there it’s just a short helicopter ride to the last degree of latitude before you hit the pole. So what used to cost a small fortune – a North Pole expedition – now costs about as much as a new sensible family car, still not cheap, but then who wants to be sensible anyway?

-4 Days

It takes four flights to reach Svalbard, an island off the Norwegian coast, and the most northerly inhabited place on the planet. I set off for the airport before dawn, the waning moon a reminder that I won’t be seeing night for at least another nine days. This really isn’t a trip like any I’ve ever taken before.

My connection through Paris makes its way north to Oslo. Then onto Tromsø the self titled ‘Gateway to the Arctic’. The flight in is something else. I’ve read about the beauty of the Norwegian Fjords and as the plane descends into the small city through picture postcard mountains and rocky inlets the realisation hits me – I’m going to the North Pole. In the airport I’m greeted by a poster of cheesily cheerful Norwegians sitting in a hot tub at Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg, it’s the first hotel of my trip and I can’t wait to get there.

On the final leg to Svalbard the hairstyles and high fashions of Oslo and Paris are long gone. ‘I’m pleased to announce the weather in Svalbard’s Longyearbyen is a glorious -29⁰C.’ quips the captain. The sturdy looking passengers appreciate his timely humour.

We fly in over an even more mountainous Svalbard shoreline. In the murky twilight that passes for night time at this latitude I’m struck by the sheer size and emptiness of the place. As we approach Longyearbyen airport small bergs dot the cold slate grey of the unforgiving sea beneath us. The forced good humour of the captain makes sense, if the engines fail and we plunge into those freezing waters, we’re dead, it’s that simple.

Thankfully we don’t and I’m met at the airport by a smiling Sascha, our driver, and Mikhail Lamakin, an arctic climatologist by training and guide for our journey to the pole. He tells me there have been delays at the ice camp due to a tractor that refused to work and the dearth of replacement parts in the region. He hasn’t slept for days.

Behind me an excitable Alexei Dmitriev bounds over to tell us he’s just seen the arctic marathoners heading out to Barneo. They’ve been hanging around in the hotels of Longyearbyen while the equipment problems are dealt with and the weather clears. A marathon at the pole makes a strange kind of sense; to stay warm you just have to keep going.

-3 Days

Mary-Ann’s is an old mining lodge; the clean and simple single room I’ve booked is functional and above all warm. Neither chained nor themed the hotel retains the character of its former occupants. The people that stay there today crave comfort without pretension. The kind of people I want to meet. In the lounge the previous evening I even managed to speak some rusty Arabic with Hassan. A Libyan who’s been working for three years in this northern frontier town where the men ride skidoos and nobody leaves home without a shotgun – those polar bears might look cute from a distance, but up close they’re fast and deadly.

Over breakfast I meet ten submariners from the Indian Navy on their way to ski the last degree of latitude to the North Pole. Raj Kumar the leader of their expedition tells me that they have a passion for adventure; they’ve previously scaled Everest and trekked to the South Pole. It’s great to see that the arctic isn’t just the domain of crusty old white boys called Ranulph or Vladimir.

The morning is spent collecting our arctic kit from the expedition warehouse. Then Alexei takes me to meet the town’s cultural heritage advisor to discuss the flexible dynamics of land issues and citizenship that affect Russian and Norwegian business interests. We then head out for food, coffee and last minute supplies. At the Kroa Bar we realise we really are a long way from everywhere else. It’s the first place I’ve ever seen whale meat on the menu, a forbidden food in most parts of the world.

Mikhail treats our six person group to dinner at a restaurant on the edge of town. It used to be the place for miners to drink and fight, but now hosts a suitably high brow reputation. It’s an opportunity for us all to meet for the first time. We’re independent men and women with bloodlines from the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas. World citizens with nationalities that don’t necessarily match our heritage. This leads to an inevitable but short lived game of ‘who’s the spook?’ Nobody wins.

We make the most of our last opportunity for a real meal, from here on in it’s packet food and melt water.

-2 Days

Our sleds are packed high with tents, cooking equipment, gas, dried provisions and skis. On board the Russian Antonov 74 airplane we’re joined by the Indian Navy, along with an American and a Russian, Kai and Sergei, here for a longer nine day ski trek to the pole with their Austrian guide Christophe. Also on the flight is Georges Baumann a lone explorer on a test run for a coast to coast trek from Siberia to Canada.

The AN74 looks rickety but thankfully flies more smoothly than most airlines could ever hope and, with its jet engines mounted above the wings rather than beneath, it lands easily on narrow runways cut through jungles or ice.

At Barneo we are met by Victor Boyarsky, arctic explorer and organizer of our trip. It’s his agency VICAAR that makes all this possible. We hump our gear to the wonderfully warm mess tent only to find out our departure is going to be delayed at least a day. With nothing else to do we pitch a camp nearby and get to know our way around. Victor shows us how to make the gas stoves work in cold temperatures, essential guidance as they’re our only source of heat.

When I venture outside to take photographs of the Indians leaving for their first day of skiing the temperature falls below -35⁰C. I’m wearing thin camera friendly gloves and within two minutes my hands are so cold they hurt, really hurt, to the point where my head spins and I begin to feel sick. I rush back to the tent and literally thrust them into the stove’s flame to warm them up. Once they’ve defrosted I grab a heavier set of gloves and head back out.

That evening my tent mate and I tuck into one of the many packs of dehydrated food we’ve been given. They’re labelled in Russian so it’s a literal pot luck what we end up with. One chicken, noodle and couscous concoction later we finish up with excessive amounts of chocolates, biscuits and handfuls of trail mix.

In the Arctic Circle you don’t have to watch your calories. Even sitting still in those temperatures is an effort and your body uses energy stored as fat to keep you warm. On an average trek you’ll burn somewhere in the region of 7000 calories a day. In our daily meal boxes there’s over 5000 high-fat calories and it seems like we’re eating constantly just to maintain energy levels.

Water is also not an issue, we’re surrounded by it. The pot is constantly on the boil melting the palatable drift snow and the less tasty salt water of the ice.

And there’s the thing about the Arctic, it feels like land but it isn’t, even though you can walk over the horizon in any direction the occasional whiff of salt water and the sensation of the ice moving beneath your feet reminds you where you are.

Night stubbornly refuses to fall but we eventually settle into our -40⁰C rated sleeping bags, remembering to zip up the neck section to seal the warmth into our bodies. Then it’s warm hat pulled down over the eyes and the sleeping bag’s hood over the face to block out the midnight sun.

It doesn’t work, the light keeps us awake and we chat until the early hours, too excited to sleep.

-1 Day

We’re supposed to head out today and make for the pole, but one of our team is ill. She stays wrapped up in the tent and tries to recover while Christophe takes us on a training day with skis and partially loaded sledges. We change into thinner gear which in the extreme cold seems a perverse thing to do. Christophe tells us that if we don’t we’ll overheat when we’re skiing hard.

We head out into the icy expanse of this great northern desert. It’s wonderful to be away from the claustrophobia of camp. The two strongest skiers break away from the pack. I’m not far behind them and just like yesterday my hands begin to worry me. This time I can’t feel the ends of my fingers and we’re barely ten minutes away from base.

I want to ask someone what I should do, but the guys ahead are out of hearing range and the rest of the group is a way behind me. I could stop and wait for them to catch up but that will only make me colder. I push on as hard as I can in an effort to keep the blood flowing through my extremities. Even with hand warmers in my gloves it doesn’t get any better. Eventually Christophe stops and gives me a questioning thumbs up? I give him the thumbs down. He tells me to spin my arms through the air to get the blood flowing, but after two minutes I still can’t feel a thing. Then he gets me to straighten my hands out. Hot needles of pain stab through the senseless finger tips as the blood begins to flow back into them. But I don’t care, it’s a happy pain.

Christophe tells me later that he was beginning to get worried, but right then we ski on through the startling alien landscape of the arctic and with the adrenalin pumping I really don’t want to be anywhere else.

0 Days

The camp is stripped down and packed on our sleds and we board the MI-8 helicopter that will take us to our final destination a half day’s ski from the pole. We’ve lost a day already and with illness still in the group the decision has been made that we camp out for an extra day rather than ski.

For a city kid like me, only a few short hours from the North Pole, it’s still a dream coming true.

The helicopter is noisy but warm and flown by the hardiest and hairiest looking pilots I’ve seen outside a war zone. We sit in two long lines on either side of the deck and stare out over the vast emptiness and wide cracks of open water beneath us.

There’s nothing and nobody out there, no wonder my insurers were getting twitchy about recovery costs. We drop off Kai, Sergei and Christophe for the 110 kilometres and seven days of their last degree ski trip. They have a lot of distance to make up. Like us they’ve left a little later than planned and with the ice constantly moving beneath your feet you can ski all day and find the drift has taken you back further than you’ve skied.

Then it’s our turn, we drag our sleds from the chopper and prepare our harnesses and skis for the trek ahead. It’s beautifully sunny but it’s deceptive, subconsciously you still expect the sun to be warm.

With no camp nearby and the helicopter gone the last vestiges of civilization are behind us and for the first time since we arrived in the arctic I feel free.

The wind is behind us and our pace fast, the sweat is pouring off us. My hand freezes up again but this time I know how to fix it. The sleds topple over in the snow-filled cracks between ice sheets and stick on ridges but overall there’s nothing to do except switch off the whining monologue of commutes, deadlines and suburban stress and let the wilderness take over. I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time and there are moments where the landscape simply takes my breath away. Add a red filter to my goggles and we could be on Mars.

Victor is leader for the North Pole stretch of our trip and he pauses for a break. He points in the direction of the pole and tells us it’s been moving around us as we’ve been skiing.

We push on and only a couple of kilometres later Victor cries out: “We’re here!”

By the time we’ve skied up to his position, disconnected harnesses and removed cameras from backpacks the GPS tell us we’ve already drifted a couple of hundred metres from where we first stopped, the geographic North Pole – the top of the world.

He fires a flare to mark our position and we grab quick photographs of each other. Before we’ve even had a chance for our arrival to sink in we’re off and heading towards a sheltered spot nearby.

Once we’ve made camp we all dive into our tents for a hearty rehydrated meal and a well earned sleep.

+1 Day

When I wake I can’t stop smiling. We’re at the North Pole. I repeat this quietly to myself as I light the fire. We endure a breakfast of salty porridge and brackish tea. Outside the tent we hear our neighbours talking; apparently the industrious Alexei has been walking around in bare feet and dug a camp toilet for us during the early hours. Bless him.

Victor greets us in his underwear, whereas I’ve got about four layers of thermal clothing on. I guess that’s the difference when you’ve acclimatised a little. And I find this happens during our enforced break. We have time to wander around our small camp and over the icy ridges nearby. Whereas two days ago my fingers could barely cope with a couple of minutes I’m now happily snapping away with my camera and passing the time of day chatting with my neighbours. But you can never be complacent; you can’t feel frost bite set in.

In Victor’s tent he offers me his Satellite phone and I make two calls home, one to my grandparents – a frosty greeting with lots of love I tell them – and one to my mother. And this is where it hits home what we’ve done and where we are. The hint of disbelief and awe in my family’s voice makes it all seem much more real.

Initially we even moaned about not being able to ski more and then about having to spend a day on ice simply camping, but I’m so glad we did. You get a real sense of where you are after 24 hours in the same spot. Your routines become established, you know what works to keep you warm and what doesn’t.

You also develop a sense of where you really are, sat on top of a planet with a fiery ball of light circling overhead. Time loses its meaning, depending on which way you face it can be either midnight or midday. The nearest we get to a sunset is the arctic twilight. It’s a truly magical light, one that neither I nor the camera know how to truly capture.

+2 Days

The following morning we pack up all the tents bar one and Victor offers us a traditional and perfectly chilled Russian toast for breakfast. The helicopter takes us back to Barneo and then the plane back to Longyearbyen and a comfortable night in a superior room of the Raddisson SAS Polar Hotel, the northernmost full service hotel in the world.

Over dinner Victor presents us with a certificate of our trip and small statue. A dark metal spike driven into a slice of white Italian marble that looks just like a piece of arctic ice. Traditionally the Inuit thought of the pole as a spike, the twist in its stem is Victor’s addition and represents the suffering endured by those who travel there.

+3 Days

My last day is spent recovering and buying souvenirs and postcards before catching the red eye flight back home. The receptionist of my third hotel, The Spitsbergen Guesthouse, a local, spies the VICAAR North Pole badge on my jacket. ‘You really went to the North Pole?’ she asks.

‘Yes, of course,’ I say.

She nods her head with a new found respect. I’m quite taken aback, you get it in your head that everybody does this, even though I know only 200 people will make the trip from Barneo this year and we were the first people to ski from there this season. Emma-Kate, one of our group, was only the second Australian woman to ever ski to the pole.

+ 4-8 Days

Flying out of Svalbard and along the Norwegian fjords is even more spectacular than flying in. I’m reluctant to leave. I fight the urge to run up to people and say, ‘Do you know where I’ve been?’ By the time I make my connection in Paris, I’m longing for the wide open spaces and marketing free landscape I’ve left behind.

A few days later the sensation of having done something unique, different and unlike everything else remains. I now understand why people go off and do crazy things in far flung places. Thank goodness I didn’t buy a sensible car. Next time I think I’ll try to stay a little longer.

HOW TO GET THERE

Expeditions

VICAAR and www.northpolextreme.com run North Pole expeditions and operate the  Barneo ice camp during the month of April as well as ice breaker tours and husky rides throughout  the rest of the year.

There are several other operators offering specialised trips through VICAAR/Barneo such as  www.voyageconcepts.co.uk who the Indian Navy used, www.icetrek.com and if you’ve got the  stamina for an arctic marathon www.npmarathon.com.

You can also travel to the pole from Canada and Greenland, see www.thepoles.com.

Svalbard accommodation

Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg: One to four person guest house rooms in the Polarrigg and Luksus-riggen.  www.polarriggen.com | +47 79 02 37 02

Radisson SAS Polar Hotel Spitsbergen: This full service hotel offers suites and superiors all year round. The hotel has amazing view from the dining area and a spa on the way. www.radissonsas.com | +47 79 02 34 50

Spitsbergen Guesthouse: The backpacking and budget traveller option, again clean, comfortable and warm but less sound proofed than all the rest. www.spitsbergentravel.no | +47 79 02 63 00

Basecamp Hotel: A timber themed but well thought out hotel in the style of a trapper’s cabin with the gourmet Kroa Bar on site. www.basecampexplorer.com | +47 7902 4600

Excursions

Dog-sledding, glacier treks, skidoo expeditions, ice breaker tours, sailing and trips to old mines can all be booked through your hotel and the websites above. Do shop around for the best price.

Whether it’s something cool and classy for balmy nights on a rooftop terrace, or Savile Row styling at a fraction of the cost, Dubai maintains the long tradition of providing tailor-made garments crafted for the more discerning traveller, combining Middle Eastern value with European quality and styling.

There are a wealth of tailors and textile shops in the back alleys and Souks of Bur Dubai where you can select materials from any of the thousands on offer and take them to one of many local tailors who will construct suits, shirts, skirts or shorts in next to no time. If it is an outright bargain that you are after then this is the place to go, however if you want something of high-quality that you are going to wear more than a couple of times at prices that still feel like you are stealing, then you would be wise to look into some of Dubai’s more refined outfitters.

Recommended Retailers
As with any personalised service, if possible, it is always worth asking for recommendations from others. I was advised to try one of three Dubai tailors: Royal Fashions, Lobo or Kachin [further recommendations can be found in the Retail Therapy article in the shopping section]. All three have branches in or around Bur Dubai and Karama, however Royal Fashions also have two shops conveniently situated in Madinat Jumeirah and Jumeirah Beach Hotel and as their tailored shirts come recommended by The Economist no less, I decided to pay them a visit.

Royal Fashions is run by the Sawlani family, who have been in Dubai since 1952, from a time when there wasn’t even a retail trade to speak of. What started out as a few small shops soon grew into a successful textile business and when in the late Eighties there was a big push to develop the economy and particularly tourism, Royal Fashions decided that this was a good time to create a tourist friendly tailoring business. They now provide a service where a tailor made shirt can be delivered in less than 48 hours and a two piece suit in just two to three days. If you are here on business and are pushed for time they can even arrange to bring their service direct to your hotel room.

This formula has proven very successful with three branches now open in the Dubai area. Due to their location the two Jumeirah branches primarily cater for the tourism market while the third although being open to all, mainly provides services for high-profile locals, including the deputy ruler of Dubai, his Highness Sheikh Hamdan, as well as bankers and diplomats. Their success and hopefully this also means their quality, can also be measured by the growing number of clients who are visiting Dubai in order to have their suits made by them.

What to Expect
If you are familiar with tailoring, then you will already have experienced the leisurely and gratifying process of picking a material, specifying your style and being measured for the cut. If not then I am happy to report that the experience is distinctly more satisfying than the usual ‘shop ‘til you drop’ experience of trekking from one Mall to the next looking for the elusive item that fits and looks just how you want it to.

On entering the boutique-like ambience of Royal Fashions you are first ushered into a seat and brought a drink before being guided through the first step of deciding what you would eventually like to wear from the vast array of materials on offer. The walls bulge from floor to ceiling with fabric and many of the materials are sourced from the same suppliers that would be used in a Hugo Boss, Armani or Brioni suit. This was the only time-consuming part of the process as there were so many fabrics on offer that I was quite overwhelmed with choice by the number of renowned European names lining the wall; Dormeuil, Charles Clayton, Zegna, Clissold, Stotz, John Foster and Hammerle to name just a few. Rather than the one suit I had come for I think I would quite happily have walked out with four or five.

After much deliberation, I finally settled on a luxurious charcoal, crease-proof and subtly pinstriped ‘Super 100’s’ woollen yarn from Giovanni Tonella. In Dubai’s heat I was uncertain about picking something so dark in colour but was confidently assured that being based in the sunny Middle East one of the house specialities is, unsurprisingly, tailoring for a hot climate. The suit would therefore weigh around 30 percent less than something you would wear at other times of the year and so there was no pressing need for me to look like the man from Del Monte just yet!

The Cut
Regardless of the material, ultimately the final suit will only ever be as good as the tailor who makes it. The Tailor, sometimes known as the Master Cutter, is preferably the man who should take your measurements. As each master’s tailoring and measuring style will vary it is a sensible precaution to let one craftsman take control from start to finish. On my visit to Royal fashions two masters with different specialities came to take my measurements, one for the suit and one for the shirt.

This is one of the many small nuances that make a tailored item of clothing so very different from something bought in a shop. Over the years I can confidently say that I have only ever found one off-the-peg suit that fitted my shoulders properly without making the rest of the suit hang like the skirts of a whirling Dervish in full spin. Even in designer outlets I have found that from one shop to the next my shirt size has varied between large, medium and small for no particularly obvious reason. I can only assume that each designer habitually adds a little more here and takes a little more there depending on their own undeclared preference.

It is the tailor then who becomes the designer of your new outfit and it his expert cutting that defines whether a larger person will look thinner or a slim person more full-bodied and it is this attention to individual needs that can make a visit to the tailor so rewarding.

A Perfect Fit
A short time later it was back to the shop for a second and in my case final fitting where the partially made suit was tested for size and any last minute alterations made to match my taste and shape. The material, as promised, was light and wearable in the Dubai sunshine and I was informed that if the end result had been less than expected I could have had the suit remade at their cost.

This almost never happens and while waiting to pick up the final product I browsed their guest book that contains page after page of reports from satisfied customers from as far a field as Japan and Belgium. In the entire book I could only find two not entirely happy customers and even one of those intended to come back.

On discussing the benefits of tailoring with Ashok Sawlani, managing partner of Royal Fashions, he explained to me that “If you’re looking for a label then of course tailoring is not important.” However by using a reputable tailor he says “Exactly what you’re looking for, you will get. This is not possible in a ready-made garment, whether branded or unbranded, cheap or expensive.” This is why Mr Sawlani takes great satisfaction from the happy faces he sees everyday in his shop and why on receiving a modest demand for payment I left with a smile on mine.

Breakout#1: Materials 101

Fabric: From Alpaca to Tweed there is a huge variety of fabrics on offer but the finer wool of the Super 100’s and soft Cashmeres are the classic materials for formal styling, comfort and exclusivity. Aim for higher numbers in the Super 100’s range; in theory the higher the number, the finer the yarn used to weave the fabric and therefore the better the material. Dubai’s huge selection of linen and cotton are perfect for formal and more relaxed occasions however they do crease easily and can look messy.

Weight: If you live in a hot climate then it makes sense to go for one of the modern lightweight materials preferably in the range of 250-270 grams per metre. For more temperate regions a heavier fabric is required, ideally 320 grams or above. Colours: The choice of suit colour really depends on how and where you intend to wear it. Traditionally light colours tend to be for more casual occasions whereas you would usually opt for darker tones for more formal settings such as office wear, weddings or formal dinners.

Pattern: Patterns in men’s fabrics are usually reserved to the classic pinstripes or Prince of Wales checks, and while neither goes out of fashion their popularity does fluctuate from season to season. If you are daring to be different you could opt for one of the more unusual patterned fabrics such as the zigzagged Herringbone or the sharp black and white contrast of Houndstooth. If you are buying patterned suits, always make sure the lines of the pattern match up to each other along the seams.

Breakout#2: Style Guide

Shirts: Classic collars and double cuffs with cuff links are the way to go when making an impression in a formal setting. Casual occasions can be more relaxed with button down collars and cuffs. No pockets are traditional on a double cuff shirt and have been the business fashion for many years, while remaining optional for other styles.

Jackets: The sleeve of your jacket should reveal at most one half inch of shirt sleeve. For classic and formal suits 3¼- 3½ is advised for the collar, but take an inch off if you’re going casual.

Vents: Two vents allow ease of movement as well as disguising bigger bottoms. So, for the fuller figure, add vents. Ideally they should overlap by 3/4 of an inch so that your trousers are hidden from view.

Buttons: Three buttons are standard but for the more generously proportioned two or even one button can provide a more flattering cut. Four decorative buttons may also be worn on the jacket’s sleeve.

Waistcoats/Vest: Regarded as very formal and are primarily for business or wedding suits. Trousers: Hemmed trousers aren’t currently in vogue but if you do want to fly in the face of fashion opt for a one and a half inch turn-up.

Pleats also aren’t in fashion but if comfort is a priority pleats offer you just a little extra manoeuvrability and breathing space by being slightly looser around the thighs and hips.

Breakout#3: Accentuate the positive

Height: To appear thinner and taller – buy a pinstripe. If you are short already never buy checks because this will only make you look even shorter. Avoid lighter colours and opt for darker more slimming tones that have the added effect of making the wearer appear taller. For tall people the opposite holds true pinstripes will only make you taller while checks will make you appear less towering.

Weight: For skinny people if you want to add body go for light colours and checks. For the fuller figure opt for dark colours and pinstripes to hide a multitude of sins.

Breakout#4: Bubble Trouble
When a tailor doesn’t use a proper fusing machine or fabric bubbling can occur as the glue dries and cracks. What can be done?

Bespoke: Opt for the more expensive ‘floating’ panels of the bespoke suit, which allows the two layers of fabric to move independently of each other and is also referred to as hand made or horsehair canvas. The rule of thumb is you need to factor in double the cost for the tailor’s time (not material cost) to create a bespoke suit.

Fusing: Always ask your tailor how they fuse their suits, if they use good quality fusing material and a dedicated fusing machine then bubbling should rarely occur.

Breakout#5: Women’s Tailoring

Informal: If you’re after something extraordinary or more colourful then head to one of the dedicated shops in the Bur Dubai textile souk where there is a wide selection of material on offer. With no commitment to a particular tailor you are then free to take your fabric to the place of your choosing. Take care when selecting your own fabrics as it is time consuming and choosing the wrong material can ruin the outfit.

Formal: For day-to-day office wear the fabrics tend to be more or less the same as men’s, so choose a trustworthy tailor as outlined in this article for your formal blouses, suits, skirts and trousers.

Off the beaten track | stay in the rooftop rooms of the XVA Art Gallery

Butler service, gold plated interiors, spectacular skylines and chauffeur driven sun kissed luxury is what Dubai is famous for and what keeps the city’s five star hotels occupied at nearly 90% capacity all year round.

But not everybody who visits Dubai craves the upmarket package holiday or the golden pomp of a self proclaimed ‘seven-star’ hotel, nor do they desire the no star, cockroach end of the Dubai spectrum.

Already a key stopover destination, the emirate is positioning itself as an Arabian Orlando and with the ambitious Dubai World Central on its way – the world’s largest airport and challenger to Heathrow’s supremacy as the transatlantic gateway – five star hotel stock is set to grow from 40% to a whopping 70%.

There is clearly an obvious need for more genuine mid-level options.

Happily, if you are in town for business, friends, family, or just to see what all the fuss is about, there are now some less publicised but excellent home grown alternatives.

Forced to adapt to the relentless profiteering of Dubai’s landlords, the 85% expatriate population have found their own ways to meet the needs of the mid-range market by establishing a growing number of bed and breakfasts, guest houses, ‘pensions’ and hotel apartments around the city.

For many, these hotel chain alternatives offer genuine value for money and a far more memorable experience than the larger hotels.

Due to the vast numbers of tower blocks thrown up across the city, hotel apartments have fast become the most popular option. There are recognised and reputable brands emerging such as Coral International, +971 (4) 2233448, or London and Dubai based Minc Apartments, +971 (4) 330 0334. Minc’s luxury studios and apartments with shared swimming pools go for 350-450AED a night in Bur Dubai and Al Barsha, doubling for properties in the executive focused Dubai Marina.

Not to be left behind, four and five-star hotels also offer apartments, they start at 960AED a night in the Marriot, 1100AED in the Dusit, and 1700AED for Grosvenor House.

The best value options are usually located in Deira or Bur Dubai close to Dubai Creek and the sights, smells and deals of the gold, spice and perfume souks. These areas can be a little brash and colourful but you genuinely feel like you are in another country rather than a replica of somewhere else. A dependable option is the Golden Sands Hotel Apartments in Bur Dubai, 550AED for a one room studio, although miles from the promised sands, www.goldensandsdubai.com, +971 (4) 355 5553. See South Travels for an ever growing list of hotel apartments.

Hidden in the narrow lanes behind the Grand mosque in Bastakiya, Dubai’s historical section, is the chic XVA Gallery and Hotel. It’s a B&B quite unlike any other in the city, an art salon for regional and international art, and one of Dubai’s more authentic Middle Eastern experiences.

One of the rooftop rooms

Minimalist Arabian styled doubles look down on the XVA’s open courtyard gallery and restaurant with bedroom views out over the rooftops, towers and minarets of the neighbouring souks. The singles in the adjacent courtyard are more basic but visitors to the rooftop rooms visit time and time again. The muezzin’s early morning call to prayer is a characteristic reminder of where you are. Deluxe doubles cost 750AED a night and include wifi, breakfast and taxes, www.xvagallery.com, +971 (4) 353 5383.

You’ll also find incredible street food nearby with over 25 international cuisines on offer. Middle Eastern mezzeh staples like falafel and shwarma are plentiful, while some of the best southern and northern Indian, Thai, Iranian and Phillipino foods found outside their home countries cost pennies rather than five star pounds.

In the leafy, beachfront suburbs of Jumeirah and Umm Suqueim, where only Emiratis are permitted to own villas, there are several pleasant B&B options run by western expats in cool, high ceilinged modern Arab villas with real streets, shops, cafes and beaches nearby – a contrast to the vast highways and cookie cutter developments of suburban Dubai.

Easily the most well respected and professional set up is La Maison D’Hotes, +971 (4) 344 1838, a three villa French run operation that has its own restaurant, business centre, conference facilities, two swimming pools, airport transfers and even French and English baby sitting. Doubles start at 800AED.

Most Dubai B&Bs are well run with a distinct Big Brother house ambience, but, be careful, there are fly by night operators to be wary of.

One recent visitor staying in a self-styled B&B ‘franchise’ marketing itself as Dubai’s best kept secret, found the breakfast arrangements; wifi and laundry facilities advertised all but non-existent; air-conditioning units caught fire; and the small pool became clogged with green algae.

Thankfully operations like this are rare. The easiest way to determine the legal status of your temporary home is to ask whether hotel and municipality taxes are included in the tariff.

A more typical setup is the German expat who advertises on www.dubizzle.com and provides business travellers with a clean efficiently run double room, with en-suite, kitchen, garden and separate entrance for 380AED a night.

There are also several guest houses that offer this simple spare room formula for even less, such as Townhouse976 and the down to earth Gum Tree. You also have the plush executive guest house La Maison (not to be mistaken with La Maison D’Hotes) out near the airport and the Al Barsha Guest House behind Mall of the Emirates and Ski Dubai. www.travel-library.com and www.allbedandbreakfast.com/, prices range from 200-600AED per night.

But, if the shared house vibe just isn’t for you, then you may as well rent a whole villa. Prices vary depending on size, location and service; three bed Dubai Short Stay villas start at 12,600AED per week, while a Caravanserai serviced villa sleeps four for £1800.

For groups, couples or families a week in a villa can cost less than two to three nights in some five-stars; they can also provide concierge services, maids and on-demand limos if you just can’t say no to a touch of Arabian opulence while you are away.

1. Jumeirah Mosque

Dubai is growing at an astonishing rate. From its original home at the mouth of the creek, a seemingly endless supply of skyscrapers, hotel resorts, malls and identikit suburbs have exploded across previously people-free deserts and offshore to a series of ambitious man-made islands. With limited public transport, eight lane highways and adventurous driving standards, taxis or chauffeured cars are by far the most convenient way to experience the beginnings of this brave new Dubai.

For a quick reminder of where you are in the world, head straight to the Jumeirah Mosque on Beach Road, one of the largest and arguably most beautiful Mosques in the city. Built in the medieval Fatimid tradition, the detailed stone working of its two minarets are a fine example of modern Islamic architecture. Non-Muslims aren’t usually allowed inside Dubai’s mosques but thanks to an ‘open doors, open minds’ policy, each Sunday and Thursday at 10am visitors can take an organised tour to explore the mosque and ask questions about Islam. Conservative dress covering arms and legs is expected, women should also cover their hair.

2. Souk Madinat Jumeirah

During the short cab ride to the impressive Souk Madinat, look out over the rooftops of the wealthy Jumeirah suburb to witness Dubai’s ever changing skyline as the towering edifices of the new business district shoot upwards at the rate of a floor a week.

Part of an expansive hotel complex, the Madinat Jumeirah provides a refreshingly relaxed setting for an inspired recreation of an old world souk. The aroma of oud (wood perfume) lingers throughout its winding traditional covered alleyways, which contain every kind of Persian rug, delicate fabric, ceremonial dagger, traditional art, craft and decor that you could desire. Slightly pricier than the downtown street version but easier to reach and to navigate, it’s an excellent place to pick up tasteful souvenirs and trinkets for those back home. Souk Madinat’s shops and stalls also open early and close late, as shoppers slowly give way to the laid back theatre and restaurant crowd and then to the nocturnal fashionistas of the dance floors.

At any time of day if you tire of shopping you can stop for one of the regions energy boosting staples such as sweet, cinnamon flavoured Arabic coffee or a mouth-watering lemon and mint juice in one of the many restaurants, cafes and wine bars that line the restaurant promenade’s man made creek.

3. Madinat Jumeirah Beach

As you sip your drink you will inevitably succumb to the temptation to take a trip aboard a faux abra on the faux creek. It’s then just a short walk through peaceful villas to reach the palm laden beach, Burj Al Arab in the background. Reserved for paying guests, the way to gain access to the abras and beach is to make a reservation at one of the Madinat’s excellent seafront restaurants. For a truly Arabian experience try a fruit flavoured shisha reclining in the open-air Majlis at Shimmers Restaurant, or take a relaxed barefoot stroll along the wooden boardwalk to Pier Chic for one of the best cocktails in Dubai. Once you have had your fill of the beach hop on a passing golf cart and ask your driver to take you all the way to the Burj Al Arab.

4. The Burj Al Arab

The building’s sail-like exterior is probably Dubai’s most familiar postcard image but its lesser known vulviform entrance leaves an equally memorable picture lingering in the mind’s eye.

On its opening in 1999 this building put Dubai on tourism wish lists the world over and is still its most iconic structure to date. Happily, it thoroughly lives up to its over the top seven-star billing, from the mood-lit fountains and rolling fog in the cathedral like foyer, the wall of fish in the undersea themed restaurant with ‘submarine’ access, the 22 carat gold leaf on virtually everything and the 202 butler serviced, duplex suites.

Again unless you are a paying guest the only way to gain access to the Burj Al Arab is to have an advance reservation at one of its restaurants or bars. This can also be used to gain access from the Madinat promenade.

Once you’ve got your breath back after taking in the foyer, a panoramic glass elevator will whisk you 200 metres up to the Sky View and Al Muntaha restaurants. Suspended over the Arabian Gulf you can enjoy afternoon tea for around 220AED (£32) with a view out over The Palms, The World or Dubai. According to one regular British tea drinker it is simply “one of the best views in the world” and worth every penny.

5. Mall of the Emirates

Although it is within sight of the Burj don’t walk to Mall of the Emirates, if the heat doesn’t get you the drivers certainly will.

The newest addition to Dubai’s mall portfolio even has its own five-star Kempinski hotel and is more shopping resort than mall. It is an ideal place to soak up some multicultural flavours and watch the assertively attired hunt for the latest trends among three stories of department stores, designer boutiques and salons such as Harvey Nichols, Dolce & Gabbana, Franck Provost, Vacheron Constantin and Louis Vuitton.

Dubai’s apparent mall obsession is however more than just Middle Eastern extravagance writ large; there are compelling reasons for their popularity. With summer temperatures exceeding 50⁰C it is often too hot and humid to stroll about outside. The cool air conditioned malls are also where locals go to flirt, see and be seen. Bluetooth dating now enables young men and women to say hello, even from behind the veil.

6. Ski Dubai

Mall of the Emirates is also home to the largest indoor snow park in the world. For a thoroughly counter intuitive experience, jam your feet into skis or snowboard and hit one of five slopes in this 25 story mountain resort alongside Arabian men in flowing white dishdashas. It’s an unexpected change of pace and after running around in the desert heat après ski in a themed alpine lodge is a unique way to chill out.

7. Sheikh Zayed Road

Dubai’s earliest developments centred on the Trade Centre and are the ostentatious and aspirational benchmark for many of the city’s new developments. Coming full circle the perfect way to experience Sheikh Z’s neck-aching architecture is back in the comfort of an air conditioned car. Highlights include the clasped palms of the Thai inspired Dusit Dubai, the razor sharp lines of Emirates Towers and at night the Fairmont’s subtle exterior light show.

Taxis are metered, air conditioned, plentiful and inexpensive. This trip shouldn’t cost more than around £30. Chauffeured car with phone, cold towels, snacks and drinks start at 600 dirhams for four hours (roughly £90) from www.primelimousine.com.

Entering Oman’s capital through tree-lined suburbs, immaculate hedgerows and unexpected flower sculptures to discover a remarkably relaxed and hospitable city is a pleasant jolt to the senses when compared to arrival at other more frantic Middle Eastern capitals. Although the city is almost 50km in length, due its location wedged between mountains and sea, it feels more like a series of small fishing towns than a bustling metropolis.

Muscat has been a lure for romantics, seafarers and entrepreneurs from all over the world since the 16th century. The city’s distinctive Arabian low-rise architecture and the physical characteristics of its people reflect this dynamic heritage. In fact, the face looking back at you is so welcoming that it is little wonder that this prosperous capital inspires the same reverence in Omanis as Paris does for the French or New York for Americans.

Mix in the Sultanate’s natural beauty and the diverse wildlife found within its 1700km of shoreline, empty deserts, canyons, rugged mountains and living history and it is easy to see why investors, journalists and tour operators from the Middle East, Europe and the US now believe Muscat could be tourism’s next big thing.

The sheer number of travel and media professionals that recently made the trip to Muscat for the soft opening of Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa reveals an ever-increasing interest in this refreshingly unpretentious and inviting country.

Tracie Simpson, Director of Oman Experiences Ltd a UK-based tour operator set up to promote and sell travel packages to the country explains why, “After many years of relative isolation from mainstream tourism, Oman is fast emerging as one of the most sought after destinations in the Arabian Gulf. It is now becoming increasingly recognised for its friendly people and its dramatic landscapes peppered with historic forts and stunning desert scenery.”

As editors and entrepreneurs continued supping with the great and the good in one hotel, a few kilometres down the road at the Al Bustan Palace, in yet another beautiful and secluded bay, the Oman International Conference on Eco-Tourism was also taking place.

In attendance were Oman’s political movers and shakers, their international peers, and many whose goal is simply to make that little prefix ‘eco’ a less unpalatable concept in the Middle East, as nations scramble to implement pre-emptive tourism strategies to bolster dwindling oil revenues.

The Omanis, with good reason, are a receptive audience. The country’s heritage is deeply connected to the land and the abundant waters of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Muscat itself is a sea-borne city whose name means ‘anchorage’. It lies on a rocky shore that tapers down from the sweeping shoreline of Batinah and the protected marine area of the Dimaniyyat Islands Nature Reserve.

Striking underwater landscapes and sea life thrive in the seas around Muscat, with rainbow fish proudly displaying their colours and sharks prowling the plentiful coral reefs, while whales and dolphins gambol in deeper waters. There isn’t a hotel in the capital that won’t seize the chance to show off Oman’s natural bounty by arranging a local trip to capture a dawn or sunset with dolphins that, like an actor with impeccable timing, always seem to know where and when to make an appearance. An easy trick when the Arabian long-beaked dolphins can school in their thousands.

South of the city as many as 50 individual sperm whales live among the Halaaniyat Islands while 30,000 female turtles nest on the rocky coastline of Ash-Sharqiyah, making the country a paradise for divers and snorkellers, with a total of 21 types of whale, dolphin and turtle flourishing along its shores.

It is unsurprising then that Oman has an enviable record of environmental protection. Few countries can boast of a ruler who has won awards for his ecological understanding and Oman’s exemplary record of conservation and environmental control is often cited as an example to others. It was the first Arab country to set up a ministry whose sole responsibility was the environment and since 1991 the Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation has established itself as a prestigious international award for ecological high achievers, with winners selected every two years by UNESCO.

Professor Christopher Davidson of the UAE’s Zayed University, a specialist in Middle East business intelligence says, “Of the GCC states Oman has a big advantage in that it has natural beauty, and it is really the only part of the GCC that has it.” With so much latent potential it is no surprise that developers are flocking to the region to help Oman develop its fledgling tourism industry.

The Barr Al Jissah is the first of many new developments expected over the next few years and if its opening months are anything to go by it will raise the bar for future entrants to the market. Composed of three hotels: The five star Al Waha, ‘The Oasis’, is Oman’s first dedicated family hotel; while the five star deluxe Al Bandar, ‘The Town’, is aimed at couples and business travellers. Since the first two hotels opened the demand for rooms has totally outstripped supply.

The third and most luxurious hotel of the resort, Al Husn sits atop a jutting headland with spectacular views on either side, its name and design inspired by the traditional architecture of Omani forts. Hidden within the natural Bandar Jissah bay the hotel isn’t the only feature under development; a 74 berth marina, CHI spa village, 12 private villas, a heritage centre, extensive conference facilities including an amphitheatre that hopes to attract MICE organisers, as well as enticing international performers already playing in Dubai to add the resort to their Middle East itineraries.

The 680 rooms at this one resort have, says marketing manager Russell Loughland, “doubled not just Muscat’s five star hotel capacity but the whole of the country’s by 60%.”

The Barr Al Jissah appears to represent the beginning of a new type of development in Oman, one that will hopefully provide enough inward investment to grow the economy without sacrificing what has already been nurtured in a dash for short term gains.

A number of projects already in development may achieve this. To the north of Muscat the $1 billion Wave project will provide luxury homes on six kilometres of natural beaches. This includes an 18-hole golf course designed by Greg Norman, four luxury hotels, parks, and the usual retail opportunities. Demand is already so high that earlier in 2006 the Wave’s first release of property onto the market was oversubscribed by 20 times.

Dr Habib El-Habr, Director and Regional Representative of the UN Environment Programme for West Asia emphasises that one of the first things that needs to be undertaken when developing tourism infrastructure is “the implementation of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prior to the start of any projects.” This he explains alleviates some of the major concerns in the region due to the rapid development of coastal areas. “Such development has been seen to have an impact on the environment, in particular threatening the marine environment and the coastal biodiversity.”

An EIA was used in the planning stages of the Wave project. The project’s promotional material states, “Parks, tree-lined streets, waterways, landscaped gardens, have all been woven into the development to enhance the environment.” By incorporating a natural beach in the design they have tried to limit the need for extensive reclamation or building into the ocean as is common in many similar projects. It even includes a nature reserve to help protect the local environment.

To anyone jaded by the hyperbole surrounding most Middle East developments it almost sounds too good to be true. An investment opportunity with all the perks of other projects but with none of the downsides, investors may even choose to live there once construction is complete.

Oman’s tourism strategy for Muscat goes further than just one project, by establishing a dedicated Ministry of Tourism the country has made it a goal to increase this sector’s contribution from 1% to 3% of GDP by 2010, primarily through a series of resort developments and foreign property ownership deals.

By the second quarter of 2006 the Muscat Golf and Country Club will be offering completed luxury two bedroom apartments, penthouses and three, four and five bedroom villas.

Also this year the $1.9 billion first phase of the ambitious Blue City project was given the go-ahead. The creation of this seaside city between Muscat and Barka, complete with all the amenities a new city needs, from hotels to health centres, is estimated to cost a cool $20 billion over 15 years and will be completed in ten phases. The city will eventually cover 34 square kilometres, house 250,000, and cater for an additional two million tourists per year.

As these projects gain momentum it is inevitable that more hotels and developments will eventually be announced. To cater for the expected increase in traffic Seeb International Airport, Muscat’s main entry point, will also be undergoing a face-lift over the next 18 months, as $150+ million is spent on a new terminal with a potential five million passenger annual capacity.

Travelling through downtown Muscat it is hard to tell that these developments are already underway. Mainly because most of the new tourism projects are being built in secluded areas away from the main populace.

“The question is who are the adverts in Oman aimed at?” asks Professor Davidson. “The way it’s being managed is that these property developments are being targeted at westerners, almost like compounds.” He believes that it has to do with a large population where authority cannot be maintained by “distributing wealth” as it is in neighbouring countries, so it must come from something else. In this case ensuring money flows in while keeping non-traditional cultural influences at arm’s length. “They have to be kept separate,” he says, “otherwise it’s like playing with dynamite in Oman.”

Preserving the country’s cultural and social environment is of course as important as the natural one and Oman for all its beauty would be nothing without the Omani people and their genuine hospitality. I was offered a perfect example of this when I found myself lost in Muscat’s old town. Without a map and late for my appointment, I gave in and asked an on-duty soldier, using a pidgin of Gulf dialects, how to get to the Barr Al Jissah resort. He wasn’t sure but the two Omani teenagers he then asked did, and rather than simply giving me directions they graciously guided me all the way there.

It would seem that if any one can pull off such a feat of financial development and social engineering then surely it must be environment friendly Oman. The green and pleasant idyll described by the Wave project already sounds so much like present day Muscat that is hard to believe they don’t have the will to make it happen.

To drive the point home Simpson highlights what is felt by many tour operators in the Middle East, “We just know the time is right, Dubai has opened up the gulf as a desirable tourist destination, Oman just offers even more.”

Breakout#1:

Emerging Giant

Oil & Gas Far from being dependent on tourism Oman is also diversifying its industrial sector with gas based industries coming to the fore. Projects in development or on the drawing board include a $1.25 billion refinery in Sohar and further multi-billion processing facilities for methanol, polypropylene and fertilisers. The Oman LNG facility alone is expected to generate $20 billion revenue during its lifetime.

Power A new 450-550MW power project in Sohar will produce 33 million gallons of desalinated water a day and will form part of the GCC’s integrated power grid with the UAE.

Roads A national road system linking the south, north and the interior is planned for the next 20 years, opening up the eastern coast to tourism by a coastal road and eventually linking Dubai and Muscat.

Breakout#2:

Nature’s Finest

Superb diving can be found near the capital in Cemetery Bay, Fahal Island and Dimaniyyat Islands. Despite sometimes poor visibility expect to see an amazing variety of sea life, the wreck Al-Munassir and plenty of coral. Night diving is always popular with a remarkable amount of phosphorescence in the water.

Whale and Dolphin watching takes place all year round although whales are easier to spot during the cooler months of October to May. Speed boat, snorkel or kayaks are available but always make sure you choose a reputable guide.

Endangered Species

Oman is global player when it comes to ensuring the continued existence of certain species and eco-tourism is highly encouraged in the Sultanate.

The islands of Ras Al Hadd and Ras Al Jinz contain five endangered species of turtle protected by royal decree and have become a major eco-tourism attraction. The iconic Arabian Oryx was hunted almost to extinction; one of the last remaining herds is now protected on a UNESCO World Heritage Sight at the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary.

Gazelles, rare plants inhabit Saleel Park. The Arabian Tahr mountain goat is found at Wadi As Sarin, while the Arabian Leopard can still be spotted at Jebel Samhanin in Dhofar which was declared a Nature Reserve in 1996.

Adventure

Adventure tourism is key to encouraging the right kind of tourists in Oman. The natural cave system connected to Wadi Hota near Nizwa is 3km long and houses long, deep cavities with a giant stalactites and stalagmites aplenty while Majlis Al-Jinn is the second largest underground chamber in the world.

Climbing is still relatively unexplored, although the 300m towers of Jebel Ghul and the 150m to 850m alpine style routes of Jebel Mishfa and Jebel Misht are well-liked climbs.

Hiking and trekking is encouraged across Oman’s diverse mountain landscape, one of the most popular is the Jebel Shams rim walk, on Oman’s highest peak, around the sheer drop of breath taking Wadi Ghul, the Arabian Grand Canyon.