Gulf States with Original World

My wife, Darlene, and I traveled to 12 countries, Nov. 20-Dec. 18, 2007, and saw no other foreign travelers the whole time except in Dubai.

Our tour was with Original World (Mill Valley, CA; 888/367-6147) and cost $8,850 for the two of us. We bought our round-trip air through the consolidator Himalayan Treasures & Travels (Pinole, CA; 800/223-1813) at $5,130 for both of us. Other expenses, adding up to $1,700, included taxes, visas, etc., and meals not included in the tour.

We started in Kuwait. The British Petroleum camp is there, and some of the 8,000 US Armed forces personnel are still stationed in Kuwait. There isn’t a lot to see in Kuwait City other than the famous Kuwait Towers, fancy shopping malls and mosques. The nearby town of Ahmadi was more interesting.

In Bahrain, at the Al-Fateh Grand Mosque we heard a lecture on Islam and took a tour. Among other sights were the International Circuit Raceway, the Al Areen Wildlife Safari Park, the Tree of Life and the 6,000-year-old burial mounds.

We had a thrilling experience in Qatar riding up and down the slopes of the dunes, nearly tipping over. We did more dune riding at the Wahiba Sands in Oman.

Dubai’s landmark buildings and constructions include the Burj Dubai, which will be (in September ’09) the world’s largest skyscraper; the Burj al-Arab hotel, which looks like a dhow (traditional Arab sailboat), and the artificial archipelagos of the Palm Islands and The World.

We drove in other emirate countries: Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras-al Khaimah and Fujairah. In all of the Gulf States and the UAE we saw what oil money can buy. Everywhere there were thousands of flowers and beautiful grassy areas lining the byways, using water from desalinization plants.

Finally, we toured Yemen, which is very mountainous; we often saw farms with ancient, beautifully made terraces. Most of the people are very poor. We drove through many small villages that were filthy, littered with shopping bags. The highlight was a 3-day trip from the capital, Sana’a, along the Red Sea coast to Hodeidah and back along a different route.

WAYNE A. SCHILD

Austin, TX