After 12 hours on the ferry from Bandar Abbas, Iran, I reached the port of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It was honestly a bit of a relief to make it out of Iran, after my experience being detained by the Iranian military.
I arrived late in the evening, and together with a fellow Russian cyclist we camped near a small mosque. In the morning an Uzbek man was waiting for us to wake up to have breakfast with him, which was a bit of a surprise: When one thinks of Dubai, they think of all this glamour and influencers running around. But which was later to be confirmed, one can definitely also find the famous Arab hospitality here.
From Sharjah I headed to Dubai, and quickly confirmed what I already expected: The major cities (or Emirates) in the UAE are designed for cars, and not bicycles or pedestrians. Which is of course little surprising considering the fact that the temperatures in summer reach up to 50C.
In Dubai I staid in a cheap hostel, crammed with South Asian immigrants on work visas. Almost 75% of the UAE’s population consists of foreigners. Here I was waiting for my bike to be serviced at a proper bike shop, something I wasn’t able to find in Iran. I also could replace my broken phone (cheaper than at home, thanks to the low taxes in UAE), and in general could enjoy a life of convenience, and lack of sanctions here.
After a couple days I cycled out of Dubai and its sketchy roads, and reached the desert. Cycling here was honestly very enjoyable, roads are either empty or have a massive shoulder, and once can even find dedicated cycling paths in the middle of the desert. Combine that with the mosques where I could use the bathrooms and fill up my bottles with cooled drinking water, or even spend the night if I wanted to. On top of that, the immigrant-run restaurants are actually very affordable for UAE standards, with a Biryani not costing more than $4.
In the evening I was cycling along a quiet roads when a car pulled over and offered me some water, and after a short conversation invited me to spend the night at his camp. Turns out this camp was actually a sports/paragliding camp, and I quickly befriended its owner, Nasser, and all the other cool people around. This resulted in me spending two whole weeks with him, driving around the country, experiencing the culture, meeting family & friends, and playing all kind of sports along the way.
When I was ready to leave, I started cycling towards Oman. When I reached Hatta, a major border town, I staid at a free campsite organised by a bike shop in an entertainment park, which even offers a free bike service for bike travellers.
The next morning I crossed seamlessly into Oman, and looking back, I was pleasantly surprised by my time in the Emirates.
