With three days of holidays declared for Eid, I thought it was about time that I started to explore the United Arab Emirates and what better way than to take a road trip on the famously named route 66. Yes Dubai has the E66 which links Dubai to Al Ain, the oasis city bordering with Oman.
Being new to Dubai I tried to use the services of a fixer, someone with local experience and contacts. My landlord a Syrian chap who has been in Dubai for over 10 years seemed the best choice so I tasked him to find me a rental car, ideally a Honda…clearly touching on my sentiments as I was missing my Accord from the UK.
He confidently told me “no problem, my friend I find you a vey good Honda 2011 model at a good price”. So on Monday straight after work I head down to the car rental company to pick up the motor and there was a surprise waiting for me. The Honda was actually a Hyundai, starts with the same letter but it’s not the same car. I mean the Honda is a respectable car for the middle aged boring driver like me, but not the Hyundai that’s strictly for nerdy librarians and clearly not made for the miserable old gits which fit my criteria.
What a disappointment, my fixer either got confused and or he was taking me for a ride. Probably the latter, but I’d been fasting for a month and it’s not good to jump to conclusions, so let’s put it down to human error. With the holiday period in full swing I decided to take the Hyundai in case I ended up with no car.
So this morning I set out on the route E66, travelling from Dubai in a south easterly direction to Al Ain a distance of 130km. Now driving a Hyundai was going to be one dull experience so I decided to spice it up, taking a leaf out Top Gear I decided to do my own version of a “star in a reasonably priced car”. Now after undertaking some thorough research I learnt of the Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road, this runs for 7.3 miles up the mountain of Jebel Hafeet rising 21,000 feet and with 21 corners this would surely be the ultimate test for the Hyundai.
This fine piece of mountain road is said by some to be the finest driving road in the world, even Bollywood had been in action with the film RACE starring Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan being shot on this location. So singing along to Atif Aslam’s “Pehli Nazar Mein” a soundtrack from the movie Race I headed out to Al Ain on the E66.
The human mind is so powerful, the sense of imagination can literally transform a modest Hyundai into finest supercars in the world. The pictures of Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anil Kapoor in fast cars were buzzing in my head and I was clearly out of it. But not for long, as soon as I arrived at the foothills of Jebel Hafeet a mountain range which towers a mighty 1,240 metres and started the ascent the 1.6 litre engine was screaming with the equivalent of mechanical pain. Despite running in second gear the torque was completely lacking and the engine and gearbox were enduring a torturous ride (at this point the driver started praying).
You have to be in a Nissan GTR with 500 horses under the bonnet, or any other supercar to enjoy the driving experience on this most magnificent road. With the Hyundai any thoughts of impressing Katrina Kaif quickly disappeared as I was worried about blowing the engine, clutch, and the gearbox.
Fortunate clearly favoured the brave, and I managed to nurse the car all the way to the top of the Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road. Stepping out and admiring the scenery, I noticed something was not right. I like trekking, and what I enjoy is the peace and harmony at the top. But here the sounds of engines revving up the road spoilt the enjoyment, so I decided to park the car and venture on foot to the ultimate peak.
Now despite having a very impressive trekking cv (Pen Y Fan, Snowdon, Scaffel Pike, Ben Nevis etc) I was venturing in a foreign country without my mentors and trekking buddies drill sergeant MSG & bush tracker FR. This was going to be one tough mission in sweltering desert heat with no equipment, no water, no walking boots actually nothing apart from my mobile phone.
But in front of me were some Pathans walking in flip flops without a worry in the world hiking their way to the top. These guys would never get lost in Tora Bora, they were naturals at walking on mountains so I just had to follow them. And so I did, when they pulled away from me I would listen out for the Rahim Shah Pashtun tracks blaring from their mobile phone and would pick the track up again. Gradually turn by turn, step by step I was at the top and what a magnificent sight it was.
