Ras al Khaimah- the unexplored Emirate

November. Its raining. The lawn is a soggy mess, the floors are stained with paw prints. One month till Christmas, thoughts turn from stocking fillers to sunshine. Its the usual dilemma; where to go for some winter sun without breaking the bank? Without enduring long haul flights, jet lag and mosquitoes? We thought long and hard about Florida, but in the end looked towards the Middle East. Oman? Still too expensive. Dubai? Overcrowded and overrun. Then we chanced upon a deal to Ras al-Khaimah, Dubai’s next door neighbour and fellow Emirate. Ras al-what? That was my first thought too, I’d never heard of the place. Maybe that’s why the deal looked so reasonable, too good to be true. Still, it was that or a 10 degrees Christmas day with shower, so we took a gamble (as dad would say), on Ras.

Landing in Dubai early morning, faint sunlight filtered through the taxi window. Sunglasses time! As we drove away from the airport, concrete gave way to sand dunes, and not much else. This was the desert well and true. Miles of it rolled by before we crossed into Ras al-Khaimah with minimal fanfare.

It was 11 am, the sun was starting to warm up the day and we had arrived at our hotel, a rather grand Hilton Resort. These days, we barely seem to stay in large scale resorts and I’m not generally a huge fan but that hotel was one of the best I’ve stayed in. We were given a great room on the ground floor, so we could basically step straight on to the beach.

Every morning would dawn bright and clear (but still chilly, requiring a thin sweater at first). We would leave the first sets of footprints on the pale yellow sand, having snuck on to the beach via the balcony, leaving dad sleeping. The sea would be as still as a lake, barely bothering to nudge the shore. Behind us, red mountains rose out of the desert, a stunning contrast to the bottle-green sea.

Dad would join us in time for breakfast (of course) and we’d sit outside as the sun rose, with a promise of warmth. The resort itself was huge, and even had a grassy headland jutting out into the sea that we could walk across, which we often did. Or we’d spend the morning splashing in the shallows; the sea was incredibly calm the whole day. The same calmness made kayaking a good prospect. Gliding out, I’d be at the front, Maya at the back and we’d synchronise our paddling, gently slipping through the green water. Shoals of silvery fish would dart past, disturbed by our paddles, diving deep down into the endless green, perfectly clear to the bottom far below. We could get quite far, till the resort became a speck, the mountains rising blood-red behind. It was wild way out there, but so peaceful. We could put the paddles down and just float, the sun on our skin, nothing but silence.

Kayaking was definitely a highlight. Sometimes with dad we’d clamber on the large rocks near the headland, trying not to slip. Dad confidently bounded around like a mountain goat, I followed cautiously, and Maya hung back taking photos. Smart kid.

We discovered a mall nearby (yes we are magnetically drawn to shops and AC). It was a nice place to while away hot afternoons- quiet, spacious, with only a few sheiks for company. In the evenings we’d sit on the balcony with dad, chat, eat dinner, the call to prayer in the background. Exotic, mysterious, to me at least, always enigmatic, somehow disassociated with the negativity surrounding religion.  A crescent moon would be reflected in the liquid-black sea, a silvery sliver of light.

At some point in the week, we decided to visit Dubai for the day. We boarded a bus in true tourist fashion and set off back the way we’d came in from the airport. Desert rolled by, camels were duly spotted. Two hours and 70 camels later, steel and metal rose out of the sand. We were deposited outside Dubai Mall, that (in)famous place for all shopaholics. But either way, it is the world’s biggest mall so a must-do for anyone.

Outside the mall, a vast man-made lake is surrounded by a fake-souk, complete with (real) people smoking shisha in numerous cafes. Ferraris were parked nearby, traffic-light red against the sapphire sky. Behind, the Burj Khalifa rose up in all its ‘I am the tallest building in the world’ glory, looking, at least to my mind, slightly ridiculous- too shiny, too tall, awkward. And awkward for your neck too. A Ferrari proceeded to squish us on a zebra crossing, before roaring down the road out of control, like an untamed thoroughbred being led to the start of a race. A series of escalators and travelators provided an AC environment in which to avoid being run over- it rose over the treacherous streets.

We made it back to Dubai Mall in one piece, in time for the nightly fountain show. People from all walks of life were gathered on benches around the lake, as the sun went down and dusk fell on the city in the desert. Choreographed to music, the fountains put on quite a show. We couldn’t watch forever though, we had a bus to catch. The bus ploughed back to RAK, the desert around lit up by countless fires, each one indicating a family or group of friends enjoying a BBQ- bedouin style.

Dubai was fun but I was happy to get back to the oasis that was Ras. Its good to see that Dubai’s blingy shadow hasn’t yet fallen here, RAK seems happy to let its showy sister get all the glory and visitors. Still, change is evident, from the half finished buildings to the growing number of mentions RAK gets in travel magazines. Its probably how Dubai was 20 years ago.

Our flight was scheduled for midnight. Driving away, on the quiet streets lit by moonlight, dusty, full of small shops and men eating late dinners of cheap rice, it was hard to believe this place was so close to Dubai. As we approached the shiny city, I wondered how long it would last till we had a new Dubai rising out of the dunes. Right now RAK is an oasis, soon, it might be a mirage.

Practical stuff:

Getting here- Fly into Dubai, which has a huge airport famous for its Duty Free shops and cheap gold (apparently). We organised a transfer through our hotel to and from the airport, otherwise there are taxis everywhere.

Staying- The resort (Hilton Resort and Spa Ras al Khaimah) we stayed in was amazing, set on a private beach, with three pools, lots of restaurants, a water-sports centre and spacious rooms. We booked flights and this place as part of a package with BA, they have a few good deals to the area.

Things to do, food etc- All the food at the resort is really good, the buffet breakfast spread is great (I love buffet breakfasts) and we had a couple of favourite dishes for dinner. It can get a bit samey though if you stay longer than a week, and unless you eat at the mall nearby which has a food court, expensive too. The water sports centre rents kayaks, as well as jet skis and offers paragliding, boat trips etc. The resort organises trips to Dubai with their own bus- they are full day trips but a good way to tick Dubai off the list whilst being able to return to the beach! Check out Dubai Mall for sure, and catch the dancing fountains. In RAK, the mall close to the Hilton is worth a visit, its a peaceful place for a wander.

Other points- In December its about 25 degrees in the day, but feels hotter. The mornings are really cool though so bring a sweater. It can get extremely hot in the summer (think 40 degrees) but apparently they have AC for the beach! Remember to dress conservatively if you go out e.g. to the mall, but anything goes around the resort. If possible request a ground floor room, we got ours by chance but it gave a more exclusive feel to the stay, to be able to step almost straight on to the sand!

I think we were all pleasantly surprised by what a good week we had. Thats the beauty of travel I guess.

Thanks to Maya for the photos x