Today we retraced our route to Liwa and then planned to come back through Al Ain by taking a long track through the desert and back along the Saudi and Oman border.

The road took is past the Emirates National Car Museum, the private collection of Shaikh Hamad. The museum was closed for renovations but the guard and the cafe manager clearly spotted a chance to make a few dirhams. So after freshly squeezed juices at the cafe we were let into the pyramid. True! The museum is inside a corrugated iron pyramid in the middle of nowhere. Take a look at the website to see more. The monster truck and caravan feature in the Guinness Book of Records and were actually driven across the desert to qualify. Also inside is a collection of Mercedes each painted in a different colour of the rainbow.

After an hours diversion at the museum we headed further into the desert. Past the valley of camels from the previous visit and further into ever larger dunes separated by huge areas of sabkah.

Eventually our track came to the Saudi border fence and a tar sealed road (often covered in sand) which we followed for miles and miles and miles.

The border fence stretches on in front of us while the view through the rear window and drivers mirror is just the same.

Eventually we called a halt, parked by the side of the road and carried deck chairs and chilly bin over a sand ridge to enjoy our lunch with spectacular views over the red dunes of  Rub’ al Khali or The Empty Quarter.