I used to think that the best feeling in the world was the sand between my toes on a beach. I still kind of believe that, but I also wholeheartedly know that it can be enjoyed in so many other ways too.
Sink right in
If a weighted blanket is your favourite home accessory then there’s a perfect spa treatment for you at the Uru Spa by Dunes by Al Nahda in Muscat. Is it too far to go? No, no it’s not. Not when you get to get to combine the comfortable weight of sand holding you snug with the beauty of an open air spa.
Let the sand soak your stress away as the warmth of the sun tickles your neck, as a heavenly mask renews your face and the silence of the world around you brings you back to yourself. Previous to visiting Dunes by Al Nahda I would have told you that being in a sand bath wasn’t my idea of zen, but I’m happy to have been corrected.
This is just the start to a treatment that quiets the mind, and when you’re scrubbed and massaged you’ll forget all the stresses of the world for good.
Strap into a thrill ride
Once your heart rate has settled to a gentle 60pm, you can step things back up a notch (or five) with dune bashing. For the uninitiated, dune bashing is taking a high speed ride over the rolling hills of sand in a land rover, a skilled driver bringing you to the brink of the dunes, looking over valleys of sand as you lean into your seatbelt and take in the view. Like the edge of a roller coaster you wait with baited breath, until your driver takes you down and down, the world dropping away until your heartbeat comes back to normal. When it finally does, it’s time to go up again, skyrocketing through impossible angles, knowing your safe in the hands of a professional and that the thrills won’t stop coming.
Ride over the edge
For the truly brave it’s possible to take things one step further still, lose the seatbelt, grab a crash helmet and take one of Dunes’ quadbikes out into the sand. The wind whips over your skin to provide the perfect contrast to the beating desert sun. If you’re feeling competitive you can race with your friends over the vast landscape, and you can never be sure of whose heart will beat loudest or who will win. The perfect opportunity for the underdog to take the crown.
There’s never a bad time to dash over the dunes, but a personal favourite comes in that golden hour where the sun starts to sink and the world truly glows. The shadows cast as you traverse the planes settle you down as your adrenaline goes up, a counter-balance unlike any other.
There’s no bad way to enjoy to sand. I still adore the feeling of it between my toes. It has this power to ground us, to let us literally sink into the world we come from and to feel a part of it. I can’t say what your favourite would be — but I’d be curious to find out.
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