Sun was setting over the Wahiba Sands in Oman. A light wind blew up the face of the great red dune, carving a knife-edge between the golden sunlit side and the ribbed shadows of the leeward side. The wind blew little flurries of sand over the edge and dropped them on the other side, shaping and sculpturing the sinuous crest of the dune that led south into the distance. The Wahiba Sands leave an impression on everyone who visits. It's not a place to explore alone, much better to stay at one of several desert camps, which offer accommodation in comfortable tents and trips into the desert with drivers who have lived all their lives here and tackle vertiginous sand slopes with nonchalant ease.