To get to the strait, I drove north from Dubai through several smaller emirates, and watched as the buildings grew shorter and less glassy, until they topped out at one or two stories, and finally gave way to desert. I passed under the quizzical glances of Emirati border guards and endured polite questions from Omani security. No one else was making this journey. After satisfying themselves that I was not intending to engage in amphibious invasion, the Omanis let me in, and I drove onward along an empty coastal highway.