Italian Dubai Expat Brings Back to Life a 1984 Truck and Travels Solo to Salalah!
A Fun and Slow Travel Vlog about Salalah, Oman, with an Old Iconic Toyota Pickup. #Salalahsolo
Anybody nowadays wants to travel fast in a comfortable car. Not Luca Lombardi, a.k.a. "Luca Goes Offroad", Italian photographer and passionate offroader based in Dubai, well known in UAE for his desert adventures, social media activities, and recurring presence in the TV show Eish Eldor on Mbc.
In February 2022 he bought a 1984 Toyota Fj45 pickup that was abandoned for years in the desert, gave her a new life, new parts, a lot of love, and transormed her into the travel companion he always dreamt about! "When I first saw her, she was laying in a car park in bad conditions, looking sad and abandoned, but somehow I fell in love instantly and, in a matter of days, this little rusty beauty was in my garage. It took a few months to make her safe and working: I had to replace the fan, radiator, water pump, all the gaskets, suspension, rims and tires, install an AC system, completely redo the exhaust system and the fuel tank, replace all the fluids (or, more precisely, the muds..), straighten the axles, and a few cosmetic details. But after all the efforts she became the car that I wanted, and I needed to celebrate with an unforgettable adventure" says Luca.
So on the 1st of August he loaded his "new" pickup with camping equipment and drove for a solo trip all the way to Salalah, Oman. This 1265km drive was well worth it to enjoy the “Khareef” season, between June and September, when the Dhofar region becomes a green and fresh oasis thanks to the passage of the south-east asian monsoons.
Going solo with a classic car was the real challenge. The FJ45 is slow, uncomfortable and noisy, the perfect companion for an unpredictable adventure! He left Dubai with no specific plans, determined to say “yes” to everything coming his way. And that's exactly where the fun lies: spontaneously meeting new people, creating everlasting memories with new friends and getting in touch with the local Culture, while exploring and discovering new places. From Wadi Darbat to Tawi Atair Sink Hole, from Mughsail Beach to Jebel Samhan, he documented this unconventional adventure in a 40 minutes YouTube video in which he also answered many questions from his Instagram followers.
The full video is on https://youtu.be/FcJhO0xJshE
More about Luca can be found on his instagram www.instagram.com/lucagoesoffroad and his website www.lucalombardiphoto.com
About the publisher
Luca Lombardi is an Italian professional photographer, passionate offroader, part time model and Esquire’s Best Dressed 2019. He's able to create a proper storytelling route using the power of his images and a touch of unpredictability and humour, the real trademark of his creativity. Luca Lombardi has being shooting since 2009. His clients portfolio contains some of the most know brands worldwide, from Luxury to Hospitality, from Food to Perfumes. He worked with Middle East celebrities as well as Hollywood ones like Zac Efron.
Lately he has fun on TV, appearing in many episodes of Eish Eldor on Mbc Action.
But photography is not just business. Luca Lombardi is very active in the field of education in the proper use of the image and awareness about the dangers of the network and fake photo professionals.
