My trip to Dubai wouldn’t have been complete without a camel ride, sand boarding and hula hooping in the desert, so I just had to splurge and spend the 250 dirhams on a desert safari. It was more than worth the money and a truly surreal experience.
Our morning started out at the crack of dawn yesterday. After gobbling down some breakfast, Gabbi and I headed down to the lobby. Someone from the desert safari was supposed to pick us up between 7:30 and 8 a.m. from our hotel, but I was more than skeptical after the phone call I had with the company at the time of booking.
The man had a heavy accent on the phone, and sounded like he was driving as he was taking down my information. After asking my name, hotel, room number and how many people, he told me what time he would be there and quickly hung up the phone. I guess since I am so used to the formality in the U.S., the fact that he didn’t even ask for a credit card number frightened me.
But, sticking to his word, a dark heavy-set man walked into the hotel lobby at around 7:45 a.m. He walked right up to me.
“Are you Rebecca Burton?” the man, who we later found out was named Victor, asked.
“Yes,” I said.
Without one more word he signaled us to follow him and we all walked quickly to the 4×4 Jeep that is used for dune bashing.
Victor informed us that the other two people who were supposed to join us on the trip had cancelled last minute. So we surprisingly got a VIP safari.
After driving for about 30 minutes, we stopped at a gas station. Victor walked in and came out 5 minutes later with some waters, orange juices and sandwiches for us to eat.
He then drove about 15 minutes more, and without warning simply drove off the road and into the seemingly never-ending dunes. After passing the UAE military base we drove another 10 minutes or so until we saw one man, dressed in traditional desert wear, standing with a single camel.
“Now, it is time for the camel ride,” Victor said. “After that, I will take you where we can sand board.”
Victor took some pictures and short video of us mounting the camel with my phone and his iPad and then got back in the jeep and drove ahead as we were guided on the camel.
The serenity was indescribable. The man who was guiding us did not speak English, so not a word was said. The only sound was the sand blowing from the gustier-than-normal wind that day. The desert did not have cacti, but rather little melons the size of apples scattered about the horizon. We saw other camels, which looked a great deal skinner than the one we were riding, wandering the dunes.
After about a 30-minute peaceful ride, we got back in the jeep and headed out even further to the “real desert” as Victor described it. The dunes were bigger, and the land seemed even more deserted without a tire track in sight.
“The dunes were facing the other way yesterday,” Victor said. “They are always changing.”
For some reason, this thought really stuck with me, and I began to ponder deeper meaning as we continued on.
Next came the sand boarding. A sand board looks just like a wakeboard or snowboard, and the premise is pretty self explanatory. You stand up and glide down the dunes. I succeeded my first try, but after the first walk back up the dunes, I was finished and completely out of breath. Walking up a desert sand dune is a great way to lose 10 pounds. Victor asked if I wanted to go again.
“I would, but that walk back up killed me,” I said.
“No problem, I will drive down and get you and bring you back up,” he said.
Awesome, I thought. I gave it a few more tries. An admitted adrenaline junkie, I like anything that involves motion and boards.
But, my usual love of motion became motion sickness during the dune bashing. Victor really knew how to manage to drive the jeep really fast up and down the countless dunes without getting stuck or flipping. But, my stomach didn’t manage.
Note to self: dune bash on an empty stomach next time.
Nonetheless the safari was everything I would’ve wanted and worth the money. Victor stopped at another high dune to take pictures. Gabbi pulled out her hoop so he could take pictures of us hooping. The photos came out great, and he said he wanted to feature us on the company’s website. We graciously agreed. He told us this was the first time anyone had ever brought a hula hoop on the trip.
On the way home we all made small talk, and Victor told us horror stories of getting stuck, flips and deaths that happened from time to time in his 14 years with the company.
“One time I got stuck and when I tried to dig out the sand, my whole arm was burned,” he said, referring to the summer months when the desert reaches about 140 degrees.
To my surprise, I learned that the roll bars had only been installed in the jeeps two years ago due to several deaths. You would think they would’ve thought of that solution a bit earlier.
At the end of the day I had an unforgettable experience and never would’ve guessed two months ago that a desert safari was anywhere in my near future.
Last night at work was quite busy since Thursday is the start of the weekend there. I really think hula hooping is catching on here. I recognize more faces than not and have had more than 20 people ask about lessons. Goal achieved, except for finding someone who teaches classes here.
After the busy night, Lenny, Andy, Gabbi and I went out for a couple drinks at a beach club called Baraciti. With booming house music, and outdoor beds lining the beach, it reminded me of Club Bed in Miami. We all sipped on cocktails, smoked sheesha and compared and contrasted the different countries we are all from. It is really an eye-opening experience to hang out and have true conversations with people who live on the other side of the world. Sometimes, I feel Americans are isolated on this continent.
Andy said he would love to hire Americans for more festivals, but the work visas are too hard to obtain.
Today’s hula play area was just as crowded as yesterday and went smoothly even though Lenny wasn’t there to work the lights and sound. I stepped in and with Andy guiding me on the phone, I somehow managed to get them working. I would write about today in more detail but this post is already far too long and I have to be up in just a few hours to tour the world’s tallest building and be the first person to hoop there! Until tomorrow (my last day in Dubai!)
Or the next day, I have to catch my plane home right after work.
Night folks.
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