Good evening, my dear friends! Since I cannot immerse you in the mysterious atmosphere of the Martian deserts of cold Iceland due to a two-day wait for moderation of my review (they just won’t take pity on me :)), I decided to plunge you into the hot deserts of the emirate of Dubai, located near the city of the same name. It was in November 2016, when I proposed to my future wife on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, washed by the waters of the Indian Ocean, and believe me, it is also very picturesque there. If you are interested, please write in the comments, and I will think of something.
So, let’s go! It all started when our holiday was coming to an end, and I was reluctantly looking at this safari, for which my wife still teases me. Well, jeeps, sand, not cheap and all that. However, a good friend of ours who lives there offered us a discount coupon for almost 40% off the original price from the safari organiser Knight Tours (not an advertisement), which she had carefully saved for emergencies (she’s a thrifty lady). We took advantage of the offer and have never regretted it.
So, we set off from Dubai. The journey wasn’t particularly long, along a typical semi-desert road fenced off from camels. Suddenly, almost immediately, we found ourselves in a real desert with copper-gold sand, which I had seen in films about Egyptian mummies)). My girlfriend, already my fiancée, immediately asked me to take several photos of the landscape, with her in the background, of course.
There were five people in each car, it was comfortable and fun, and all thanks to the professionalism of this cool local driver who spoke excellent English. He was just a sweetheart)) It’s a pity I forgot his name((.
The car was a real beast, we climbed sand dunes with a 20, 25, and even 30-degree incline. We fell from even higher dunes, so it was really breathtaking and very scary. Sometimes we got seriously stuck in the sand, but our jack-of-all-trades and king of the steering wheel saved us every time, telling us stories and tales and telling us about his life with deep respect for his country and its leadership. Interesting, isn’t it? I wondered how many drivers we have who sincerely love their leaders…
Here and there, we stopped to catch our breath and drink some water)).
After riding to our hearts’ content, we were taken to a Bedouin farm where they keep camels and other minor livestock.
It was fun to watch them in their natural habitat. They are so relaxed that no humpback from a zoo could beat them in terms of relaxation))
I will say right away that there was more than enough food, and it was varied. Lots of meat, vegetables, all kinds of hummus, etc. Arab cuisine itself is healthy and colourful. I really liked the lula, which I stuffed myself with. Meanwhile, it was getting dark and night was falling over the desert. And with it came its faithful helpers, the restless dancer and the charming dancer. But first things first.
After the first round of food, we were invited to immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of Arab life. We got to chat with the falconer and pet the birds.
Overall, it looked quite fun, but we had to keep our emotions in check. After all, we were in a foreign country with its own customs and laws.
Then we were taken back to our tables, and a lively dervish dancer got down to business, masterfully performing the tanoura at breakneck speed.
Luckily, I was at a respectable distance from the stage)).
Gradually, the fairy tale came to an end… We desperately wanted to sleep, and with our last breath, we took a few more shots.
With our captain, guiding his ship through the desert waves back to the quiet fairy-tale harbour of Dubai.
