Dune bashing in Dubai - Silly sand!

The highlight of our trip to Dubai would have to be the desert safari. Because Nidhi had booked it for us, we really had very little idea as to what to expect. We knew there would be some "dune bashing'" but we honestly didn't know what it was and hadn't decided if it would be safe for Simon. I guess we thought it was optional. It wasn't.

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We arrived in the desert and met up with a caravan of other cars, and suddenly our driver said "buckle up." Holy sh&#! At this point I was a little prepared for some chaos, as the Indian family in our vehicle had taken motion sickness meds when we stopped at the gas station. I would describe it as kind of like riding a roller coaster, except that I was not at all certain that we weren't in serious danger. At least on a roller coaster I have faith that we will stay on the track. In the dunes I was not so certain there were any guarantees.

It helped to have Simon with us, who immediately started laughing hysterically and yelling, "Silly auto" and "Silly sand." Although I did consider what a horrible parent I was as I pictured our car rolling over and over on the sand dunes. We would speed up and down the dunes, flying over peaks, turning sharply so that the car slid sideways the entire way down the dune. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but we survived to tell the tale. And it was really fun.

Then we headed to a little fake camp in the desert where camels, food, and dance awaited us. Simon had been looking forward to seeing and riding the camels for a long time. But up close and personal was not nearly as thrilling as he had anticipated. So Mama and Pappa took turns while Simon watched.

Before dinner we watched a traditional belly dancer as well as a male dancer, who was something like a whirling dervish but I believe they used a different name. Both were very impressive, and I guess I hadn't realized there was so much more to belly dancing than shaking it like Shakira. The belly actually dances. Really cool. And the male dancer whirling around so fast for I don't know how long. They supposedly go into some sort of trance to be able to twirl continuously like that. It was quite beautiful to watch.



We left the camp and drove home. Simon, miraculously, did not fall asleep. So we went to bed quite late, ready for an early start the next morning as we headed on to Bangkok!

 

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