Nothing can truly prepare you for the thrilling, sand-spraying ride through the sand dunes. Everyone in the car hangs on to the roll bars for dear life, praying the driver is not new to his job. Oddly though, fear (amplified by visions of the car flipping) manifests itself in constant giggles by everyone in the car. At one point my friend Jenny and I heard some unsecured metal tools rattling around directly behind our seat. Jenny astutely pointed out that we’d be impaled if the car rolled. Somehow this prompted more laughing. I guess there’s nothing left to do but laugh when you have zero control over a fun but frightening situation.
Once we stopped and got out of the car to admire the beautiful desert, the raucous atmosphere was immediately replaced with a sense of serenity. Sometimes it’s liberating to feel so small.
Here are some pics from our adventure. I know it looks like we were alone out there, but for much of the outing we were part of a caravan of about 30 SUVs.
Do you see the camels?
Our driver warned us not to touch these flowers because if you accidentally touch your eye after, it would sting.
My husband took this from the front seat when he went on the desert safari.
Falcons are an important part of UAE culture. They were originally used for hunting, to supplement the Bedouin diet with meat. Now, falconry is practiced for sport. Emiratis treat falcons with great respect and release them back into the wild.
The desert safari included dancing
Did you love it? I hate the car ride, but the rest is fun. Being in the middle of the dunes is amazing.
I did love it! It was way past due too.
. The drive went on for a longer than I expected, but I agree, so so cool to be in the middle of the desert
Lynda you are a budding photographer. I need that camera you have! I love how you organized the photos too. Great artistic eye… for a moment I didn’t know if we’d make it out of the dunes alive, but so glad we lived to tell the tale! I have a photo that shows the sand against the back door. I was telling someone about how I driver was a bit of a show off and skidded into the parking space outside the feast! That still cracks me up.
Thanks Jenny! Still need lots of practice though in figuring out how to use the darn thing. I know – that parking job was hilarious – definitely an appropriate ending to that crazy drive!
ps – I’m happy you were able to leave a comment without any problems! I look forward to my little comments.