Well, the last few days have been great with Pat visiting from Australia.
We've done some good shopping, he's LOVED the fact that we have cable and that all the fast food places deliver. Last night I dragged him off the couch and we did a desert safari.
We were picked up by a local man dressed in the traditional outfit in a big 4wd and driven to the desert, where the real fun began. We did some serious dune bashing and were thankful the 4wds were reinforced. We hooned up and over and around the massive dunes, squealing and laughing as we went. The dunes look rather harmless from the road, but up close and personal some of them are several stories high!
Our car was the lead car and we set the pace for the 9 cars following us. We made it without incident to a lookout dune, where we all took photos and had a quick drink. From there we hooted to the bedouin village, where we were greeted by camels and dirt bikes. We made our way quickly to the camels, hoping to get in before the other 9 carloads of people, and were stunned by how rude our fellow safari goers were. Many of them are from cultures that have no concept of lining up and just pushed in front, with their millions of children.
We finally got on a camel and it happened to the be black sheep of the group - kicking and harassing the other camels. Lucky it had a muzzle on or it would have been biting too. It was making weird grunting noises and hopping all over the place. Needless to say we hopped off quick smart when it finally kneeled down and the ride was over.
Pat decided he'd like a turn on the dirt bikes and was off like a shot - I didn't even have a chance to take a photo of him! He rode around the dunes and at one point I saw him poised on top of the biggest dune out there, ready to zoom straight down the front of it!
From there we headed inside and sampled some Arabic food and coffee, henna tattooing and sheesha - the traditional flavoured tobacco smoked in a bong-like instrument. In my flu-ridden state, I had one puff, inhaled it too far and was in a very uncool coughing spasm that clearly gave me away as a non-smoker.
We had a session with a belly dancer, who must have been freezing! She shimmied and pranced around the dance floor, getting unsuspecting people up for a bit of a jig. She got to us and we tried to refuse, but one of the drivers came along and dragged me up. It was rather embarrassing trying to emulate her fabulously flexible hips and I must say I was a terrible student.
This world really is a small place - Pat and I were trying some little sweet fried puffs and struck up a conversation with a fellow Aussie who happened to work with the boyfriend of one of my best friends from home - who stayed with me in October and we went on the very same safari! We took photos to show our friends, who wouldn't believe us if we told them!
We came home and fell into bed, rather exhausted.
Today we're off for some skiing at the Mall of the Emirates. I think someone might need a lesson before being let loose on the slope!
We've done some good shopping, he's LOVED the fact that we have cable and that all the fast food places deliver. Last night I dragged him off the couch and we did a desert safari.
We were picked up by a local man dressed in the traditional outfit in a big 4wd and driven to the desert, where the real fun began. We did some serious dune bashing and were thankful the 4wds were reinforced. We hooned up and over and around the massive dunes, squealing and laughing as we went. The dunes look rather harmless from the road, but up close and personal some of them are several stories high!
Our car was the lead car and we set the pace for the 9 cars following us. We made it without incident to a lookout dune, where we all took photos and had a quick drink. From there we hooted to the bedouin village, where we were greeted by camels and dirt bikes. We made our way quickly to the camels, hoping to get in before the other 9 carloads of people, and were stunned by how rude our fellow safari goers were. Many of them are from cultures that have no concept of lining up and just pushed in front, with their millions of children.
We finally got on a camel and it happened to the be black sheep of the group - kicking and harassing the other camels. Lucky it had a muzzle on or it would have been biting too. It was making weird grunting noises and hopping all over the place. Needless to say we hopped off quick smart when it finally kneeled down and the ride was over.
Pat decided he'd like a turn on the dirt bikes and was off like a shot - I didn't even have a chance to take a photo of him! He rode around the dunes and at one point I saw him poised on top of the biggest dune out there, ready to zoom straight down the front of it!
From there we headed inside and sampled some Arabic food and coffee, henna tattooing and sheesha - the traditional flavoured tobacco smoked in a bong-like instrument. In my flu-ridden state, I had one puff, inhaled it too far and was in a very uncool coughing spasm that clearly gave me away as a non-smoker.
We had a session with a belly dancer, who must have been freezing! She shimmied and pranced around the dance floor, getting unsuspecting people up for a bit of a jig. She got to us and we tried to refuse, but one of the drivers came along and dragged me up. It was rather embarrassing trying to emulate her fabulously flexible hips and I must say I was a terrible student.
This world really is a small place - Pat and I were trying some little sweet fried puffs and struck up a conversation with a fellow Aussie who happened to work with the boyfriend of one of my best friends from home - who stayed with me in October and we went on the very same safari! We took photos to show our friends, who wouldn't believe us if we told them!
We came home and fell into bed, rather exhausted.
Today we're off for some skiing at the Mall of the Emirates. I think someone might need a lesson before being let loose on the slope!
1 comment:
You have shared nice blog...and beautiful pic with good pose.
Desert safari
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