Morning Desert Safari

For us, the two highlights of the trip to Dubai were (1) Shake Shack, and (2) the Desert Safari that we booked. There are many tour operators that offer these trips so you can easily find one. Be sure to read the reviews first because I’ve heard of tour operators who were late in showing up and seemed generally unreliable. We opted for the half-day morning safari which included sand dune-bashing with amazing panoramic views of the vast desert, sand-boarding, and a camel ride.

Photo credit: Juxxtapose

Look, there I go sliding down a dune! It was a long climb back up after that. It was not the first time we went sand-boarding, but it was the first time we’d been on a camel.

Photo credit: Juxxtapose

I was holding on tightly because riding a camel doesn’t feel as stable as riding a horse. I felt like I could easily be tipped off. You get on and off the camel with it seated on the ground so that it’s low enough for you to climb on board, unlike a horse where you step onto the saddle to lift yourself up. Because of that, I almost fell forward when the camel lowered itself for us to get off. (I guess that means camels sit by lowering their front legs before the hind ones.)

Photo credit: Juxxtapose

The highlight of the safari though, was the quad-biking! Our first time quad-biking, and at extra cost too because it wasn’t included in the package. Here I am speeding away! I was tentative at first cos I wasn’t sure that I would be able to control the vehicle well enough, so I sped along… slowly. We were able to do some ‘dune-bashing’ of our own on the quad bikes after we got more comfortable with controlling the speed, turning, etc. The quad-biking is NOT TO BE MISSED although it costed us 150 dirhams each for a 15 minute session.

Dubai at First Glance

We spent the long weekend across the Arabian Sea in the futuristic-looking desert city of Dubai, where many new experiences awaited us. Even as we flew towards Dubai International Airport, the aerial view of the vast desert grounds were in itself a sight to behold. I’ve never flown over a desert before.

Photo credit: Juxxtapose

Of course, being a desert, the sun are scorching hot at this time of the year. Better to go at the end of the year for more cooling weather.Also, during the winter months, camel races are on and would make for another exciting experience. Unfortunately, we were not in Dubai on the dates the races fell on. But we did want to see it. A tip to share with regards to the camel races though – always call or get the hotel to call to confirm if a race is on. We saw that a race was scheduled for 2 Oct on the Dubai Calendar website, but when we called to confirm the timing (which, strangely, is never listed anywhere), we were told that there wasn’t a race on. One of the unexpectedly good and comfortable ways to see the many many interestingly-designed skyscrapers the city has, is to take the ride on the Dubai Metro and make a beeline for either the front or the back end of the train. At the ends of the train, there are no drivers, but instead, front-seat views of whatever’s coming up ahead.

Photo credit: Juxxtapose

Although the seating in the carriages look inefficiently-arranged, the trains are clean and air-conditioned, and are an efficient and convenient way to travel to the city’s main places of interest.