Hello lovely people!! I’ve read a couple of fiction novels set in the desert in the past couple of years. Suddenly that all feels like some sort of preparation for this moment. I wasn’t expecting to get to experience being in the desert at any capacity anytime soon and was content with just reading about it, so just imagine my excitement! If I had to pick one favourite attraction from this trip, this would be it.It would be a mistake to leave this emirate without going on a Dubai Desert Safari. I’d love to come back for other sand activities. I really would. In a nutshell, the desert is one of the most unique locations I’ve ever been to, and the safari most definitely employs one of the most unforgettable methods to get there. If you’re planning to embark on a desert safari, I would suggest preparing yourself for one heck of a ride. Literally. Especially for first timers, I think you will find the journey quite something.Standing in the desert was both different and at the same time exactly how I imagined. I am filled with awe and wonder, trying to compare the things I’ve seen in movies, read in books, from the actual sprawling terrain before me. In both versions there are camels slowly lumbering about, but here’s where reality gives a clearer picture of things: the ground isn’t a single earthy colour but a sometimes-red-sometimes-yellow-tinged sand so fine it melts through the spaces between your fingers. It seems like the sand is alive and moving along with the whims of the sun, and it makes me think all the more how similar this place is to the open sea. Obvious dissimilarities aside, water may reflect the sun’s rays to make it shine like spilled diamonds, but the sand… Well it seems to copy the sun’s mood more than anything.I did a little light reading about geography so I have a bit of an idea about sand dunes or slipfaces and stuff like that. The sand dunes become more impressive the deeper into the Arabian desert you go, usually where the wind blows more fiercely. We’re lucky to experience the desert in what Dubai refers to as their “winter”. That is the first thing that pops into my head as I take my first step into the desert, feeling the cool breeze brush against my cheek. I am positive I would hate to be here in the summer. We ride on paved roads from the city for about 30 to 40 minutes until we enter the area where concrete meets sand.
‘This is the real beginning of the desert adventure,’ I think to myself. Of course, I was right. By the time we left stop #2, the sun was quickly fusing with the horizon. Hurriedly we boarded our vans and drove towards the camp. This third stop isn’t as far as the first two thankfully, and by this time I guess I was beginning to get used to the way the car jerks me about. The return trip was nothing. (I’m starting to sound like an adrenaline junkie.)
