The Dunes Bashing

Allahu Akhbar! God is indeed great was the feeling felt when I stood outside in the heat and the sea of sand around me. Imagining beneath all the sand is oil the wealth of the nation, I now have a better understanding of what Ibni Arabi meant when he uttered that "the God you worship is beneath my feet, he was not only refering to the pot of gold coins they years later found buried in the sand at the spot where he stood but he might as well be referring to the oild which would be discovered hundreds of years later. The Muslims of his time executed Arabi for his blasphemous remark however today they would have elected him the President,

At last I am really in the desert! My son Timo and I took a trip with the 'Arabian Nights' Tour group which involved a drive thought the desert in the 'Modern day Camels', the Land Cruiser. The Naz insisted that we do this trip and we were glad we did it as it was an experience like no other for anyone who has never been in the desert of the Middle East before.

The drive itself was as harrowing an experience in driving as one could imagine as we slipped and slided through the sand up and down the dunes at the mercy of our driver and owner of the company, Amir. He drove single handedly like he was going to the super market while talking to his buddy on the cellphone, while i was holding on to the seat for my dear life half expecting the car to roll over.

Driving in the sand was like driving in the snow except that sand has better grip than snow. The drivers would deflate the tyres to a certain pressure before they take the drive as this would stabalize the car better.

It was quite a sight to see a convoy of Land Cruisers racing through the Dunes loaded with frightened tourists and at the mercy of a sadistic Emarati drivers. We arrived at our destination late in th evening to be greeted by a bunch of camels racing after their owners in a pickup truck. It was an added bonus for us to be able to be up close with these awesome creatures, this is their country.

Towards the night we were offered various entertainment including a belly dancing performance and a great BBQ cookout ala Dubai.

Like their counterparts everywhere in the world the tour operators, the BBQ pit men, the guy at the souvenir stand, the hip long haired young stud who has crossed the cultural barriers from being a Desert Beduin to a cool western kick ass punk, all had an attitude towards tourists like us. We are the idiots who are there to be taken care off with all curtersies and respect due, we paid for it but that is as far as it goes. Going the extra mile is for the boss or the owner and bending backwards to bew extra friendly would be too much to ask for and this is as I said, common everywhere in the world of resorts and other hospitality industries. I am talking from experience of having been involved in a few as an employee.

It was also great to meet up with the locals especially Amir out driver and host who was a vast source of information with regards to the local culture and history and the who is who and owns what in Dubai. According to Amir almost 70 percent of the locals in Dubai can trace their ancestery back to Southern Iran. Like in most countries, the drop outs of society those who cant make it in life for lack of education or simply poor can join the army and get a good steady income. Another common topic of conversation in and around Dubai is the price tag of acquiring 'cool' number plates for one's car. The lesser the digits the more expansive off course and the Royal family has their own set of numbers allocated like in most other countries where who is who means alot more than who knows what. The plates can be bought at auctions and the price can be as high as thousands of dollars for the three digits. If I had my way I would get the longest and most difficult number to read on my vehicle just in case I have to outrun the law, my adversaries or my in laws. Only a fool would want his vehicle easily recognized on a public road or in the parking lot where an unhappy customer can walk alongside it with a key in his hand and bad intentions or revenge in his mind. Ahh what we would do in the name of the all mighty ego!!

According to Amir, our host camels have a strong sense of 'revenge' when they are being consistantly abused. Not unlike the elephants I thought to myself.The animal was known to have killed its master after being abused for a long period of time. There are many names given to camels in the Arabic language which coincides with their growing up where each stage from an infant to adulthood they are known by different names. They would eat anything including plastic wrappers and thus are kept away from garbage dumps.

Having henna painted on your skin is another of the freebies that is offered at the camp.

The delicious dinner consisted of rice and dal curry with beans. Chicken kebeb on sticks and BBQ minced beef. Also included were the typical Middle Eastern food like the felafel and homus dip. Everyone were stuffed by the time we left the place and not before we had a taste of the shisha or water pipe while more stories were told of the th life in the desert.