Our last day in the UAE, we decided to spend it in the desert. We got to sleep in a bit, packed for travel the following day, and were picked up at 2:00pm by our driver that would drive us to the desert, take us through the dunes and deliver us back to Raffles after dark.

It took a solid hour to get out of Dubai and reach the beginning of the desert. As we pulled off the road, our driver jumped out to deflate the tires so he’d be able to drive in the sand. Our ride was a Toyota 4X4, retrofitted with a roll bar that you notice as soon as you climb in. We started across the dunes and soon we came to our base camp. He told us there are 40 base camps in this part of the desert, each offering various activities. The outfitter we chose, ABC Tours, came highly rated on Viator and offered dunes bashing with 4×4, ATV driving, camel riding, dunes skiing and a “bbq” dinner with entertainment. We weren’t interested in riding camels or skiing, so we were offered a longer time riding the ATV, about a full hour. After a safety briefing, we donned our helmets and headed out. This was the first time any of us had operated an ATV in sand and it was a blast. There were about 20 persons in the group that we were assigned to. We did some pretty good-sized hills and avoided anyone getting hurt. Next, we piled back in the Toyota to really hit the dunes with a professional driver. This guy explained how they have to go through special trainings and recertifications, which was comforting. These dunes weren’t as high as in Namibia but the sand was different too and he did some maneuvers that I don’t think could have been done on the high dunes. He got our heart pumping good and soon it was over.

Back in camp, we settled in to our assigned seating. The camp had a raised stage in the middle, with tables and cushions surrounding it. Soon, the food started arriving. There was pita bread and hummus, salads, falafel, lamb, chicken, fish, butter chicken, and 5 sides. A whirling dervish appeared, followed by a belly dancer and a fire twirler. As we had an hour to get back to the hotel and an early flight the next morning, we snuck out before the last act.

This is a stereotypical thing to do when you come to Dubai and we’re glad we did it.

Tomorrow: Flight to Doha