How exactly
do you bash a wadi? Or climb atop a camel without losing your dignity?
Or just lie back under a star-filled sky while a friendly Bedouin
prepares a lip-smacking camp dinner for you? Dubai lies at the edge
of the desert, where the great dunes roam, and that makes for not-to-be-missed
adventure opportunities: from the rugged challenge of the safari
to the thrill of sandboarding. And to unwind in style, experience
a true Arabian night at an oasis retreat.
This is the
true taste of the heart and soul of Arabia. Leave the city behind
and even the four-wheel drive that brings you to the edge of the
sand. From here, the ways of the desert take over. At the camp,
which comes to life in the evening, you will get a glimpse into
what living here meant for the Bedouin family, which had wrested
from the desert the means to survive. Long
ago, a date garden watered by a flowing stream was the height
of luxury and therefore seldom seen. Today you needn't experience
that hardship. Atop gaily decorated camels you will be brought
to the camp, and greeted before an exotic tent by your genial
host. There, comfortable among the rugs of Arabia, with tender
meats sizzling on the fire and with cooling drinks at hand, you
can sit back and enjoy the desert. Evening also brings on a slice
of excitement in the form of a belly dancer, all shimmering sequin
and flowing veil. This ancient art is alive and well here and
is best experienced as part of camp life. From Abu Dhabi, Dubai,
Sharjah or the other emirates, Bedouin camp sojourns are easily
organised by experienced excursion operators, who will take you
there and back quickly and in comfort.
This is the
true taste of the heart and soul of Arabia. Leave the city behind
and even the four-wheel drive that brings you to the edge of the
sand. From here, the ways of the desert take over. At the camp,
which comes to life in the evening, you will get a glimpse into
what living here meant for the Bedouin family, which had wrested
from the desert the means to survive. Long
ago, a date garden watered by a flowing stream was the height
of luxury and therefore seldom seen. Today you needn't experience
that hardship. Atop gaily decorated camels you will be brought
to the camp, and greeted before an exotic tent by your genial
host. There, comfortable among the rugs of Arabia, with tender
meats sizzling on the fire and with cooling drinks at hand, you
can sit back and enjoy the desert. Evening also brings on a slice
of excitement in the form of a belly dancer, all shimmering sequin
and flowing veil. This ancient art is alive and well here and
is best experienced as part of camp life. From Abu Dhabi, Dubai,
Sharjah or the other emirates, Bedouin camp sojourns are easily
organised by experienced excursion operators, who will take you
there and back quickly and in comfort.
This interesting
form of entertainment takes off-road driving beyond the limit. Charging
through the rocks and ravines of the Hajar Mountains, east of Dubai,
might look easy, but certainly isn't. Which is why, as they say
in the Emirates, it's usually the wadi that bashes you. Bashing
demands rugged four-wheel drive vehicles, so you sit in comfort
while bouncing over boulders. The wadis-dry riverbeds-make for thrilling
exploration. Add to that the spectacular mountain scenery and bashing
suddenly becomes a not-to-be-missed getaway.
On the face
of it the camel is a very strange beast indeed. Yet listen to what
the bedouin have always said, and in fact still do: that God has
given them one of nature's bounties, the camel. Of course, that
the camel isn't as generous as his maker is another story, one appreciated
as soon as you try and mount one for a ride that simply must be
had. One just cannot come to Arabia and not ride a camel.
At any one
of the well-appointed desert camps a friendly bedouin will help
you atop one, as long as the camel in question wants to co-operate.
You mightn't feel quite as romantic as Lawrence of Arabia charging
into war on a fearsomely fast steed, but you will certainly a
taste of one of the staples of desert life. The camel is after
all an animal with a mission: to survive in the desert and to
help the bedu survive as well. It is as superbly suited to the
desert environment as the date palm, but also provides for a number
of its owner's needs. The camel gives the local tribesman his
mobility. The camel is his mount as well as his beast of burden
(and more often than not it doesn't let anyone forget that!).
Surfing in Arabia.
Not just on the waves, or the Net, but on sand too! Towards Hatta,
south of Dubai, is the region of the big dunes. Once there, strap
on skis or step on a board, and swoosh across the face of a big
one. You'll be driven out there in comfort, instructed on just why
and how sand can make for a surprisingly great surf, and off you
go, speeding down a sand dune! |
UAE
