Desert Safari: Dune Bashing

#traveltuesday

Imagine the feeling of being in a roller coaster but inside a 4x4 cruiser.  You and most of the passengers are laughing with excitement as the jeep move up and down the sand dunes.  As you anticipate the driver’s next maneuver, all of a sudden you hear the sound of retching at the back of the vehicle.  Uuuugggh.  Disgusting. That's what exactly happened in my last video.

Our off-road adventure was fun, alright.  For someone stationed at the passenger side, yes there were times when I feel nauseated.  Even so, I wanted more thrill.  More stunts - the our-jeep-almost-flipped-over kind of stunt.  Yup, I'm for it.  And I just know that our skilled driver is capable of doing so if not for that other tourist who kecked endlessly inside the cruiser.  It was even heard in my videos!!! Soo not cool! Booo!!!  

With that, the driver had no other option but to stop and wait for the guy to feel better.  Seriously, a roller-coaster ride is not for everybody and so is the dune bashing.  The activity was slightly ruined.  We had to stop for atleast two or three times  and even had to switch seats just so we could reach our destination.  Sigh.  

But the interlude gave us time to appreciate the beauty of the desert.  What a break from the commercialized city of Dubai.  Amazing.  Specially that it was almost time for the sun to set.  I mean, just look at how spectacular this view is.  Wow.

Also, it gave me time to erhm shoot more pictures by the sunset.  Lol!  And my favorite shot would have to be this.  Yes, credit goes to my photographer Ali for perfectly capturing this. :)

With the wind blowing that strong on that day, I felt like I should've chosen a different outfit.  Think of a long dress, something flowy then I can do a high fashion shoot with Anggun's Snow on the Sahara in the background.  Lol!  

In short, never mind that the dune bashing was not as thrilling as expected, I got very nice pictures thank you very much.  Hahaha!!!  When the Indian guy took my seat infront and the windows were opened, he felt a bit better.  Poor guy.  So off we go to the last part of the tour - to the Bedouin desert camp for a magical evening in the desert under the stars.  

But before I give you that, I'll share another dune bashing video.  This time it's without any retching sound.  Enjoy, haha!

Desert Safari (Part 1)

#traveltuesday

But of course what is a trip to UAE without seeing the desert? I made sure that this was the very first thing in my itinerary.  I’m so grateful that for this trip, my friend Ali even took a half day leave (awww) just to accompany me.  Yeah that’s how he missed me.  LOL!  And not only that, he carefully drafted a 5-day itinerary for me.  (Not that I’m not enthusiastic about the trip, lol!)  Oh and speaking of Ali, (I just know that he is sooo loving this limelight right now), this is his much awaited feature on my blog.  Sorry Ali, it took 3 months but here it is anyway.

On the way to the desert aboard the 4x4 land cruiser (we were picked up from my hotel around 3 PM), I learned that this is already his 3^rd time to experience the desert.  It must be really good then. ;)  Our conversation below is a further proof, that he really loves exposure…

Ali: KC, ibblog mo ba to? (Are you gonna blog this?)
Me: Oo. (Yes.)
Ali: Yessss!!!!!

Haha!  As though I’ve got a million followers in this blog.  LOL!  In this tour, we were joined by two sets of couple – one from Australia and India.

The travel time to the desert took atleast one and a half hour.  Check out some of the sceneries here captured by my camera on the way to the desert conservation reserve,

After sometime, we had to stopover at this area for toilet/ grocery needs,

Souvenirs are also available from this site such as scarves and belly dancing accessories.  From this place where the 4x4s were parked, one can already have a feel of the desert.  It was quite windy for that day in the early part of December so you can literally feel the fine sand blowing on your body. :P  You gotta cover yourself just like the Arabs. Hehe.  And for the choice of outfit, as mentioned before they do recommend shorts and slip-ons from the website.  I just didn't have something longer so had to make do with the waist-tied denim buttondown ( my brother's if you must know :p).  

A few more minutes just when I couldn't contain my excitement anymore (lol!), we finally arrived at the conservation center!!! Wooohooo!!!  Btw, I don't only have my favorite candid shot here, here's another one...

Yes, my very first sight and feel of the Arabian desert.  It was exciting that I was jumping for joy.  LOL!  But maybe the experience is different on a summer season. Yay!  Btw, they do have a point for recommending slip-ons.  Not only to ease you from the sand getting into your closed shoes, but it's because it's too damn fine you'd love the feel of it on your feet.  Promise.  Here's another video of us warming up or cooling up for the dune bashing. :)

  

If you saw my last video and listened to it, seriously, whoever eats something a few minutes before dune bashing???  Someone just ruined the activity for us, sigh.  But it also worked out to my advantage.  Something I will blog on the second part. Stay tuned. :)