Desert Safari - My 60th Birthday
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| Desert Safari - Dubai |
Happy 60th
Birthday to me! I went on a Desert
Safari about an hour outside of Dubai for my birthday and it was
brilliant!!! Dune Bashing, Camel Riding, Belly Dancing, Dinner, Shisha
Smoking, Full Moon, Birthday Cake, good friends and of course, my wonderful
husband, Bill, who planned it all!
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| Barbara with Students and Teachers - Dubai |
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| Barbara, Marina, Seham and Noura |
I also had
a great day at the language school in Dubai where I worked. Big birthday
party, cake, candles and so many PRESENTS! You can't imagine... I
received no less than three dozen red roses from students, boxes of
chocolates, books, jewelry, clothing, tops and a silk scarf.
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| Maggie, Claire and Rebecca - Dubai |
I left
work early because Bill had arranged for a Desert Safari for us and two of
my young girlfriends who were also teachers at my school, Claire (age 23) from
the United Kingdom and Rebecca (age 27) from Australia.
Their
friends asked them why they wanted to hang out with an 'old lady' and they laughed. They said, 'you just don't get it'. She's not old, not at
all. She's just great and tons of fun!
Such a nice compliment to receive no matter how old you are.
Our
driver, Ahmed, picked Bill and me up at our flat first in a huge, white
Range Rover. Then we picked the girls up from work and drove out of the
city into the desert! But before we could drive on the dunes, Ahmed
stopped at a petrol station to let air OUT of the TIRES so we wouldn’t get
stuck in the deep sand. At the end of
the evening, he reversed the operation at another gas station.
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| Barbara and Bill in Desert |
DUNE
BASHING!!!! No kidding, so cool. Up and down the dunes,
sliding sideways, up, up, up, down, down, down, sand flying along side of the
car and so much laughing, screaming, ooohhhhh, aaahhhh, wheeeeeee,
going on inside the car - it was hysterical! Bill was holding on
for dear life in the front seat next to Ahmed and the three ladies were in the
back seat belted in and holding on to ceiling handles and each other! But,
Ahmed drove like an Indy driver and he was having as much fun as we were. The sun was shining and the reddish sand
glistened.
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| Bill in Front Seat of Range Rover |
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| Desert Safari Range Rovers |
There
were lots of other Range Rovers and Land Cruisers in the desert, but they
looked like little Match Box cars on the ridges of the dunes. We would
ride up to the ridges and straddle them for a while, then go down, down,
down... Then, we drove go straight up, crested the top, then go STRAIGHT
DOWN. Talk about losing your lunch! You are advised not to eat
anything for about 2-3 hours before the dune excursion and I can understand
that advice.
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| Rebecca, Barb, Claire and Bill |
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| Arabian Desert outside of Dubai |
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| Barb and Rebecca |
After
about an hour of roller coaster dune bashing, we stopped on top of one of the
dunes to get out and take in the view.
Oh my goodness, the view! We
could see for miles and miles, just rolling, beautiful red sand mountains. We played in the warm, silky soft sand, which
does NOT STICK to your skin or the tires of the car. We took photos of each other, the dunes
and the sunset.
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| Barb Jumping for Joy! |
Camel
Farm – After our dune bashing, we drove to a camel farm where a baby camel
had just been born 5 minutes before we arrived.
So, the camel and I now have the same birthday. He was so little
and cute, looking like a wet noodle lying on the ground flopping his big head
around. He would raise his head and then it would fall back down onto the
sand because he just didn’t have enough strength to hold it up. The mama camel
licked him and kneeled down beside him to trying to help him get up and stand.
This went on for some time.
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| Newborn Camel |
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| Ali at the Camel Farm |
Then
the camel farm worker lifted the baby camel up, but he couldn't quite stand on
his skinny, wobbly legs, so he went back down into the sand.
Finally, the
newborn camel got up on his knees and remained steady. At last, he stood
up! All of this took place in about 45 minutes.
Birth and
life! A new beginning in the desert. He was just adorable. So
we asked them to name the camel after me.
I now have a camel named after me!
Desert
Camp – We headed to the Desert Camp for our evening of entertainment and
dinner. Again, brilliant! There was the most beautiful full moon - just
for my birthday! Rebecca and I went on a camel ride together. It
was amazing because as we were riding our camel and just walking along the
desert with the full moon above our heads. We looked to our left and
saw our shadow on the dune next to us.
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| Barbara and Rebecca riding the Camel |
The silhouette of the camel with us
riding it looked as though it came straight out of the Arabian Nights.
We were just overcome by the moment - riding a camel in the desert as people
have done for centuries and looking at that silhouette was so memorable.
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| Barbara and Rebecca on Camel under the Full Moon |
Henna
- Next, we had our hands painted with 'Henna'. The woman who painted
everyone's hands, arms and legs was an amazing artist. She quickly drew
the intricate designs with the henna, filling it in and was so happy to do
so. Several people had beautiful artwork done, even some men. The
henna dye lasted about two weeks. What a beautiful design I had on my
right hand. Guess this is as close as
I'll ever come to having a Tattoo!!! My beautiful Henna design slowly
faded… But, the memories of the evening remain with me forever.
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| Henna Artist |
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| Barb Having Henna Drawn on Hand |
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| Beautiful Henna Designs |
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| Rebecca and Barbara |
Barbecue
Dinner - Now it's time for the scrumptious dinner! Big barbecue with
kebabs of all different types of meat - chicken, lamb, beef. Too many
side dishes to count, bread, hummus, taboule and desserts. Mmmmmmm
good... All of the food was cooked at the desert camp, so the aromas just
made your mouth water.
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| Bill, Barb, Claire and Rebecca |
Belly Dancing - Time for
entertainment! A curvy, exotic long haired Russian (yes, not Middle
Eastern) danced on the center stage. She was an incredible, sexy belly
dancer. Of course, she invited me and another girl up on stage to
dance with her because we both had birthdays to celebrate. She taught us
how to move our torso isolating the three (3) different sections. I
didn't know I had three different sections to work with, but apparently I
do. So, I had a great time wearing a beautiful scarf tied around my hips
and tried to move like the professional belly dancer.
I gave it my best try and had a blast doing so!!! Well, when in Rome, or
when in the Middle East...
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| Rebecca and Claire |
Middle
Eastern Clothes - Rebecca, Claire and I went to a special tent where
we put on the national garments of the United Arab Emirates - the black abaya
and the sheyla to cover our hair. We took pictures and decided that Westerners
don't look particularly good in these garments. All that black against
our pale face and skin, not a good look. You have to have the right
complexion to make a 'Fashion Statement'. Only Rebecca looked nice because
she is of Arabian descent.
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| Rebecca, Barb and Claire |
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| Barbara | |
Shisha
Pipe Smoking - Yes, I did that too. Again, it's the closest I'll ever
come to smoking anything. I didn’t inhale (I don't know how)!! But,
I did enjoy the flavor of apples, strawberries and other fruit. It wasn’t
harsh because it is the 'Hubbly Bubbly'.
It's mixed with water, so it's just smooth and aromatic. We all
smoked the Shisha Pipes, even Bill. Actually, it was quite lovely.
Everyone else had departed the campsite except our driver and my birthday
group. We were the only ones left to
enjoy the full moon. He was smoking with us and we were all chatting
about the beautiful night.
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| Ahmed, our Driver, Smoking Shisha |
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| Bill Smoking Shisha |
It was
the most memorable birthday celebration I’ve ever had and I would go back to do
it all over again!
