Friday, August 26, 2011

DUBAI DESERT SAFARI: Desert Camp

Now here is another short video of our Dune Bashing ‘After Event’ - at the Desert Camp.


After the nerve-wracking, life-threatening (okay we’re exaggerating) 4x4 ride, we were brought to the Desert Camp together with all the other ‘Dune Bashers’ of the day.

Of course, only certified Dune Bashing drivers can get behind the wheel of a 4x4 so for those of you who wanted to try driving on fine sand then this Quad Bike and Buggy experience would be fitting. You can rent this out for an hour for AED 395-495 or roughly PhP 5,000 inclusive of helmet and gloves. Pricey huh?

One can not think of the Middle East without the image of a camel popping out.  So if you’re somewhere in this side of the world, the least you can have as a souvenir is a photo of you with a camel, or better... a photo of you riding one!  In this camp, a 5-minute camel ride is free!

We decided not to ride the camel at the same time so we can take good photos of each other. 

Macy went on to ride the camel first. Evidently, she enjoyed her camel... she had him all to herself, and it was the perfect camel ride!

Then it was Karol’s turn.  She thought, “This is gonna be the perfect Facebook profile picture! I’m gonna upload ASAP!” Just kidding haha!

Then out of nowhere a man suddenly jumped on the camel and joined Karol! She was shocked. Clearly she’s not happy. Hahaha

The camp is also a good place to witness the beautiful and colourful Arabian sunset.
 
Inside the Desert Camp are low tables set around a huge circular stage with big floor pillows.  It felt so nice as we sat and allowed our toes to sink in to the fine cold sand under the starry night sky.  

Buffet dinner consists of your typical Arabian fare and barbecue that smelled really good.  The spices filled the air that night. But before all that, they served fried vegetables and sodas as snacks.

We then made our way to the buffet to get ourselves some dinner and soon after, the show started.

A Tanoura dancer opened the program with his dizzying performance.  Tanoura which, means ‘skirt’, is performed by males and is known for its fast-paced swirling choreography. It is said that the spinning is done to attain inner purity and to be one with God.


An entertaining fire dancer followed.
 
Next is a pretty belly dancer who can’t even match Shakira’s belly dancing prowess. Hehe.

There are other activities in the camp like henna tattooing and shisha smoking. You can even try traditional costumes which we didn’t do (an image of hundreds of tourists wearing it one after the other stopped us) but were tempted to.  Hahaha! You can even get close to a Falcon and pet it. Of course ornithophobic Macy got scared.

Finally! A souvenir shop with lots of belly dancing costumes! We got ourselves some useless belly dancing scarves.

And right at that very moment, Macy made use of her scarf by channelling the belly dancer she saw earlier, while Karol wrapped it around her neck. True sign of our very low Emotional Intelligence.

Macy later learned from her belly dancing teacher that the scarves we bought are made in China. Hahaha.

The desert weather became chilly that night that our long-sleeved tops offered no help.  We then headed out and saw our driver Nur waiting for us outside the camp to bring us back to the hotel.  It was indeed an unforgettable dune bashing and desert camp experience, not to mention worth every penny.  

5 comments:

  1. The Tanoura dancers were gracefully dancing. Thanks for sharing! I'm learning a thing or two from your entries. I really want that falcon! Hahaha!

    The both of you were beautiful. As always!

    +1 for the video, too. The music fits! Great selection.

    Take care! :D

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  2. You're welcome, Vallarfax! Thank you! :)

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  3. Great post! The desert camp is really a must-visit place. :) Hope I can go there someday. I would love to try the dune bashing and the free camel ride. The buggy experience is too expensive.

    I think it's weird how that man popped out of nowhere and the scarves you bought were made from China, hehehe.

    Take care. Looking forward to more of your adventures! ^_^

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  4. Galing. I wanted to try this too. Is Karol wearing the earrings from Santorini? It's beautiful!

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  5. Thanks Karla! You'll enjoy Dubai for sure! Take care! :)

    Yup, Karol's earrings were the ones from Santorini and she's absolutely in love with them. Thanks Jelly Bean!

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