Sand Dunes and a thrill a minute

Coming to Dubai is a dream come true!

Corey has been here many times but rarely gets to see any of the city because of his meeting schedules.  Having a free day is a treat!

We started our day with breakfast, a weight work out in the gym – where once AGAIN I realized that I can do more…I just have to push it…having Corey there to help with the 8kg weights for one set did make my finishing that set possible..but I still finished!

We worked pretty quickly so we could get out to the pool for a swim before our outing. 

Barbara had told me a must do on this trip was to get out to the sand dunes, go to dinner, have a henna tattoo…the whole Middle East experience.

Corey signed us up for a tour that did all of the above! I’m going to tell you about the Sand Dunes first…

We were told to bring coats…it gets cold in the desert…I should have known this was craziness…just like those who wear parkas in Hong Kong

We were met by our driver who wore traditional clothing.  He is wearing a Kandura – a loose fitting robe.  Our driver, and most of the others, where white. On his head is a Ghutrah – a square cloth…normally checkered.  His face is exposed…only the women tend to cover their faces.

In that I forgot my sunglasses and had to go back to the room…Corey and I were loaded last…so we got the BACK of the car…this turned out to be a good thing…at least I thought so b/c we had more room and I had a clear shot for pictures.

We stopped at this store for a rest room break (for those of you in Hong Kong…squatters!  ahem ) – Here is Corey outside.  Behind him check out the visitor who bought one of the Ghutrah….I want to know how he will tie it when he gets it home!  The driver is letting the air out of the tires

First we stop so ALL the cars in our group can gather.  They collect us from all over Dubai.  We take a few moments to grab a couple camel pictures:

 

The 2nd picture shows the camel getting up…it is quite a slow process…I wonder if he/she is old…but finally…on the feet and off to have dinner!

Well, he is urged to have dinner.

Corey is READY for the dunes! …he only wishes HE was driving!

There are TONS of cars out there.  Our group has about 10, which later we will see is a huge advantage.

SO…off we go…careening through the desert.  We start slow…bouncing, small dunes…a little warm up.  Quickly enough, we have to stop as one of our group gets stuck…this happens often and it won’t be the only time today.

While we wait for the car to get unstuck..OUR driver decides to take on particularly steep dune:

Those are our tracks..I know it does not look like much…but trust me!  We were vertical and just sitting there until the driver released the brake and off we went down the rest of the hill…it was just like hanging off of the edge of a roller coaster.  LOVED IT.

These are the cars behind us..it’s funny to see how close they stay to each other but always just manage to avoid hitting the next vehicle.

Our driver loved hearing us squeal I think, b/c he would take us closer to rocks, higher on the dunes than most of the other drivers…and once again, we loved it…which one of us yelled our giggled really depended on the thrill of the minute…fast hard bumps…that was me…sliding sideways down a hill, the older woman in the middle row.

Seat belts are constantly locked during the ride due to the jolting, sliding, braking.  Happily…our heads never smash into the top of the car…and no one in our car got sick (no voyage of the damned here)

As we drive we past… TONS of vehicles with people out of the cars to take pics…our drivers have no problem aiming the cars right at them and accelerating …people quickly learn to get out of the way….run or perish…

Finally it is our turn to stop for pics…The sand is the finest you will ever see…

I tried to write my name in the sand…it was hard.

Sadly…all over the dunes there is trash…bottles, plastic bags, etc. 

I think it is not only b/c there are SO many people there every night…but the sandstorms must bring in a ton of trash.  I think we should have bags to clean it up…but no one else seems to care…sigh.

Here we are climbing around…our shoes and socks filling with sand!

 

During our stay for pictures…one of our cars gets stuck again!

This is the first time…everyone is still in the car…

Here is the rescue..which is quick..but then…

the SAME guy decides to show off and gets stuck again…here are the rest of the cars…and drivers…watching the 2nd rescue..and heckling him as much as possible!

Quickly it is time to head off to the rest of our adventure…a couple more shots for the road…er…dunes

The night is just beginning.