Visiting the desert

One thing that I wanted to do for ages I did when I visited the big sandbox aka the Middle East. I finally visited the desert. When I were in Doha in June I was really close to go but it was over 40 degrees so I changed my mind and saved it for later. Later now came when I visited Abu Dhabi a few weeks ago and the desert safari was a real success. As fun as going to an amusement park.

We booked our tour the day before at the hotel. There are loads of tours available if you google. But we only used google for research then we bargained with the hotel to get the same price as online since it feels more safe book it up front than from a website out in the cyberspace.

The drive

We had booked an half day tour and the driver came to pick us up at our hotel in Abu Dhabi in the afternoon. Then he drove for approximately one hour on the highway before reaching the sand. Wow. It felt like being in a video game (check out my instagram for a video; pillab). They drove at some paved roads for a bit before the real fun started.

Our driver was an awesome Emirati. There were a few cars teaming up before the ride begun and we got a photo break and walked some dunes. This was way better than the one at the Canary Islands. A real desert.

Then the fun started. The drivers headed off to the dunes and it was so much fun. I am a big fan of rollercoasters and this was even better. Accompanied by loud music they were driving over the dunes, tipping over the top, driving down sideways and doing crazy things. The sun started to go down and it was magic. I wished it never would end.

But it did. The safari took a break at a camel farm and we got off to watch camels close up. The brave ones took selfies with them but I was impressed by myself that I even went  quite near the wild animals. Just for taking pictures.

After the drive we continued further in the sandy landscape. I wished the drive would never come to an end but it did. But the fun in the sandbox was not over.

Because we got to go sandboarding. A really fun thing I only did once before in Brazil. It was really heavy to walk up the hill but worth it when sliding down. In the end it was the kids and I going.

At 8 pm the sandy activities were over and there was a belly dance performance followed by arabic food that ended this awesome evening in Abu Dhabi. I will for sure get back to the desert next visit to the Middle East. I enjoyed everything of it. Feel like being in the forest at home. So peaceful, the beautiful landscape stretching as far as you can see and so different from every other place I been to on Earth.

Reflections from the desert

When I was out at the desert safari I thought that going on this tour is quite similar to a classic winter nature expedition in Scandinavia. I mean, you go out to a big open space in the nature together as a group, then you drive (compare to going on a scooter ride), go with sandboards (snowboards), eating bbq (eating sausage) and hang out. Same same but different right? In fact going to the desert is not only a tourist thing in the ME. Many locals do the same thing during weekends.

What about you guys, have you ever been to the desert? what did you thought? If not I strongly recommend going. The desert safari is a thrilling experience but if you easily get sick of rollercoasters or have a hangover I would not recommend it.

/ Pernilla that wanna go back to the desert