One thing I reliased whilst roasting for about 7 months in Dubai is that you really got to get to know the people and find out whats typically fun ...
Let me share some of my highlights of my summer of 2001 in Dubai whilst on a job assignment.
- Dune Bashing - sign up with one othe many tour groups and if you get Sunflower (at least back in 2001) they drivers are loads of fun. I won’t qoute the pricing as its been a while but it was worth every Dirham spent ...
4 of you plus your driver in a Pajero you drive out to the desert and hit the dunes ... there is nothing closer to saying an unbearable lightness of being as your driver sails you at top speed over the sand dunes and every bone is your body is jolted while you either pray or scream either which way you have fun ...
The scorching 4pm heat that hits you when you get out of your vehicle only to find yourself knee deep in the finest sand and the gentle breeze as the sun begins to set redefines the landscape before your very eyes ... you get to also then ride on those god awful smelling camels and then you realise why they are called the ships of the desert - the way the roll from side to side it is possible to get ’seasick’ - of course the fun is in tryin to mount these beasts and not fallover the other side .... camel BO and poop aside - these creatures are quite a sight to behold against the backdrop of the desert
Off then to the belly dancer and her errotic moves and as she pulls ever eager men up to shake their potbellies along side her ... by the way contrary to popular myth ... belly dancers HAVE slightly wobbly bellies like us mortals ... heightens the pleasure of the veiwing male crowd I was told or maybe she was on a retirement plan but what ever it was - her hips didn;t lie for sure ....
Henna tattos, sheesha and typical middle eastern BBQ and even vegetarian dishes to cater for those like so ... it was an evening of fun and laughter and somehow with all the sheesha inside you, laughter comes easy, relaxed you start to make friends and in my case, I came away with totally new people on my email list ... so really you just can’t tell who or what will happen.
Wadi Bashing - quite like the dunes only this is through the Wadi’s and one must only really go on one of these right after those sudden rains in the desert because the flash floods fill up wadis and what joy as you go through in top speed water every where and there is nothing like a dip in one these secluded wadis in the hot blazing noon sun just before a quiet cool lunch in a hotel nearby ...
River Cruise ... dinner on the creek .. as your boat crusies taking in the sights along side the Creek ... or sitting by those little tea shops sipping piping hot mint tea and letting the cool air of the evening caress your skin ...
Shopping at the Gold Souk, and Naif Street Textiles - spoilt for choice and variety .. and the gold shops on either side like an illuminating ocean ... you can go mad I swear ...
Dubai Market - picking your dates in the summer months and packing kilos to bring back to your waiting friends .... in malaysia ...
Baklava - the sweetmeats that can kill on the overdose of sugar ... lord only knows how many boxes I brought back in those months there ... and the pistachios too ...
You got to be in Dubai to experience the sights the smells it is an Arab nation that is globalised somewhat ... step out of Dubai into Sharjah or Ras Al Khaimah or even Abu Dhabi ... things are wastely different ...
I remember my evenings out in Bur Dubai ... stopping to eat my favourite Kulfi by the side of the road before walking along back slowly taking in the evening sights ... and those 5 Dirham Talli dinners you get at the Indian eateries ...
Go to Dubai in the Summer - the winter is a whole different kettle of fish .. but summer is blazing and loads of fun! And what about the Dubai Summer Sales - you cannot miss these!!!!