date weekend: desert safari

I often receive promo offers from various deal-of-the-day websites, and fortunately in November, I received one for a desert safari worth Dhs84. The deal promised belly dancing, a tanura show, dune bashing, bbq dinner, shisha, henna painting, camel rides, and more. Safaris are better when you’re in a group so I asked my Pinoy Mafia colleagues if they were interested, and within a couple of hours, the coupons were in our hands. Knowing that we had to book early if we wanted to go on the date that we wanted, my colleague immediately sent an e-mail to the company and wouldn't stop pestering them until we had a confirmation.  And on the last Friday of December, we were in the Spinneys parking lot, boarding one of their coasters that would take us to the desert.

The ride took almost an hour until it finally stopped somewhere on the highway. As we waited for the SUVs that would take us to the camp, we took pictures while enjoying the windy weather and the view of the sun about to set.

stepping on rocks and sand

Since there were 8 of us, we had to go on 2 cars. It was a really bumpy and exciting ride as the SUV we rode in took us up and down the dunes. It felt like a mini-rollercoaster because there were even times when the car went across the sand dunes’ sides! I was the only one who kept shrieking in delight, much to the amusement of my colleagues and the driver. Ang boring naman kasi if we just sat there na parang bato, di ba? If I hadn’t done that, they wouldn’t have enjoyed the ride. As soon as we arrived at the camp, we all dispersed to try the different activities and take pictures so that we could get the most of the safari.

camel ride

showing off our henna tattoos (mine was already dry, thus the light color)

wearing the UAE national costumes

"holding" a falcon

After some time, we heard an announcement that the snacks were ready, which made practically everyone rush to queue for a plate each of falafel and fried vegetables. While we munched on our food and sipped our drinks, a belly dancer performed.

 

And after her, we enjoyed a dizzying tanura show which was like watching human carousels because their skirts had so many lights! 

Some time later, the buffet was open for dinner. It was a typical Arabic selection, but delicious nonetheless.

Before the safari ended, the tanura dancers went back onstage so that anyone who wanted to could twirl around in their skirts for a few seconds. Obviously, I was one of the crazy ones who wanted to give it a try. It was fun...I swear!

We then headed out to join the long queue of people waiting for SUVs that would take us back to our coasters. It was another bumpy ride, but tamer than the earlier one.  Finally, we were on the coaster and on our way back to the city.

I was hoping Hubby and I would go on a desert safari on the 28th of December for our monthsary date, and that’s exactly what happened. We both enjoyed the dune bashing and desert camp experience...and that at a really good deal. Plus, I can finally cross this item off from my list of Things I’ll Do After the Baby Comes Out! Yay!