We had another relatively early breakfast, and then explored the hotel gift shops - Christian needed stamps, and was looking for scissors. We found some nice things to buy as presents - a scarf for Heather or Janet, and a really nice silky dining table runner for ourselves. But we wanted to check out some markets before we committed to the purchases.
Christian wasn't feeling very strong, and wanted to conserve his strength for the desert trip, so we agreed to find some markets, but go there and back by taxi. We got ready to go out, and checked with guest services where the best places to find markets were. They confirmed that the World Trade Centre was best, because one tower had a mall, and the other had a good souk.
The hotel staff called a taxi over for us, and we set off. It was a quick and easy (and cheap) journey. We started with the mall, because Christian wanted to go to a pharmacy, and hadn't given up on buying a white linen shirt. The mall was a bit more posh than the Marina Mall. I spoke to the women in a shop that sold Dermalogica, but it was the same price as in the UK. We had a poke around a supermarket, Christian got a coffee at Starbucks, and bought some cold/flu cures from a pharmacy. We saw a stall set up for silly photos, and there was a beautiful falcon with a hood just sitting calmly outside the tent despite the noise. Then we went across the road to the souk.
It was strangely empty and quiet, but there were some good gift shops. The second one we went into had what we needed. We bought camels, a bag for Dorothy, a scarf for Janet/Heather, a small genie's lamp for me, and it came to 200 AED. The man boxed everything up for us, and we moved on.
It was lunch time by now, and given there was a nice looking restaurant in the centre of the souk, we decided to try that. Only one other table was occupied. The staff were wearing fairly silly fezes, but they were very attentive and incredibly helpful. We had a look at the menu, but didn't want anything heavy, so we asked the man to put together a mezze platter for us. He was only too happy to do so, especially when I specified that I wanted falafel as part of it (their specialty). What they brought out was amazing. Olives to start, then two dips (one with pomegranates), delicious thin, crisp naan bread, falafel and kibbeh with tahini, and a herby salad. So good! And it was cheap (130 AED for both of us, including drinks). Very impressed.
Then it was time to head back to the hotel. I considered buying a nice flowing robe, and asked a price, but decided not to in the end. We found a taxi at the rank, ignoring the offers we had on the street, and headed back, arriving around 1.30.
This left us time to visit the pool before our pick-up for the desert tour at 3.15. We were downstairs in good time, and the Hala 4WD turned up as expected. Prasad mumbled his name to us, and invited us into the almost full vehicle. We had to sit right at the back, but we were assured that seats would be rotated.
We set off, and Prasad gave us some information about the city, mainly about the grid layout at this point. He didn't speak loudly enough, which was annoying, even after we asked him to speak up. He talked about the presidential palace as we passed it, and also about Sheik Zayed and the formation of the UAE. I caught the drift, but knew I'd be able to look it up later, and stopped worrying.
On the way, we passed a car accident on the motorway, and Prasad pulled into a services in case anyone wanted to visit. No one did. After a while, we turned off, driving past an animal market on the slip road that went up and over the motorway. That was the last of the sealed road for a while, and then we were bumping along past sheds into the camel farm.
We turned into one of the yards, and got out of the vehicle. There were camels penned all around, and a few local men looking after them. Prasad told us that we could take some hay from a huge bale and feed the large group of females, so we did. They were nice creatures - very dark-haired compared to what I'd seen pictures of. Nearest the road was the stud male, a huge beast, penned on his own. I asked Prasad why one was penned on its own on the other side of the females, and whether I could feed it. He said I could feed it, and then went off to ask one of the men - he told me it was penned on its own because it was a pregnant female.
Then the other two 4WDs arrived, and the French tour leader said that the camel penned on its own was a young male. I said that Prasad has asked the man, but he waved me off. I didn't believe anything Prasad said after that. I tried to pat the camels, and some let me touch them, but they mostly moved away when they realised I had no more hay. Their teeth protruded, and I didn't want to give them an opportunity to nip me.
While we were talking to the camels, the drivers had let their tyres down, and once back in the car, we took off into the dunes. They started off gently enough, but before long, we were following the French driver up to the edges of huge dunes, and watching his undercarriage as the vehicle vanished over the top. Prasad followed his tyre tracks exactly, and while I wasn't sure if I trusted Prasad, I trusted the French guy, so didn't feel too scared, and luckily I didn't feel sick.
As they surfed down the face of the dune, they braked, but steered carefully, and then accelerated as they reached the bottom. They were pretty good drivers, though Prasad didn't have enough speed to get up one of the dunes, and so we drifted back down backwards, which was pretty scary. Anyway, I survived. At one point, vehicles from another tour crossed our path, and so we steered clear of them. Apparently there are protocols for sharing the dunes with other operators (i.e., like the last vehicle having its hazards on), but the other operator was ignoring them. Grr.
We stopped in a nice spot to take some photos, and French guy took some shots of all the groups through a tree trunk. Christian did some panoramas. It was still quite bright at this point. Before long, we were called back to the cars (it was our turn for the front - Christian let me take the front seat) and we set off again over the dunes. It was slightly better being in the front, because there was a handle to hold on to, and I could see better. Prasad talked about some of the desert trees being used as food because the leaves could be eaten like rice. I asked him what they tasted like, but he had no idea, given he just knew what they told him for the purposes of the tour. His words. Hmmm.
This was a short session before we stopped again for some sunset photos in a high spot. I got a few good shots, and Christian got a silly one of my hand and the sun. We set off again (our turn for the middle), and did a short drive back on sealed road to get to the Emirates camp. We pulled up right at the back of rows of 4WDs, and got out. I think we were the last ones to arrive - it was getting dark. There was sand surfing behind us (though you had to keep running back up the hill, so I gave up on that idea straight away), camels in front, and a big walled enclosure to the left. We went into the enclosure first to find our tables and take a seat.
There were hundreds of people sitting cross-legged on cushions beside low tables covered in bright fabrics. Food and drink was provided, and so Christian began by getting us a drink. There'd been a huge queue for the camel riding, and there was a huge queue for the henna painting as well, so we waited for a better moment for both. At that point, dinner was announced, and everyone ran for that, so we ran for the camels.
There was still a reasonable queue, but we decided to wait it out. The Mexican couple from our 4WD were in the queue in front of us. After about ten minutes, we had our turn, and I got on the front seat and Christian on the back. Christian gave his phone to the guy running it so he could take some photos. I'd been worried about falling off when the camel stood up, but it wasn't as bad as it looked. The walking action was quite soothing and rhythmical, and getting down was fine. The photos that the man took were awful, but it's still a record.
Back inside the enclosure, we had a look at the lone falcon sitting on his perch, without a hood or anything. Before long a man came over, and gave me the cuff to put on my arm, and he placed the falcon on. It was a beautiful bird - it just sat serenely while I gazed at it. Then Christian had a go, and the man told him to wave his arm a bit so the falcon would spread its wings. I got some nice photos. Then he took the falcon back, took the cuff off, and gave Christian a chance with the falcon directly on his arm. Neither Christian nor the falcon were very happy with that state of affairs, and so didn't last long.
After that, I went to the next stall to get a henna tattoo on my hand, as there was no queue at all at this point, while Christian went to get us some food. The tattoo was nice, but not as ornate as some of the Indian ones I've seen. I still enjoyed the opportunity, though the henna was very thick and would take hours to dry.
We met back at the table, and ate. The food was delicious. Tasty meat and rice, and salads, with bread and dip. The chicken wings were bony, but that happens. We were sitting opposite the Mexican couple, and we chatted a bit. They were staying with their son or daughter who worked for Etihad and was living in Etihad staff quarters. Turns out that the man had recently been on an academic sabbatical at Cranfield University UK, which is where Colombian Mark had done his MBA. Small world. They were a nice couple.
Then it was time for the dancing. First a man came out and did a whirling dervish routine with a couple of huge skirts. He was very jolly, and quite clever. They turned the lights off and he had LEDs on his skirts, so it turned into a light show. Christian got a great photo in which he looks like a merry-go-round. He had a few people up to try it as well, and then went off amid applause.
Then it was time for the female belly dancer. She was very good, and knew her moves perfectly. I watched the first dance, and then used the opportunity to visit the facilities. It was odd walking around on sand, and then stepping onto solid floor again. I got us more drinks while I was up. She did a couple more dances, and had a couple of people up to join in too. The bloke was actually not bad, and the woman was good.
And then the entertainment was over. Most people got up to leave, but there was no sign of our tour guides. We found them easily enough near the entrance. At about this time, the camp switched the lights off so that guests could star-gaze. Which meant that everyone trying to stumble around in the dark had to use their phones for illumination. Once we had our group together, we headed for our vehicle.
We got back in the middle seat, and set off. Prasad had pumped up the tyres, and so the section of sand that we had to negotiate to get to the road was a bit scary, because it seemed the only way to do it was to go very fast to get up the slight incline and hope for the best. Not fun, but it didn't last long. Back on the sealed road, we made quick progress back to the city, dropping off the Mexican couple on the way. We chatted to Prasad a little after that. He was from Sri Lanka, and had only recently started working for Hala.
We were soon back at the hotel, and thanked Prasad. As we hadn't had any dessert, we decided that room service was in order. I ordered chocolate cake with vanilla milkshake, and Christian had a strawberry/raspberry milkshake thing. Unfortunately the cake was enormous (Christian had to finish it), and so I felt a bit ill afterwards, but I enjoyed the milkshake.
We probably watched something while eating/drinking, and then turned in for the night around 10pm.
Christian wasn't feeling very strong, and wanted to conserve his strength for the desert trip, so we agreed to find some markets, but go there and back by taxi. We got ready to go out, and checked with guest services where the best places to find markets were. They confirmed that the World Trade Centre was best, because one tower had a mall, and the other had a good souk.
The hotel staff called a taxi over for us, and we set off. It was a quick and easy (and cheap) journey. We started with the mall, because Christian wanted to go to a pharmacy, and hadn't given up on buying a white linen shirt. The mall was a bit more posh than the Marina Mall. I spoke to the women in a shop that sold Dermalogica, but it was the same price as in the UK. We had a poke around a supermarket, Christian got a coffee at Starbucks, and bought some cold/flu cures from a pharmacy. We saw a stall set up for silly photos, and there was a beautiful falcon with a hood just sitting calmly outside the tent despite the noise. Then we went across the road to the souk.
It was strangely empty and quiet, but there were some good gift shops. The second one we went into had what we needed. We bought camels, a bag for Dorothy, a scarf for Janet/Heather, a small genie's lamp for me, and it came to 200 AED. The man boxed everything up for us, and we moved on.
Then it was time to head back to the hotel. I considered buying a nice flowing robe, and asked a price, but decided not to in the end. We found a taxi at the rank, ignoring the offers we had on the street, and headed back, arriving around 1.30.
This left us time to visit the pool before our pick-up for the desert tour at 3.15. We were downstairs in good time, and the Hala 4WD turned up as expected. Prasad mumbled his name to us, and invited us into the almost full vehicle. We had to sit right at the back, but we were assured that seats would be rotated.
We set off, and Prasad gave us some information about the city, mainly about the grid layout at this point. He didn't speak loudly enough, which was annoying, even after we asked him to speak up. He talked about the presidential palace as we passed it, and also about Sheik Zayed and the formation of the UAE. I caught the drift, but knew I'd be able to look it up later, and stopped worrying.
On the way, we passed a car accident on the motorway, and Prasad pulled into a services in case anyone wanted to visit. No one did. After a while, we turned off, driving past an animal market on the slip road that went up and over the motorway. That was the last of the sealed road for a while, and then we were bumping along past sheds into the camel farm.
Then the other two 4WDs arrived, and the French tour leader said that the camel penned on its own was a young male. I said that Prasad has asked the man, but he waved me off. I didn't believe anything Prasad said after that. I tried to pat the camels, and some let me touch them, but they mostly moved away when they realised I had no more hay. Their teeth protruded, and I didn't want to give them an opportunity to nip me.
While we were talking to the camels, the drivers had let their tyres down, and once back in the car, we took off into the dunes. They started off gently enough, but before long, we were following the French driver up to the edges of huge dunes, and watching his undercarriage as the vehicle vanished over the top. Prasad followed his tyre tracks exactly, and while I wasn't sure if I trusted Prasad, I trusted the French guy, so didn't feel too scared, and luckily I didn't feel sick.
As they surfed down the face of the dune, they braked, but steered carefully, and then accelerated as they reached the bottom. They were pretty good drivers, though Prasad didn't have enough speed to get up one of the dunes, and so we drifted back down backwards, which was pretty scary. Anyway, I survived. At one point, vehicles from another tour crossed our path, and so we steered clear of them. Apparently there are protocols for sharing the dunes with other operators (i.e., like the last vehicle having its hazards on), but the other operator was ignoring them. Grr.
This was a short session before we stopped again for some sunset photos in a high spot. I got a few good shots, and Christian got a silly one of my hand and the sun. We set off again (our turn for the middle), and did a short drive back on sealed road to get to the Emirates camp. We pulled up right at the back of rows of 4WDs, and got out. I think we were the last ones to arrive - it was getting dark. There was sand surfing behind us (though you had to keep running back up the hill, so I gave up on that idea straight away), camels in front, and a big walled enclosure to the left. We went into the enclosure first to find our tables and take a seat.
There were hundreds of people sitting cross-legged on cushions beside low tables covered in bright fabrics. Food and drink was provided, and so Christian began by getting us a drink. There'd been a huge queue for the camel riding, and there was a huge queue for the henna painting as well, so we waited for a better moment for both. At that point, dinner was announced, and everyone ran for that, so we ran for the camels.
There was still a reasonable queue, but we decided to wait it out. The Mexican couple from our 4WD were in the queue in front of us. After about ten minutes, we had our turn, and I got on the front seat and Christian on the back. Christian gave his phone to the guy running it so he could take some photos. I'd been worried about falling off when the camel stood up, but it wasn't as bad as it looked. The walking action was quite soothing and rhythmical, and getting down was fine. The photos that the man took were awful, but it's still a record.
Back inside the enclosure, we had a look at the lone falcon sitting on his perch, without a hood or anything. Before long a man came over, and gave me the cuff to put on my arm, and he placed the falcon on. It was a beautiful bird - it just sat serenely while I gazed at it. Then Christian had a go, and the man told him to wave his arm a bit so the falcon would spread its wings. I got some nice photos. Then he took the falcon back, took the cuff off, and gave Christian a chance with the falcon directly on his arm. Neither Christian nor the falcon were very happy with that state of affairs, and so didn't last long.
We met back at the table, and ate. The food was delicious. Tasty meat and rice, and salads, with bread and dip. The chicken wings were bony, but that happens. We were sitting opposite the Mexican couple, and we chatted a bit. They were staying with their son or daughter who worked for Etihad and was living in Etihad staff quarters. Turns out that the man had recently been on an academic sabbatical at Cranfield University UK, which is where Colombian Mark had done his MBA. Small world. They were a nice couple.
Then it was time for the dancing. First a man came out and did a whirling dervish routine with a couple of huge skirts. He was very jolly, and quite clever. They turned the lights off and he had LEDs on his skirts, so it turned into a light show. Christian got a great photo in which he looks like a merry-go-round. He had a few people up to try it as well, and then went off amid applause.
Then it was time for the female belly dancer. She was very good, and knew her moves perfectly. I watched the first dance, and then used the opportunity to visit the facilities. It was odd walking around on sand, and then stepping onto solid floor again. I got us more drinks while I was up. She did a couple more dances, and had a couple of people up to join in too. The bloke was actually not bad, and the woman was good.
And then the entertainment was over. Most people got up to leave, but there was no sign of our tour guides. We found them easily enough near the entrance. At about this time, the camp switched the lights off so that guests could star-gaze. Which meant that everyone trying to stumble around in the dark had to use their phones for illumination. Once we had our group together, we headed for our vehicle.
We got back in the middle seat, and set off. Prasad had pumped up the tyres, and so the section of sand that we had to negotiate to get to the road was a bit scary, because it seemed the only way to do it was to go very fast to get up the slight incline and hope for the best. Not fun, but it didn't last long. Back on the sealed road, we made quick progress back to the city, dropping off the Mexican couple on the way. We chatted to Prasad a little after that. He was from Sri Lanka, and had only recently started working for Hala.
We were soon back at the hotel, and thanked Prasad. As we hadn't had any dessert, we decided that room service was in order. I ordered chocolate cake with vanilla milkshake, and Christian had a strawberry/raspberry milkshake thing. Unfortunately the cake was enormous (Christian had to finish it), and so I felt a bit ill afterwards, but I enjoyed the milkshake.
We probably watched something while eating/drinking, and then turned in for the night around 10pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment