Ţawī al ‘Awīr

Today was dedicated for our desert safari experience. I booked online for a deluxe desert safari package and negotiated a discount of AED 10 per person on the advertised price.

Shortly before 4pm the driver from Sky Land was already parked downstairs waiting for us in a Toyota jeep. Off we went to pick up Affiong and the twins before heading out to the outskirt of Dubai close to Sharjah. The road leading to the desert seperated Sharjah on the left from Dubai on the right.

As we got to the desert about to get off the tarred road, the driver got down to remove some air from the tire to increase it's surface area (friction) with the ground. We then proceeded up the sand dunes to a hill where he parked for us to snap some memorable pics. A jeep from the same company was already there with it's passengers snapping pictures. While we waited 4 more jeeps from Sky Land joined us before we then proceeded for the dune bashing which involved driving precariously up and down the sand dunes, making sharp and tight turns and steep climbs and declines. The experience was similar to going on a roller coaster and hair raising but was a lovely experience as the driver expertly maneuvered the vehicle. It was a 30mins ride before we finally got to their desert camp.

At the camp we upgraded for a fee to the VIP upstairs patio which gave us a bird's eye view of the camp as well as the stage, this also came with steward who attended to all our food and drinks request, serving us immediately unlike the other guests who had to wait till 7:30pm and queue up for their food and drinks.

For starters we were given some local "puff puff" like snacks. Dinner was barbecued chicken, chicken suya served with white rice & yellow basmati rice, with beans and 2 other unknown sauces with lots of salad. The food was filling even though the kids didn't eat much and for desert we were served fruits with custard in a saucer.

For entertainment there was a tanoura dance followed by a belly dance show and finally a fire dance. The kids did Henna painting on their hands. The free one was small and with black ink which was hardly visible so they opted to spend more for the bigger one with black paint. While they were busy painting their hands I went on the free camel ride. Later on the kids tried shisha.

Overall the desert safari was a pleasant experienceRead more