Exploring the Desert

So, since I last wrote, I have been on a desert safari. (pictures below). I wanted to make sure I  mentioned this, because it's a typical Middle East tourist activity, and it's the thing you have to check off your list when you live/visit here. It was a little sketchy (of course), but it was great! We scheduled a man from the company to pick us up at our apartments, and he picked us up in this modified or insulated kind of SUV. We paid him our money while we were driving to our unknown location (shady), and then after a while, we started to wonder, where exactly are we going? We have received no details. But don't worry, guys, people do this safari stuff all the time, and DO NOT expect details or an itinerary to be given in this country. Ever. Unfortunately, no one here cares whether you know what activities will happen when, etc.

Anyway, we were driving into the desert of Dubai with a strange man who was playing Pit Bull music videos on the dashboard TV. (I thought about Dad who says he could be Pit Bull because Pit Bull doesn't do any dance moves, only hand movements-I think you should consider a career move, Dad. The market's probably open for some Pit Bull replacements).
Needless to say, we arrived, and the man had to let all or most of the air out of his tires, so that he could ride through the sand. Then he started speeding through the desert, over the sand dunes, which were sometimes like sand cliffs, and spinning around really fast. I had to hold tightly to the cup holder because we would be popped out of our seat, and the car almost tipped over a few times. Bear in mind, the whole time, Pit Bull music videos were playing. Very odd juxtaposition.

Then we arrived at the little "village". There was a string of camels that we rode around for basically 2 minutes. Kind of cool, but lame that they just walked us in a circle. The camels were HUGE, and it was so scary to get off because they knelt down very abruptly. The man dropped us off mega early (with no details given or itinerary shown), so we just walked into the mini company-made village and tried on Arabic clothing, got henna, and got snacks. We had a reserved table where we sat on pillows and everything, but it was about 3 hours until the actual meal was given and entertainment was started. Eventually, we had a buffet line for appetizers, and then it wasn't for another hour until the food came! We went up and checked to see if it was ready so much, the man who was in charge came to us and said he'd let us know when it was coming so that we could be the first in line. (how embarrassing).

The first entertainer was a dervish dancer I believe they're called. Or dancing dervish. It's the person who wears a skirt with a design and spins around in a circle the entire time. It was amazing. This man spun for about 10 minutes, and while he was doing that, he was moving and balancing these 5 baskets with designs on them that fit into each other. The next thing was the same guy, but he was inside of a puppet which had two heads, and it was supposed to look like two men fighting. He walked around in a circle on the stage, and one of his heads fell off by accident. The best part about that little show.
The last entertainer was also amazing! It was a professional bellydancer who did a bunch of different routines. She was fabulous, and it made you feel like you were back in time in the deserts of old, watching this kind of thing as you sit on your pillow and eat your food with your hands. All in all, it was a good day but a little long, and the desert is absolutely beautiful. When the sun sets and bleeds its orange color over everything, it's seems so soft and romantic. I hope to go back to explore the desert again someday. And if any visitors come, I will definitely take you there!