DUBAI, 16 January 2007 — From dune bashing to camel riding, sand skating to belly dancing, desert safari in Dubai packs all the thrills and spills of an exciting adventure. And if you throw in the ongoing Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) into your package, the trip will forever remain etched in your memory.
My recent visit to Dubai during the Eid Al-Adha holidays featured all the peaks and troughs of tourism — from the fun and frolics of a delectable pastime to the gray areas that test the limits of multiculturalism. More of this later.
The high point of the visit was obviously the desert safari — a three-in-one package tour that combines dune bashing with camel riding, sand skating, barbecue dinner and belly dancing as the icing on the cake. Sheesha joint and Arabic coffee sessions added punch to the excitement as it headed for the grand finale.
The starting point of the safari was a gas station on the outskirts of Sharjah en route to the desert in the Dubai emirate. We were a motley group of some 100 expatriates from the Middle East, Europe, South Asia and the Far East. After filling up the vehicles, checking the tire pressure and stocking up on provisions at a supermarket situated nearby, we headed out into the desert in a convoy consisting of around 25 Land Cruisers, described as the king of the desert.
At the front is the leader who knows the dunes like the back of his hand. A back-up vehicle accompanies us at the tailend of the convoy to make sure that everyone is on board.
“You need a lot of experience to negotiate the dunes. Otherwise, the vehicle can overturn,” observes Ayman, our Jordanian driver and guide, a veteran of several expeditions.
As we drive past a dreary landscape dotted here and there with date palms and shrubs, an eyeful of sand dunes heaves into sight.
“Here we go,” someone shouts, as the vehicle mounts up a steep dune with Ayman shifting into the first gear for the extra punch needed. We are all pushed back to our seats for a while seeing nothing but the azure blue sky. Then suddenly it makes a 90-degree plunge to the sandy stretch.
I fasten my grip on the front seat even though I am strapped. This bobbing up and down and gliding across the dunes continues. The route, meanwhile, is strewn with burst tires reminding you of the treacherous terrain ahead.
The convoy meanders its way past the dunes, which have already been captured on our lens.
Somewhere a vehicle has got stuck while trying to negotiate a dune. The engine is gunned. Tires rotate feverishly splashing a sand wave on the incoming vehicles.
We veer off the beaten track to duck the avalanche, while the Land Cruiser in front glides back from the dune, changes lane, and rejoins the convoy. After a short drive, we disembark from our cars for the camel ride.
There are a dozen or so camels, whose front legs are tethered to prevent them from running amok. We all take our turns in enjoying the ride, the rhythmic movement of the animals causing us to swing back and forth like a pendulum. It’s an exhilarating experience, as the bodily movement has the tonic effect of exercise.
Back into our vehicles, our convoy forges ahead toward a vantage point for photo opportunity. The undulating dunes stretching over miles provide the backdrop as the tourists struggle to reach the top or glide down the slopes, while cameras click away at high speed to seize the historic opportunity.
The next leg of our safari brings us to a place where sand skating fills our cup of joy. The whole scenario smacks of surfing on the sea waves, of water splash and swells across an endless expanse of ocean. Here the metaphor changes, with the sand substituting for the sea, while the thrills and spills remain the same at the ethereal level.
More fun is in store, we are told. It is now past 8 p.m. There is a cold nip in the air. But our safari, as we were promised, would end with a bang. The countdown to all this begins with a barbecue dinner that the lucky ones enjoy inside their tents, while others have it alfresco style. The chilly weather heightens the fun of washing down grilled meat with soft drinks or other options.
“Ladies and gentlemen, soon we’ll have belly dance. Please assemble in front of the ring,” a voice booms out on the loudspeaker.
We all make a beeline toward the designated place. As Arabic pop music in the background builds up the tempo of the incoming show, a pot-bellied Egyptian dancer steps in to regale the spectators. What follows is best left to your imagination.
If the desert safari represents one end of the spectrum of festivities during the ongoing DSF, the other highlights of the event include shopping at malls, visit to the Global Village (where more than 30 countries, including the Kingdom, have set up pavilions), DSF Parade at night featuring the cultural pageantry and folk dances of Dubai and other emirates, and a colorful walk on stilts for the benefit of spectators.
This is aside from a visit to the Dubai Museum, which traces the evolution of the emirate from a fishing village and as a center for pearl diving before the flood of investors and tourists morphed its landscape beyond recognition.
The metamorphosis, marked by some of the biggest malls, giant skyscrapers, and the atmosphere of razzle dazzle everywhere, has meant that Emiratis, outnumbered four to one in the UAE’s population of five million, have to rub shoulders with expatriates from 150 countries, including Indians, the majority among expatriates, and over 100,000 Western expats in Dubai alone.
For the overwhelming population of Indians “Dubai is the best city in India,” as an article in the latest issue of “National Geographic” points out. It shows to what extent Dubai has absorbed Indian manpower, who tend to identify it as one of the Indian cities in superlative terms.
But there is another aspect that should not be glossed over. A visit to the Global Village and the malls throws into bold relief the cultural baggage that Western expatriates have brought with them. It is not an uncommon sight for Emirati women in hijab shopping in malls alongside their scantily dressed counterparts from the West. Yet, no Emirati man or the policeman raises an eyebrow or points a finger at the parade of blatant exhibitionism.
The spirit of tolerance in Dubai, where you see the symbols of all religions from the East and the West, is best summed up in the motto, “What is good for the merchant is good for Dubai.”
But what is good for the merchant is not necessarily good for the Emirati in terms of his cultural and religious values.
Thus, all the announcements during the safari were in English, leaving Arab tourists high and dry. All the hoardings and advertisements display the message prominently in English, with the Arabic script underplayed.
It may not be an understatement to remark that Emiratis may feel like strangers in their own homeland. But they have shown remarkable resilience in coping with the challenges on the cultural front.
This attitude of tolerance is in marked contrast to the cultural chauvinism displayed by the West when it insists on Muslim women discarding hijab to embrace Western values wholesale. So much for the West’s spirit of tolerance and respect for cultural traditions.
