Kelsey's Travel Blog!
I travel not to escape life, but to be sure that life will not escape me! Come join me!
Hatta and the Desert Safari
As my last few days in the United Arab Emirates begin to unfold, I realize that I have not accomplished one of my most important tasks/goals since coming here: Getting a picture of me riding a camel! Thanks to my traveller friends I met at ski Dubai, Rob was not only able to set me up on an authentic arabian desert safari, but also showed be some of the arabian "country side", if one sees expansive, rolling hills of sand as a type of country side.
We adventured to the little town of Hatta, about 1 hour or so away from Dubai near the Oman border. Hatta is known as a sheikdom located in the Hajjar mountains. It is a popular vacation location place for Dubai residence. Even in a place like Dubai, there is always a need to get out of the city for a night and just head to somewhere that is less about the hustle and bustle and more about the beautiful scenery and relaxation. Hatta was beautiful! The jagged mountains jutted out of the ground in a way I have never seen before, even being from a state with world-renouned peaks.
Thanks to Rob, myself, along with 3 other wonderful girls from South Africa (friends of Robs), hopped into a Chevy Tahoe with a driver from Pakistan and headed off into to desert for a real desert safari! That means flying over sand dunes, seeing wild camels in the distance, and thinking I was going to roll to my death when the car seemed nearly to roll over about 3 times. After a few near death experiences and putting my life into the hands of a Pakistani guy, we made our way to a camp in the middle of the desert where they had a bunch of some of the most cliché, touristy activities where we would be able to “experience the true Middle Eastern culture”. This true middle eastern culture involved “sand boarding” which involved a few broken snowboards and attempting to slide down a hill without dying, Henna Tattooing, horrible Hookah, halfway decent belly dancing done by an eastern European woman, and a little ride in a circle on a camel which was over all over hyped and super lame, but I accomplished the task of getting a picture (well, actually a few) on a camel. Overall, although it was touristy, and was absolutely perfect! I loved all of the cliché activities.
My time in the Middle East is unfortunetly coming to an end. I have been capitvated by a culture that, although in no way mirrors my own, I have felt a deep connection to. I am glad that I chose to expand my horizons outside of my comfort zone and experience for myself what the Middle East is like. The United Arab Emirates has been a perfect introduction to this part of the world, and it has given me the confidence to explore more remote areas within the region, even as a western woman.
The Middle East is increadibly misunderstood, and I am nothing less than fortunate to have a view of a country and culture outside of the 10 o'clock news segment. This, in my opinion, is what travel is all about: expanding horizions, questioning once held stereotypes, and broadening ones understanding of the world.
The next day, we returned to Dubai, only to head back into the desert for the moment I had been waiting for since I first decided to visit the Middle East. That, my friends and followers, was finally the moment that I got to ride a Camel!
