Series Dubai (gallery) ( - )
Narayan: This chapter is dedicated to my good friend Martin Courchesne (who's birthday it is today).
I was ecstatic to see my good friend Jean-Luc and my cousin Avinash (Avi) Sawlani at the Dubai airport. Dubai was a last minute addition to my itinerary when I found out that this was where Jean-Luc was transiting over 3 days between Iran and India. Avi and Jean-Luc had never met prior to this occasion but I had a feeling they'd get along well.
On my first day there, Avi recommended that we try the desert safari. Jean-Luc liked the idea of seeing animals and riding camels. As for me, I really wanted to see the desert after reading about it so much in the Dune novels, so we had Avi make the necessary arrangements.
We had a delicious Chinese lunch at the Noodle House in the Emirates Towers. At 3pm, we were picked up by Frit who was to be our guide on the safari. It was a 45-minute drive to the edge of the desert where we waited for the other 4x4's that would make up our safari caravan.
The seemingly never-ending expanse of fine golden-brown sand brought about a sense of timelessness and serenity the likes of which I'd only experienced when watching the sun set over the ocean. The lingering sand in the air from the previous day's sand storm caused the sun to have a beautiful halo around it. It also made the disc of the sun clearly visible greatly adding to the effect.
The oasis at the edge of the desert where our caravan of 4x4's met consisted of a small supermarket and a small mosque. As Frit and the other guides dropped the pressure on the tires from 35psi to 15psi, we wondered what animals we'd see out here in this magnificent desolation. Little did we know that this was not that kind of a safari...
We set out into the desert at 4pm. The Toyota Land Cruiser we were in had little difficulty climbing to the top of the first (large) dune. And then it happened... In a rush akin to that of a roller coaster, the 4x4 dove down the other side of the dune. We quickly grabbed onto the handles inside the vehicle as Frit calmly turned to us and said "Oh yeah... From now on... seat belts please." This was followed by a few more quick accents and descents and then a forceful steep (and I mean steep) turn. At times, we were at 60 degrees and I was thoroughly impressed by the angles these 4x4's could handle. We felt like we were literally surfing waves of sand in a two-ton vehicle. It was then the Jean-Luc and I noticed the custom re-enforcing roll bars on the interior of the vehicle.
After what felt like some near flips, Jean-Luc and I thought it would be best to get some background information on our guide Frit. We learnt that Frit had spent nine years as an Iraqi commando during the Iran-Iraq war. This quickly explained this tank like build and his mastery at handling the 4x4 in the desert. I could only imagine how many times he'd driven like hell amidst a hail of bullets but I thought it best not to ask. He had left Iraq 3 years prior to the Gulf war (the first one, not the current sham) and expressed concern for family he still had back home.
We had long lost sight of the oasis and the highway that we began from. At this point, the sun was our only guide (other than Frit and his compadres) to which direction it was to the safety of Dubai. As my mind wandered, I wondered how many souls this unforgiving terrain had consumed through the ages.
I was told that the golden color of the sand was unique to this region. The sand is white in the deep desert towards Oman. It's been a while since my chemistry days but to the best of my knowledge, the golden-redness comes from higher levels of iron oxide in the sand.
I was beginning to see the teamwork between the safari drivers. I noticed that they always maintained a safe distance from the driver in front and would stop each time the lost sight of the vehicle behind them. It must be well known that there are these "safaris" in this region of the desert because it is impossible to know what is behind the next dune before racing to the top and jumping over it. There is a point of time in the climb where you are committed to the jump and should there be someone sitting in the desert and contemplating life (like I was a few hours prior) on the other side... Well, let's just say that would be quite undesirable. Having said that, I saw individuals in dune buggy's that seemed to be doing their own thing, oblivious of our troupe. After one such jump however, we were greeted by the sight of a herd of camels and goats on a camel farm. This took us by quite a surprise since Jean-Luc and I had given up hope of seeing any animals on this "safari."
At the farm, we disembarked to stretch our legs and pat the camels. Camels have a way of looking completely disinterested in their surroundings (especially us humans.) "What a lazy looking animal." I thought. (Quite ironic since these animals were the main source of locomotion during the height of the famed Silk Road.) We took a few pictures and resumed our ride.
Words cannot describe the experience of pushing these 4x4's to their limits on the desert sands. It reminded Jean-Luc and me of our recent flight through turbulent weather in a single engine Cessna 172 through the Rocky Mountains between Vancouver and Calgary. I strongly recommend you try it first hand. If you're ever in Dubai, contact Avi Sawlani (my cousin and proprietor) of the Richmond Apartment Hotels. He'll make sure you get the same team of colorful desert experts that we did. I am told that there have been accidents with lesser skilled drivers. In our group, the only casualty was a case of motion sickness caused by a heavy lunch and too much water. I'm glad that was in another vehicle...
As darkness approached, we re-pressurized the tires and headed to an open-air campsite. I was told to expect a sumptuous meal and some tantalizing entertainment. A cold beer seemed fitting after a hard day's drive in the desert. Despite our offer, Frit politely refused, as he still had to work and drive us back to Dubai. Jean-Luc and I made sure that we drank for him. As the safari team set up the buffet dinner, Jean-Luc and I got henna tattoos on our biceps from a little girl in the camp. She was unable to take requests since she did not speak a word of English so all the men got scorpions and the women got flowers. We were then treated to music and some belly dancing (how fitting for the desert!) As I gazed upon the mesmerizing undulations of the dancer, I felt a touch of sadness that our good friend, Martin, was not there with us. The last time I had seen a belly dance show was at the Hotel Figueroa when Jean-Luc, Martin and I were together in Los Angeles for SIGGRAPH 1999.
The meal, like everything else, was excellent. We bid goodbye to our guide Frit (We had a different driver for the homebound journey.) and made sure he had our contact information should he ever come to Canada. I'd like to see him handle a 4x4 on snow.
It was a wonderful day and I realized that my adventure with Jean-Luc was just beginning. I look forward the to next five days in Dubai... and then... on to India.