Desperate Safari

What is the must visit tourist destination/attraction in Dubai? People say it is desert safari. Well, where else can you experience a life in the desert rather than in a desert country?

If you google the images of desert safari, yummy pictures like these show up:

I got pretty low price on the desert safari package tour deal from the Internet. Basically they promised to give us:

1. Pick up and drop from and to our apartment
2. Dune Bashing (that car bashing in the desert sand)
3. Sand Skiing
4. Camel Riding
5. Falcon Show
6. Henna (getting your hand painted)
7. BBQ Dinner Buffet

We were so excited! I mean, look at those pictures from the Internet. The day came and our high expectations started to crumble bit by bit from the first call of the driver who was supposed to pick up us at our apartment.


"Your apartment is too far, we are going to be late. Let's meet up at Deira City Center Mall."

My husband then told him that we could reach Deira City Center in 2 hours by bus (that's true), so the driver agreed to pick us up at the nearest mall from our apartment, which spent us a 10 minute walk.

After an hour drive, we reached the place for the long awaited dune bashing. I would not do it again. Ever. I felt so sick inside that car going up and down and left and right. When we were finally done tortured, we arrived at the desert safari camp. A lovely sight, isn't it?

I was so happy when I arrived here!

We wanted to do camel riding but the queue was so long it was not worth it. So we decided to check out the sand skiing. Err... it was nothing like the picture in the internet, with your feet strapped up to a board and everything. In the sand skiing spot was an ugly board (didn't even look like a ski board!)

Look at the queue!

Finding nothing interesting, we went inside the camp. After standing in a long queue to get a hot tea, we checked each attraction camp and realized that we had to pay to get anything! The henna painting, the falcon show, the snacks, the drinks, the everything. However, we managed to get our picture taken by other tour participants who do not want to pay just to take a photo shoot. *big grin*

To wear these clothes was free, fortunately!
What I wore is called abaya.
The one on my husband is called kendora.

And we watched some dances. (By the way, after watching some dances from some countries, I came to realize that Indonesian dances are so exceptionally good and detailed.)

The first dance. Pretty impressive. That man kept spinning more and more of that thing (coming from his skirt!).
I would not call it a dance, though. I mean, there was no dancing. Only spinning.

Another dance. The long awaited belly dance. Which was meh.

At the desperate time of hunger, LOL, finally they announced that we could have our BBQ Dinner Buffet. And oh my, everybody was LITERALLY running to the food. I was dumbfounded and realized why everybody was running. The queue was super long. They served kinds of rice, salad, hummus, and bread in a buffet style. But when it came to meat, we were given each two pieces of meat. I felt like a prisoner queuing for food. Not to mention the attitude of the guys giving out the meat.

"No more meat. Go. Go."

And the taste of the food was... disappointing. But I never like Arabian/Indian food, anyway. My Indonesian tongue needs stronger taste.

Anyway, let me recap this whole desert safari thing:

1. Pick up and drop from and to our apartment - did not happen
2. Dune Bashing (that car bashing in the desert sand) - not my cup of tea
3. Sand Skiing - an ugly board
4. Camel Riding - too long queue
5. Falcon Show - where?
6. Henna (getting your hand painted) - you have to pay
7. BBQ Dinner Buffet - what buffet?

I am a whiner, aren't I? Writing such a long post full of complains. I am sorry, but it was just a desperate safari for me.