The last week of Ramadan is arguably the most serious week. It’s the last 7 days of a 40 day long period of religious reflection which culminates with Eid, a large celebration. In an Islamic state it means that everything becomes a bit more serious. It also means that on the Friday (the Islamic day of rest, similar to Saturday in Judaism or Sunday in Christianity) there are fewer things open then usual and this holds especially true for the last Friday of Ramadan.
So when my family decided to pay a visit to the Dubai Frame, which came highly recommended from Jean and his parents, before going off on an evening tour, on the last Friday of Ramadan we simply should have known better. With only a few hours between when everyone finally got out of bed and when we had to meet our ride for the Bedouin desert experience we were all singularly focused on getting to the Frame and crossing it off our to-do list. Mom said that she had checked and it was open today but as soon as we all piled out of our Careem another family approached us and said it was closed until 3pm due to Ramadan. I couldn’t believe that we got all the way out there just to turn around and go home. Thankfully the Careem we took was still sitting there in front of us so we were able to climb back in after I booked him through the app again.
Dejected and hungry I offered to order UberEats for the family. We had just enough time to enjoy some McDonald’s before the tour but not quite enough to endure the leisurely pace of restaurant dining in the UAE. That was another adventure as the bike messenger went to the wrong side of the hotel and I spent five minutes chasing after the little black motorcycle dot on the map within the app only to find he had walked through the indoor parking lot to the lobby. Thankfully my family was still waiting in the lobby and EJ knew enough to grab the food from him before the delivery man could disappear again. I got another McArabia chicken and an interestingly spiced chai. It was unlike any chai I had ever had before. We sat around the kitchen table in our apartment hotel room and ate lunch then relaxed for a few minutes before heading back down to the lobby to catch our tour.
The evening before Mom declared that one of us had to plan the next day’s activity because she was tired of doing all the work. I didn’t really blame her, having experienced the fatigue of being the sole person planning everything when I went to the UK with EJ a couple years ago. It was also what helped make Tasmania so enjoyable, the activity planning with Bren was a 100% shared burden. Anyway I awoke this morning at 6am and unable to get back to bed took it upon myself to do a search to see what was available to do today that we hadn’t already done, wouldn’t break the bank, and that everyone would enjoy. I had remembered years ago when JP was here and the photos he posted sand duning in the desert. So I did a search on Viator, which has quickly become my favorite method of booking tours on vacation at the last minute. When Viator first came out I remember being so skeptical of it but now it’s really become very useful. My search on Viator this morning showed that there were really only two options - a dinner boat cruise and a desert sand dune and dinner show tour. I confirmed with mom that there was no interest in the former and so I did more reading on the latter. There were mixed reviews from those who attended during Ramadan and the tour details said there was no guarantee that we could get picked up from our hotel. I thought maybe we shouldn’t do it but then I realized, after seeing the options just weren’t there to do it from Abu Dhabi and they had even worse mid-Ramadan season reviews, that this might be our only chance. Still I wasn’t convinced the Viator one would work and Mom said that she would go talk to the concierge slash travel guide in the hotel. Sure enough she came back upstairs victorious and a few dollars poorer but she had secured our spots on a desert tour complete with sand dunes, camel ride, a good dinner, and some entertainment.
So when 4pm rolled around I was excited to see our ride showed up on time and in a desert ready 4x4 just like I had read about. Mom asked if I wanted the front seat and I encouraged her to take it, knowing full well it would be the equivalent of the front seat on a rollercoaster once we hit the desert. I ended up in the third row with EJ which turned out quite well because the other two people on our tour were a retired couple from Sydney, Australia.
Now it’s no secret how I feel about Sydney and the average Sydneian (they’re generally obnoxious) so when Mom brought up that I had been there recently and I told the couple I lived in Melbourne, the obnoxious woman turned back to me and said “well you know there’s a bit of a rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne,” and I replied “oh believe me I know” but omitted my opinion that Melbourne is the far superior Australian city. She then went on for the rest of the hour long drive about how New York was such a crowded and horrible city despite knowing that was where we were from. Mom even tried to explain to her, nicely, that she was a stupid tourist for staying in Times Square and expecting anything different. When we got off at a tourist shop so that our driver could deflate the tires in the 4x4, preparing for the ride through the sand dunes, Mom quietly asked me if all Australians were like the woman and I told her why do you think I hate Sydney? And explained my opinion that they are often as obnoxious as the woman in our car. I assured her that people in Melbourne were generally not like this woman and Mom said ok good. We used the toilet and Mom bought a bunch of souvenir gifts before we piled back into the car.
About 10 minutes later our driver veered off the paved road, that was covered in sand, to the mountains of sand. The ride through the dunes was amazing. Like some kind of wild roller coaster adventure but surrounded by the beautiful mountains of sand and a slowly setting sun. Our driver climbed up the piles of sand and then straight down them, drifted the 4x4 around piles and even managed a few slides down the sand. It was everything I had hoped it would be, thrilling and adrenaline pumping. EJ and I hollered and cheered with each stunt and the driver laughed as the older adults in the car grimaced and gripped the handles in the car for dear life. The driver did some great moves in front of tourists standing on the top of a dune taking pictures and I found myself wishing I could get a copy. He finally pulled into the sand clearing along with the other tour guides and we got out of the car to take pictures. Our driver even offered to take some of us as we wandered around the sand. A gentleman came by with a perigrine falcon on his arm and handed it to us to take photos with it for the price of 10 Dirhams per person. Of course we all took pictures and I said I should add it to my now growing collection of photos of me with wild predators perched on my arm or shoulder. Once we got our fill of photos around the area we got in once more, and once more road the dunes before our driver pulled up to an encampment.
Outside the encampment were a couple of camels that people could ride. They were huge and while part of me wanted to experience what riding would be like, the other side of me said it was better to just stand next to one and take a picture, so that’s why I did. Inside the compound was a stage surrounded by tables and shops along the walls with a bar that didn’t serve alcohol and a kitchen area where the staff was cooking. Our driver brought us to our table and I immediately went for a drink. I got handed a cold can of coke and shrugged as I drank it then grabbed a few flimsy plastic cups sealed with foil of water. I drank as many of the tiny waters as I could and when the food was served I found I wasn’t actually hungry so I grabbed a few things then returned to the table. The first performer was a fire juggler who was really good. The second performance would have been belly dancers but since it’s Ramadan they cancelled that part and we had free time instead before the final performer of the night. Dad got more food, Mom went to get henna on her hand, and EJ and I went to the shisha station. The double Apple shisha was free and the other flavors cost 50 Dirhams. I found EJ with a double apple and when I sat down next to him he informed me that much like the cafe we went to with Jean, double apple is actually a licorice flavor. I said no thank you and went back to the merchant to pay for a different flavor (I picked peach). We sat there together as the final dancer came out. He was great and put on quite he show. As soon as he was done the tour was declared over and people nearly ran each other over to get out of the place. I was still enjoying the shisha and everyone in our party seemed ok with being a few minutes behind all the other tours.
An hour of winding paths through the sand and then pavement and we finally made it back to the hotel. Thankfully we got dropped off first because the other hotel was on the southern side of the palm. Mom declared that it was now time to take another attempt at seeing the Dubai Frame. I called us a cab and 104 Dirhams later we were on our way to the top of the Frame.
It was such a surprisingly great experience. First there was a small history of the area and the tower then an elevator that brought us to the top. It was just Mom and I since the boys decided to stay behind in the hotel. The elevator showed the street quickly disappearing as you approached the top of the Frame. Once at the top there were large windows with old Dubai on one side and new Dubai on the other. In the center was frosted glass that turned clear, showing the long trip to the bottom of the Frame under your feet. I thought it was really cool but mom was scared of it. We took our time looking out the windows at the brightly lit city around us. The only downside was that the windows were covered in ornamental patterns that obstructed the view and a light show on the ceiling that reflected back off what glass did show. After a while we got back in the elevator. At the bottom was another exhibit. This one was about the museum of the future which we had passed a handful of times in our few days here. We sat and watched the whole thing, it was really fascinating to see what their version of the world if tomorrow looks like.
A quick trip through the gift shop, where Mom found some more gift to buy, and then we were back on the muggy streets waiting for a Careem. The driver was great and put on some really good dance tunes from the radio. Interestingly he turned the music off as we approached the hotel, a more crowded area where someone could hear his music which is illegal right now during Ramadan.
Tomorrow we head back to Abu Dhabi. I can’t believe that our trip is nearing the end. It feels like we just got here yesterday!
0 comments:
Post a Comment