Dubai Sunrise

Today we had to get up a 3:00am because we had booked a desert sunrise 4 wheel drive trip.

We met our guide as planned along with a German couple off our ship, then picked up two more people at a hotel. The vehicle was a large 7 seater however got cozy with all adults on board!

We drove for about an hour, leaving the state of Dubai and entering into [name]. The highway was 6 lanes wide (each direction) in some parts, and 10 lanes wide in others! It was dark the whole way and with little traffic, we made good time.

We took a side road off the highway, and drove for about 5 minutes. This rode was one lane each way and some sections were very sandy.

Suddenly our driver asked us to hold on, and he veered off the road into the desert. Within seconds we had left civilisation behind, and were driving over sand dunes in the darkness.

We parked up in a flat area and were soon joined by a few other vehicles from the same company.

Here they laid out blankets and cushions for us all to sit on, very comfortable, and offered us a light breakfast of coffee (which did not taste like coffee thankfully), dates, fruits, and juices.

We all sat quietly and enjoyed watching the sun rise, a very peaceful occasion.

A falconer joined us to show us a falcon up close, and we were able to hold it. I was amazed how little it weighed.

He explained how falcons hunt, and how they use them for sport, and how they care for them. Did you know falcons travel in planes with people, and have their own passport?

The falcon was then let loose to fly around us and "hunt" by him swinging meat on a long piece of rope. The bird would swoop down at around 80 km/h and almost touch the ground as it went for the lure. As the desert was silent, we would hear the birds wings in the air. A most incredible demonstration. Eventually the bird was allowed to catch the food and then sait happily on the falconer's hand eating.

Next we had free time to wander around the desert. The sand was incredibly fine and soft and as I walked up a dune my shoes will up with sand but it felt like water. Here from up high I saw critters in the sand, but was able to take in a 360 degree view of the desert dunes.

Here's Helen enjoying the morning.

Once it was time to leave, we were unexpectedly taken for a drive over the dunes. It started out slow, then suddenly we were driving at steep angles (both sideways and up/down). It was very scary at times, we all were concerned the vehicle would roll over but the driver knew what he was doing. Besides, the vehicle had a roll cage inside.

Helen took a video and here's a few stills from that.

This was incredibly fun and after 20 minutes of driving, everyone was left with an adrenaline buzz. Luckily nobody got car sick but some of us were getting close!

The drive back was slow, when we re-joined the highway we had peak-hour traffic to contend with. Many people live outside Dubai and drive in to work every day. Hence why the highway is 10 lanes wide.

We returned to the ship about 8:00am, having had a most fun morning. By now most people were leaving the ship heading off on their excursions.

We stayed on the ship, had a swim and generally relaxed, and then sailed just after midday.

Farewall Dubai, we enjoyed the visit.