On Friday morning, Hajaj was my wake-up call. Thank you Hajaj! He called me a little before 7 am to find out the exact location of our hotel. Now, waking up at 6.30 am on a weekend was definitely not my thing but I sure was excited about our tour. Hajaj arrived promptly at 7.10 am in a mini van to pick us up and in no time we were off to pick us the other passengers. During that time, we got to know a little more about our friendly safari guide and our tour. And in no time, we were off to the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve ( This happens to be the private property of His Highness Sheikh Butti Bin Makhtoum as well as the starting point of our tour)
When we reached the starting point, Hajaj handed us black scarves for the ladies and Gutra for the men as a little gift from the company. He showed the guys how to tie them as well. We then hopped onto our vintage Land Rover (this was used in the 1950's) and left for the Bedouin Camp.
At at camp, we were welcomed with dates, rose water Gava (Arabic coffee). We then had a little question and answer session with a local Bedouin. "Did you know that before the 1970's, the Bedouins used Indian Rupees as their currency? " We were then served a scrumptious Bedouin breakfast which comprised of Balalet (sweet vermicelli served with shredded egg), Khhamir (thin crispy zaatar bread) and Chebab (mini pancakes). But, my favourite part had to be the camel ride, which followed soon after.
After our Bedouin experience was over, we hopped back onto our vintage vehicle and proceeded into the desert for wildlife spotting. Now, this area is accessible only to Platinum Heritage, so I consider myself quite fortunate to experience something like this. 15 minutes into our ride, we saw a herd of gazelles and soon after the magnificent Arabian Oryx. Such a beauty ! Then, we returned to the starting point of my tour, got onto our mini van and Hajaj dropped us home.
Note : This was a half day tour and we were back by mid afternoon. Our guide Hajaj was very friendly and knowledgeable, and this by far was one of the best excursions that I've been to in the UAE.!