Arabian desert safari

My most memorable experience in Dubai was partaking in an Arabian desert safari. The driver/guide picked me up from my hotel and after conversing a bit with him, he tells me he's from Kerala, the southern part of India. I told him of my travels through Kerala last year and expressed my liking for the area.
We filled the vehicle up after picking up a group of 5. They were also from Kerala! I couldn't have picked a better group to spend the tour with. We drove an hour into the desert, stopping a few miles from the Oman border. The busy city slowly faded and the exotic desert was all that remained.

My Indian peeps

We stopped at an area where we were allowed to rent 4 wheelers to drive until our hearts were content over the sand dunes. But I was more interested in a group of Arab men sitting on a large carpet laid on the ground. They were sipping something from small glasses. I watched them intently from a distance, intrigued. They seemed so mysterious and intimidating. I had yet to speak to one of these gowned enigmatic men since arriving in Dubai, despite my strong desire to. For some reason, my normally gregarious self was feeling too shy to approach them and start a conversation. As if making the decision for me, I noticed they were all staring at me. This made me a little nervous and I quickly looked away. When I looked back, I saw 5 pairs of brown eyes looking at my 2 blue. They were gesturing for me to come over. I looked behind me, there were quite a few people around, but they pointed at me, like saying "you, silly". Cautiously, I walked over to them. They told me to sit with them on their magic carpet. I was offered oranges and Arabic coffee as we chatted. I was stunned at how friendly they were. My wondering notion was soon put to rest as I discovered these seemingly unapproachable men turned out to be very amicable.

Shortly after, we were back in the jeep, tearing around on the sand dunes. At times, we were tilted so far to the side I was amazed how we didn't roll over. We all screamed over the loud Arabic music playing as we slid sideways, making the orange sand spray over the top of the jeep. After the adrenaline rush was over, we halted at a tent set up in the middle of the Arabian desert, where we were entertained by a belly dancer and dervish dancer as we noshed on Middle Eastern cuisine.

As the night wound down, I parted ways with my new found Indian friends. A smile left on my face from the thrilling day and night spent in the desert.