Desert Safari - an unforgettable experience!

After a week long trip to Dubai, I'm all eager to share my Dubai stories. But this post is reserved for my favorite part of the trip - the Desert Safari. Though I've spent most of my life in the Persian Gulf , I've never ventured into the desert. I've never given a thought to how these cities would have been before the advent of tall buildings. For those living outside the Middle East, we were living in the desert. For those of us living within, we were living in big, bright, never sleeping cities. So, the desert safari was my first chance to have a look at the real face of the Arabian Peninsula. But that's not what made the experience interesting. The sheer adventure this experience provided is what made it unforgettable.

Having heard people talk about the desert safari and watching it on many, many travel shows, it was the first thing on my list of to-do's in Dubai. It was also one of the first things I did on my trip. There are a number of tour companies in Dubai that offer Desert Safari packages. All the groups going with a company went at the same time everyday. My family had a car all to ourselves and we went with four other groups. We had experienced drivers, taking us on the Safari. We thought we knew what was to come but of course we had no clue. It was one big roller coaster ride! The drivers made it all the more fun by going on particularly bumpy routes. Going up and down the sand dunes was way too much fun. At one point, when we were going downhill on a sand dune, the cars stopped, almost vertical! Halfway through the ride, you'd look around you and realize that there is nothing but sand. Deep in the desert, it was hard to believe that we were not very far from the city.

 After the safari, we were taken to a desert camp, to experience more of the desert life. The camp included camel rides, henna, traditional Arab food, souvenir stores and Arab dance performances. Sitting under the starry sky, in the moonlight at the desert camp, looking around at all the activities, far from civilization, it was an experience to cherish. This was the most unique part of the trip. If you're ever visiting Dubai, DO NOT LEAVE WITHOUT GOING ON THE DESERT SAFARI.

P.S - In this post, pictures are capable of saying much more than what I could put into words.

Forget the past..Really?

We've all heard people say over and over again, "Forget the past. Don't give a thought to what has already happened. Move on." Yes, we need to move on. But I believe that we don't really need to forget what already happened in order to move on. In fact, we need to keep the past in mind as we move forward. I realized that, when I noticed that people often say things in an overflow of emotions. Most of us do not go back to think about what we said or did, nor do we think about what impact our words and actions had on other people. It is often said that people do not think before acting when in anger. When you think about it, this is true not only for anger, but for excess of any emotion. People are incapable of thinking clearly when they experience too much of happiness, sorrow, anger, annoyance or any other emotions. How does this relate to not forgetting the past?

Not staying entangled in memories of the past is important, but there are certain things that you should never forget. I never forget things I said or did. Most of the time, we do not think before speaking. Later we forget all about it. While talking to others, we need to make sure that our words do not hurt them. We also need to keep in mind that we don't say something we would regret later. It's human to act in the heat of the moment. We can't afford to spend time thinking before saying something. But we can sure try.

Never forgetting what you said, gives you a chance to not make that mistake again. Learning from your mistakes is the best way of learning. Remembering our past actions gives us an opportunity for that kind of learning. Next time you think you spoke to someone in too much anger or excitement, run that conversation through in your head. If you realize that you'd said something you weren't supposed to, you're probably not going to make that same mistake again. Some things about the past should be forgotten but certain other things need to be stored in some corner of your brain so that they can serve as a reminder in the future.