the Middle of the Desert, UAE

At the end of February, I went on an overnight camping trip to some unknown coordinates in the middle of the desert with a group of about 40 people. We met up in town, and drove our SUVs and 4x4s out of the city to the open desert. When we reached the point at which we intended to drive off the road, through the sand, and to our "to be determined" camping locale, we stopped to let the air out of our tires (which increases the surface area) and then went Wadi BASHING! (Wadi is the Bedouin word for "dune."



After driving around the desert for a bit, we settled on a camp site and got out of our vehicles. At which time I promptly belted "Nants ingonyama bagithi baba!!" (That's the beginning to the Circle of Life in case you were wondering.) I realize we weren't in Africa, but being in the desert with the funny shaped trees made it feel appropriate.



Once we had camp set up, we spent some more time Wadi Bashing until it got dark. After dark it was cool enough to have a fire going, and eat, and be comfortable. We had some musicians with us who played guitar and sang while others of us were drumming. We made a pretty cool sound and had a good time chatting and enjoying each others company.



While we didn't see any lions, as the song says, we did encounter some wandering camels and goats that stopped by for a bite to eat.

Visa Run!, Oman

As a visitor to Dubai, I get my passport stamped on arrival for a 30 day visa. This is the maximum amount of time a visitor is allowed to be in Dubai continuously. Unless of course, you beat the system. Which is what I, and at least hundreds of other Dubai visitors, do every 30 days.

When it gets close to the day that my visa will expire, we make the two hour trek to the Oman border. It's a beautiful drive that begins with passing through the city and leaving it in the dust. The first part of the drive is wide open desert. Passing by golden sands and free range camels, always makes me think of that Matthew West song, "when you look at the desert, do you feel like a grain of sand..."



The latter part of the drive, approaching the border of the UAE and Oman, near a town called Hatta is covered by rocky cliffs and mountains blurred by a haze of dust. I count it a blessing that I get to make this trip every month because it gives me an opportunity to really revel in the beauty of God's creation.



On the way back, after getting my passport stamped for the next thirty days, we typically stop at the Hatta Fort Hotel for lunch. Last time we went we took the kids along and had a swim in the resort pool.




Somewhere along the way is a short strip of shops. We went in one, only to be bombarded by 3 or 4 men who were very interested in making a sale. They dressed me up in some traditional Emirati pieces for dancing. I bought the wrap, because how could I resist "morning price and coke free". I passed on the head wear, however.