Dubai Desert Safari and Arabian Night Belly Dance

Our Dubai desert safari started with an adrenaline-pumping ride of a lifetime.

Dubai Desert Arabian Night

Henna Tattoo

There was a henna (temporary tattoo) session. The woman who was working on my hand was gorgeous. I asked her name, and she said, Shaina. I then tried to make a conversation with Shaina, but she didn’t seem to be in the mood to chat at all. Maybe she had a long day, so I let her be. We sat there in silence until she was done.

Dubai Desert Camel Ride

We rode the camels!

It was a very short ride and nothing like how it has been glorified in the movies. Maybe, I should cut down TV consumption time since the line between reality and make-believe is getting blurry. Also, the camels looked tired, though I couldn’t figure out whether it was the case or that’s just their facial expression. All these didn’t stop me from buying the overcharged photograph of us riding the camels. That picture is now proudly displayed on our fridge door.

Have you ever ridden on a camel before?

Still, they also sold camel candies and ice cream on the camel topic. Since I’m not really a fresh milk drinker, I knew better not to start with camels.

Middle East Feast In The Desert

The dinner was great mainly because they had a free flow of wine, which is the only thing I could recall having that night.

We also had a Shisha! It was Amma’s first. She seemed to enjoy it, although she very much refused to admit it. As for me, after a few puffs, I was already in a happy buzz.

Stargazing and Belly Dancing

Even though the ten minutes of complete darkness to stargaze was terrific, the belly dancing was the peak of the desert safari Arabian night.

I have seen belly dance before; after all, I worked near the Arab street for years, and we used to chill after hours at one of the Middle East cafes. But this was the most talented belly dancer I have ever seen IRL.

Btw, I have two minds about enjoying belly dance. On the one hand, I am mesmerized by belly dance moves, and I love watching the ladies doing it, energetically and sensually. But on the other hand, I feel super uncomfortable when I see some people ogle at the performing ladies. We are supposed to enjoy the belly dance as a part of the culture instead of looking at them with our jaws open and saliva coming out. Is it just me, or does anyone else share the same irks-ness?

Have you been on a desert safari before?