After beaching it up, we tried this Lebanese restaurant that Daniel found. Our taxi driver decided it wasn't touristy enough for us and dropped us off at a different restaurant (rude) but we persevered and walked to the restaurant we actually wanted. And we were not disappointed. It was probably our cheapest meal in Abu Dhabi and the most tasty. I got a grilled kebab while the boys got the mixed grill, and we made things interesting by also getting appetizers of hummus, taboulleh, and falafel. After the sugary but phenomenal tea the day before, this hearty meal was greatly appreciated! However, we also found ourselves with the same food coma as a result. Totally worth it, though.
Mountains of food, which we could not finish.
We had a little over an hour before the desert safari so we went back to the hotel for a power nap. Once 2:45 rolled around, we went down to the hotel lobby and found our ride arriving at the same time. Its finally time for the desert! We were so excited. After picking up Dana and Spencer from their hotel, we headed to the desert.
Because we were early, our guide decided we had earned a surprise that's not normally part of the tour. He took us to the Camel Racetrack, which is their alternative to horse racing. However, there is no gambling as that's illegal, so the incentive for racing camels is the prizes you earn if you win. And apparently they used to have children as the jockeys for the horses, but the UN and Unicef decided that was unsafe and harmful to the kids so they made it illegal. Now the camels are ridden by robots (seriously) that are remote controlled by someone in a car that is driving parallel to the 7km track while the race is going on, pressing buttons so the robot can whip the camel to go faster. Really intriguing stuff.
Some of the camels that were practicing their racing skills. Probably hard to see but if you look close enough, some of the camels have the robots on them.
A patch of date trees near the racing track. And then photos of the different UAE leaders. The big one is the President, who is also the leader of Abu Dhabi. The other two are the president and the vice president (I think). The VP is the leader of Dubai. It seems that this is common that these two states are always leading the overall government.
The picture of the 7 includes all the leaders of the Emirates, the biggest one being the President.
After the racetrack, we went to the camel farm where we saw an old male during mating season who was dripping spit all over the place. Apparently that's a thing, and they make more saliva when they are mating? It wasn't pretty. We got to feed some of the camels and took some pictures with them, so that was fun. And they loved me! So much so that they kept trying to eat my hair if i turned my back on them. I don't know if they thought my hair was straw or what? It's definitely not green like what we were giving them, but oh well.
Us with the vehicle that took us all around the desert. And a camel crossing sign, definitely don't want to hit one of those!
The salivating male on the left. Then the waiting female with her tail in the air. And one of my friends that I made thanks to apparently having tasty hair?
Feeding the camels straw, which they are actually supposed to eat. Unlike my hair. They were all over it. Dana got to feed them as well!
As did Daniel. And here's the last of our lovely friends.
Once we finished at the camel farm we hit the sand dunes! This was the adrenaline-enducing part of the trip. We went up and down, side ways and over the top around the desert. It was awesome! We also stopped in a couple places to get out of the car to take photos and run around the sand dunes (no easy feat, let me tell you) and then also to get pictures of the desert at sunset. It was really picturesque.
Riding on those dunes! We were pretty excited to be in the middle of the desert. So of course we took lots of pictures. Sorry not sorry.
The whole group! Spencer, me, Dana, Daniel, and Thien. We decided to get artsy and play in the sand.
It was really so beautiful. But let me tell you, climbing those dunes was no easy feat.
But Thien and I ran to each other and had a clandestine moment. Then decided to run to the top of another dune. Which left us a bit out of breath (okay a lot out of breath).
Daniel taking selfies, of course.
Camel bones! apparently sometimes they get stuck in sand storms, then get partially buried and are unable to get themselves out. By then it was almost time for sunset so we had more photo opps!
The sand was ripe for writing in, so of course I had to rep my alma mater. RTR.
We eventually made it to the desert camp where I got to RIDE A CAMEL! I was ecstatic haha. Granted the ride was about 1 minute long, but hey, it was still a ride! Then dinner was served which was a mix of some middle eastern dishes and french fries/pasta for the picky eaters. Obviously I am not one of those, so I had a little bit of everything. We topped the evening off by getting some henna and then watching a belly dancer perform in the middle of the tables. All in all, it was very enjoyable and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who goes to Abu Dhabi!
WE'RE RIDING CAMELS! (Even if it was only for like 2 minutes, it was still pretty darn fun)
Daniel and I, then Thien and Dana
After camels, we filled out empty stomachs with some middle eastern fare. And I got a henna tattoo! In this photo I'm letting the (temporary) ink set.
The belly dancer who had all the men like whoa. And back with the camels before heading out of the desert.
Camel selfie! Then posing with the camels. Thankfully it had it's mouth covered so it couldn't try to eat my hair like the other camels.
Once the dancing was over, they turned out the lights so we could get a chance to see all the stars without the interference from the city lights. I can't remember the last time I saw so many stars. Unfortunately, that was the end of our evening so we headed back to Abu Dhabi.
For our last night in the city, we decided to find somewhere to get a drink. We headed to the Royal Meridien hotel because they have a revolving bar called Stratos so you can see all around! However, we failed to see that it was closed on Sundays. Boo. There were some other places at the hotel so we tried to find them but they didn't really offer anything special. Through all this, we passed the elevator guy about 5 times, waving at him each time, so I'm pretty sure he thought we were insane.
We ended up at Le Meridien (affiliated but a separate hotel) because they had a beach front terrace. Hooray, it was open! So we sat on some bean bag like chairs in the sand and had a cocktail, soaking in the view of the bay and the bright buildings that surrounded it. It was a nice way to end the trip.
We got a picture (or attempted at least) of the Grand Mosque lit up at night--it's still beautiful! And my henna was orange just after we got back, but it later darkened to more of a brown color.
Drinks at Le Meridien! Right on the water, in the sand. A great way to end the trip!
All in all, we had a fabulous time in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I would most certainly make a return trip, and hey, if the company wanted to send me over there, I wouldn't say no :)
