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I was privileged to be part of a media team from Ghana to attend a five-day workshop in Beijing two years ago. China, one of the world’s fastest economy has become the centre of attraction making it a destination point for businessmen, tourists, traders and all people of divers culture. At the end of the workshop, the Ghana team was energized to tell the China story.
From Beijing, we made a transit in Dubai. An aerial view of downtown Dubai was a spectacle to behold. I could not hold to the excitement to spending a night in that beautiful city. The few hours I spent at the plush Dubai Airport was characterized by mixed feelings and my only wish was to visit one of the world’s most visited cities in the future.
By kind courtesy of Emirates my long held dream was to be fulfilled. I was penciled for a media fun trip to Dubai; a periodic event Emirates Airline organizes for the media to acquaint themselves with Dubai’s hospitality and tourism.
Out of excitement, I kept vigil most of the hours in the flight; watching movies and documentaries whereas enjoying the best of treat in the business class of the enviable Emirates Airline. We touched down early morning the next day and chauffeured straight to our hotel situated in the heart of Dubai.
Our itinerary for the first day was to experience the much talked about Dubai Desert Safari. Our pickup time was 4pm. There came along a smiling Kurshid, our tour guide sharply dressed in his 4-wheel drive arriving ten minutes ahead of time. After introducing ourselves, we hurriedly jumped into the car because we were worried we could miss the sunshine on the desert, It took us about 45minutes to reach our destination.
Just a few metres away from the entrance, Kurshid got off the vehicle to deflate the tyres and that was when the dune bashing adventure began.
The dune bashing goes on for about 30 minutes and the scream from my colleagues could be likened to one reaching orgasm. Kurshid couldn’t stop teasimg us with his infectious laughter. After that amazing ride, we took the chance to jump out of the car and stretch our legs, taking in the amazing desolate panoramic view. It felt like being on the moon. There was desert as far as the eye could see.
Soon we were done. We took some pictures on the desert and left for a camp in the desert, where we were greeted with true Bedouin experience. We sat on couches on the floor as typical of Arabian culture. Some tourists partook in authentic emirati activities like shisha smoking and camel riding.
The star of this familiarity was the mouth-watering barbecue dinner that followed afterwards. During dinner, an entertainer dazzled the audience with a fire show. It was simply a masterpiece and one couldn’t help but clap till he was done.
After the fire display, they opened the buffet. There were two separate buffet lines, and guess what, I made sure I joined the shorter one so I could have my food quicker. The food was a mixture of Indian and Arabic cuisine with plenty to drink.
The Arabian adventures of dunes and sand, the hangouts, the awe-inspiring challenges, the multitude of games and sport, the hangouts to relax and a lot more. The Dubai Desert Safari is a perfect way to experience unlimited pleasure.
By Emmanuel Bekoe, Dubai-UAE (Editor at Despite Group)