The Emirates flight to Dubai worked well and we were safely on the ground early morning Thursday. Until they get the new Emirates terminal finished, it takes a while to be bussed to the terminal but then everything went smoothly. I was actually met 'Airside' by a representative of the tour company. He explained that a colleague would meet me once I'd gone through immigration, collected my luggage and cleared customs. This only took a few minutes and the travel guy was waiting. In turn, he took me and my luggage to a waiting 4 X 4. The driver was to give me the 'City Tour' and then deliver me to the Al Maha Desert Resort, about an hour from the city.
I don't want to be unfair to the city or the driver but I've had better tours. I probably wasn't in the most receptive of moods after a night on an aircraft but the tour seemed a bit grudging. Even after reminding him about the booked trip on a boat across Dubai Creek, it didn't happen. But Dubai Creek doesn't look that exciting. It's a strip of water running inland from the Arabian Gulf dividing the old city into Deira side and Bur Dubai Side. There's still a swarm of tiny ferries ('Abra') which cross the creek, well-patronised by locals but motorists can now use the Al Shindagha tunnel on the seaward side and four different bridges on the landward side. There's not much that's very old left and what remains is dwarfed by all the tall modern buildings and the expensive motor cruisers protected by signs saying 'Outsiders not allowed inside jetty' (a rather intriguing sentence construction). Being still quite early, all the shops were shut. Port Rachid blocks the view of the Arabian Gulf from Bur Dubai. There's a container port which is also used by visiting cruise liners. Immediately to the south-west of the port is Dubai Dry Docks, with a massive floating crane and a fairly large new ship apparently under construction. Further south-west again is Jumeirah and this is where a lot of the recent development has gone on. There's a tourist beach and Jumeirah Beach Park. There's a long succession of new apartments and more than enough beauty clinics. There's a sailing club and shipbuilders constructing traditional dhows. Then, you come to the famous Jumeirah Beach Hotel (looking very 'Las Vegas'). Beyond here, there's another public beach. This is where the tour buses stop so that people can go on the beach and take pictures of the Burg Al Arab hotel, iconic symbol of modern Dubai. Somehow, it looks smaller than I expected up close but that's probably just me. As we returned to the old city we passed huge new developments of apartments and I realised what I probably disliked about the place - conspicuous consumption (just like 'Vegas).
Finally, the driver insisted I check out the Mall of the Emirates, which I duly did. Well, it's a big shopping mall, similar to all the big malls you've seen everywhere else, with all the names you've seen everywhere else (Harvey Nicks, Debenhams, etc.). Most places don't open until 10.00 a.m. so the only place open was a huge Carrefour which was already well-patronised, mainly by European ex-patriates. Although it was only 9.30, I was happy to agree to the driver's suggestion that he deliver me to Al Maha, which I hoped I'd find more agreeable.
Once out of the city, we were on a dual carriageway passing through fairly featureless countryside, very dry and dusty. We turned off an an underpass signposted to 'Al Maha' and soon came to a security post with electric gates and fencing leading away left and right. Fortunately, my name was on the guard's list so the gate slowly trundled open and we were able to continue our journey on a metalled road through fairly barren desert. We were waved through a second checkpoint and soon came upon signs of civilisation, with various support buildings set back on either side of the road. We stopped at a turning circle with a low building to the side and I was immediately welcomed by reception staff and led into the main hall - a modern construction but in traditional style. I was presented with a welcoming fruit juice whilst formalities were completed. The lady receptionist then took me back outside where a number of electric buggies were parked. Selecting one of the buggies, she then took me, via a meandering network of block-paved footpaths, to Guest Unit 16 (romantic, huh?), my home for the next two days.
The Al Maha Project is a clever amalgam of natural conservation and exclusive resort. The Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve fenced off 75 square miles of land. Within that reserve, an upmarket tourist resort was created, seeking to offer guests an experience of the desert combined with the facilities associated with the world's best 'remote island' resorts.
I'll have to fill in the details later but I was impressed, particularly with my private plunge pool, where I spent hours. In the two days I did four 'activities'.
The first was the camel ride. A fairly passive event with two camel 'trains', each with about seven well-behaved camels. The lead camel was taken by the camel driver, then each of the following camels was tied to the one in front and carried one or two passengers. We set off into the desert at the slow, lurching pace camels have and went perhaps half a mile or so before dismounting. Champagne was on hand so that we could relax for a few minutes and watch the sun set across the Arabian desert. Then we re-mounted and went home.
Next morning about 20 of us went in a series of 4 X 4 out into the desert where a falconry demonstration was given with two falcons and a very bad-tempered and unco-operative eagle owl. Later, we visited the falconry and were able to slip on the thick leather glove and hold one of the birds.
In the evening, just the lady guide and I went in a 4 X 4 on a 'Nature Drive' into the desert, to see how many wild animals we could spot. This was a great experience.
On Saturday morning, six 4 X 4 went in convoy on a 'Desert Drive'. Again, just me and the lady guide in our 'Landcruiser'. This time, we left the nature reserve and drove onto the 'public area' where the dunes are bigger and, for the first time in my life, I saw 4 X 4 doing the work they were designed for - quite thrilling! The lead vehicle got bogged down in soft sand on one occasion and his tow rope came out so that our vehicle could tow him out. They speak very highly of the Toyota 'Landcruiser' which they use.
After a light breakfast, I was back in the pool. I was still there at 10.45 when reception rang to say "Your 11.00 airport car is here". I thought it was booked for noon! So I finished getting ready in record time and was soon being whisked back to Dubai airport in a Volvo.
The visit to Al Maha made a splendid conclusion to an exhausting tour.
Photographs
Dubai City.
Al Maha Resort.
Camel Train, Al Maha.
Deset Drive, Al Maha.
