Day 122: Dune-bashing in Ras al-Khaimah

Yep! We went dune-bashing in Ras al-Khaimah! What on earth is dune-bashing? An extraordinarily fun version of off-roading done in the desert, that’s what! Kate had the hook-up, and that hook-up was her friend, TJ who is actually a member of the Abu Dhabi Dune-bashing Club! He picked us up, let a lot of air out of his tires, and then took us up and down sand dunes, sometimes stopping right on the cliffs leaving us dangling from our seat-belts and with the same feeling you get when you’re on a roller-coaster dangling high above the ground face-down. That being said, he was a super safe driver, not only did he know exactly what he was doing, he tried to educate us a little about driving and bashing in the desert as we went up and down the dunes. (You rock, TJ!)

After bashing, we went for (Yemeni) Mandi.

This glorious dish is simple, yet fantastic. The chicken is cooked in a stone oven underground and then served on top of a huge pile of rice. The experts (Kate, Andrew, and TJ) told us to get the yogurt. We followed suit, dumping the not so spicy tomato based sauce into the yogurt and then pouring it on the rice or dipping the chicken into it. I’m getting so accustomed to eating with my fingers, I’m not at the moment prepared to use a fork. Good thing, we have a ways to go before I find that I’ll need to use one!

FYI: Andrew and I (being the foodies that we are, er, that Andrew has totally turned me into) are keeping a Pinterest board (Liz and Andrew eat their way around the world) of all of our favorite foods we have tried on the road! We’re trying to include recipes as well so we don’t forget what we loved and have the motivation to make it all when we get back home (you know, wherever home may be in a year)! If you’re feeling adventurous give one of the dishes a whirl- but please let us know how it turned out, as we haven’t had the pleasure of trying these recipes out yet!

Day 119: New Year’s Eve in the UAE

New Year’s Eve in the UAE! Kate lives in Ras al-Khaima, one of the seven emirates. It’s name means “Top of the Tent” and offers lots of sand (like many of the emirates do), which made for a perfect party in the desert! We spent the day relaxing at Kate and Andrew’s (yes, another Andrew) apartment, and then caravanned with friends out to a random spot in the desert. Cars were left near the expressway that wouldn’t be able to cross through the desert. Air was let out of tires of the cars which were able to drive on the sand. Tents were set up. Chicken and lamb was roasted. Drinks were shared. Hugs were given at midnight followed by lanterns being set afloat to bring in the new year! Happy 2013!

The night was a lot of fun. It actually reminded me of a field party in Kentucky. Only with sand dunes. And a really diverse group of expats and Emirates. And the obvious, that it wasn’t in Kentucky. The conversations were awesome, everything from what it’s like to travel through India, how the UAE has changed in the past ten years, trying to converse with a man from Bangladesh, who couldn’t speak English, and even a rousing debate about world economics with a currency trader.

This last conversation led to a very important lesson that I had to learn the hard way. In the UAE, women do not initiate conversation with Emirati men. Had I known this, before I went up to an entire group of them to ask their opinion “If they would rather live in China or the USA in the future, which would they choose?” I probably wouldn’t have  had to demand Andrew to change places with me and stand a little closer after one of the Emirati men copped a feel. Seriously, this happened. And it was after I told the Emirati men I was with my husband! – Stop freaking out, we’re not married, we just told everyone in India and the UAE that we were. Furthermore, I was standing right next to Andrew when this happened, but apparently they thought that I was fair game because I initiated conversation with them. Kate later said that the currency trader (an Emirati himself) should have known better than to allow me to approach the men on my own.

When Andrew demanded to know who did it, I told him to let it go. The “it’s your second night in a new country” feeling kicked in, and it wasn’t worth a confrontation. Also, in the midst of that same conversation with the currency trader, he had insisted that women were treated with respect in the UAE, and in Dubai, they were considered equals. I rolled my eyes at him when he said this, and after my bum was grabbed, I wanted to march back up to him and say “If women are treated with respect and considered equal in your country, sir, then why are your Emirati homeboys grabbing my bum after I initiate a conversation about ECONOMICS?”

Unfortunately – coincidentally – the currency trader was no where to be found after he insisted I ask the Emirates their opinion on our economic debate.

It was a lesson learned. an interesting night, and start to the new year!

Day 101: a camel safari

Some friends of mine highly recommended going on a camel safari while we were in Rajasthan. It seemed as if the place to do it was in Jaisalmer, so that’s where we went. We walked through Jaisalmer Fort in the morning, and then left for our camel safari by the afternoon. As always, my friends know best. The camel safari was grand. It was the perfect amount of time on a camel (any longer and we would have all been walking funny), there was awesome food (prepared over an open fire in the desert), really great company, and a meteor shower to make sleeping under the stars absolutely perfect.

Jaisalmer Fort differs from the others that we’ve visited in India in that there are around two thousand people currently living within the fort walls. Unfortunately, because of an increase in water consumption (a lot of this is due to tourism and more specifically, tourists staying within the fort walls) the foundation of the fort is eroding away. We read many warnings against contributing to the erosion, and didn’t intend to buy anything within the walls as a small effort to discourage the growth of tourism within the fort… But I failed when I found another blanket I HAD to have right inside the first gate! I know, I know, not cool. And I wasn’t going to, but then I did…

The fort feels like a tiny city. A tiny touristy city. But a little bit more laid back without the buzz of the city streets outside of the walls. We walked through the shops and outside palaces within the walls and even took cover with a herd of cattle while it rained. The view from the walls with cannons was beautiful, but I was amazed at how much litter was strewn on the other side. It was quite different from how well maintained Meherangarh Fort was in Jodhpur, or Agra Fort in Agra.

Our camel safari started with a jeep ride out of Jaisalmer to the abandoned- a ghost village of Kuldara about 25 km west of the city. In 1825, 84 Brahmin Villages were abandoned in just one night. Our guide, Aniket (Mr. Desert Junior) told us (from my understanding) that the British opened up Mumbai to trade, therefore the Silk Road was no longer used to the same extent. The ruling maharajah at the time insisted on keeping taxes over the villages the same, even though these villages full of people dependent on the Silk Road were not making nearly enough to make ends meet. So, they left. They only took what they could carry and in one single night, all 84 villages were abandoned and it’s a mystery as to where they went. Aniket confirmed that absolutely no one knows where they landed- if they relocated in India or in another country.

After the ghost town visit, it was time for CAMELS! I thought mine (in the two pictures below) looked rather amiable, and then I climbed on, and she wasn’t (I think it was a ‘she’) as content. At least she didn’t sneeze on me. Because that happened. By the German dude’s camel. And it was gross. As my sister Becca has said before (it happened to her when she was 2 or 3 years old) “The camel ‘neezed on me!” I tried to explain it to the German dude, but he didn’t really get it…

Ok, so I thought it was going to be more sand-duney. And I would have to fight the urge to jump off of my camel to make sand angels. Or something like that. And I was surprised that there were still electric lines running through the desert. I kinda thought we would be a little more removed, but it was still cool. It was very cool. We were on the camels in a line for about an hour and a half (maybe two?) as we made our way to the dunes where we were going to eat and camp out for the night. Andrew was at the rear of the group and chatted with the German dude’s parents about life in Korea, while I talked to the German dude directly behind me about life in India (where he currently lives).

We got to the sand dunes right around dusk, but there wasn’t much of a sunset. We all climbed up a dune for the view and then ambled our way back to the blankets and fire that was being set up for us while we waited for dinner. Dinner, completely prepared from scratch in the sand was amazing. Better than that. It was dark by the time we were served heaping plates of rice, roti, and curry. We could barely see what we were eating, but it was delicious.

Around the fire, Aniket talked of his father, Mr. Desert, the one who founded the company, Sahara Travels. He’s famous in Rajasthan, to say the least. But I’ll let Aniket tell you all about him when you go on your camel safari. Some of the group left after dinner, some went to bed under the stars soon after that, Andrew and I stayed up with our new Aussie friends chatting about our adventures in India and elsewhere.

We started seeing shooting stars and realized we picked the perfect night to sleep under the stars. Mattresses were arranged in a circle with heavy blankets folded on top. We all slipped off our shoes and crawled under the covers to get warm. Deserts are COLD at night! And then I fell asleep with only my eyes peeking out of the covers trying to stay open to see all of the stars falling towards us.