Since we met the ZU girls on Sunday, they have been nothing short of the most hospitable and generous hostesses I've ever met. I've been received warmly everywhere I have traveled abroad in the past, from families with multiple kids in their own houses to older single women in a small city apartment. But these girls have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that we, as guests in their country, are only getting the best of the best. They have paid for EVERY dinner we've had together as a group and insist on buying us snacks, water, and anything else we could need. Geaya, for example, has proved the unprecedented extent of Arab hospitality for us. Tom, in passing, happened to mention that he needed a charger for his Dell laptop. Geaya got on her Blackberry, called up her cousin, and within ten minutes, Seif had driven in his luxury SUV to us and dropped off a bag of computer chargers for Geaya to give to Tom. Then, at the Dubai mall, Tom was walking around with Geaya and Seif and they went into the Polo store. Tom mentioned that he liked a particular polo and Geaya and Seif immediately starting asking him his size and what color he likes. Tom, being privy to their sneakiness and willingness to do anything to make our visit to Dubai more comfortable, said something to the affect of "Oh no, don't think I'm going to fall for that. I don't want one!" After some coaxing, Tom admitted he liked the black one and was told that Seif was going to buy himself one of the shirts. An hour later, Geaya produced a Polo bag with the exact black polo Tom had picked out and said "Seif wanted you to have this." Unreal! We in the states of course believe in warmly welcoming our guests, but Emiratis put us to shame! We have tried to tell them that they do not need to be paying for our meals, our activities, and even these generous gifts, but they insist. It also gets to the point where refusing to accept their gifts because we feel uncomfortable accepting such altruism becomes offensive to them. We're all getting used to saying, okay, this is way too nice, but they want to do it. Let it be.
We hiked up to some towers in the Hatta village to soak in some incredible views of the rocky desert landscape around us—huge slate mountains with green lush palm trees in the valley below all under the hot, arid afternoon sun, but with just enough of a breeze to keep us cool. It really was something.
Another interesting tradition we learned about is the use of the Oud oil in Emirati and Arab cultures. Oud oil is a very expensive, very pungent perfumed oil used in ceremonies, such as weddings. The wedding party will pass around a vile of Oud oil to the guests, along with coffee and other offerings, to enjoy and sample. The smell is a lot like a more concentrated, musky version of frankincense. Viles of this precious oil can go for as much as 1000 durhams, according to Noor.
We took tons of pictures, ambled around Hatta village, and bonded with the ZU girls. Instant connections were made. Each of us was able to joke with and speak freely with at least one of the ZU girls by the end of the trip. (I think the dance parties on the bus, courtesy of Looya's iPod playlists, might have helped a little too. It was really cool when all of us, Delaware and Zayed students alike, starting busting out the lyrics to "Cooler than Me" by Mike Posner on our 3 hour drive to Hatta. It was one of thoseaha moments where you realize that although we are thousands and thousands of miles away from these girls and our cultures are on almost polar opposite ends of the spectrum, we have a lot in common.)
Speaking of the 3 hour pilgrimage to Hatta, whew...what a trip . It was probably one of the most interesting experiences I've had in a motorized vehicle in a while. We decided before we left Dubai that morning that getting to Hatta would be easiest by crossing the border into Oman, driving through Oman for a bit, then crossing back into the UAE to reach Hatta. This would have been an hour and a half, tops. However, when we reached the Omani border, both Zayed students, Will, Delaware students, and Ralph, were shocked to see humongous wire fences topped with barbed wire and guards with machine guns that stopped just about every vehicle crossing through. Two guards came onto our bus and started interrogating us about why were a group of Emirati girls were crossing into Oman in a van full of Americans. What a CRAZY scenario! They asked for all of our passports, which not all of us were carrying on our persons, and after some deliberating and attempts at convincing the guards of our harmless plans from Noor, Geaya, Mash and Looya, we were told that we couldn't cross the border and would have to drive along the UAE/Omani border the whole way and remain in the UAE at all times. This ended up being a 3 hour trip! Although it wasn't the best possible route, it gave us more time to just get to know the ZU girls, which was awesome.
Fortunately, once we left Hatta to go back to Dubai, we crossed the Omani border and Ralph was able to set foot in his 98TH COUNTRY! What a world-traveler. We took some pictures of him in all his glory and some group pictures in an area where we were, admittedly, pretty lost. The driver didn't really have a great idea of which direction to head in next, so most of us were joking around as we walked around the Omani desert that it was probably the most ridiculous situation most of us have found ourselves in. Lost in the DESERT in Oman?! I mean, come on, that definitely doesn't happen every day. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason...so the 3 hour detour was simply a way for us to hang out with our Emirati friends more, and getting lost in the Omani desert was simply a way for us to, well, say that we did just that!! Not many people can, I guess. And Ralph has an interesting aside to tell when he mentions his visit to his 98th country!
We drove back into the UAE to tick our next item off the list: DUNEBASHING!! Scratch what I said before about the drive to Hatta taking the cake as the most memorable motorized vehicle experience I've had. What could be more unforgettable than getting interrogated at the Emirati/Omani border and getting lost in the Omani desert? Riding quads over sand dunes in the desert, that's what. All nine students and Ralph can now be considered conquerers of the dunes. Ever since day one of POSC444, all of us have been dying to give it a try. Mash, one of the ZU students, along with many other girls, mentioned to us in our get-to-know-you blogs that she is an adrenaline junkie and goes dunebashing all the time. We hopped off the plane in Dubai awaiting Monday afternoon for the sole purpose of being able to do so. We all grabbed bikes, helmets, and with our hearts racing and our hands trigger-happy, hopped on our quads and disapperaed into the desert for the next hour. I don't think pictures or words can do this experience justice.
First of all, the guys running the place simply pointed out the handles to me and said, "Gas...brake...reverse. Go!" That was it! I had no idea how to maneuver the bike over the huge dunes that just drop off into sand pits without any warning. It took some getting used to, but by the end, I was flooring it over the dunes, marveling at the deep red mountains of sand to my left and right. There were a few times where I would find myself completely alone, without any of any of my friends in sight in any direction. It sent chills down my spine and was a bit unnerving, but it was such a cool feeling of just being utterly alone. I'd say being alone in the desert is a pretty mind-boggling experience. Despite burrowing the rear wheels of my quad into the sand and being detained for a good ten minutes as Greg and I tried to dig it back out, the hour was, I think, the most fun hour I've ever spent abroad.
Covered in sand, grinning ear to ear, swapping stories of wipe-outs, brave moves we pulled, we piled back onto the van to head back to the hotel. We were all in stitches as Sean told us about how he decided to head way out into the desert and consequently ended up with a dead bike. He had to hike back 15 minutes in the sand, helmet and shoes in hand, to get a new bike. Although it is unfortunnoate, I can't help but think that something like that would happen to Sean :)
We scrubbed ourselves clean of the sand and headed out for dinner with the Dean of the school of communications at Zayed U. We were all exhausted from such a long day of touring, our ventures into Oman, and bashing dunes, but a few of us rallied and headed out for drinks downtown right by the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. We walked outside of the bar, in the Address Hotel, and were dumbfounded at what we saw. I'll have to post some pictures because I think describing the view, again, wouldn't do it justice, and it's now 2:30 am Dubai time. Time to turn it in and get ready for a day in Abu Dhabi tomorrow!
Noor, Looya, Sean and Tom pose for a photo op at one of the observation towers in Hatta.
Documentation of Ralph's sojourn in his 98th country was an absolute must, so we hopped out of the bus by the only sign that had "Oman" on it and snapped a few pictures.
The Delaware group in Oman.
Lost might be a bit of a strong word to describe our status in the Omani desert—but it did require some instruction and discussion with the bus driver plus a tad of best-guessing to get us out of there.
Sean, Tom, and Max put on their game faces before an hour of solo exploration of the Dubai dunes.
Some unexpected extra time on the bus provided for some great photo ops. Gotta make the best of everything, right? Beautiful rock formation in the Omani desert.
Caught Ralph on his quad before he disappeared behind the dunes. The sand was a rich, rusty red color and was super-fine. Seeing nothing but sand for miles and miles finally met by the bright white line of the horizon on that overcast day was a view I'll never forget.
HATTA MOUNTAIN SAFARI,After study a few of the blog posts on your website now, and I truly like your way of blogging.Really informative and with nice pictures.
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