C2: Desert safari and water park!

To know about how the trip began, you may read Introductory day 1

And it is my bae’s birthday!!!!! He has chosen to celebrate it in the deserts of Dubai.

Cannot be happier than today. Was waiting for this from a long time.

I had planned a small but sweet surprise for him that’s what I could manage in the new city 😛)

After having our breakfast, we decided to relax for a while in the hotel pool as the pick-up for desert safari was in the late noon.

The pool was amazingly clean and well maintained. We had great fun there.

After coming back from the pool, we got ready to have our lunch in a restaurant called ‘Seizers’ for the lunch. It was a local restaurant with decently made Indian food at nominal rates.

[Just lost in the taste of gulab jamun]

From there, we headed towards our ride to desert safari. He was way too much excited for it.

Desert safari is one of the most popular and most visited tourist attractions. And no doubt, it is worth all the hype.

The thought of driving the desert jeep/scooter and then heading towards the desert in a land rover was extremely exciting for him and of course for me too.

The first stop was at a small market in the desert where people could buy local traditional jewellery and clothes and can have scooter and jeep rides (paid ones).

We didn't shop anything as I was more interested in activities than shopping (for a change).

In the same market, we got a few pictures clicked with the eagle sitting on our heads and on shoulders.

This was also paid (we paid 15 AED for both of us to get as many clicks as we wanted)

It was hilarious. Tourist attraction, you know!

Then we rented a desert scooty (120 AED for two people, 20 minutes) and had a great ride.

From there, we started again on the drive towards the main place, the ride was stupendous. The ups and downs and turns and twirls made us go crazy. Since there are many ups and downs, it is advisable to have light lunch before this to avoid any chances of vomiting. Thanks to my cousin, who warned me in advance and we actually ate very less.

Then came the stop-II. A place where you could see sand and only sand all around you. It was a place where we were asked to enjoy the serene beauty of the desert. The view was astonishing. The sun behind the sand was looking way too beautiful. We sat, paused and relaxed for a while. It was really wonderful.

After that, we headed towards the main and the final stop, where the performances were being organised for the visitors.

The sun had set, and the weather was chilly.

The drivers were very knowledgeable and helpful. Our driver told us a lot of about the place, its culture and the cuisines. He also helped Akshay to tie the turban and even taught him how they do so.

We also tried camel ride. It was fun.

The area was pretty well planned. Food on one corner, drinks on another, vendors on the third corner and the hookah on the last side.

We first went to a small room where the lady was applying free henna on the hands of all girls and their traditional costume was placed for everybody to wear and get clicked. The idea was to make everyone aware of their custom and traditions.

The show was about to begin and everybody was called in the centre.

There were two areas allocated to the travelers- one, which was free of cost where we had to sit on the cushions on the floor and there was self-service of the food.

The other area, the paid one (50 AED for each person) where tables and sofas were arranged, and the food was served hot on your table. One waiter was assigned to each table who was on service, at all times.

My husband opted for the second one.

The performances and the dance shows were amazing. Belle dancing and fireworks were a few of those great performances.

The dinner was hot and tasty.

We had an amazing time there.

Headed back to hotel and dropped to bed at the same moment. We were badly tired but super happy with how the day had gone. 

The next day was the water park day. I was a little skeptical about it as I didn’t want to be tanned again (like I became in Mauritius). But my husband was too sure of it.

We went to aqua venture water park. Since December is considered as a cold season of Dubai (though it was amazingly pleasant as compared to Delhi), it was not hugely crowded. The crowd was decent, good enough to make it a pleasant visit.

There were a lot of scary rides which gave us an adrenaline rush.

The phones were not allowed inside the water park and hence we deposited the same with our clothes in a paid locked (50 AED for a medium size locker- enough to keep the clothes for two people).

The rides were pretty amazing and super scary. The names of the rides do complete justice to them: Aquaconda, Poseidon’s Revengue, The Leap of faith, Shark Safari and what not.

No pictures though. But the fun was at its peak.

After the rides, we were super hungry. Still we managed to click a few again 😋

Then after a lot of struggle in choosing the right restaurant, we ate at one of the various food courts inside that water park (each one being quite expensive).

We ordered a pizza but it was more than enough for both of us. We ate a lot but still could not finish it. We were full!

After that, we rested on the shacks for a while and then had a super tasty ice-cream at cold stone. We took oreo-chocolate ice cream. It was just yum.

After coming back to hotel, we went to my cousin’s place (who lives in Dubai with her husband) for a nice and homely dinner. The taxis in Dubai are expensive if you travel short distances however, for long distances, the fare seems to be okay. It was a decent dinner, because homemade food can never disappoint you. Came back to the hotel late in the evening with a lot of excitement for the next day!

Next day was Christmas.

Christmas, Ferrari world and Ski Dubai- in the next post soon.