Desert Safari in Dubai
Dubai is a crazy place with some of the most extravagant man made structures (mainly made on the back of the workers that are imported), and can give Las Vegas a real run for the money in regards to over the top extravagance. You can visit the world islands (islands made to resemble the shape of the world from above), the palm islands (two different islands resembling the shape of palm trees, a huge water park, and the piece d’ resistance – indoor skiing. Even in 110+ degrees F, you can still enjoy skiing on man made snow kept in a giant steel cylinder at -1 degree C. I tried this so that I could check it off of the list (expecting it to be a gimmick), but it was actually quite good. You can show up in shorts, they give you the gear and you can ski or board on fresh packed powder – unreal!
I also tried the desert safari tour while in the UAE, where you get in some 4X4 Land Cruisers and head off towards the border of Oman. This was very cool, and something most people would enjoy. We spent hours racing through the sand dunes of the desert, and eventually stopped for a traditional dinner outdoors in tents sitting on huge rugs. After dinner we even had some free time to try navigating some of the dunes on camels, or even snow boarding down the sand dunes. This was an interesting day, as not only did we have fun exploring the back countryside with a nice little shot of adrenaline, but you get to see how some of the more nomadic people live outside of the cities.
