Dubai - They were on their fifth day of a seven-day, 350km Camel Trek across the rolling sand dunes of the UAE desert
Published: Wed 25 Jan 2017, 4:45 PM
Updated: Thu 26 Jan 2017, 8:20 AM
Just a little over an hour's drive from the Khaleej Times' headquarters in Al Quoz, we headed off to Nazwa area of the Dubai desert early Wednesday morning to meet the participants in the third edition of the 'Camel Trek' organised by the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC).
They were on their fifth day of a seven-day, 350km Camel Trek across the rolling sand dunes of the UAE desert. The last few embers of previous night's fire was still burning as they huddled around it to fight off the biting early morning cold. Yet they were in high spirits as they shared their experiences and the challenges they faced living a life, devoid of the conveniences of modern technology, in the desert.
It was a journey back in time for this group of 13 intrepid individuals (five women; eight men) - hailing from UK, USA, France, Oman, Egypt and the UAE - to take part in a week-long expedition and travel the same way Bedouins in the past used to navigate the wide desert expanse.
Some of them, like French compatriots Charlotte Sarrazin and Anne-Laure Laine, joined last year's edition and were considered "experienced trekkers" but majority of them were first timers and novice camel riders. All of them, however, have undergone rigorous training prior to the trek.
Inspired by their tales of living a "once-in-a-lifetime experience of travelling back through time - leading a nomadic lifestyle in the changing landscape of the desert and experiencing the unique Arabian hospitality," we, too, tried to take a few minutes of ride aboard the ship of the desert - the camel.
The instruction was short yet challenging for someone who would ride a camel for the first time: "Let go of your fear, relax and hop on."
"The camel is an intelligent beast, it can can sense your fear and would be unhappy by it," a local guide told us.
Excitement set in and we followed the instructions of our guide.
First, we were told to mount the camel from the side. We didn't stand in front of the camel so as not to distract it as it was nibbling some grass.
After we mounted the camel lying on the sand, we got hold of the wooden handle at the front of the saddle. The camel got up from its hind legs first, so we leaned backward to keep an upright posture. Note: Never lean forward, lest you find yourself lying prostrate facedown on the camel's long neck.
Then the camel stood up on its front legs and we leaned forward to counteract the camel's motion and maintain an upright posture.
The hard part - mounting the camel - was done so we just sat comfortably and swayed with every movement of the camel. Our guide told us not to resist the movement of the camel. "Sway with it and relax," he said.
We've noticed that camels have an odd, side-to-side gait so it is really best to just relax and not stiffen up. We straddled comfortably; but on long rides (which we did not try) crossing legs and changing positions is a must to distribute the pressure in your body, we were told.
We were also told not to control the camel - they won't listen anyway. They only follow their leader or whoever is in front of them. That's why they always travel in a caravan. The young camels follow the olds ones who are more experienced.
After riding the camel for a few minutes and ticking it off on our bucket list, dismounting it was much easier than getting on it. We used the saddle handle to push ourselves up, swung our leg over the hump to one side, and simply jumped off the camel.
Then all of us headed off to a breakfast feast of shakshouka (scrambled eggs, tomatoes, onion, chili); fasolia, foul, Arabic bread, boiled eggs, honey and cheese, balaleet (sweet vermicelli), and kahwa (coffee) before the trekkers started another journey in the desert.
Trekkers' tales
Khalifa bin Sabeen, Emirati leader of the convoy, praised the team spirit, discipline and sense of camaraderie displayed by the group of Emiratis and expatriates in the seven-day trek. He said: "At the beginning there were certain challenges. But they did everything asked of them, even when they were assigned different tasks at the camp. They also now know how to take care of their own camel, saddle it and feed it.The second day was a bit windy and cloudy but it was fine. The third day was marvellous as we traveled across the Shwaib area, a wide expanse of pristine sand dune."
Ali Hassan Al Ahli, a young Emirati participant, urged his generation to keep alive the UAE's rich culture: He said: "I was born in the world of modern technology and Internet. I did not think of culture or any attachment because of my association with multinational community in Dubai. The only heritage event I liked was saluki. I went for training from that time. At first it was a bit tough but I really love the atmosphere of camping in the desert. I think young Emiratis should also try to ride camels."
Charlotte Sarrazin and Anne-Laure Laine said: "It was really an amazing experience to embrace the culture and tradition of the UAE. That's why we decided to do it (camel trek) for the second time. The only difficulty is to wake up early for the journey."
California-born expat Mike Metzger said: "I came over from Abu Dhabi and just joined at the last minute. I could only make it for two days of training. It was tough on my knees and on my back, specially my inner quads. It was very painful but after a few days of kind of roughing it out, the pain finally went away and I started enjoying the whole experience. This is a once-in-a lifetime journey. It's an expedition where you travel back in time and experience the real Arabian way of life just as it was for thousands and thousands of years.
angel@khaleejtimes.com
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