After nearly two hours or so, of gruesome driving on the face of the hostile desert, we boarded the vehicles and headed off for the final destination. This time around, we had gotten used to the strange driving styles of the desert drivers. These guys are very genius, the drive over barren desert, not even getting lost for a while! We eventually came back to the main road, crossed it and drove to another direction of the desert. We finally came to a desert resort complete with Camels, desert motorcycles and huge arena with a bar and restaurant of a sort. These guys know how to make cash, for each motorcycle ride, one had to cough a cool one hundred UAE Dirham (about 25 US dollars). With the enthusiasm and stamina gained as a result of riding in the Land cruisers that were more than a match for the dunes, many of us were more than confident to take on the sand on bike backs! As it was getting too dark to ride, we were ushered into the compound of the final destination, here; there were lots of soft drinks and tea or coffee all courtesy of the “Oasis Palm”, the company that was in-charge of the whole event. We were told that, this campsite in the middle of nowhere was also owned by the same organisation. They began by serving us some tea (with milk that tasted like no milk ever could taste). It was milk to the eyes but something else to the mouth! After we had settled down, they announced that, we were to go and have dinner as we waited for the last event of the night. Dinner comprised the usual mutton and its sub tribes, some stuff that looked like chicken, some rice or is it pilau and a tribe of mashed potatoes. We ate fast as we waited for the finale! After eating, we were told that, all those who would like to pose for photos while donning Arabian clothing could proceed to the stands where the attires were. We had photos taken dressed in all forms of Als and Els. After what looked like eternity, the MC announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, let us get ready for the Belly Dance”, there was uproar likethunder in the desert! We all quickly rushed to the edges of theplatform that doubled as the dance floor. A Lady emerged from the dark and rushed onto the floor amid ululations from the crowd. She began dancing in a strange way not that it was vulgar or so but because it did not look close to any of our beautiful dances. She kept running from one end of the stage to the other, hopping here and there; sometimes not moving to the rhythm of the loud music blaring from the nearby speakers. This went on for close to an hour and as abruptly as she had appeared, she was gone, just like that! If you expected more than this of the “Belly Dance”, your guess is as good as mine, as to why it was called so, I have no answer. Maybe we have dirty minds and that is why we expected much more than we had bargained for, eh! mfashumwana@fastmail.fm
