Category Archives: UAE
United Arab Emirates
Kissed by a Camel in the UAE
Have you ever been kissed by a camel? Well, I have. And let me tell you … those lips are big! We were enroute from the busyness of Dubai to Al Ain, an Oasis city of green in the otherwise camel-coloured desert of the United Arab Emirates (UAE,) a Middle Eastern country just east of Saudi Arabia on the Persian Gulf. I was fortunate to have flown Pearl (business class) to the UAE from Toronto on Etihad Airlines, based out of the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi. Etihad provided impeccable service and was an absolutely wonderful introduction to my first experience in the Middle East. And my stay in Abu Dhabi was highlighted by the 1st class service at the five-star Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri located directly across the sparking water from the Grand Mosque. The UAE was the farthest from my home in North America that I’d ever been – physically, and culturally. Here, you’re quite likely to see camels off in the distance, just as we see deer and antelope scattered about the countryside in Canada. And we did! But then … all of a sudden … we saw a few camels close enough to get excited about! They were no longer just dots in my camera’s viewfinder. For a moment, the otherwise conservative natured, John, became a completely four-wheeling free spirit – despite the fact that we were in a Honda Civic – and left the safety of the pavement, making a short cross-country (or should I say “cross-desert”?) trek over the sand and onto a smaller road, where we could get close to the camels. (snip) Welcome to Diversion with Doreen, my new travel blog. Many of you will have already visited my writer’s blog, http://doreenpendgracs.com/ which I started in February, 2009 and for which I …
