Today's our last day before our departure for Tokyo. The plan is to chill out a bit in the afternoon around the pool, and leave around 3 pm for a desert safari. We'll then come back to the hotel, collect our luggages and leave for the airport where we are due for taking off at about 3 am.
After heading North towards Oman for about 30 minutes (just about 76 km away from Oman), Akbar, our driver, turns right into the desert and plunges our 4x4 Toyota into the sand dunes (after deflating the tires). The 45-minute long roller coaster left Hanna giggling (no real shouting noticed) and, if I am not mistaken, ready for another round (to my great astonishment). A convoy of cars over the dunes is always very impressive and one can only feel like Lawrence of Arabia at one point or another during the trip.
As Hanna rightfully pointed out, those desert safaris can only have been invented by bored cheikhs or emirs...the bad thing: I am always scared at the amount of trash left behind by tourists in the desert; the good point: where else on Earth can you get those sunset views?
The safari ends with a BBQ in the middle of the desert, a belly dancer (who, according to Hanna, comes from Eastern Europe), some camel tours for tourists willing to spend some money, and, last but not least, a return ride through the dunes, which left me speechless at Akbar's driving skills.
In a few hours, we'll be aboard my favorite plane again, en route to Tokyo, Japan. A good time hence to tell you, faithful reader, that Dubai is a great place to visit if you need sun, heat, relaxing time and luxurious hotels. The Sofitel may not be the most expensive hotel in the place, and may also not be the best looking one. But, what is the point of blowing 300 euros per night? At one point, too much luxe kills the luxe, and trust me, the Sofitel is luxurious enough. As for shopping, skip Dubai...really, any serious shopper would not consider Dubai as the place to be...the prices are comparable to those in The Netherlands, and even sometimes more expensive. As far as electronics is concerned, the choice is very limited and I cannot wait till we'll be in Japan to get my polarizing filters and extra lenses. The shopping malls are big...that I admit...and the airco works well in there (so well that Hanna got sick). But, honestly, go somewhere else...even the FNAC or Carrefour in France are cheaper. The IPhone 5 for 1300 euros...25% more expensive than in The Hague...Again, let us see what Japan has to offer.
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