#desert lizard

Agama (Agama agama) male

[She assures you that she can handle carrying all this water back to the village]

[Because she has three ways to carry the water jugs and you only have two]

When I travel to foreign countries, I like to get a taste of their culture and traditions.  It’s fun to try and do the things that the locals do or did at least during some point in their history.  In Dubai, you can embark on a desert safari which entails a very odd combination of activities, all of which have somehow come to embody the culture of Dubai.

First off is a thrilling-for-some, terrifying-for-others, sickening-for-people-like-me drive through the desert sand dunes which has been given the lovely title, Dune Bashing.  We opted out of this considering we had two toddlers, a grandma, and a car-sick-prone mommy on board.  Obviously, the driver was not interested in our request to drive smoothly nor our screams in the back seat as he drove like a madman with his foot to the floor of the Land Cruiser which felt as though it would roll over at every turn.  I counted at least three times my head bumped the car ceiling....and that was with a seat belt tightly fastened.  We thankfully survived without any injuries or vomiting.  **Note dune bashing is actually frowned upon by environmentalists as it ruins the natural habitat and the dunes themselves.  Dubaiians obviously appreciate a thrill more than they do nature.

We were the first group to arrive at the camp, so we stammered up some of the dunes to take pics before photo bombers could ruin our perfect backdrop.  On our way up one of the dunes we spotted lizard tracks and hunted him out of his hiding spot (see video below.)  I’ve never seen a lizard like that before and it was cool that we really discovered it on our own.  We also got another literally five-minute ride on a couple of camels which gave way to more photo ops, except that the camel guy cut off the head of our camel...in.every.picture.  

Inside the camp, there was a falcon handler who let me hold the falcon on my arm and then on my shoulder.  Another fascinating experience to be so close to and even stroke the feathers of such a magnificent bird, one that could actually slit my throat with its massive claws at any moment, yet was as gentle as a lamb while I held him.

We also got henna tattoos on our hands (see pic below) which is fun for the first day, maybe even two.  But a week later when I was using a barilla pad to try and scrub that tea stain off the back of my hand, it reinforced my decision to never ever get a tattoo.

Dinner at the desert camp was nothing to write home about, simply a long buffet line of food that seemed more Indian than anything.  But the entertainment was pretty unique.  First was a man dancing in a series of dresses which eventually lit up.  I say dancing, but I mean non-stop spinning for at least ten minutes.  When I turn around more than twice, I hit the floor.  I don’t know how this guy didn’t eat sand when he stopped, or much less how he walked off the stage in a straight line!  It was definitely jaw dropping.  The second act was a fire twirler.  This guy danced with fire to that freaky devil song and literally looked like he might be Lucifer himself.  Even Ella sensed it and told me that she didn’t like that man because he was “eating the fire!”  Last was a belly dancer whom I loved, because she had hilarious expressions as though she didn’t really take herself seriously....although she probably should have because she could bounce those tatas to the beat of any drum!  

After dinner and the show, the desert safari officially ended.  I was hoping for a few more visible stars in the sky, but perhaps you have to trek further into the desert for some real camping before the stars make an appearance.  Thankfully our ride home was a straight shot through the dunes with no funny business from our driver.  

I don’t know how much of the desert safari experience represented real culture and traditions, or whether it has been manufactured simply for tourism.  But in any case, it is a part of what Dubai is now known for, and I had fun trying it out.

【サスペンション】社外ダンパーが欲しくなってきた 〜 Yeah Raching / その4

欲しいダンパー候補その4今回はYear Rachingの定番製品。 スケールクローラーで採用される事例が多いダンパー“DESERT LIZARD”です。 DESERT LIZARD TWO STAGE INTERNAL SPRING DAMPER 筒の中にバネとオイルが入っている、インナースプリングタイプのダンパーです。 3つのOリングでオイル漏れがしにくい構造になっているそうです。 この投稿をInstagramで見る Big League…