It was a humid Friday morning when the Premier Events team decided to explore the red sands of the madam district in the UAE. Uniting with the other members of the Arabian off-road Academy, Premier team decided to travel around the desert and exploit of the lazy afternoon.

We knew we had company, but had not imagined a troop of over a hundred gargantuan vehicles come together with us for the adventure. Divided in three different groups (beginner, intermediate, and expert), and SUV’s equipped with desert gears and expert drivers, we moved into the sands with a heavy dose of adrenaline and excitement.

My Pajero looked like a toddler between the gigantic cruisers and the desert-mod-jeeps, and we faced quite a mock when we repeatedly stepped out of the convoy to avoid the bigger dunes. I couldn’t imagine my hefty 3.5 engine not sustain the sandbank, but nevertheless we made through to a certain extent, experienced driving in the desert and lived through the heat all day long.

We continued to drive for hours in the desert clicking pictures, breaking bumpers, pulling out immovable cars, bearing the humidity and enjoying the beautiful scenery. After a long day of driving in the desert, we stopped by amongst hundreds of FJ Cruisers, Land Cruisers, Nissan Patrols, Jeep Wranglers, etc. Thank the stars, at least my Pajero stood out as it was the only amongst all the other giants.

At Sunset, all the Muslim brothers gathered in the east direction to pray after breaking their fast. The Iftar was a treat with so much food that I’d never seen at once in the city. All cars brought with them food for themselves but of course a little extra to share with everybody in the group. From dates to seekh kebabs, I relished every morsel of the cooking. We laughed, chit chattered and got to meet and greet so many amazing people we had never met in this country before.

More than all, my respect mounted for my Muslim friends who faithfully continued to fast even in the August heat living the day without a drop of water, while I swigged bottles to keep myself breathing.

In the day, we started to recognize the desert to be as expressive as we human beings are, but of course it takes an eye to understand the tranquil land’s emotions. While driving through the red sands, I observed its calm nature for minutes, and then also a flash of hostility during other times. We could fictionally imagine dunes pointing a finger at us challenging our manhood to cross its border, and then its kind cuddle when we repeatedly rolled tires over to perform the stunt. It crippled my jeep’s both front and rear bumpers when we affronted its motherliness, but it gently cleared our path to cross when we calmly waited for the winds to change the desert’s theme.

If you think there’s not much to do in Dubai, you’ve probably not experienced the best part of this country as yet – driving in the desert.

Again, Ramadan Kareem to all