Desert Bedouin Experience?

From afar, the nomadic Bedouin life appears pretty exotic. An exhibit outside a museum in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) recreated an encampment for tourists. There is the open tent, where guests sit on cushions near the ground.

All of the belongings are portable so they can be transported from place to place.

And, there was even a live falcon to illustrate the practice of training and using falcons for hunting.

The excursion planners from Oceania also decided that it would be a very special experience to transport the almost 400 around-the-world guests into the desert for an evening event. Oceania has planned several of these around-the-world special evening events, and it was embraced as a different and exotic experience.

I will start by saying that I got something positive out of attending. I got into the desert, saw some animals and absorbed the experience. I was glad I went. After the fact, however, many agreed that one needs both vision and execution to create a great event.

Even before the event, a number of guests decided not to go as the invitation indicated that we would be sitting in the desert on low cushions. Our around-the-world travelers include many who don’t have the physical capacity to sit on the ground. After some negotiations, they agreed to set up some tables and a few chairs, so some of those who weren’t going to attend decided they could go.

It certainly was a complicated event to plan. Almost 400 of us were invited. We were transported from the ship to the desert in about 100 white four wheel drive vehicles. While the vehicles tried to travel in convoys, the Dubai traffic and length of time getting to the desert area complicated the logistics.

When we got to the desert, each driver had to stop and let air out of his (yes all were male) tires before we could proceed.

We did get a nice view of a herd of oryx.

Finally we arrived at the first location in the desert, a hilltop with cushions on the ground where we were to see the sunset and experience a falcon demonstration. Here the logistical issues began to emerge. There was only one desert path to the site and it took a long time for each of the 100 vehicles to drive up then drive away. But finally we were seated.

We did get there just in time for the sunset.

And could see a man demonstrating his falcon’s flight. In this picture, the falcon is swooping in on the lower left.

After this, each of the one hundred vehicles then had to make its way up to the hilltop to pick us up for transportation to the next location. We were supposed to know which vehicle we were in. I had been in number 39, but didn’t know it because no one said that when we got out. It took quite a while and quite a bit of grumbling.

Next we were transported to the site where the dinner and performance would happen. Again we were seated on cushions on the ground, with carpets covering the sand. The few tables with seats were filled quickly by early arrivals, so some had to find a way to sit on the ground who had expected a table.

The servers were friendly, but did not increase the Bedouin experience.

There were performances, including these belly dancers.

And sword balancing.

At the end of the evening, we encountered a true gridlock in getting the vehicles to come and pick us up. The ones coming up the single lane sand track couldn’t move because others were stuck. Frustration abounded. One of my fellow guests took pity on me and gave me her place in the vehicle, so I got back to the ship by 11pm, but others were over an hour later. In a trip full of great experiences, this certainly was okay and I could take it in stride. I learned something and was glad to have done it. I can’t say, however, that I experienced much of that fabled Bedouin life.