It's November, cold, grey, and depressing in Berlin.
Hubby: Let's go somewhere really hot.
Me: Like the desert? (Immediately, I have a vision of Carrie Bradshaw and Samantha riding a camel in the Abu Dhabi desert, and I think of all the outfit opportunities.)
Hubby: Like the Maldives, a follow up to our Honeymoon.
Me: We have a 2-year old, and a 0-year old. Aren't they a bit young to snorkel with sharks? Or should we just use 'em as bait?
Hubby: Do you have a better idea?
Me: Yes, the desert. Kids need sand for their development, it's pedagogic. Abu Dhabi is literally a stone's throw from Berlin, and there is a direct flight with Emirates. Plus, I love how all the flight attendants look like the genie from I Dream of Jeannie.
After the long and sleepless flight to Abu Dhabi, we were picked up from the airport by an uncomfortably polite driver, courtesy of our hotel. He led us out to the parking lot where we were slapped by the scorching Middle Eastern heat. The driver's uniform was positively official-looking, and if outfits could talk, this one was telling us "I'm not a driver. I am a chauffeur. Behave yourselves." He opened the door to the Sub-Zero Fridge on wheels he called an SUV, settled the kids in with movies and gave us ice water to drink. We drove straight into the Arabian desert, and for two hours we saw nothing but sand dunes. Suddenly, the One Thousand and One Nights moment we'd been waiting for came into view: the mirage of a life-size sand castle nestled in the dunes against the clear blue sky. The excitement in my two year old daughter's eyes was contagious. I knew this would be a vacation we'd never forget.
It's been two years since we took this trip, and not a week has gone by when our daughter hasn't asked to go back to Abu Dhabi to ride a camel and drink camel milk (eew!). A life souvenir engraved in the brain of a then 2-year old adventurous little girl, who will never forget the day she rode with her Momma on a camel's back through the Arabian desert.
Qasr Al Sarab Desert Hotel by Anantara
From the Sex and the City movie:
Samantha Jones: I'm having a hot flash.
Carrie Bradshaw: You're fine.
Samantha Jones: Seriously. They're starting.
Carrie Bradshaw: You're on a camel in the middle of the Arabian desert. If you're not having a hot flash, you're dead.
