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DUBAI LUXURY TRAVEL
A desert experience with the comfort and luxury that such a harsh and unforgiving landscape rarely delivers. Deserts are perhaps the toughest of all the natural environments on earth. Harsh and barren, generally inhospitable to humans, they give sustenance to little but the most basic plant and animal life. However, they do provide some of the most spectacular scenery on our planet In the Arabian Gulf, vision, wealth and technology are being harnessed together to construct an astonishing New World on the shifting desert sands. One of the first of many billboards we saw lining the roads on the drive out of Dubai was for a construction company, promoting that they are "building the nation." It soon seems that should be more plural than singular. In the desert camped at the gates of the glittering city, herds of trucks are circling and tracking around massive construction projects, night and day, like animals in a game park Giant facades show artist concepts for fantasylands - "sunny pleasure domes with caves of ice" - that are being created; a "Dubailand" that it is decreed will be the most ambitious leisure and entertainment destination ever made to measure over thousands of acres. The Seven Wonders of the World will be duplicated and handily clustered together here with shopping and indoor skiing as extra features, along with parking for thousands of cars. Ata A//ah-"God's gift"- is the Bedouin name for Came/us drotnederius, the Arabian camel. Perfectly adapted to desert life, camels are valued now more as thoroughbred racing animals and sentimental images of the past than as the mainstay oftransportation. The limousines of Europe, Asia and America have long since taken over that role in this oil-rich federation. High temperatures, lack of water and shortage of food are the main obstacles to survival in the desert. All of these are expertly dealt with at jumeirah Bab al Shams Desert Resort & Spa. Its name translates to the "gateway to the sun"; this low-rise retreat basks in a desert landscape. For now it is far from the city, although like sand dunes, that too is moving, expanding as Dubai builds bigger and biggest, both up and out. Fringed with palm trees, generously water-featured, Bab al Shams is where you will have a desert experience with the comfort and luxury that such a harsh and unforgiving landscape rarely delivers. Its architecture is derived from the traditional Arabic, an ancient walled fortress village newly interpreted. Optical illusions are a specialty of Dubai. The pools are not a mirage, though they stretch into infinity by design; neither are the lush gardens. Stone courtyards and staircases connect and lead to suites, restaurants and roof top bars. You can lie on cushioned terraces, watch the sunset and puff on apple shisha under the stars. It is rustic in look but not in fact; the rooms are simply luxurious, the bathroom worthy of a movie set. The resort is on several "hot lists": for its design and location, not for the summer temperatures, when it can reach well over 100°F (3S0C). In midsummer, when we were briefly outside in sweltering dry 104°F (40°C) . heat, it felt as though a huge fan heater had been left on by mistake. Inside is a welcome chill-out zone, as is the Satori Spa. One comfort likely to be difficult to find for an inexperienced passenger is riding on the back of a camel, but there are alternatives: horseback or four-wheel drives into the desert. On the sand dunes in the early evening, much-prized falcons show off their hunting skills in a display of avian acrobatics. Watching the magnificent bird, its cruel, beautiful head hooded when on its handler's arm but uncovered to soar high above the desert and dive low after its prey is better than watching an air show. Although the traditional sport of hunting with falcons is banned in most of the UAE, the bird is a pervasive emblem. Its image is printed on the federation'S money, and is deemed so valuable that each registered falcon has to have its own identification. In an effort to stop illegal trading, none can be taken out of the country unless their owners can show the Falcon Passport. On a cool night you can walk out across the dunes, or be whisked on a buggy to Al Hadheerah, the resort's signature open-air restaurant. Inside its rock walls is lively Arabic music and entertainment - bands and belly dancers - and taste bud tempting ethnic cuisines from the diverse Arab world, cooked to order on wood-fired stone ovens and spit roasts. Lounging on cushions on the majlis, sunken seating, looking up at the sudden sight of a gleaming white Arabian horse poised and spot lit high on a dune above, you may have your own prince or princess of the desert caravanserai fantasy. If you feel like a change from desert sand, there is a shuttle service from Bab al Shams to the beach, only 35 minutes away at the resort's sister properties; Burj al Arab, the ]umeirah Beach hotel and Madinatjumeriah. Watersports, snow-skiing, shopping malls and souks; all are in reach of a short drive. Bab al Shams is close to the Dubai International Endurance City, the headquarters for a grueling annual event where horses and riders take on a six-stage, 100 mile (160 km) race across the UAE's punishing desert terrain. At the resort, you are secluded from such or any really demanding effort. There is little endurance required to stay here; the peace and quiet of this lush desert "island" will soon restore your stamina levels.On a cool night you can walk out across the dunes, or be whisked on a buggy to Al Hadheerah, the resort's signature open-air restaurant. Inside its rock walls is lively Arabic music and entertainment - bands and belly dancers - and taste bud tempting ethnic cuisines from the diverse Arab world, cooked to order on wood-fired stone ovens and spit roasts. Lounging on cushions on the majlis, sunken seating, looking up at the sudden sight of a gleaming white Arabian horse poised and spot lit high on a dune above, you may have your own prince or princess of the desert caravanserai fantasy. If you feel like a change from desert sand, there is a shuttle service from Bab al Shams to the beach, only 35 minutes away at the resort's sister properties; Burj al Arab, the]umeirah Beach hotel and Madinatjumeriah. Watersports, snow-skiing, shopping malls and souks; all are in reach of a short drive. |
