Camping happy

One never knows the impact of ones words until they are spoken, or in some cases written. This has come true many times in my life, and there have been times when I have had to retract my statements, or change my mind in light of new evidence. Anyway one of my previous posts "Happy Camper" got the goat of some of my closest friends, who love to live on the rough side of life. The last time that I had ventured out camping was over two years ago and that blog, written with a bit of poetic license, seemed to them as an unfair summary of proceedings.

However, instead of sulking away in a corner, as any decent guy would do, these friends decided to rise to the challenge and make me change my mind about these sojourns. For the last few months, ever since the weather here in Dubai has improved there have been suggestions and whisperings of another camping trip. Of course I would only grunt incomprehensively or laugh at any insinuation that I should join, making sure that there was no way that that utterance would be taken as a commitment. Knowing that that tactic was not working, these guys, who are as shrewd a bunch as one is ever likely to encounter, targeted the weak link in my armor - my better half. She has made committing me to all sort of activities and pastimes, that I would otherwise not indulge in, into her cause célèbre. It was very easy to influence my wife into this camping trip, as the word “NO” does not exist in her dictionary, and so I was ensnared.

As the day rapidly approached, my stress levels were rising, and by the time we actually took off for the trip my temples were throbbing with the beginnings of a headache. It started much as I had written earlier - we took off towards late afternoon to beat the heat, cars were overloaded with gear, food and creature comforts and I had no clue, as usual, whereabouts in the UAE our destination was. A quick fuel stop and then a short ride to the Margham Road, which is where the tents were to be pitched this time. Again, as expected, deciding on the perfect camping site took as much time as the actual drive from home, since we had to be sure we were not in the way of errant dune bashers. But it was at about this time that the story started to change tack, like a boat keening into a fresh wind. Before I knew it the tents had come up around us, like desert blooms, with seemingly no effort. Hot tea was arranged for, which went a long way towards alleviating my headache. The children were throwing themselves off sand dunes, thrilling in the glory of messing themselves with no parental intervention. The boys were chasing a football up and down the sand ravines like mindless puppies after a stick, and before I knew it I was completely enamored by the scenery and the company.

All residual doubts vanished by the time the suns rays were dimming. As the camp fire was being set up, my mood was almost exultant as the serenity of the desert and the whisper of the wind over the dunes, mingled with the muted voices of my friends soothed my stress. There was no immediate clamor for food from the children, and no loud music blasted the tranquility of the desert. Even though there were a few dune bashers in their quad bikes, they gave us space and kept their distance. Just sitting there on the crest of a big sand dune, with clean air and open vistas completely relaxed me. The stars came out in all their glory, a sight that we rarely see and the more astronomically inclined among us started to identify the stars that we grew up with – Orion’s belt, the Big Dipper etc. For once it was me, I think, who suggested that we start the barbeque as it was getting late and my stomach felt like it could do with some nourishment. There was a fantastic spread of meats, salads, and of course delicious desserts. Bearing in mind the tribulations that awaited me the next morning, I decided to stay light and did not overstuff myself.

There was a moment of panic when my daughter decided to eat a sausage with the plastic cover and then complained of stomach pains. It is testament to the preparedness of my friends that they had carried appropriate medicine, just for one night. Once that crisis was tided over, the serendipity resumed for the rest of the evening. We stayed up past midnight, chatting, playing games, listening to some music on my Iphone and feeding the fire.

The next morning my fears of a bowel rush remained unfounded and we got up quite late after a good nights sleep. Feeling rested, a few of us drove down a few kilometers to pick up fresh tea, while a wholesome breakfast was being prepared. Post breakfast we played a few competitive games of volleyball, and the fact that my team was undoubtedly better and won, improved my mood even more. We decided not to let unsportsmanlike behavior and cheating by the other team, get us down. Even the ritual of getting the tents down and packed into their tiny bags was accomplished quickly, with minimum effort (on my part I should say). By midday we were rolling back home and feeling just great.

I had ended my previous blog with the statement that said “I look forward to the next camping trip to get closer to nature, maybe with portable satellite TV’s and auto cleansing chemical toilets, not to leave out catered food to alleviate the adversity”. I did not realize that the next time we would in fact get closer to nature without any of the technology that strips nature off its grandeur, and would not have believed anyone, if they would have told me that I would enjoy it. Having come this far on my personal journey to master this untamed universe, my mental horizons are already expanding towards a bike trip through Southern Africa, or maybe a fifteen day hiking and camping trip to the frozen waste lands of Leh and Ladakh in North India.

Thanks to Farrokh, Neville and Shahrukh for a memorable weekend!