Rub Al Khai Desert Safari,Fujairah(鲁卜哈利沙漠飙车)

2013-12-10

【Aiden in English】

        During the night, Nautica Oceania had sailed to Fujairah across the choke point- Strait of Hormuz from Persian Gulf to Gulf of Oman. Fujairah represents one of the seven emirates in UAE and is the only Trucial State that has a coastline solely on the Gulf of Oman and none on the Persian Gulf like 6 others.

       I was so excited for today because Mom and I were going to Rub Al Khai Desert safari. The desert was also well known as Arabian "Empty Quarter" and the largest sand desert in the world.

       As I stepped out of the 4WD SUV and looked around, I saw nothing but red sand for miles with a glint in the end of the desert under the sunlight. The sea of sand had forever-going dunes as far as the eye could see. The texture of the color changed from orange to red as the sun moved due to iron. The iron was exposed in the air and the sand turned into a variety of color with a reddish hue. Only then, did I notice a huge rock jetting out of the ground. When I looked closely, the rock appeared to be a camel that looked pretty lean with a single hump popped out of its back. It would be 100 percent natural and organic.

      If you said this was the middle of nowhere, you were absolutely correct! Engines roared, sand storm sprayed, and tire tracks sank in wild dunes. I went zooming the Arabian territory and wanted to throw up the whole time. The red sand didn't help at all. The SUV like a roller coast or bumper car always seemed to be moving at a high speed and had to drift on every turn at a steep angle. It threw me around like a rag doll. Thankfully I had my seat belt on or else I would have broken a bone.

       After the stop for fresh air and photos, Mom and I embarked another bumpy ride up to the summit of a tall hill that overlooked a town. At the moment, we took a break for refreshments and an amazing panoramic view. There were shops and cottages displayed in front of us and the skyline of Fujairah in the distance.

      When Mom finished snapping her camera, we drove down the hillside toward the city and back to the cruise ship. After today, I will never look at a desert the same way as before.

【红霞译文】

       经过通宵航行，“航海‧大洋”号游轮穿越“海湾咽喉”——霍尔木兹海峡，终于从波斯湾驶进阿曼湾，最后抵达富查伊拉。富查伊拉属于阿联酋七国成员，是唯一一个仅与阿曼湾而非波斯湾接壤的“休战国”。

       今天特别来劲，因为我和妈妈要去鲁卜哈利沙漠飙车。鲁卜哈利沙漠享有阿拉伯“空旷的四分之一”美名，号称世界上最大的流动沙漠。

      当我迈出四轮驱动越野车，放眼环视周围，只见沙粒浓烈火辣，随光线强度变化而闪烁着不同色彩﹔沙浪由近及远横亘起伏，自然勾勒出纤细圆润的线条。“形不常在，色不常存”，沙漠上所有一切看上去那么瞬息骤变。由于鲁卜哈利沙漠铁含量丰富，暴露在空气中即产生氧化反应，所以常常被红色主宰，蓝天白云之下，桔红色愈发活泼灿烂，火红色更加热情奔放。正在这个时候，我看到一块岩石状的庞然大物拔地而起，仔细一看，原来是一匹单峰骆驼，浑身枯瘦如柴，肯定是纯天然无催肥的化身。

       如果说鲁卜哈利沙漠前不靠村后不着店，没错儿，它本身就是一片蛮荒绝地﹗引擎咆哮，沙暴滚滚，轮胎深陷在质地松软的碎砾旷野之中，我穿越阿拉伯领地，疯狂得快要吐了起来，此时红沙爱莫能助。越野车像过山车或碰碰车一样，不停地加足马力爬上冲下，使性较劲急速转弯，结果我如同布娃娃似的被扔来抛去，多亏系好安全带，不然早已被摔得粉身碎骨。

       停下来透透气稍事休息并及时抓拍几张风景之后，我和妈妈继续沿着忽高忽低野味十足的沙漠颠簸前行，直至登上山包顶峰。我们先补给小吃犒劳自己，然后再全方位鸟瞰山下茅屋村舍，远处富查伊拉依稀可见。

        等妈妈按完相机快门，我们顺山路一溜烟飞速而下，径直奔向城区返回游轮。经历过今天之后，我对沙漠有了崭新认识。