WHY WOULD YOU SPEND FOUR WEEKS ON A CAMEL IN THE DESERT?
The way I found out about this trip was through Wen’s Canadian friend Ekaterina, who had apparently heard about if from a Saudi friend in Vancouver and had just applied online. Wen was super excited about this opportunity and would’ve loved to go herself, but had already made other plans so she encouraged me to apply instead. The link to Rakayib’s website she sent me looked pretty sleek and promising, with alluring pictures of mighty sand dunes and mysterious palm-fringed lakes and oases. But four weeks on a camel? Hmm… I had to think about that one. I love the desert and I love adventure. It just seemed a bit too long for my liking, one or two weeks seemed more than enough for me to have a true desert experience. Yet then again it was supposed to be all free of charge. A massive experience and, of course, only the third ever group to cross the Empty Quarter by camel. Yes, I’m gonna do it!!
I filled out the online application form in 10 minutes, hit “send”, and forgot about it. A day later I received a generic email confirming I had been accepted in the caravan. Really? No interview, no other questions about me? The next day, another email with some trip information, but it was pretty thin on the details. Something didn’t seem right…
For me – as for many others I’m sure – the caravan almost didn’t happen. The whole project was so last minute and the initial flow of information from both official and unofficial sources so sluggish, I really wasn’t sure whether the whole thing was for real or not at first, even after I had received my confirmation email, with only one week to go until the official start date. Days passed and no further details were provided, I still didn’t have my visa and therefore was reluctant to book my flight to Riyadh. Then, four days before I was supposed to be there, I got a WhatsApp message with a picture of my e-visa: a 90-day multiple entry visa for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, no restrictions! Wow, I couldn’t believe it. The forever closed-off kingdom had finally opened its doors to outside tourists. Now it was real!
I really felt I was one of the few lucky ones who happen to came across this kind of short-lived opportunity at the right time and within the right circumstances of my life, most importantly having the flexibility and time to go off the radar for more than a month at very short notice. When in life can you really do that? There was no choice, I HAD to grab this opportunity by the horns!!