Party in the Desert

The last night of the film festival was followed by a party in the desert. Lindy and I decided we would catch the 10:30pm bus because we had to strike the box offices at the venues that were still open.



Unfortunately, Aboobacker (is it wrong that this name makes me giggle every time I say it) the head of security cancelled the bus due to a miscommunication. So we ended up on the 11:30pm bus with some of our staff as well as the projectionists and some stray festival guests.



The ride out to the Lisalli Fort in the desert takes about 45 minutes. Along the way there isn't much to see except giant 3D billboards for upcoming building projects like Africaland. Did I mention it was crazy here? The drivers in the desert are just as retarded as the drivers in Dubai proper. One driver swerved in front of us with not nearly enough room which made us swerve in front of an oncoming truck. I screamed like a girl and there were general gasps of terror from the other folks in the bus. Our driver got us back on track and didn't seem to see what had freaked us out. Crazy.



So one brush with death and a million billboards later we finally arrived at the fort. The inside had been set up with a huge number of seated covered tent areas with large tables in the middle where you could gather as a group, dance to the music, get food from the huge buffet and in the case of Lindy and I grab a bottle of wine each and just enjoy. The music was good, the food was good, the staff was out in almost full force and it was a fun night.



On the outskirts of the fort area there were giant sand dunes. I encouraged Mike (I was waaaaay too drunk) to climb one and see the view on the other side. I did this last time and it was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. While Mike was climbing I was laying in the sand at the bottom of the dune looking up a sky full of stars. Lovely.



We all drove back from the desert in big buses. We got on the rowdy bus and listened to the kids yell and sing all the way back to the city. It was a really good night.



Poor Mike was leaving the next morning (a few hours after we got back) so he stayed up and finished packing and left for the airport. A little drunk but I think pretty happy with his Dubai experience.