Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to want to go to the desert?

14 replies

Lotrehin · 31/12/2023 00:12

I never wanted to before but I watched Lawrence Of Arabia for the first time today and it looks amazing. People who have been to the desert, is it like that film or is it just really uncomfortable? Which desert did you go to?

OP posts:
Mrseven · 31/12/2023 00:35

I'm with you OP the desert is beautiful, wide and peaceful. Sunsets, sunrises, golden light and intense heat at midday. In the night everything turns powdery blue to inky. Once we drove alone in Oman, lots of stones and not very safe roads. I've done a tour of the desert in the UAE. A group distracts from the peace but it's still awesome. I just want people to switch off the lights and just see the stars.

Have to watch Lawrence of Arabia now you mention it. Would love to visit the Grand Canyon / Arizona. Where would you go OP?

Original poster
Lotrehin · 31/12/2023 00:39

I am thinking Jordan. I've been googling trips and you can do a combination of sightseeing in Petra then three nights in the desert on camels with Bedouin. It sounds awesome. I knew a woman years ago who worked in Jordan and she loved it.

OP posts:
Haggisfish3 · 31/12/2023 00:46

I went to Egypt and went into the desert at night by the coast. It was truly awesome. Sooo many stars. And the bioluminescent fish and plankton. But the sand was more gravelly than I was expecting and there were millions of flies.

Original poster
Lotrehin · 31/12/2023 00:54

Ukr, I wish to avoid flies. Apparently they aren't so bad in November. How did you get to the desert @Haggisfish3 ? Did you or @Mrseven stay overnight in it?

OP posts:
Aaron95 · 31/12/2023 00:56

Deserts are amazing places particularly at night. The number of stars you can see compared to being in the UK is unbelievable.

Jordan is a great choice as it's accessible and not that far away. It's a safe country and there are numerous tour companies which will take you for however long you want.

My favourite desert country to visit was Namibia. There are so many different types of desert from giant sand dunes to rocky areas. Again a very safe country to visit but a bit farther away.

gertrudemortimer · 31/12/2023 00:59

I visited the Sahara and camped for one night and it was brilliant. The night sky was hard for my eyes and brain to comprehend, it made me feel very very small. There was an option for people to go out and camp in the middle of absolutely nowhere (with a guide camping near) we stayed in a more luxury camp with the best shower I'd had in 8 days! and were lucky enough to be the only people there out of 15 tents. The main group were about 1/2 a mile from us. It was probably the best experience I've ever had I wish we'd made that part of the trip longer.

FuckinghellthatsUnbelievable · 31/12/2023 01:02

I went to Egypt and spent some time in the desert. I was doing some scuba diving in dahab and they took us out to a wadi in the desert which was lovely. Fresh fish cooked in a campfire and billions of stars. They seemed so huge and close. Camels are ok to ride but you need to cross your legs or at least hook one of them over. Camels are too wide to be ridden like horses.

NewYearNewMeBullshit · 31/12/2023 01:03

I want to go to Antarctica. I guess we won't be friends 🤣

Original poster
Lotrehin · 31/12/2023 01:09

Antarctica sounds fascinating. Have you read the book Great Circle? It touches on this idea of consciously experiencing oblivion which I think maybe prompts some people to want to go to either the ice or the desert. If you look on flightradar24 at this time of year you can see the flights going to Antarctica from Patagonia. You can do cruises but it costs thousands just for a basic ticket.

OP posts:
FuckinghellthatsUnbelievable · 31/12/2023 01:11

NewYearNewMeBullshit · 31/12/2023 01:03

I want to go to Antarctica. I guess we won't be friends 🤣

I think, technically, Antartica is a desert as it receives so little rainfall. Perhaps you will be the best of friends!

Original poster
Lotrehin · 31/12/2023 01:21

FuckinghellthatsUnbelievable · 31/12/2023 01:11

I think, technically, Antartica is a desert as it receives so little rainfall. Perhaps you will be the best of friends!

Show quote history

😁😁😁

OP posts:
Haggisfish3 · 31/12/2023 10:11

We drove out to desert as part of a guided tour.

SpecialPatrolGroupp · 31/12/2023 14:08

Jordan is a great destination. Petra is amazing and there are some fabulous crusader castles, especially karak des chevaliers. You can float in the Dead Sea, dive in the Red Sea, camp with Bedouin people.

If you really want desert though, my favourite holiday was Namibia. Sossusvlei is the big attraction, and dune 45, but there are so many other sights, huge dunes. We went on a quad biking tour in the desert which was amazing, doing dune slips. Also night tours using uv torches to find scorpions, who knew they glow in the dark! It is set up for camping. We hired a Toyota hilux with tents on the roof and drove around the country for 2 weeks. Plenty of well set up campsites everywhere, including in the desert. It also has the skeleton coast, norkluft highlands, and etosha national park for wildlife. It is the second least densely populated country in the world. We drove for miles and miles and saw only antelope!

S72 · 31/12/2023 14:13

I camped in the Sahara for a week. Not in a fancy camp but on my sleeping mat under the stars (no tent). It was AMAZING!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page