Aesthetics of Dalma

We’re sure you have heard of the island off the coast of Abu Dhabi, home to families with refined fishing skills and deeply rooted knowledge of the sea. With every encounter on this island, a new experience happens, a grander feeling than before. As though it were telling us, I have magic and you can feel it. 

She is complex in a small space, as we wandered through the old neighborhoods. Some homes were closer to the sea, others lay cradled in the short mountains — all with their own character, their own story. Here are three significant observations of the architecture on the island.

Layered walls

Our first observation was of the layering, short walls followed by either front yards or patios. What stood out as well was the color of choice and how they varied across different homes. Teal blue, beige brown or a solid white - all decorated with lush palm trees.

doors & emblems

Another characteristic that stood out significantly was the doors, but of course. We know how the region has iron doors that vary from city to city, country to country. Dalma, to no surprise, has finely decorated entrances. We were particularly fond of the door with a crown-like entrance in the bottom right photo, standing like a queen. We also appreciate the house number written in Arabic in the bottom left photo, it felt like a time capsule.

Decorative boxes

We are all familiar with the patterned bricks in the wall that are used across homes, used to channel wind into spaces. Some stood out more than others to us on this island. The one that remains our strong favorite is the palm tree layered brick - we haven’t seen this one elsewhere yet! Also, how bold is the teal brick, fitting for the seaside indeed.

What area of the UAE or the region has architecture that stands out to you? Shall we maybe create a comparable album that shows variations of homes according to geography?

Abu Dhabi Stories x Wander: حوارات من أبوظبي

During Ramadan, we partnered with Abu Dhabi Stories to host an intimate iftar that brought together people from Abu Dhabi’s community. With a mission to amplify the human experience and initiate discussions on the values that bind us as individuals, we spent an evening discussing what Abu Dhabi is to us and saw beauty through other’s perspectives.

Through our partnership, we recognize that identity emerges from collaborative culture, and Abu Dhabi, with its rich diversity, creativity and profound knowledge, serves as the perfect backdrop for this exploration.

We shared memories and experiences that we once had. From family heirlooms to monuments and landmarks that give us a feeling of home, through discovery we connected with the world around us.

Join the journey and dive deeper into the heart of the Abu Dhabi community by following @abudhabistories.

Contribute your own story and showcase your unique experiences as a part of the Abu Dhabi community by visiting www.abudhabistories.ae

A story on the magic of sailing in the Arabian Gulf.

We had the honor of sharing stories with Rashed Alremeithi, an avid dhow sailor, through Wander events. Through his musings, we have been able to live through the experience of maneuvering the sea with winds that can’t be tamed. The conversation below is an authentic depiction of his experiences and the preservation of a rich culture in the Emirates.

What would you share with the Wander community about your experiences?

If I would share anything with anyone, it would be to listen to the wind, smell the sea, watch the sunset. Learn to navigate using intuition and a compass - being intimate with nature will ease your troubles in this world.

How long have you been sailing?

I have been sailing since I was seven with my father. It has been seventeen years of being out at sea since then and I just want to sail to free my mind. No engine noise, I feel free with my soul on a dhow in the water with the sound of the wind.

Would you say your experience in sailing is different than your father’s?

This sport has changed significantly since before the 90s. When my father was sailing back then the boats were thicker and were able to make their way through stronger waves albeit a lot slower. In today’s sailing culture, our dhows are, as they say, onion peels - thin and focused on weight reduction to navigate faster. The variance between these two approaches reflects the different uses of dhows from pearl diving trips that lasted about six months and races that last 15 hours. This is one of the biggest indicators of a developing culture and what I focus on preserving is the learning that happens on the dhow mentally, physically and emotionally before anything.

What have you learned?

One hand can’t clap. The dhow won’t move if we don’t work together. We must help each other to reach the destination. This is a learning that has shaped who I am today.

More importantly, I learned patience. Patience solves all your difficult moments, we always say “after fatigue, there is rest”.

Sailors are distinguished by their knowledge of navigation and how to master teamwork. Learning the exact locations of the islands along the coast of Abu Dhabi, that after trials there is comfort and the ability to work as a collective in a small space on a wooden boat are some attributes that make this experience worthwhile.

Harnessing the Power of Nature: Three Learnings from the Road

“You are a culmination of everything you once learned”, I read as I shift between thoughts, feelings, passive contemplations, and the noise. What does it mean to be a culmination of your thoughts, and a formation of all the experiences you encountered? How has every moment brought you to where you are today — driving across countries waiting for deliverance from the universe? 

Imagine this now, you are alone in the car and the sun has tucked itself away behind the land. The orange hues on the horizon are etching away as they close shop for the day and you watch as the world does its dance. I know you have felt this at least once — a mere passerby in a grand existence with directions that are neither right nor wrong, a spec that translates to movement and eventually becomes a heartbeat. 

That is you and you are here. We know you feel something different when you’re miles away from home and alone on asphalt that could go on for days. There are a few things I learned on the road from watching how the world works through the windshield.

24 hours feels different.

In essence, we are programmed to operate with the rise and fall of a burning star. It is our systematic approach to life in the last century that has robbed us of the authentic connection to a movement we cannot harness. A 12 o’clock sun on a serene day on a strip of land surrounded by water on an island off the coast of the Sultanate feels like love, don’t you think? 

Sometimes I imagine having the ability to see every place my heart desires and to feel every feeling I can possibly come across. If as humans we have put a parameter of time tied by the movement of planets, can we alter that parameter to fit all our experiences? 

There is a greater power.

Humanity has tried to harness the power of the world but the world has never relinquished the power to the people. On one night of our travels, we had set up camp by the sea — it was survival of the fittest except I was up against nature and bound to lose. As the sky turned dark, the night came and the moon did its thing, we did not consider the rising tides. A testament to the human's narrow vision, I was now sitting at the edge of my car watching the water come closer and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I thought this is what it must feel like to surrender - to let go and let it be because there is nothing else I could possibly do. I’ve done my part, now it is the worlds turn.

The fluidity of life.

In the silence of your journey, reality happens and the quiet voice of truth lingers in your head. There is no effort required from your end but to listen. This is how the world fluctuates between a constructed reality and the garden built in your mind. There is something numbing about the long road that gives space for your thoughts to fixate on the garden — the hues are still orange but you are, my friend, meeting the depths of yourself. 

I remember vividly the road between Masirah and Nizwa when we decided to drive the five-hour stretch through the night. My friends were in separate cars and when darkness fell I could only see taillights. I remember thinking to myself how much this situation felt like believing in tomorrow. I trusted that this road would take me to the next city, I trusted it with every nerve in my body. I saw nothing of my surroundings, it was me, the taillights, and my faith. I watched as I made my way through an unknown route and I understood for a fleeting second why travelers of the past spoke so highly of the dotted night sky that accompanies them through the dark. Life is a series of fluid interactions that are in constant motion as is our planets and us. What a sight to barely see.

If you were to ponder your travel, what have you learned?

Masirah - The Island in Oman

The Growing Culture of Outdoor Enthusiasts: a conversation on living authentically

It is apparent to us in today’s thriving world of claimed photographers, outdoor enthusiasts and said wanderlust-seeking individuals that the title of “outdoor enthusiast” seems to be thrown around in vague meaning. In no association with the labelling or any preconceived judgements, we were curious to understand from our community the difference between adventurers (the people that have scaled the lands in history and today) and the people who seek instant gratification, “instafame” or other means of short term pleasure and acknowledgement. In discussions with Obaid Al Budoor and Jameela Ahli, we have gotten their insights on efficient documentation of the outdoors, how to paint the right picture to the readers and living in the present moment of travel.

Considering the trend rise of people being fascinated by the ethnic groups and the association with the desert, should limits be set to those who seek a short term approach and empathy to share the knowledge, customs and traditions of these groups? How can justified content be created that showcases them in a better light? 

[Jameela]: I don't think limits should be set to those who don't pay the effort to do basic research about a culture or ethnic groups. That is something we cannot control or even lose our energy on. I think it should be our job as a community not to shed light on shallow narratives, and to focus instead on promoting the ones that are paying the effort to share real more meaningful stories of the cultures and ethnic groups. This way we would train viewers to identify and differentiate between false/shallow narratives and identify stories that are deeper, more reliable, trustworthy, and authentic.

[Obaid]: I don’t think limits should be set, because I personally do not agree with the short term way of doing things. But one show's credibility the more they are invested with time, research and intention. I think it is better for people to be a little more honest about their aim and intention for whatever it is they are pursuing. That way those who know better can instruct, and those who know less will learn. That, I think, can create a better feedback loop to enhance.

In light of social conformity and understanding that humanity derives meaning from a sense of belonging. Do you expect that the community  will still be developing this content if they did not have social media to showcase their work? We see an influx of the society run to new locations just to say “they got the photo” and to go “viral”. Would this still be the case if these platforms did not exist? 

[Jameela]: Wandering is something that has existed since the beginning of humanity and for several reasons that change over centuries . Be it search for food and shelter, or finding instagrammable content. It is hard to tell what people's motives are and to understand whether they would still explore for the thrill of it or just for posts. Even if owning a camera, without social media, would still be a good enough motive to go to a location. I think if we remove photography out of the equation, then I do believe in my personal opinion, the number of people going out and about might decrease, but I know a lot of people who are naturally very curious to see and explore places to see things with their own eyes and experience things firsthand. And I think you can identify and differentiate between the curious wanderers and the just-for-clicks ones if you look a bit more closely.

[Obaid]: I really think social media pushed people to create more content than ever. It may be a starting point for many (myself included). There was a time where I would also go to shoot to check a place off the list, but as my love and appreciation for land has deepened, so has my desire to give it the credit it deserves. I believe I would not have reached this position if I have not gone through that chain of mindsets. It is a continually evolving process, and I hope social media gets them started, but genuine interest takes them there. But, I think if social media did not exist, the adventurous soul has been alive as far as history can remember. Those who are called to nature and the outdoors will be tugged at their very essence to do so. Everything else is a minor (how, when, where) because those people know the "why" they go there.

To bank on the 21st century’s most discussed topic of “millennials”, do you agree that some prefer their said outdoor enthusiasm to be delivered to them? This meaning they do not run their own research, they feel a sense of entitlement towards the outdoors that in return makes it seem like an empty void, a soulless outdoor experience - strictly done to capitalise on the likes. What makes someone a documenter of the outdoors? 

[Jameela]: I have seen a lot of this sense of entitlement not just from millennials. People in general expect things to be delivered to them directly. These are the ones that I cannot trust for example, with remote locations. They do not understand the effort that real explorers go through to find the places. The research behind it. Getting into your car and driving for hours not knowing what you might find. Another thing they don't understand is how remote and secluded those locations are. Meaning there are no official bodies taking care of it in terms of cleaning the area or providing information on it, which makes it ten times harder to share a location with the general public. Because once it goes viral, these locations get polluted and the nature is ruined. The type of people with the sense of entitlement are the ones that 'demand' for the locations and these are the ones that really lack the wandering culture or the basics of being outdoors. Because if they are true outdoor enthusiasts, they would have understood why things are not handed to them on a golden plate.

We have another type of entitled 'outdoor enthusiasts' the ones that would not share a location for all the wrong reasons, e.g. I found it so it is mine. Which feeds the general public's sense of entitlement and gives them the wrong impression of why real outdoor enthusiasts don't share a location, which is very sad.

Overall, I think this is a complex subject,  but real outdoor enthusiasts could identify each other. I believe they should keep doing what they're doing while promoting the 101s/ethics of being outdoors so we can spread the culture and make people understand what it is all about.

[Obaid]: I’m sure there is a group of people who enjoy consuming the outdoors through methods like screens or alternative experiential modes. I don't blame them however, since everything is always available to everyone, a larger portion would be interested to a small degree. Again, the hope is that these small interests ignite the spark that enables them to be enthralled with the all-powerful yet gentle embrace of nature. I think for someone to be a documenter of the outdoors there are specific traits that must be so obvious and apparent that there is no possibility of denying it:

1) True passion; the fire that lights in their eyes when they speak of even the tiniest particles of the outdoors.

2) An unending craving; to know more, to discover more, to make sense of it all, until the dots align. This is crucial, as laziness is a hindrance in documenting the essence of the outdoors (unless it’s at camp by night!)

3) Communication is key. Either within the photos they capture, the matter they write about, the mountain trail they will talk about. If we assume the core of documenting the outdoors is to provide inspiration and knowledge to others and communication is lacking - then you have done a disservice to the feel you had, to the subject matter and to the curiosity of those who were potentially interested. 

If the previous content has raised any questions regarding authenticity, how to develop conscious acts around protecting the outdoor culture or any further concerns you can reach out on info@wander.ae 

Impromptu Ride to Bahrain: Small fuel tanks and all the thrill

This story began on the eve of the new year. I set my mind to do things differently, to never let anything stop me from living. I always dreamt of great expeditions, adventures and journeys. It feels like a distilled calm, a place only felt when the road is lonely....this is the feeling I pledge to follow.     

After leaving my friends behind on the morning of January 1st 2020, I had my heart set on the relatively deserted island of Dalma. What was I going to do there? I don’t know. How long was I to be there? I also don’t know. All I knew is the 434km of open road on a bike that was ahead of me. Planned fuel stops around nearest coffee places, covered mileage and the painstakingly straightforward international highway that floated across six lanes of wind, sabkhas and palm trees. 

It was my first time riding solo, most people fear the boredom of the straight open highways. I learned otherwise, on an open road with no one to talk to and no music to play. The mind starts to wander. It wanders into dreams of future expeditions but then it all hits you at once. An overwhelming flush of joy and peace watching the setting sun and the road itself focusing, for no particular reason, on the pattern of the asphalt and getting lost in every crack and pithole. You then raise your head up to watch the clouds paint a masterpiece in the sky. 

“It’s just you, the road, the sky and all the surroundings that blew your mind. You realize, the universe danced a special dance exclusively for you and this feeling you are feeling right now, is entirely yours. ”

And then you feel this strong urge to share this experience with someone, pointing out for them to look ahead. But there is no one with you. It’s just you, the road, the sky and all the surroundings that blew your mind. You realize, the universe danced a special dance exclusively for you and this feeling you are feeling right now, is entirely yours. As authentic as it happens. It will never be seen like this again, you think to yourself. 

Dalma is nothing short of what the United Arab Emirates looked like in the 80s and 90s. I asked the locals what they do on the island, he smiled and said, “the beach.” I didn’t get it then, it was night time. But in the morning I would get it. 

The morning hit me like a wave, almost literally. I rose to the chirping of the birds, the sea making its way onto land so as to caress the earth. I made my way to the beach, and you know, I had no different expectation than what I already know. Water, blue, big, just like Dubai. But no, I was wrong. I understand now why the local smiled when he said the beach. I get it. 

There it was, the Arabian Gulf sitting in eerie silence in its solitude and depth. It sat unmoved in its grandeur and vastness, it carried the stories of travellers, it held a mirror up to the sun so as to say how beautiful the universe looked. And I was there, watching it do its dance with the world. Alone on a beach, with only myself and the gentle longing of the wave to the land. It is in that moment of time that I read to myself “it is only in the depth of silence that the voice of God is heard”. And I mustered up all my will to remain in this moment. I felt the waves inside of me, I let the universe talk to me, and I listened ever so closely.  

As I rode the ferry back to the mainland, I sat in contemplation. You know how the saying goes, “the more you see, the less you know” and every mile further is a mile less in knowledge as the world expands at my fingertips. I had no idea what was coming for me. On the ferry I sat and appreciated the blowing wind, clear skies and sun, I had no idea what was coming for me. 

When I left Dubai, I had planned to be on the road for four days. I only had Dalma planned. I hadn’t thought as far as the next day. Somewhere further east of the country, Hamad was crossing his 434km stretch alone to meet me halfway before we continued on. When I was still in Dalma, he called me. 

Ahmed: “I saw a sign that says Saudi Arabia 160km. What do you say we cross the border, have lunch in Saudi and come back?”

Hamad: “What do you think about spending a night in Al Damam?” 

Ahmed: You know what, there’s a bridge near Al Damam that takes us across to Bahrain. What do you say?

Hamad: See you in Ruwais at noon. 

Twelve hours later, we were inbound to Bahrain. 

Orange marshmallow skies, unknown roads and lots of kilometers on the clock. The views were incredible but the weather started to get colder as night started to fall. On open roads, the experience is from the landscapes around you. When the sun is shining, you are distracted by the changing terrains and how far your eyes can see. When night falls, it gets cold and your determination weakens. When you pass that range of kilometers, it becomes personal. You are not doing it for recognition or someone's applause. You enter a physical and mental dilemma that only the road will solve. It is when you reach halfway and the distance back home is 400kms and the remaining distance is 400km with nowhere to spend the night. So you keep going. It becomes a matter of survival. 

We arrived to Bahrain at 2am, rested for a short while and then worked our way into town to meet this city we rode all night for. A short encounter with the culture, the motorsports and the community. Short lived but rich and and entirely worth it. 

Now, think about this. One way home and a total of 960kms. Halfway through and everything starts to hurt, your back, your neck against the wind, wrists, forearms. Your legs from the lack of blood circulation. In that moment, you might regret the overambitious drive to cross so much land. This is the opportunity cost of thrill, bliss and the experience. This is what you will remember, not how tired you were. You will remember the good times and the bad times, do not seem as bad anymore. So you ask if I will do it again? Hell yeah; over and over a million times. My question to you is, will you ever do it? Chase that feeling of distilled calm on an open highway? In the silence of the sea? In foreign countries far away from home? This is what you will be evaluating your life against many years from today, are you building it? 

May you always chase the wave. 

Yours truly, 

A.K. 

Ps. Song: Run - Clouds and Thorns.

Dalma Island

DALMA ISLAND - HOW WE GOT HERE.



Talal, Dakar and Fate

Relatively indecisive, a churning lust for pushing thresholds and an extreme desire to achieve past the mundane - this is Talal Al Badr’s journey to Dakar Saudi Arabia where he sees a fight against race teams but more realistically himself. In his own words, “I needed to get to know the voice in my head,” as he described his training and mental alignment towards the first international rally to take place on Middle Eastern soil. 

In April 2019, Talal wrote “I think I don’t need to get in this year, maybe it’s best if I read, so let’s do a reading list and also start working on getting our driving skills up. Maybe this time next year I buy the car. So you have one year. This is my clear motivation. What after then? No idea, that’s what I want to do though, that’s my goal. If it happens great, if it does not, then something else will happen.” In November 2019, Talal wrote “...need a full face helmet and FIA cold underwear.” In less than 8 months, what was only a thought turned into a two year plan which then lobbied into a 2 month preparation scheme. Talal found himself registering to compete in Dakar 2020 with only a few months to wrap his head around the complexities of racing, let alone an enduring 800km per day race across the terrains of Saudi Arabia. This is the sort of journey we relish, the one that will push you to the end and show you there is more. As we once described, it is like being thrusted into an airborne position with your eyes closed and a handful of concern - only to make it to the other side. 

“Count your blessings, not your cash,” Al Badr said as he described his approach to sponsorships, operating costs of participation and making it to the finish line. “I needed to get people to vouch for me, more so for myself than for the race. Abdulaziz, who is my confidant, believes in me - he says “yeah you will do that, no doubt, what’s next though? Because I know you’ll do it”. I do what I say I’m going to do. Maybe if I drove properly and finished, I would have more sponsors next year?”. What fascinated us most about this story is the internal dialogue that allowed him to visualize, understand and more importantly meet the person he needs to be on race days. In some of the notes you will find scattered writings like “hold your pee for one hour from when you need to pee” and “...remember, you’ve been through worse situations. And this will end, it’s just a game.”.  All in an effort to compete with his older self more than the Dakar racers. 

Having delved into the internal thoughts, uncovering what the journey depicts itself as to the individual - we must regard the experiences with the outside world when Talal steps on ground to share space and time with the people around him. On race day, he shows up with purpose, ambition and like we said, an indecisive decision to win. All the wake up calls, the cold showers, the timed progression, meeting the pain past the threshold were put into play now. This is game day. 

In 12 days and about 8000kms, each participating team was to complete every day successfully to move to the next round. This encompasses team synergy, car mechanics, navigation and staying alive. “It’s going to be a long rally, and at times you will hate yourself. But remember what it took to be here,” he says as he straps himself into what seems to be a tight cockpit of a heavily modified truck that’s about to throw him around the country to achieve his dreams. The importance of this message is in its value of inciting movement, showing up to that which you believe and consistently challenging the norm of yourself before your surroundings. Talal is like you, he is like me, we are all of the same thread. Humans with minds and hearts with passion, the only difference is in the execution. He embraced, accepted and paved his own way in recording his existence. He showed up for himself. 

In momentary gaps throughout the chaos of racing, Talal engages with various racers and lives to share the advice whereas he is told to “drive like your mother” and “slow and steady finishes the race” from people that have raced and navigated across the global such as Lucas Cruz and Carlos Sainz. “You can never be prepared for Dakar,” Sainz says to the youngest Saudi Arabian racer on ground. The seatbelts strapped and the saying goes, “because it’s your country. Because of this long story, and you’re here because you are meant to be here.” 

Jeddah, Neom, Al Wajh, Al Ula, city after city, bivouac after bivouac, day in and day out. The sun rises, it sets, the kilometeres are being put in. The engine is failing. Battery. The car battery on the first day. The scenery is beautiful. Did my uncle call me today? Told me to take care of myself. Getting a bit tired, at times thinking if this is all worth it. Arrived in the cold. 

What do I do now? Where do I go from here? 

“It’s crazy. I mean, I don’t know where I thought I was going. But I THINK I felt great,” when asked to reflect on reaching the pinnacle of what he dreamed. See, the journey is straight forward. There is a goal and there is a way. You set the way according to your circumstances and resources and the goal will reveal itself if synergy among these variables are met. What goes untold and can only be reflected on in hindsight is the influx of emotion. That moment you stand where you visualized. That moment the thought lingers inside with the voice that says, “you are accomplished”. Talal was waiting for that, he sought that churning gut feeling of anxiety and excitement. He sought it for himself and not for the world - when sought for self, the world is able to feed on the abundance of authentic experiences, new thresholds and the calm within the storm. This is our learning, Wander. 

Photo Credit: Khaled Kolaib

The Shaheen Trip Across 50 American States

One of our favorite stories about crossing lands indefinitely is Ali Al Ghfeli’s tour around the states of America. With a curiosity to meet the different communities that exist on the west side of the world, this Al Ain born national decided to ship his truck (which happens to be the stereotypical farmers car in the deserts of Abu Dhabi) to New Jersey to begin his tour of the 50 states. The photo below displays the merging of culture, city norms and how far one can go in discovery.

A photo of Ali’s arrival to Times Square, New York.

We asked Ali how he had planned to do his trip to which he said, “The main purpose of my trip was not numbers. It wasn’t about how many kilometers I drove or how many states I passed. It was about the people. I wanted to take back roads, meet locals, hear their stories, go to places they recommend.”.  

“I’ve been traveling and backpacking in my breaks throughout college but never did a road trip. I’ve decided that this would be the right time to do it and I didn’t want to do it in a traditional way. So I had the car quickly outfitted and shipped to New Jersey to arrive as soon as I ended my internship. My dream to pass through the fifty states was happening every day.”

Is this something you would do back home? What was your past-time where you came from? 
"I didn’t have the time before to do this back home, since I went abroad to study immediately after high school. I know there is a lot to explore in the UAE and in the neighbouring countries, and I have plans to do so once I come back.”

This story is a quick depiction of how the wander has taken us far, into alleyways we have never seen and across communities we may never meet. Somehow, we manage to live through the stories of those that venture far and it fills a puzzle piece into our ideologies about the world. Allow this story to take you through this mans goal to see the world - in his own way.

As Ali aims to complete the remaining states in time to come, we will be living through his stories on instagram and YouTube.

For updates on Ali’s travels, subscribe to our mailing list on www.wander.ae/subscribe.

Wander & The Pandemic: A discussion on humanity.

We are writing this piece today so that maybe one day in the future we look back and say we lived through a pandemic. We lived through it and we realised that the only thing that matters is our unity. Maybe this piece will help us remember how strong we are as a community when we work collectively towards one goal. Maybe we will learn to practice compassion and service to those around us and continue to better our communities.

Today we witness ourselves retreating to our safe spaces, closing our doors and connecting to the world through our devices only. As a community that was heavily based on interactions, meeting humanity in the wild and creating moments in nature - we have discovered that our connection lives past our physical interactions. We have discovered that each one of us reading this now have carried the Wander in your hearts before we even existed. 

This is a clear indication on the impact we have as a community to service the rest of humanity by making wise decisions and listening to the authority accordingly. We also want to take this opportunity to address what power we have to create the world we all aspire to exist in. A world of compassion, unity and adventure. A world that believes in “For Nature, For Humanity, For Belonging”. 

In our conservation policy we have developed guidelines of how we are to exist in our nature, today is our chance to enhance our ideology on where man meets nature and where we need to be in our minds when we are allowed out again.

Considering there is near to nothing we can do towards our environment at the current moment, hoping everyone is respecting the quarantine, there is an understanding we can reach. An understanding on how we can live with nature and not above it. 

From the works of Alan Watts, a British Theologist that studied the interaction of man with nature:
“Our life and circumstances are almost purely man-made (or so we think), and there are many people who believe that we can never achieve any great degree of spirituality until we return to a closer contact with nature. But this idea is both true and false, false because the idea that we are independent of nature is a tremendous conceit, and true because we are, relatively speaking, divorced from nature by that very attitude. A secondary difference is that man is self-conscious; he believes himself to have an ego, a separate, self-contained, self-directing entity which has to figure things out for itself, whereas the bird just lets nature or instinct take care of its problems.” 

 The key takeaways from the excerpt is to be conscious of the brick wall we build around nature - in our minds and in our physical existence. 

A further observation that we have experienced during this time is the #WanderInternally contribution from the community. We have come together to share our stories to further uplift our mental states, join each other in compassion for our discoveries in the past and our aspirations for the future. With one voice, we were able to share our passions through a digital platform. Your post, his post, her post - inspires most. 

On October 5th, 2019 we wrote the following policies as our pledge to service our Humanity & Belonging: 

1. To establish a ground that serves the community as it serves our stakeholders

2. To use the right intention in all business matters and executions of our activities

3. To create all-inclusive experiences for the community

4. To respect the Wander philosophy of individuals 

5. Meeting every social interaction with hospitality and acceptance

6. Creating conscious content that represents to the world the ethics and lifestyle of the communities in this region. 

Today we are experiencing an influx of content that is based on the same common denominator among our community: acceptance, compassion and adventure. While we learn to practice sharing these emotions through our screens, we urge you to continue connecting with each other and creating the Wander regardless of the situation. It is a philosophy that lingers beyond the dunes and hilltops. 

The key takeaways from this segment is an understanding of your strength to uplift your community, create behaviour change towards yourself and your friends and further your impact on our current situation. We wanted to share with you below, the community that you have created:

Are we an inclusive community? The study of Wander across the years.

While jumping dunes and curving roads, we have made friends in places least expected. We experienced moments, discovered lands and lived to tell the story. 

As we grow in passion and number, our main focus is to create thoughtful impact on the community through our Wanderers. To listen to their journeys requires a certain degree of understanding and communal efforts to create a cohesive belonging in a land that has seen diversity like no place on earth. But in a rapidly developing country, an overwhelming number of new trends that make the more recent ones obsolete - what is authentic to our belonging? What do we harness and protect as we ride the wave of modernism and how do we do it? 

We are not necessarily trend setters - we are just living the truth of who we have always been. By still engaging in activities that our elders enjoyed is not a statement of us remaining in the past rather revolutionizing a timeless activity into a modern face-lift.

Community is not dead. Naturally, as we continue developing into a metropolitan hub we feel a disconnect from (human nature) and find it much easier to say “we no longer connect”. In reality, this is the most absurd illusion you can live in. With social platforms we have worn our hearts on our sleeves - expressing emotion and interests to the world. Listen to everyone’s story, respect everyone’s mission.

Innate Connectedness. We are far from being strangers. In fact, we are the closest we have ever been because of the little windows in our pocket. The world is closer than we thought, especially when someone in Canada wants a Wander sticker (hey Daniel!). You have more things in common with a stranger as you do with someone that has shared your life. Connectedness is not measured by quantifiable interactions rather emotional connectedness.

Throughout the years of running through this community of beautiful beautiful people, we have come across experiences that cannot be put into words. The synergy of a few people that in turn becomes a mission to cross the deserts of the UAE, Wanderers that carry the emblem on their sleeves, people we have never met creating stories we have never seen, an undying philosophy of travel, adventure and seeking the unsought. But most of all, the soul. The amount of authenticity we have experienced, the raw reality you allow us to exist in, is what we are celebrating today and everyday. Thank you for making Wander real.

The Camel Whisperer

Ever since I moved to this part of the world, its vast deserts have captivated me. I have had the chance to travel through them by car countless times, scale high dunes and cross through big bowls. I have slept on the bare sand under the stars around a fire, I had to surrender to its strength and dig out the car. The desert’s grains always found their way back to my apartment and even across oceans all the way to Germany. Never would I tire of the endless views of rolling dunes, winds sweeping across and forming sharp edges or soft waves. The silence of the desert can put the rest of the world and the city’s noise on mute and plays its own beautiful song.

The idea to cross these lands on the back of a camel for fourteen days seems daunting to many, uncomfortable and crazy to most. Yet, for me, a trip of such sort was the perfect escape. With a group of ten to fifteen riders, depending on the day, and several support cars to assist with navigation, medical cases, and with capturing the journey, we set out under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan Heritage Centre. The Camel Trek has turned into an annual event, with this year being the 6th edition with a new and longer route than previous years.

The days started with the call to prayer, we rose early, from our thick sleeping bags, to roll them up, and to store them with the rest of our few belongings on the back of a trailer. After a hot cup of tea or coffee by the fire, accompanied by Arabic chatter, it was time to go and prepare the camels for the day’s trek. I usually carried some dates for my camel and spent some extra time next to him. I wanted to express my gratefulness and appreciation for him, for carrying me day in and day out with a sense of determination and pure endurance and patience.

We rode between seven and eleven hours per day, depending on how challenging the terrain was. We rode as a caravan most of the time, often in silence, one camel trailing behind another. A few times, I had the pleasure of being the first camel, which then demanded more attention to direction and pace. As a passenger on the camel bus, I didn’t have to think and decide much. I just had to ride, take care of my camel, look out for the others. For hours, all there was to see, was sand dune after sand dune - zero reference points apart from the height and heat of the sun to take a guess at the time that had passed. Even though we rode in December, the sun was burning, yet there was no escape from the rays and only a few days on which the sky was overcast, resulting in sticky humidity beneath the clouds.

Often, I thought of the nomads who did not endure a journey of such kind to find peace or to escape their reality. Their travels were full of uncertainty, scarcity of lifes essentials and danger.

I was on a journey to rid myself of comfort, and distraction, to let myself discover something new about myself. I experienced a true sense of just being. My mind was only filled with observations of the now, there was no before and no after, just now.

Perhaps we embark on wandering to find that now. We wander without most of our belongings, we seek places with little association, we observe nature and its beauty, and we calm our thoughts and our constantly racing mind to arrive in that very moment of now.

Linda Krockenberger is an avid Wanderer that has found her place among the hills of the United Arab Emirates. Having explored more lands the most, her story holds true to our philosophy of existence.

Find out about her next adventures on her instagram.

The Road To Rum

Towards the South of Jordan lies what is known to most as Wadi Rum, referred to as Valley of the Moon by some. The land was home to the Nabatean tribes associated with the culture that flourished on territories from Saudi Arabia through Jordan and all the way to Syria. What we know as Petra today was built by the Nabateans in light of their strategic crossroad location that spurred trade between the Arabian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman civiliations. Today, these lands stand as the most touristic places in Jordan and the Middle East with Petra and Wadi Rum being listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Bader Al Budoor is a rather spontaneous individual that found himself wandering through the summits of Rum at random. He dreamt of a road to ride alone through Saudi Arabia but found that the universe had more in store for him. Having driven from Dubai to Saudi, he found himself scaling the borders of Jordan to experience, feel and be among the land that once was a cultural pivot point to the history of Arabs.

With a goal to cross as much land as possible, Bader made his way through the Southern borders of Jordan near Aqaba in order to go back to Saudi from the higher Northern border. Making his way through the Red Sea coast, witnessing a most fascinating intersection he says, “I’ve visited the most exciting places in Jordan where you can see Egypt, Palestine and Jordan meet,” he says.

Wadi Rum is isolated by the peaks of its mountains and the miles of deserted lands. The tribes residing among the valley have remained conservative and true to their historical traditions. Bader narrates his experience that puts into perspective the juxtaposition of civilization and globalization. “I met a young Jordanian selling souvenirs, he approached me thinking I was a tourist, but as he realized I’m Arab just like him he asked me where I was from. I said Dubai, and he had no idea where that was thinking it was in Saudi Arabia.”

Having been raised in the city of life, with the world watching as Dubai inaugurated the highest building, built the largest malls and achieve all its accomplishments - there was a boy in a souvenir shop in Wadi Rum that had no idea we existed.

Bader continues, “I quickly took out a photo of Princess Haya and asked if they knew her, the boy shook his head in disagreement. I then showed them a photo of the Late King Hussein, and as expected, they responded with pride. I continued to explain to them how we are somewhat in-laws, as their princess was married to our Sheikh. After the young children of ages six or seven found a glimpse of familiarity within me and who I was, they instantly took me by the hand saying: you are not going anywhere, today you are under our hospitality.”

Having done this trip alone, Bader found company among the bedouin tribes. He says, “While I was crossing Wadi Rum the road passed through an old isolated village where a bunch of five and six year old kids were kicking a ball around. Naturally, they toppled around in front of my car and I jolted with a rush. Slowly, I approached the kids and put my hand out with ma’amoul (date cake) to give them. They resisted to take it. The youngest yelled out in joy but the eldest quickly covered his mouth and took him backwards. They then requested that I join them for dinner at their house. This is the bedouin tradition - you don’t take that which isn’t yours but you share that which is.” It was a simpler living than I had expected, every person along this journey had a story of compassion, giving and reputable hospitality. It is the unifying tradition amongst Arab tribes.

Clocked in a whole load of mileage, a lot of time alone in a car to ponder the world and the surreal locations of the West, this trip serves as more than an adventure. It put into perspective cultural insight and matters of relativity that all serve to both humble you and excite you.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

To cross lands indefinitely, through cultures and societies. Forever bridging our passion for the outdoors and creating stories to write our history. Wandering will keep us together as one.

Follow the adventures of our most spontaneous Wanderer on instagram.

Storytelling by Bader Al Budoor
Documentation by the Wander team

Overlanding in Morocco

Morocco, located in the Northern region of Africa sitting on the West side of the continent, is a dreamy manifestation of the cross culture history of this land. In a moment, you are lingering in oriental patterns and then experience the perspectives of the Berber culture to then quickly be overcome by a blend of European, Arab, Jewish and west African blends. Its name is derived from its geographical placement on the west.
“Al Maghrib” translates to “Al Gharb” meaning West or where the sun sets in Arabic.

Home to the grand Atlas mountain range, the scale of this land infuses enchantment and deep exposure to culture and history and miraculous visuals of where the desert meets the ocean. Who crossed these lands, one asks, and how does it make you feel to witness nature’s movement in one of the most beautiful gems of the world.

Kamal Cherif, an avid explorer shared with us his discoveries in his homeland and travel experiences from the Atlantic to the Atlas to the Sahara. In his own words he says, “We have the most colorful country in the world due to the light. Every region has its own light and that’s what fascinates me, no filter needed!”. As someone that chose to relocate his life from the bustling economic life in Casablanca to Ifrane, a city in the Mid-Atlas at 1700m, he believes that this offers his kids a better lifestyle of wandering leaving behind overpopulation and embedding sheer discovery. “Morocco is a liberal country yet it still maintains its tradition. We have been the crossroad of civilizations for millenniums. Everyone is welcome. Each region has it’s own culture and Islam is the cement that binds us all together.”

When asked what locations he was most fond of, his response expressed an undying love for all regions in his country, “It’s like choosing between the fingers on your hand,” he says. “From the Mediterranean coast to the Atlantic to the Atlas to the Sahara, it’s very hard. But I would say its the Atlantic Sahara where the desert meets the ocean.”

“It’s like choosing between the fingers on your hand. From the Mediterranean coast to the Atlantic to the Atlas to the Sahara.”

Above: capturing an overlanding experience in the mountains in the suburbs of Morocco

With an average of 12,000km of overlanding distance, a backdrop of the Atlas for three-quarters of the country and a whole load of serendipity - the large number of travelers that have frequented the Atlas chain have made it a relatively safe environment to explore. The most respected traveler, Ibn Battuta, originated from Tangier, Morocco which lies on the strait of Gibraltar. Tangier played a crucial part in trade with Europe hence the influence on culture. Their travels have opened to the world oriental designs, tribal reforms and a mystical society.

“We set out on a fishing trip south towards the Algerian border once in a remote place, setting up camp in an abandoned oasis under the starlight. As we were enjoying the calm night in silence, a flash appeared that lit the entire sky and surroundings. So bright, the meteorite split the sky paving its way only to crash a few kilometers away from us. It was sensational, a mesmerizing experience for sure.”

Above: a photo of Kamal and his daughter whom he wills to build a life of adventure and wanderlust for.

To cross lands indefinitely, through cultures and societies. Forever bridging our passion for the outdoors and creating stories to write our history. Wandering will keep us together as one.

Follow the adventures of our most favorite Moroccan Wanderer on Instagram

Storytelling by Kamal Cherif
Documentation by the Wander team

Why We Wander

When we are asked the very stereotypical question of 'What do you do for fun?" we find ourselves unable to give a one worded response. It always seems like we're about to open Pandora's box to our passion and insight. It's quite difficult to narrow down the complexity of emotions that a Wanderer feels when they're on the road, in the sand and atop a summit. It's quite difficult to understand what pulls us to those places and what keeps us coming back for more.

We Wander because... 

1. We become different versions of ourselves when all we have to do is focus on the road or discover the path ahead. As soon as we pass the last bridge of civilisation, it's as though we've left the clutter in the metropolis and can finally hear the inner voice of nature - which in reality is our own voice. 

2. The unknown is where we flourish. There is an undying curiosity that strings us back to the natural formation of a sand dune. There is a dune that we have visited continuously over the last four years only to find that everytime we go, it has shaped itself differently. Partly due to passing winds, travelling wildlife and human interaction - a great testament to the changing variables of life. 

3. We sometimes go to sit in the deafening silence of the night where our wildest thoughts can be heard by the farm next door. 

4. There is something surreal about falling asleep under the night sky and waking up a few hours later to find the earth's movement has restructured your sky and now the Orion's belt is in the other side of the night. It is a reflection of the changing matters of the world and how in short periods of time, your world as you know it can change. We Wander to experience change while we drive through the realms we live in. 

In reality, there are many reasons we embody this state of being and to some it comes natural and to others they momentarily experience this epiphany-like thrill. In reality, the human is always in search and to find what he needs to find he must live his full life only to know in hindsight what he was searching for. This is the truth of the world we live in. 

What makes you Wander?   

The Formation of the Empty Quarter

About 3 hours from the capital and many more hours from other corners of the UAE lies a vast space of numerous dunes we all call Liwa. There is a special place in every off-roaders heart with a significant LIWA 2018 sticker embedded - without a doubt. It is a destination on every foreigner's bucket-list when they head towards this part of the world - partially due to the bloggers that take windowsill photos from Qasr Al Sarab overlooking the dunes. Little do they know that that's all there is and the chances of seeing a mystic revelation are zero. The actual purpose of this piece is a more geographical learning of how sand travels and why our cars are victims of ruthless layers of Liwa. 

Realistically, I would presume the stories that came out of the Empty Quarter paint a picture of grandeur for the travelers only because of the harsh climate that lacks vegetation. Maybe this is why we're so appealed to the stories of struggle in the past. We learnt about it in school, through our books and the standard orally shared stories of Bedouin journeys through these lands that have restructured the nations we currently belong to. Tribal matters went down among the dunes we now wander through, humanity crossed what we now drive through on foot. They utilized the height of the dunes as hiding mechanisms and understood human anatomy to predict performance. Now, why in the world are the dunes a resemblance of canyons and what determined the coloring of rich red and orange with an underlying beige color tone for this landscape? 

If you've been in the UAE long enough, you would know there have been numerous research projects that aimed to solve lots of mysteries about these lands from archeological finds in the plains of Umm Al Quwain to the fort discoveries in Al Ain and the cultures that lingered such as Umm Al Narr in Abu Dhabi. Geologists were sent to study the Empty Quarter at the time (a guy named Hal McClure, to be more precise) who initially brought about the first understanding of how the dunes formed and where they came from. 

The Very Beginning (or so they say) 
I am going to refrain from using time period titles that will make this writing more complex and just say "times long long ago" instead. According to the studies, the Empty Quarter was created around 2 million years ago (in what they call the Quaternary Era which is this era of geological time scales).  But this is just a prediction. Some other dude (John Whitney, to be more precise) says that the Empty Quarter started making a presence much longer ago. Our information is limited as to when it started forming but what good is that? It's obviously here now. 

Ruthless Dune Formation
The wind is your best bet in this case. Transportation of sand is usually caused by strong winds both from the sea and inland. One of the main indications of direction when in the desert is the direction of the dune. If you are standing in front of a line of dunes and there are more crests facing in land know that you are facing the sea (as sea bound winds are stronger than inland winds). If we zoom out of the Arabian Peninsula map, you will notice how the Empty Quarter is surrounded by mountains from East, South & West with an open window of the Gulf Sea from the North. This allows the sand to remain in the area when the wind decides otherwise. 

The Gulf Sea Movement
Theory says that the North had a few pressured glacier caps that decided to intervene with the climate around the Middle East. The sand available at the bottom of the Gulf Sea was forcibly pushed into the corner mentioned above due to the fluctuating water levels. The sand called the corner home and is now a landscape that seeps into Oman, Yemen, UAE & Saudi Arabia. 

The Journey of Sand
As you can see in the map above, we have a variety of color tones of sand as we navigate the country. Lighter in the middle, a little darker around the edges closer to the mountains and white towards the sea. This allows us to deduct that material has been mixed with the sand according to the neighboring terrains such as corals by the sea, dark stone by the mountain ranges and a base of plain sand in the center (almost untouched). Geologists will tell you red sand is the byproduct of iron oxide from rock that has deposited itself in sand. A clear example is the landscape across the Abu Dhabi - Al Ain highway with red sand dunes that are 500m high. Towards the sea line, we experience harsher sand that has mixed with coral through erosion. Along the coastal route to Liwa, we have flats of white sand almost unbearable to look at (tricked you for the Alps a little). Moral of the story, culture and sand have no difference - their composition is highly dependent on surrounding influences. 

That, my beautiful Wanderers, is only the beginning of a long history of stories that these dunes hold. We must always remember the importance of understanding why things exist the way they do to better appreciate and maintain what already exists. 

- Wander. 

Photo courtesy of Obaid Al Budoor

The Teachings of Ibn Majed: The Lion of the Sea

At times I find myself pondering the realities of people that have crossed lands indefinitely prior to our existence. What had they prioritised in their travels and how had they imagined a world much smaller than what we see today? The stoic will persuade you to visualise the people of the past as idols that have set benchmarks for our discoveries, growth and achievements — in this piece, we reflect on what one could learn from a man with a passion to ride currents of the sea according to the placement of the stars. 

Ahmad Ibn Majed, born somewhere in between Ras Al Khaimah and Oman, was a man of the sea in the 15th century. Attributed to him were his publications that have assisted and expanded the study of the sea from principles to methodologies to tools that have changed the way travellers looked at crossing seas indefinitely. An Arab navigator that played a pivotal role in establishing connections between the East and the West by mapping the part of the world he existed in (we could go into discussion about his assistance to Vasco Di Gama and the controversy behind who initially got the Portuguese to India — but that isn’t my current concern). 

So, what did this man have that can be of any benefit to our existence today? Other than the fact that half the buildings in Ras Al Khaimah are called Julfar and the vague information we have on his background. A penny for my thoughts and I’d be…confused. 

“The Importance of Memory”

As clear cut as this is, it is a common trend among those that follow doctrines. There was a time we ventured into the mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, I remember, where we couldn’t for the love of God remember our path. It was apparent how flawed memory can be. In the next statement, I will discuss the ability to imagine navigation which may contradict the current point. However, the studies of Ibn Majed have reflected three key principles from which he learned while sailing alongside his father which made him The Lion of the Sea. Prior to sending him off on his own at 17, the principles set for him were to perfect his reading and writing, to memorise the Quran and to memorise the books his father gave him about seafaring. Imagine the power of a man that need not waste time digging up a reference but consistently pulling guidance from memory as though his rubric was a recitation. The contents in your head are the contents you are. 

“How Navigation Is Imagination” 

Having developed the “Kamal”, a device made of wood and calibrated string used to identify the point on the latitude in accordance with the Pole Star’s height in the horizon, he ventured the sea with a backing knowledge of current movements, winds, reefs, shoals, headlands, harbors, seamarks and stars in which he spent a lifetime studying. Putting your thoughts together, when you reflect on the night sky you don’t necessarily know what stars you’re looking at or where they are placed in comparison to your current location. A belief of Ibn Majed’s with his work is the imagination of your reality. To imagine the sea you will cross, the placement of the stars above you and the current that can only be felt — this is what made him a master of his craft. 

“The Shooting Star”

…he was named. For his fearlessness, grit, and resilience to take on seas rougher than a human can bare. A reflection of a harsher reality that they must have lived. In link to the earlier statement of the Stoic placing idols of the past as guidance, Ibn Majed may very well be a character that has reflected resilience and knowledge in his time. An indication of innovation and perseverance and what it looked like in times before ours. 

The reason we learn about what people have once done and where they have ventured allows us to discover more than we think we can. To think there was once a time where the seas were not discovered like today, or the lands have not been mapped to accuracy, even the language we speak varied — yet they still brought us to today. A globalized world framed and established by stones set before us. This is an ode to all the travellers that have opened the doors to discovery and curiosity and taught us how to wander. 

Stories

Wander to Mleiha

A trip to a place foreign to the modernist and familiar to the heritage. Where the sand meets the rock and where the terrain changes in a short span of time. Mleiha is home to a lot of tombs from the previous times and a haven for archeological sites - if you're curious. This place holds a diversity of terrains from red-orange sand to mountainous paths and a whole lot of farms. It is said, in previous times, this area used to trade with those in Umm Al Quwain. It was like a trade-off between the sea merchants and the land herders. 

Coming into the new year, Wander thought of throwing a dropped pin somewhere new, somewhere authentic (not to say that the other locations weren't that too). Hosting its first session of the year, equipped with enough brownies and conversation, Wander wandered. 

On belonging.

The message in this context is very personal. It is something that I connect with and yearn for. A state of mind and a behavior that I find myself chasing in the suburbs and behind all the noise. It is a feeling of belonging and an internal struggle of definition. What am I? Who are they? I can't be the only one that feels this way. 

For the longest time, I was convinced this search was the byproduct of mixed marriage and foreign countries (that in reality are home countries). I thought it was a void that was controlled by paper and placement. The more I searched however, the more I found that this void is not limited to my circumstances but also evident in other journeys. People with defined belonging systems experience searching for a belonging in other places too. Now we could say this is the humans innate behavior of never being satisfied but I think otherwise. I think the complexity of our hearts knows not to settle for a defined belonging stated by paper. That there is a world out there longing to hear our voices and feel our feet in the earth. There are places waiting for you asking the sky when you will arrive. Those places know no time or paper. They know humanity.

On the many nights I spent alone behind the wheel curving out the road to the mountains, I watched as the world moved around me and the lights faded but then rose again. I watched the terrain change from coral sands to a warm red and then I watched as the mountains pierced the horizons ahead. I watched as they continuously and naturally grounded our earth and welcomed me home. I imagined a bird and how it would look down on me, a human body in a metal box moving as nature wants me to move. I can't help but think in this moment how fast things change, how the song ends in a few minutes, the petrol burns faster and the mountains...they change as the moon peaks between the cliffs. With every change, the moon rises and continues to rise. And for a second there I thought, what are we chasing if all our moments are fleeting? 

I can't be the only one on this road feeling this way I thought. A car would pass and I would think, "he must think how grand this view is". And then another car would pass and I would think, "they're having the time of their lives." And the time would go on and on and on. Everytime another soul would fill the space around me I would yearn to hold their hand and dig our feet in the sand together. Time would stop, I thought. We would be in this moment together and nothing would matter. Because in reality, this is all we have. Each other. This is not a fleeting moment. 

And I thought what a belonging. What a beautiful beautiful world this is when you know the mountains wait to feel you, the sand wants to move its grains for you and the waves want to crash just for you. I am a rock like I am sand and I am water like I am a peak. I am all there is and all there ever will be, alongside the rest of humanity. I want to hold the worlds hand and them to hold mine. I want to strip myself of any titles and be a soul among other souls...for nature, for humanity, for belonging. 

It is important my fellow Wanderers, that this is how you feel. 

Soul Conversations.

Among the dunes of Dubai. Wander got out with a bunch of souls to bring the winter season to a start. Our seasons are two, hot summer and cold summer, unlike the rest of the world. About 30 minutes down the road from the city we all know too well is a playground that runs for as far as your eyes can see. The desert connects the cities around the Emirates and, contrary to popular belief, there lies plenty of opportunity for discovery and driving routes never driven.

With a growing drive to road trip the world and meet like minded souls, Wander has seen people embrace the concept and run with it - their own way.

How do you celebrate originality?

To join our upcoming Wanders, make sure you are subscribed below.

Subscribe