Around the World with the Most Travelled Indian
By Nitin Gairola
The Arabian Desert is a common household name. As common, if not more, than even the Sahara Desert, which is the largest hot desert in the world. The largest desert is, of course, Antarctica but as we all know, it isn’t hot. But the Arabian Desert holds a secret called the Rub’ al-Khali, which is the largest continuous sea of sand and is almost a mini-desert within a larger desert.
Besides, it’s the Arabian Desert that is the setting for many a folk tale and none is more well-known than the Arabian Nights. Now I don’t say that my Arabian adventures have taken me on magic carpets or I have seen trapped genies come out of little lamps, but I can claim to have seen many Arabian nights filled with silence and stars. These Arabian nights in the Arabian Desert have been in all corners of this sea of sand & stone, with one of the most memorable experiences being at Wadi Rumm of Jordan in the north-west corner of this desert and the least memorable being the crass ‘photo-op’ experience in the outskirts of Dubai and Sharjah in 2012.
However, between these 2 ‘polarities’ of Arabian Desert experiences sits a strange one that took place recently at the iconic ‘Rub’-al-Khali’ or the ‘Empty Quarter’ portion of the desert in Southern Oman, towards the east of Yemen and just south of Saudi Arabia. Why I call it strange is because I loved it and why that is strange is that this wasn’t a deep, immersive multi-night experience as was Wadi Rumm or the numerous other deep desert tours we have done around the world. I had never expected to enjoy Rub’-al-Khali as much as I did.
The biggest pull for me was the legend of it. When I think Rub’-al-Khali, I think of past adventurers and explorers such as Bertram Thomas and Wilfred Thesiger and even modern-day adventurers who have tired to cross this 1,000-kilometre portion of the Arabian Desert (Mark Evans in 2016 and Max Calderan in 2020). I also think about the great Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who is called the ‘Greatest Living Explorer in the World’ (wonder what he will be called once he is no more). He is the one who led the expedition in 1992 to find the last great undiscovered ancient city (considered 5,000 years old) in ‘almost’ the old-school way, with very limited use of satellite technology. This place is called the City of Ubar or the ‘Atlantis of the Sands’ and is en-route to the land of the largest dunes on Earth (the Sahara is rather rocky unlike what comes first to mind).
And yes, that was the biggest draw – the largest sand dunes on Earth. We had to go to Rub’-al-Khali, given how much I love deserts and the fact that I am just one short of becoming the first Asian to visit all deserts around the world (the Namib desert is the last one left). However, I won’t be the first person to do this (just the first Asian & Indian) as it has been done first by a German named Michael Martin way back in 2004 and he did it on a bike and not with the aid of aeroplanes, trains, buses and jeeps as I have. So, let’s be real that he is a real explorer or adventurer and I am a mere traveller (albeit with an audacious goal).
And so, the Rub’-al-Khali didn’t disappoint one bit. We had booked the tour through a gentleman named SR. Our guides were Mohammed and Thair who took Richa and I in their brand-new Toyota Land Rovers and yes Toyota dominates the adventure off-road market. Our convoy had 2 more Land Rovers and in them were Yuki of Japan and Bob of Indonesia (a very charming couple) and Ahmed (an Egyptian working in Germany). Add us two Indians to the mix and our two Omani guides, and we had a proper United Nations san the US. And in these times that doesn’t sound too bad, does it? (just kidding, since most Americans are great people but their current leader isn’t). Maybe instead of ‘Making America Great Again’ (or MAGA) we should focus on ‘Making American Leaders Great Again’ (‘MALGA), what with Tempestuous Trumpet and Bumbling Biden at the helm of affairs for the past decade.
Our UN was taken to many exotic places during this tour such as the Frankincense tree farm (from which Arabs have been making and trading incense for centuries), the Lost City of Ubar and a ‘farm’ for black camels where we fed them a bit (for a photo-op it must be said) and even saw a baby of just 3 days. All this was all very nice but the best part was reaching the top of the dunes and then getting off the Land Rovers to see just how high up we were. It was honestly one of the most magical evenings we have spent at any place and it was so far removed from our first desert experience (outside India) in UAE. Being part of that solitude and also spending the time with lovely travellers, like in this case with Yuki, Bob and Ahmed, is the reason why we travel in the first place.
Richa took off her shoes to feel the Earth with her feet. This is something I have seen many do in deserts and it is believed to increase your connection to the planet at some deep spiritual level (warning – if you do the same in a forest, it will increase your connection to creepy crawlies). But here in this famed portion of the Arabian Desert, I also felt connected to the larger reality that exists outside my own ambitions, achievements and failures. Of course, I went back quickly to the ‘real world’ the next day (actually a few days later) but for a brief moment, I was someone else, living in some other context. That is what travel does – it removes your identity pressures & labels and you are free again as you were meant to be.
Nitin Gairola is from Dehradun and is an extreme world traveller who has seen the natural world extensively and is often referred to as the ‘Most Travelled Indian’. He is on a quest to become the first person to travel to every major desert, forest, grassland, tundra & ice biome on Earth, besides every country. Nitin has set world travel records certified by India Book of Records, has written for Lonely Planet, holds National Geographic conservation certifications and loves Bio-Geography. He is also a senior corporate executive in an MNC and in his early days, used to be a published poet as well. Join him @ www.instagram.com/MostTravelledIndian/
