Al Ain: Trip to the Desert

Al Ain Dessert Trees

To celebrate UAE's 45th National Day, our group decided to spend the holiday in the desert. 

Destination: Al Ain

Abu Dhabi's second largest city and bordering Oman, Al Ain is actually known as a Garden city. It is where Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the United Arab Emirates, was born and the place that has the highest number of Emirati nationals

This camel also takes on a road trip down the highway

Desert views along the highways

Our group rented a coaster for this trip. Lakas maka-school fieldtrip!

We had our baon as we were planning to have our lunch in a local park after visiting Al Ain Zoo. We're all professionals but we felt like excited kids going on a tour with classmates. Along the way, we played games, bullied each other out, shared snacks, park at interesting spots for a photo op, etc.

I uttered, "So this is how OFWs spend out of town trips in the UAE."

Our first stop is Al Ain Zoo. It's a big animal park located at the foot of yet another famous tourist spot in UAE, the mountains of Jebel Hafeet.

Al Ain Zoo opens around 8am from Saturdays to Wednesdays and 9am every Thursdays, Fridays and holidays. Ticket price for the zoo entrance is 30AED. Check out their website for a variety of tour packages such as Safari tour.

Pink flamingos, cheetah, panther, hyena, cayote, jaguar, oryx, white tiger, rhino, etc.

As a Filipino coming from a tropical country,  the trip made me see actual animals I've seen for the very first time. Some wild animals that seem to have just pop out of Nat Geo Wild tv. It really has been an amazing tour!

If only I had more dirhams in my pocket, I would have opted for a genuine Safari tour. That trip where you hop in a truck and drive through the dessert and see the animals moving freely in their natural habitat. Al Ain zoo can give you that experience!