My First Blog Post but Not my Last

I look at this as I rework my blog pages in 2025, and reflect on how lucky I was to have had the experiences that you’ll find if you continue to search this site. I think this reworking is going to take some time but I hope to present to you my experiences and advice for anyone who is thinking of becoming a resident of the UAE or wants to travel in the Arabian Peninsula in 2026.

I’m aware that there have been many changes since I last resided in Oman in 2017 but that was not the end of my journey nor of my time in the then remote places where few had travelled.

The End of the Beginning

As I said, I left Oman in late 2017 to return to my home in Scotland with a heavy heart. Part of me was still in the desert, longing for sweeping vistas and good company round a campfire, deep in the silence of a remote corner of the desert.

For those who are interested, my nickname was given to me by my husband. He knew how enthusiastic I was about off-road driving and my desire to spend my days visiting the places where few had gone. If you look at any dictionary for a definition of a diva you’ll find something like this: a self-important person who is temperamental and difficult to please (typically used of a woman).

While I might not see it that way, I was aware that he had a point. If you’ve ever been out with me, you’ll know that the confidence and enthusiasm I exude could be mistaken for the acts of a diva. My husband always says, “There are two things in life, perception and reality; the greater of which is perception”. I suppose that to those who had never met me, their perception of me would fit the bill.

Anyway, I’m glad to have the name. He knew that it was an itch that I could never scratch and to that end, the Short Wheel Base Nissan Patrol you see above is the first off-road car I had, purchased by my hubbie. He never looked back other than to see where I had got stuck!

A New Chapter

So there I was, back in Bonnie Scotland. It wasn’t long before I had sat down with my husband and said to him that I’d like to go out to the UAE and run a business for 5 months of the year. There’s no point trying to get customers to go out in the hottest months of the year, although that has never stopped me!

Bags packed, I set off for a new adventure, taking the knowledge I had gained in the eight years of travel in Oman and the UAE, and using that to persuade others to join me. Again, if you look through this blog you’ll find trip reports of those days. I’m currently looking through my old posts and updating them, taking out the reference to my operations as Desert Diva Events and Adventures.

Arabian Cities and Sands

We’re now up-to-date with my Arabian adventure with the establishment of my new business venture, “Arabian Cities and Sands”. I’m putting all of my experiences and those of the people who have joined me in my various roles as desert driver, cultural expert and trip organiser into creating bespoke vacations for those looking to visit the Arabian Peninsula for the first time or who want to return, perhaps to an area they’ve not visited before.

So, now go on to read my first blog. It encompasses a lot of my experiences where a random event starts a chain reaction. I was introduced to the honesty of those who had come to the UAE to earn a better wage than they could at home, to the welcoming nature of the Emirati people and their generous hospitality and to a different culture that I came to love and cherish.

Been threatening to do this for a while, but finally got round to pushing the button and creating a blog. Life is so COLOURFUL in the UAE, every day is a new adventure, and I hope you will enjoy reading about the best of them here. It’s been a busy week, a few of us had a super easy drive in the sands between Sweihan and Al Ain last Saturday, and on Sunday I was in the sand again as we scouted for a route for my friend Bruce’s trip which he will lead later today (this is the first one he has led/organised). At the end of the drive we aired up and went to Al Khatim for some food, and there I dropped my purse out of my handbag on some waste ground – and in it were a small amount of cash, my debit/credit cards, my driving license and my UAE ID card. Needless to say, I didn’t get too much sleep that night, and when I finally did get some slumber I was woken up by a phonecall from someone who had my purse – with the contents intact! I travelled back to Al Khatim in the evening, expecting to collect it, and being dressed for, meeting a local gentlemen at the ADNOC (gas station), but instead was directed to his home where I spent a lovely evening and enjoyed a delicious dinner with Mr Khadim, his wife and grandmother. Turns out that one of their farmworkers had gone to the shop for some provisions, had found my purse and handed it to his employer, the grandfather, who in turn gave the job of contacting me to Mr Khadim, who speaks excellent english. The farmworker who handed in my purse will no doubt earn less than £50 a week, so I am very impressed at his honesty, and will call in with a thank you card with some cash in it to reward him. My good friend Terryl is no doubt thinking “It could only happen to Marina…..”

A Footnote

I’ve used this font colour on my business page and decided to put any updated information in the same scheme. I may alter the wording on past posts and not insert a font colour change (because it could be confused for a hyperlink) but any new information that warrants more than a few words will have its own section.