We met up with Phil and Louise for a swim in the hotel pool before having lunch at McGettigan's, the hotel's Irish pub. Very authentic, even the waiters were genuine Irish! Simon and I were feeling very hungry and both had a big plate of Irish stew, which was definitely as good as the real thing!

After lunch we were collected for our desert safari trip which we thought might be fun to do, especially for Simon who had never experienced the desert before. After an hour's ride in a minibus we were out of the city into a more desert area and we transferred to a Toyota Landcruiser for a spot of dune bashing. Basically just some fast driving up and down a few dunes, none of them all that high, but it was great fun nonetheless.

Afterwards we were taken to an 'authentic' Bedouin camp for the evening's entertainment. There were camel rides on offer, and various other attractions if desired including quad biking and henna hand painting. We decided against having a camel ride as one of the camels was sounding particularly grumpy!

We were surprised to find that alcohol was available in the camp and not that expensive either. We were seated beside a circular stage and, when the crowds had gathered and it was beginning to get dark, the entertainment began. The men danced in some amazing costumes and seemed to be whirling dervishes or something of the sort. Quite amazing that they didn't get dizzy. The women wore floating costumes to start with and later treated us to some belly dancing which we all agreed must be really good exercise and maybe we should all learn!

The guide had promised us 'sandwiches' but halfway through the show we were served an amazing meal which was almost too big for us to eat. A wonderful array of food and, just when we thought there was no more room on the plate, they added four kinds of meat from the barbecue! The diet will have to start tomorrow, I'm afraid.

When the show was over we were transported back to our hotel where we returned to McGettigan's for a nightcap to round off another lovely day.