Dubai is known for its glass and steel skyscrapers that gleam with unbridled ambition and malls that act as metaphors for a life devoted to wants. However, just a few minutes drive away from the city limits reveals vistas serene. Amongst undulating shapeshifting dunes lies vast sabkhas (salt flats) - remnants of the erstwhile Tethys Sea. Trivia: Eons ago, this entire region was submerged under it. While doing a recce for a shoot, my friend and I landed up in one of these sabkhas. I was in a sedan that looked suspiciously like a getaway car with a faulty GPS. Ok. Scratch that. A getaway car should at least be a 1969 Mustang with a glowering Steve McQueen behind the wheel. Not a 2014 Fiesta with a man who believes that he’s the next incarnation of Jackie Chan, minus the moves. What I am trying to say in a convoluted manner is that my Fiesta might be feisty but it looked definitely out of place. But my friend was in his pride and joy, a Dodge Ram - a pick-up that made its rugged presence felt in an environment that can make toys out of cars.
And speaking of pick-ups, if I was 6 foot and a couple of inches tall, with a six pack, and a scar across the right cheek (optional) the car of my choice would have been, well, a pick-up truck. Nothing spells out open spaces and adventure in a large old fashioned font as one of these rugged drives. They combine the best of many worlds - from making the great outdoors feel that they have met a worthy adversary to carrying home a mini IKEA. And of course, the view from the comfortable cabin is that of a world more agreeable.
