Hameem -The Sun Side
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Minhaj
- Newbie
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2025 10:56 pm
- Location: Abu Dhabi
- Has thanked: 146 times
- Been thanked: 213 times
Hello Guys
When the Hameem -The Sun Side drive was announced, it was meant for level -5 newbies. I really wanted to be part of it and was hoping it would eventually open up for 10+ newbies. Towards the end, I asked Mr. Samshi if I could join, and he agreed. I was super excited the drive was actually happening!
But just two days before the drive, heavy rain started, and I began to worry that it might get canceled. I kept my fingers crossed and even thought about joining the drive without camping, since the weather didn’t look great. I’m glad I chose to go for the camping; otherwise, it would have been a huge regret. I would have missed one of the greatest experiences of my life.
Camping Night:
On the 27th, @siddharthsai called me around 11am and said we should head to Hameem early since the weather was getting bad. So Sid, @Warrior12 , @Spyda , and I left together in convoy. On the way, it kept raining on and off, which already made the drive interesting.
We reached around 5 PM, and the weather was something else. There was rain, strong winds, and sand blowing everywhere. Spyda found a really nice spot for us to settle, and slowly everyone else started arriving. The place itself was amazing, and the best part was that there was no mobile network at all. It honestly felt like we were completely cut off from the outside world.
Capricorn and his wife set up a proper cooking station and started preparing food like pros, while the rest of us were just relaxing and enjoying the moment.
Around 7 PM, things got intense. Heavy rain, thunder, and lightning everywhere. Abubaker quickly set up his awning attached to Sid’s car and created a small covered area.Sid even managed to make a fire pit using his extra large shovel
The rain and wind were on another level. Sid, Spyda, Abubaker and I sat under the cover, and what we saw was unforgettable. The lightning was so constant that it lit up the whole desert like it’s daytime. Some stayed inside the cars.This cycle of heavy rain and calm happened a few times.
I still don’t know how Capricorn managed to cook in those conditions, but the food turned out amazing.
Around 9 PM, Mr.Shamsi arrived, and interestingly, at that moment weather was calm, like nothing had happened. Then again, the rain started. Some people went to sleep early.
Later, Sid, Spyda, Abubaker , layal, and I stayed up for a while until one big lightning and thunder moment made everyone run back to their cars.and finally went to sleep
The Epic Drive :
I decided to sleep in the car, which was a mistake. I could not sleep at all and kept checking the time, just waiting for it to be 6:30.
At 6:30, I got up, woke Sid, and even went to wake up Spyda for no reason, just for fun. By 7:30, everyone was back at the camp, had some really good food and nice coffee. I was already feeling tired because of no sleep.
Shamsi then explained the route and convoy order. I dropped my tire pressure to 13 PSI, fixed the flag, and we started the drive around 8:45.
The sand was wet, slippery but also firm. The drive started easy but within minutes became technical. In the beginning, my bumper took a few hits while cresting.
The whole drive felt like an ECG graph. Ten minutes of intense, technical driving with tough climbs, then ten minutes of easier fast flat sections. This pattern continued throughout the drive.Honestly, if the sand was not wet, I do not think I could have managed some of those climbs. There were steep dunes, sharp ridges, and balconies.
We had a few short breaks and one proper lunch break. Samshi gave me a strong coffee shot, which really helped. After that, I kept drinking coffee just to stay focused because I was running on almost no sleep.
The landscape looked unreal, like something out of a movie. The views were just amazing.
Overall, the drive was epic. Anyone who missed it really missed something special. I feel lucky to have been part of it. And honestly, it did not feel like a level -5 at all. It was a proper challenging drive.The sand was so wet and hard that after few cars had passed it became slippery and tricky to drive.The entire convey did pretty well with no recovery few refusal and multiple popout .
Shamsi let the intermediate drivers play on a dune, and that was really fun to watch. Everyone was trying climbs while the newbies were just watching .
After completing around 120 plus km in the sand, drive came to end . It felt surreal how quickly the time has passed . This is my first time for me to complete this distance in sand .
Thanks to @alshamsi_m for organizing and leading such an amazing drive, @Mabubaker for floating and keeping an eye on everyone, and @Vika , @Spyda , and @orlantsev for supporting us throughout.
This is definitely one of those trips we will be talking about for a long time. No network, crazy weather, beautiful landscape, and an amazing group of people. Waiting for the next drive.
When the Hameem -The Sun Side drive was announced, it was meant for level -5 newbies. I really wanted to be part of it and was hoping it would eventually open up for 10+ newbies. Towards the end, I asked Mr. Samshi if I could join, and he agreed. I was super excited the drive was actually happening!
But just two days before the drive, heavy rain started, and I began to worry that it might get canceled. I kept my fingers crossed and even thought about joining the drive without camping, since the weather didn’t look great. I’m glad I chose to go for the camping; otherwise, it would have been a huge regret. I would have missed one of the greatest experiences of my life.
Camping Night:
On the 27th, @siddharthsai called me around 11am and said we should head to Hameem early since the weather was getting bad. So Sid, @Warrior12 , @Spyda , and I left together in convoy. On the way, it kept raining on and off, which already made the drive interesting.
We reached around 5 PM, and the weather was something else. There was rain, strong winds, and sand blowing everywhere. Spyda found a really nice spot for us to settle, and slowly everyone else started arriving. The place itself was amazing, and the best part was that there was no mobile network at all. It honestly felt like we were completely cut off from the outside world.
Capricorn and his wife set up a proper cooking station and started preparing food like pros, while the rest of us were just relaxing and enjoying the moment.
Around 7 PM, things got intense. Heavy rain, thunder, and lightning everywhere. Abubaker quickly set up his awning attached to Sid’s car and created a small covered area.Sid even managed to make a fire pit using his extra large shovel
The rain and wind were on another level. Sid, Spyda, Abubaker and I sat under the cover, and what we saw was unforgettable. The lightning was so constant that it lit up the whole desert like it’s daytime. Some stayed inside the cars.This cycle of heavy rain and calm happened a few times.
I still don’t know how Capricorn managed to cook in those conditions, but the food turned out amazing.
Around 9 PM, Mr.Shamsi arrived, and interestingly, at that moment weather was calm, like nothing had happened. Then again, the rain started. Some people went to sleep early.
Later, Sid, Spyda, Abubaker , layal, and I stayed up for a while until one big lightning and thunder moment made everyone run back to their cars.and finally went to sleep
The Epic Drive :
I decided to sleep in the car, which was a mistake. I could not sleep at all and kept checking the time, just waiting for it to be 6:30.
At 6:30, I got up, woke Sid, and even went to wake up Spyda for no reason, just for fun. By 7:30, everyone was back at the camp, had some really good food and nice coffee. I was already feeling tired because of no sleep.
Shamsi then explained the route and convoy order. I dropped my tire pressure to 13 PSI, fixed the flag, and we started the drive around 8:45.
The sand was wet, slippery but also firm. The drive started easy but within minutes became technical. In the beginning, my bumper took a few hits while cresting.
The whole drive felt like an ECG graph. Ten minutes of intense, technical driving with tough climbs, then ten minutes of easier fast flat sections. This pattern continued throughout the drive.Honestly, if the sand was not wet, I do not think I could have managed some of those climbs. There were steep dunes, sharp ridges, and balconies.
We had a few short breaks and one proper lunch break. Samshi gave me a strong coffee shot, which really helped. After that, I kept drinking coffee just to stay focused because I was running on almost no sleep.
The landscape looked unreal, like something out of a movie. The views were just amazing.
Overall, the drive was epic. Anyone who missed it really missed something special. I feel lucky to have been part of it. And honestly, it did not feel like a level -5 at all. It was a proper challenging drive.The sand was so wet and hard that after few cars had passed it became slippery and tricky to drive.The entire convey did pretty well with no recovery few refusal and multiple popout .
Shamsi let the intermediate drivers play on a dune, and that was really fun to watch. Everyone was trying climbs while the newbies were just watching .
After completing around 120 plus km in the sand, drive came to end . It felt surreal how quickly the time has passed . This is my first time for me to complete this distance in sand .
Thanks to @alshamsi_m for organizing and leading such an amazing drive, @Mabubaker for floating and keeping an eye on everyone, and @Vika , @Spyda , and @orlantsev for supporting us throughout.
This is definitely one of those trips we will be talking about for a long time. No network, crazy weather, beautiful landscape, and an amazing group of people. Waiting for the next drive.
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Capricorn
- Newbie
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2026 7:35 am
- Has thanked: 13 times
- Been thanked: 5 times
One of the best drive.
As the level going up things getting more interesting and challenging.
Loved to be the part of such great family . Extremely dedicated leadership and the team members .
Thank you for the wonderful weekend and providing excellent driving and learning experience.
Looking forward to attend every drive to enhance the driving skills and get upgraded to the next level.
As the level going up things getting more interesting and challenging.
Loved to be the part of such great family . Extremely dedicated leadership and the team members .
Thank you for the wonderful weekend and providing excellent driving and learning experience.
Looking forward to attend every drive to enhance the driving skills and get upgraded to the next level.
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Spyda
- Intermediate
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2023 2:11 pm
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 169 times
Arrived early to the area with Sid, Sara and minhaj. Wanted to get my camp set up during daylight and secure as it was raining and windy.
Camp set up and tent staked down securely, found us a nice sheltered spot to relax whilst we waited for the rest of the people to arrive. We had thunder, lightning, rain and high winds that evening. Started to question my own sanity slightly lol. Everyone arrived, few had already pulled out, less is more in the desert.
Woke up to a nice clear morning, earlier than expected by my noisey neighbors. Next time I'm setting my camp up 10km away from anyone else lol.
Everyone gathered to take a good feed before the drive, essential as such a long drive that day going to need to fuel the body up.
I was appointed 2nd lead with Bu Salem leading us. Bu Salem put on only what I can describe as a technical master class. His line choices were amazing and I felt quite challenging for the level. The newbies did really well with only a few 2nd trys and popouts to deal with.
Had the 3rd car collide with me slightly, was too busy watching the cars behind cresting the Dune and not looking that the Lead and second lead had stopped. Luckily no damage to the car or driver. Pay attention to the car in front newbies, maintain a safe distance. Good habit to get into early as it will prevent you in future from getting yourselves into situations.
After the lunch break, Bu Salem said we had 60km more to cover and we needed to up the pace. Following him felt like we was in Dakar rally, lots of fun. We stopped at one area and intermediate was allowed to play. Marshall Abu baker was instructed to draw a line and we set about challenging the Dune. Saw Sids 4runner doing crazy things, I'm like wow sid has really upped his level fast. Car was stolen by Bu Salem and was being joy rided lol.
Such an amazing drive and those that pulled out you really missed a special event. The wet sand made the drive very different, it allowed for the level to be raised higher and more challenging. The added traction meant the technicalitie was increased.
Really a masterpiece of a drive
Camp set up and tent staked down securely, found us a nice sheltered spot to relax whilst we waited for the rest of the people to arrive. We had thunder, lightning, rain and high winds that evening. Started to question my own sanity slightly lol. Everyone arrived, few had already pulled out, less is more in the desert.
Woke up to a nice clear morning, earlier than expected by my noisey neighbors. Next time I'm setting my camp up 10km away from anyone else lol.
Everyone gathered to take a good feed before the drive, essential as such a long drive that day going to need to fuel the body up.
I was appointed 2nd lead with Bu Salem leading us. Bu Salem put on only what I can describe as a technical master class. His line choices were amazing and I felt quite challenging for the level. The newbies did really well with only a few 2nd trys and popouts to deal with.
Had the 3rd car collide with me slightly, was too busy watching the cars behind cresting the Dune and not looking that the Lead and second lead had stopped. Luckily no damage to the car or driver. Pay attention to the car in front newbies, maintain a safe distance. Good habit to get into early as it will prevent you in future from getting yourselves into situations.
After the lunch break, Bu Salem said we had 60km more to cover and we needed to up the pace. Following him felt like we was in Dakar rally, lots of fun. We stopped at one area and intermediate was allowed to play. Marshall Abu baker was instructed to draw a line and we set about challenging the Dune. Saw Sids 4runner doing crazy things, I'm like wow sid has really upped his level fast. Car was stolen by Bu Salem and was being joy rided lol.
Such an amazing drive and those that pulled out you really missed a special event. The wet sand made the drive very different, it allowed for the level to be raised higher and more challenging. The added traction meant the technicalitie was increased.
Really a masterpiece of a drive
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layalkhalil
- Newbie
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Sun Dec 21, 2025 7:52 pm
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 1 time
The first night was amazing, we gathered around the fire pit, the perfect fire pit done by @sid, 
. We ran 4 times into the cars and got back to the fire spending the best night ever experiencing the rain thunder and lightning in the middle of the desert 
.
The ride next day was a real learning experience, thank you @alshamsi to provide us with such an opportunity. I felt my driving getting better. We dis some thrilling drops. It was also a test of endurance but we kept on going till the end.
Thank you Marshals and Intermediates for your support.
Love u all, i am ready for the next drive
. We ran 4 times into the cars and got back to the fire spending the best night ever experiencing the rain thunder and lightning in the middle of the desert 
.The ride next day was a real learning experience, thank you @alshamsi to provide us with such an opportunity. I felt my driving getting better. We dis some thrilling drops. It was also a test of endurance but we kept on going till the end.
Thank you Marshals and Intermediates for your support.
Love u all, i am ready for the next drive
