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Nice summary @Gaurav bhai and we missed you @shadow79 bhai. Here is my long and boring trip report to put everyone back to sleep, @Barry you might need a couple of Red Horse to take you this jibber jabber. Some mixed feelings of excitement and fear in this area as it is a very challenging terrain, and it did not disappoint us. We started of in the direction of the pyramids through a tall dune which didn't work out due to the soft nature of the sand in that area. Rightly @Gaurav bhai decided to take the track further down before entering the area which would gradually build up to what was supposed to be an awesome night out. We crossed some small dunes which were full of bushes which is a bit annoying for me, but what it led to were the most amazing medium to tall dunes on which you can play endlessly. Due to the challenging nature of the area the one thing you are bound to learn is the art of keeping your momentum which is very much different to revving the engine upto the point where you are trying to race through to the top. One learns that when you are on top it pays to slow down as in the desert the vehicle is bound to continue its path at a speed even if you are trying to turn. All it leads to is a pop-out or two and it that was the story of out night. We had a few pop-outs to contend with and we always had it in pairs. You got it right!!! We always got to fix 2 on every car, every time there was a pop-out. Which also reaffirms the importance of good tires for off-road. Due to the few stops to fix the pop-outs we were forced to stop just close to our target and lay the spread for the Suhoor. There were some lovely chicken sandwiches from Asif and family which were filling and tasty, some awesome potato rolls from Sreekumar and family, some packs of rice from Ahemed bhai and endless stuff from all which gave us a stomach full on a very well deserved Suhoor break. As dawn kicked in we started back on our way, dune by dune, to the top of Iftar Bowl. As @Gaurav and @baselsm83 made it to the top, I know what I had to do. I head on my normal way and completed 90% of the climb before I had to take the cheat route to reach the top, parked my car and headed down by foot. Sreekumar and his Pajero were my first target, after letting Sree take a couple of attempts I tried doing it myself and learned the challenge of the Pajero, the triptronic upshifts to 2nd and kills the power when you need it the most. But that did not discourage us to make one final try and with my little cheat route and a lot of perseverance we reached the top. Next was Asif Bhai's ride and I was headed down again by foot. Asif bhai's ride was much more behaved and I always appreciate the power of the beast when you floor it down. However the beast also made it with the cheat route and finally we were all up appreciating the nature when the sand started kicking up and the rise in mercury made us realize it was time to head home. \we all headed down and out and within no time we were at the Adnoc Petrol Station to fill up our next to empty tires with air for the road. All in all one of the most challenging drives, but the excitement of having flood lights on Gaurav Bhai's ride which stood tall and delivered through this very challenging terrain. Everyone managed fairly well and the smiles at the end are worth the million dollars you do not want to en-cash, just savor them and plan on the next outing which will give you some more smiles. My pics are also uploaded on to the Gallery. Enjoy!!!

For me it was quite a challenging drive as the drive terrain had been raised quite a few notches up, plus it was a drive at night. Full credit to our trusted marshals to get us all through such a beautiful terrain and give us at the end, a complete sense of accomplishment. Had a couple of dual pop outs (LOL) ...and I need to learn to keep a better control on the speed at which I drive.. for me the best part of any desert drive is to see the sun rise and take in the vastness and tranquility of the desert. It gives me a sense of inner peace something which is very hard to describe. My Pajero struggled to get to the top of iftar bowl and the reason was mainly that the tiptronics system was up shifting the gear automatically once the speed crosses 50 km/h. Need to find a way either to override it or learn to ensure that in an uphill climb that I don't cross the 50 km/h mark. The possibility of having a higher tire pressure than usual (after the multiple pop outs) might have further hampered the climb. But it was Rahim bhai 's experience that managed to get us to the top of Iftar bowl. The view of the desert from that point was something that I can explain in one word.. Breathtaking. After the drive I stopped at a nearby tyre shop to get the sand out of my tires and that's when I realised that one of the rear tyre had suffered major internal damage due to the multiple pop outs. So will be now hunting for better suited off-road tyres. Thank you @Gaurav and @Rahimdad for helping us raise the bar in off-roading. Cheers!!

Thats where the full insurance thing kicks in...no matter whose fault if you can drive and are fine you get another car on the spot and they fill up the details later by providing your documents to authority's....and I also remember they charge a crazy amount per day as compared to rent shops in sharjah rent cars

This was definitely one of the most amazing drive we had in a very long time. Superb area, great cars, amazing drivers, perfect weather and awesome food. We all met at Bidayer shops and started on time with nice cup of tea to energize all. Entered right behind bidayer to hit the much awaited "Area 53". Initial attempt to drive through the tallest dune at entrance went in vain so, drove little further left and entered again from medium set of dunes. And this time it was perfect warm up for all cars to enter in some amazing rolling tall dunes. We drove for about an 2-3 hours and had nice fun and had couple of pop-outs due to high speed soft sand sloping. Due to few delays we couldn't reach the Iftar bowl by 3 AM, so we found a nice clean open are and spread the Suhoor food setup. Everyone bought amazing cuisines and had good stories to keep all of us entertain until the sunrise. After so much food Asif bhai chai was a life saver to kick start the whole convoy again. As we were quite close to Iftar bowl, so after the suhoor we all decided to head to Iftar bowl and play for a little while before we exit. As we reach Iftar bowl area, 2 cars were unable to climb the whole stretch. And there comes our superman in action to walk all the way down to brought both the cars from back side cheat route in a jiffy. Overall it was a great fun and awesome route with capable cars who can keep up the pace in rolling dunes. For cars with couple of pop-outs please replace your HT tires for such demanding area with proper desert friendly tires like Micheline LTX, Yokohama Geolander ATS, Cooper Discoverer ATR, Nitto dune / tera grappler. Looking forward to see everyone pictures. Here are the pictures from my lens: https://carnity.com/gallery/category/23-area-53-to-iftar-bowl-night-drive-15-june-2017/

Barry in whole of sharjah there are only 3 used shops and they basically run a monopoly and these car parts are very expensive if compared to Camry or corolla there was a shop nearby which had 1 sitting and I was called in for diagnosis when scanned it was throwing like grandmother of codes and I told him you have a ground problem or a module fail it needs further checking and he was like OK I will sort it out myself well few days later I heard the car caught fire...

The guys clarified things above already about the explorer, but I want to add a few thoughts: - if serious about off-roading, get a dedicated truck for that, I do, @Rahimdad also mentioned above the same! - if only one car is your choice, then decide which category you want, 7 "real" seaters? Then Patrol, Armada & Land cruiser can serve you, .. smaller you can go with Prado, Pajero and the classic pathfinder (not the new shape) - if 2 rows are enough & you won't go very advanced & luxury is your target, Grand Cherokee is suitable.. Pajero is als capable but less luxury - if a dual purpose with no luxury is ok with you, then Xterra, FJ, Fortuner V6 & Classic Pathfinder are suitable options - if you want a cool look, don't mind the noise on road & rough ride, Jeep Wrangler can be a choice.. the choice is yours

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/uae-motorsports-enthusiasts-advocate-test-for-vehicle-safety Motorsports enthusiasts are advocating a centralised testing centre to ensure modified ­vehicles are safe, adhere to ­emission and noise limits, and comply with the law. “I feel the best way to regulate the registration of modified cars is by having a vehicle testing centre, just like any other vehicle would have to go through,” said Kamui Mahtani, 27, a Dubai ­resident from Japan who owns a modified Honda S2000. “The major difference is that it would also check each of the components that have been modified and its safety.” For instance, the power output of a vehicle would be checked and compared with a standard vehicle. Brakes would be tested to calculate if the car has sufficient stopping power to match the engine power, he said. “Suspensions, wiring and every component of the vehicle would be checked in detail for safety,” he said. “Making sure the car is not too loud is also very important.” Adnan Khalil, who has had work done on his Honda Accord since 2009, agreed. “There should be a separate section for modified cars ­because after-market modifications both should be safe and legal,” said the 29-year-old, who is a sales consultant at a used car workshop in Dubai. “A lot of people don’t understand what’s legal and what’s not, and a lot of car modifications aren’t safe.” In Abu Dhabi, 6,630 vehicles were impounded last year because of modifications that increase vehicle noise.