00:00Hello everyone, this is Anjana Kumar from Gulf News and I'm here in Tilal Swehan in
00:09the Al Ain region where the 39th edition of the Gulf News Fund Drive is being held.
00:17It is the first time we're having an overnighter in the Al Ain region and trust me, there is
00:31going to be a lot of fun and adventure.
00:34It's a good route, quite technical, it's not too long and the sand's good.
00:39It's very hard after the rain.
00:42So I think a lot of people will have a lot of fun today.
00:44I'm really excited, I'm expecting a lot of adventure.
00:47I've been doing the Fund Drive since I was 5 and I'm 22 now but I've missed it the past
00:52couple of years so I'm actually very, very excited to do it this time.
00:55We came here with our dad and yeah, we're ready to go, dune bashing.
01:00The Fund Drive was flagged off by Rajiv Khanna, Commercial Director, Gulf News with Ali Khalifa
01:05Al-Khamzi and Humaid Matar Al-Dahiri.
01:07The region's biggest off-roading event kicked off amidst much fanfare and more importantly,
01:13clear skies.
01:14Gulf News spoke to Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan who was present at the starting
01:19point of the Fund Drive.
01:20First of all, good morning and we are really happy with all these people here and we do
01:26it every year and the most important is we know many people here and we know each other.
02:14Almost 180 marshals were on duty to rescue drivers whose vehicles were stuck in the sand
02:19and they lent them all the necessary support.
02:23This was a difficult spot because it was vertical and the car had to be winched and as you could
02:29see we couldn't even climb so winch was the most, you could say the safest option.
02:45As you can see behind me people are making their way back into the camp.
02:50Remember we did a loop today so that means that we are back to where we started from.
02:55There's a host of entertainment and activities lined up.
02:58It was fantastic, just the right amount of challenge, a little bit dodgy in the middle
03:15but mainly just good fun and really safe.
03:17I guess the rains were a blessing in disguise because the ride was pretty good.
03:22Well we're on the second day today, people are enjoying some breakfast.
03:25They are going to be enjoying a sumptuous breakfast and then making their way back home.
03:39I felt everything was very well organized.
03:42Dunes were amazing yesterday, we could cross all the dunes by 3 o'clock and the arrangements
03:48are really very nice.
03:49After coming back here we did not expect that they would be putting up so many tents and
03:53all so we got a very beautiful tent, put up our stuff there and we enjoyed the evening
03:58with all these camps and all these shops there.
04:02We did play some games as well and we won a few goodies and overall it was a very good experience.
04:09We love Gulf News Fondrais!
04:12We love Gulf News Fondrais!
04:17It's been a thrilling ride through and through.
04:19I remember we tackled the dunes in the Talal-Swehan region.
04:24Well it is the first time that an overnighter has been done in the Al Ain region and from
04:30what we've heard from the people, they truly enjoyed it.
04:33Last year we were in the Leva region.
04:36Trust me, the route that we took this time was supposed to be really challenging but
04:42thanks to the rains last week, the sands really helped people to have a smooth transition
04:48and even beginners who were trying out the Gulf News Fondrais for the first time found
04:54this terrain to be fairly easier than what they had heard of from the other routes.
05:02And so it is a wrap for the 39th edition of the Gulf News Fondrais.
05:07We hope you enjoyed it and for those who didn't make it this time, see you next time.
05:12This is Anjana Kumar for Gulf News.
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