THE four-wheel drive roared desperately, struggling to grip onto the sand, and instinctively, we clung to whatever was available in the cabin.

In the front seat, a British journalist was close to emptying his guts on the floor board.

The Toyota Landcruiser was steadily sliding towards a 10m fall down a steep slope. It didn't bother the driver one bit.

The Emirati was in control, a desert fox and a Bedouin whose forefathers had conquered the desert on camelback a long time ago.

The four-legged creatures have since been sidestepped by four wheelers of the type we were in, and drawing the power of 380 horses from it and switching gears deftly, our driver steered us to the top of the ridge.

From there, it was a 20-minute roller-coaster ride along more slippery hillocks before we reached camp in time for dinner.

If, after all that, Abu Dhabi's sea of sand could talk, it would have regaled us with tales of sheiks and their caravans who battled the desert and made it their home. But the discovery of oil in the Emirate five decades ago changed all that.

Black gold triggered an economic boom and the lifestyle of the Bedouins changed.

They thronged the towns, and the capital Abu Dhabi, along the north coast, was transformed dramatically. It now sports all the trappings of a modern urban jungle: Glistening skyscrapers, five-star hotels, swanky restaurants, giant shopping malls and manicured parks.

The city's centrepiece is the US$3-billion ($4.2-billion) Emirates Palace Hotel, a crown Abu Dhabi wears to show off its position as the United Arab Emirates' powerhouse.

In a day, I got a glimpse of what Abu Dhabi would be like within a decade.

It was mind boggling.

A combined US$70-billion project will turn Yas and Saadiyat islands across the city into a leisure, entertainment and cultural wonderland.

The Ferrari World next to the celebrated Formula 1 track will be completed in a year's time, while the famed Guggenheim and Louvre museum brands are on their way up.

Perhaps the Falcon Hospital, a world authority on the predatory bird close to the Bedouin heart, will lose much of its appeal by then. But it offers real local history, just like the nearby kennel raising Saluki desert dogs for local Arabs.

But the soul of Abu Dhabi, for me, is not in these places, much less in the city. It is in the dunes. I got a glimpse of it in the Empty Quarter, or Rub' al Khali in Arabic, 90 minutes south of the capital and deep in the Arabian Desert.

Travelling into it, flanked on either side by some of the highest dunes in the world, one can almost hear the wind hum tales of fabled cities, kingdoms and civilisations lost, long buried under the mountains of sand.

Then came the gem.

In the scorching sun and arid air of the desert, the Qasr al Sarab sprang out like an oasis from biblical times.

The courtyard, its small fountain sheltered by mud-brick battlements, was a balm for the weary spirit.

This is Abu Dhabi's newly-opened resort, the biggest in the desert in the Middle East. It has an abundance of luxurious creature comforts, as well as a huge portfolio of artefacts.

But more than that, it opens to the Arabian Desert, one of nature's greatest beauties.

It is a place to know Abu Dhabi's soul, where the heart of the Bedouin was born, formed and nurtured.

This is why I will return to Abu Dhabi, because in the sands of the Empty Quarter are stories waiting to be revisited.

 

Two days in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is almost the same distance from Singapore to Australia's eastern cities, about seven-and-a-half hours away. Two days are enough to get acquainted with the UAE capital and a glimpse of one of nature's mystifying handiwork, the desert.

 

>> Desert Safari

There are several operators in the capital that conduct safaris into the desert. The short version is an exhilarating roller coaster ride on the sand dunes, topped with dinner in a desert camp. The only safety features are your seat belt and a daredevil, but safe desert driver.

 

>> Al Ain

This is the cradle of Emirati Bedouin culture, a city built on seven oases and inhabited for 3,000 years. It is "the spring" and spiritual heart of Abu Dhabi, and earmarked for listing as a Unesco World Heritage Site. The Al Ain National Museum has a comprehensive and absorbing collection detailing the area's history through ethnography and archaeology.

 

>> Abu Dhabi City

The city is undergoing a massive transformation into a glittering futuristic "oasis". The Emirates Palace Hotel will probably give you an insight into what it wants to be. But, the massive Sheikh Zayed Mosque is an indication it does not want to shed its identity. A visit to the Falcon Hospital and the Arabian Saluki Centre will give you a hint why.

 

>> Qasr al Sarab Resort

The resort's façade is designed to resemble ancient Middle Eastern architecture, but its real asset is that it is in the heart of the Empty Quarter, a 650,000-sq-km expanse of sand that's one of the biggest in the world. An extended stay is recommended for those who can afford it, but a day trip is worthwhile. Rates for November and December start from $481 a night.