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What delights Shakhbut is the traditional life of his people. "The thing that pleases me most," he says, "is hunting for bustards with our falcons. It's tremendous to see the falcon fighting the bustard and killing it. Each falcon has its own special owner and refuses to hunt for anyone else." The sheik is also a connoisseur of camel's milk—his only drink—and can tell by the milk's taste what the camel has been eating and where it was in the desert. For the best milk, he explains, "we feed camels on sea mangrove and dried fish. This gives the milk a slightly fishy freshness we appreciate." Shakhbut once owned a Cadillac, but when it finally broke down he just abandoned it. Now he makes his state visits in a bone-jarring Land-Rover, but without enthusiasm. "I did all my traveling by camel in the old days," he sighs, "but now I have to go by car because if the ruler went by camel, people would think it peculiar."