Blogs from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Middle East

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Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Abu Dhabi August 15th 2022

Currently enjoying the romance of travel, that esprite de corps that comes from shared experiences and that spirit of adventure as we head off as Julie, I and 500 of our closest, new friends await (in the wee hours Abu Dhabi time, the silly o’clock Aussie time and the unknown hour UK wise) for our connecting flight. The airport here is huge, there are 62 gate in this terminal alone. We however as transit passengers experience just a small section although already it has seen us go through 2 security checks and all that’s got us is into the departure lounge. I think we have only 15 minutes or so more to wait but it’s difficult to tell as there are so few clocks in the terminal. Julie’s smart phone is smart enough to know where ... read more
Half way. Abu Dhabi.
Home for 14 hours!


I decided to spend my last full day in UAE visiting Abu Dhabi. It is about a 1.5 hour drive from Dubai. The roads were great and the traffic was pretty light. Abu Dhabi is the political capital and makes up 87% of the land area of UAE. Their population is 2.2 million. No surprise that oil is over 50% of their GDP followed by construction. Our first stop was the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.The mosque is large enough to accommodate over 40,100 worshippers at one time. The carpet in the hall is considered to be the world's largest carpet. It took 1200 carpet knotters 2 years to complete it and it weights 35 tons. All of the white marble and the inlaid jewels for the flowers definitely reminded me of the Taj Mahal. Though it ... read more
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Abu Dhabi November 30th 2021

Oh, Oh direz-vous... je vous entends d'ici... Depuis le 20 AVRIL 2020... notre voyage pour visiter l'Exposition 2020 de Dubai était réservé... Covid s'en est mêlé... et voyage a été retardé... Nous y arrivons donc puise cette année c'est chose possible... Covid nous permet de voyager et Expo a pu ouvrir avec un an de retard ses portes... Il en reste qu'elle portera toujours le nom d'Exposition Universelle de Dubai 2020... Nous avions la possibilité de passer une semaine pour ce faire à Dubai, mais le programme Abou Dhabi nous plaisait aussi... Pas pour une question d'ajouter un pays de plus à ma liste de ceux visités puisque Abou Dhabi fait partie des Emirats Unis... étant déjà passés par Dubai et Doha, c'était déjà fait... J'en reste donc à 57 pays visités ce jour... Départ samedi ... read more
un des 5 ponts d'Abou Dhabi
en route Jeune Homme !
A.D


Firstly, I apologise to those who tried the link to previous Dubai trip found in the last blog. They didn’t work. Hopefully, the links are now fixed so please feel free to revisit our previous trips to Dubai. I guarantee something different each time. From a surreal Halloween party that we unknowingly gate crashed in 2011 to wondering what would happen if I drop a penny off the top of the Burj Khalifa in 2014!! Back to the story...Just as the first person to catch Covid-19 in the UK and not bring it in to the country was diagnosed, a man who lived in Surrey, we were checking out of our hotel oblivious to this fact. Although today was embarkation day, the ship, the MSC Lirica, would not set sail until 10pm. For this reason, the ... read more
Information and hapiness desk
7 of the 82 domes of the Grand Mosque
The reflecting pool -The Grnd Mosque (1)

Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Abu Dhabi April 21st 2019

It's been a long few months, and I'll go into some of my Saudi Arabia travels in a future blog, but for the moment, I will go into a much needed weekend of fun, rest and friends. Fortunately, at the last minute, our company gave us Sunday off for Easter, so I could justify spending two nights in a nice hotel in Abu Dhabi without having to go to work the next day. This was instigated by a former coworker of mine from Ventura who was coming to put on a workshop this week and I told her I would show her around over the weekend. So, I booked a room at a hotel near to hers that was super nice and resort-y. I was so looking forward to the weekend and even booked a massage ... read more
the Louvre Abu Dhabi
Emirates Palace
Grand Mosque

Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Abu Dhabi December 31st 2018

Vorgestern sind wir von Al Ain zuerst nach Abu Dhabi und dann weiter nach Dubai gefahren. In Abu Dhabi waren wir in der großen Moschee und danach im Heritage Village an der Küste. Von dort sind wir zu einer Mall gefahren und dort habe ich wieder in einem Starbucks Kaffee getrunken. Dann sind wir die schöne Corniche (Küstenstraße) entlang zum Abu Dhabi Louvre. Der wurde ja erst letztes Jahr eröffnet und ist sehr sehenswert. Da er aber geschlossen war, haben wir ihn nur von außerhalb gesehen. Anschließend waren wir noch bei der Formel 1 Strecke und sind von da dann nach Dubai gefahren. In Dubai haben wir gesehen, dass wegen Silvester so viele Leute zur Dubai Mall und dem Burj Khalifa wollten, dass die Straßen gesperrt werden mussten. Wir sind aber problemlos zu unserem Hotel und ... read more
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Abu Dhabi Louvre.
Bei der Abu Dhabi Formel 1 Strecke.

Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Abu Dhabi December 31st 2018

Short, sweet spontaneous. We managed to fit in a fair amount into that long weekend, but with the sort of relaxed nonchalance that abides in the presence of good company and gratitude: sunshine, relaxation, food, shopping, beach, culture, work, new years eve celebrations. And a stay at the most extraordinary hotel; the architecture was something to be marvelled at (and in the UAE, that's saying something).... read more
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IMG_3287.
IMG_3272.

Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Abu Dhabi November 27th 2018

A lie in was had after the late night last night. Bethany and Nick were still asleep by the time I got up and showered. Once dressed I started my usual routine of getting some cups of coffee. I sat out on the balcony to start my blog I hadn’t written the night before. The air was humid from the rain that had hit the main island the night before and I lazily lay back on the balcony furniture whilst recalling an exciting, exhilarating and a once in a lifetime day. The moment of the race that stood out for me was the three world Champions (Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso) doing donuts on the start finish straight. A great tribute to allow Alonso to join them after a terrible few years with McLaren. He will be ... read more
Abu Dhabi Hill
Sunset from the stand
the not quite Red arrows

Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Abu Dhabi November 25th 2018

I wake up in panic. There is a knock on the door. Jesus have I overslept. I stagger bleary eyed to the door to find Lisa. “You wanted me to wake you for your run”. This was not mentioned the night before and it was apparent that Lisa had dreamt the whole thing. She apologised and I close the door I collapse back into bed look at my phone and it is just after 6am. Having got to sleep at 2 am last night I receded back into sleep until my alarm went off at 9.30. The usual morning routine takes place. I shower, dress and sit down for a cup of percolated coffee before departing to Denny’s to get our fill before we get the taxi to Yas Island. Today is race day and as ... read more

Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Abu Dhabi November 24th 2018

The alarm went off at 8am and I roll over and switch it off remembering the texts my wife was sending me a few hours before. Probably not appreciating the 4 hour time difference she seemed determined to wake me. The run for this morning was out of the window. I staggered bleary eyed into the kitchen and again praised Lisas hospitality as I poured myself a freshly percolated coffee she had prepared before leaving for work. Outside the streets were busy with weekend traffic and the city looked alive with energy. I took my coffee back to bed and put on an audiobook in order to kick my brain into gear. A couple of cups of coffee later, having showered and dressed I knocked Nick and Bethany awake. I left them to carry out their ... read more




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