Kieran does Travel: #2 Dubai (cont.) & Abu Dhabi

We're checking out of our Dubai apartment today but we have time to check out one other attraction. I wanted to go to at least one waterpark in U.A.E but they turn out to be quite pricey, but we still decide to pay the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm a visit. What sells it for me is that to get there you take a monorail. We get the tram from our hotel to where the monorail departs and we hop on. Departing the mainland you get cools views of the sandy beaches as you head onto the gigantic man-made island-thing. We pass a lot of nice looking houses and construction sites before arriving at the Aquaadventure stop. We can see the waterpark from the monorail and I shed an inward tear of things not to be. We then check out the Atlantis resort. There are many restaurants here, and an aquarium. We get some ice cream and decide to head back. I thought there might be more to explore on the palm but I don't think there is.

"Mono means one, and rail means rail"

Future neighbourhood?

The awesome looking waterpark we didn't go to

The Atlantis hotel. Fancy.

Complete with hiking rucksacks, we take the metro to the bus station and wait in the sun for the bus to Abu Dhabi. On the bus, I manage to get some sleep - the journey takes around 1.5 hours. When we arrive, we find a taxi and head to our hotel. It's another nice one and we start to feel a bit under dressed. When we get to the room, Heidi conks out in the bed as the heat and travelling seems to have taken it our of her. We order some room service then I head out on my own to see some of the city.

In Dubai, one thing that became clear quite quickly was that walking places is generally out. This is not just because of the intense heat but because of the lack of pedestrian crossings and even pavements. I read somewhere that it's not uncommon for people to get a taxi to get to the other side of the road. Abu Dhabi is quite different. I manage to find the coast and walk down a concrete promenade (just before the corniche) before turning and heading into town. Like Dubai, Abu Dhabi is a metropolis but I felt like it was a less intimating one. I play with the idea of going to a bar but decide against it based on my sweaty appearance. I head back to the hotel after 1.5 hours of walking. Desert travellers of old used the stars in order to find their way - I luckily spotted a Porsche showroom I had passed on my way in. Times have changed.

Stick that on a box canvas

This the entrance to a park

The next day we head out to the Emirates Palace, one of the big attractions of Abu Dhabi. It's a 7 star hotel with every amenity you could want from a hotel. When we get there, though, we find that I'm not dressed appropriately to go in. We walk down towards the beach but mot of it seems to be owned by private resorts. After this false start, we resolve to head back to the hotel so I can change. On our way out we head to a Lebonese restaurant and I have Jordinan Mansac. This is lamb with a sauce I can't really describe and a huge plate of rice. It...wasn't to my tastes.

We then head to the Emirates palace (all these journeys are via taxi because it seems to be the only way to get around). It's ridiculously opulent as we expected and full of very nice halls and rooms. We then go to the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque. This is the biggest mosque outside of Saudi Arabia. It was an idea of U.A.E's late president Sheik Zayed to have a mosque built with influences and materials from all over the world. It's very impressive. We plan our visit to get a free tour, led by an informative and friendly Muslim lady. They give out headsets and she has a mic, which is great because it's annoying when you can't really hear the tour guide. Here are three facts I remember:

1) Sheik Zayed is buried here and is so beloved, he has the Qu'ran recited to his grave by people 24 hours a day, in 1 hour shifts.

2) The biggest chandelier weighs 12 tonnes.

3) The carpet is the world's biggest one piece carpet.

Again, this fits in with what U.A.E seems to be all about. We take some nice pictures of the sun setting then head back to the hotel. It probably seems like we didn't do all that much in Abu Dhabi and, well, that's because we didn't. This was partially due to poor planning but also due to the heat getting to us quite badly.