We awoke and looked at the clock - 6am. We went back to sleep. We awoke and looked at the clock – 9:30am. Then we thought it was time to get up and have breakfast. There was a tremendous spread of food, including veal bacon and veal sausages. There was a station of Arabic food, humus, tabouli, assorted other foods, many strange cheeses, and hot foule – a taditional Arabic breakfast dish served with warm pita, zaatar (dried oregano with sesame seeds), lebene, green olives, and other sides. At a separate station there were pork products – salami, ham, etc. Unfortunately I wasn’t very hungry and ate very little. Frances made a bigger effort. It was interesting though reading the local English language papers and catching up on the latest middle-eastern news. See crime, employment and transport.
It's another 40C day today, so we spent some time discussing how to spend our day. Any time spent outdoors or traveling around has to be carefully considered because of the heat. Our impression is that Abu Dhabi is quite different to Muscat in Oman that we visted on our way to Europe. Almost nothing remains of the original town/city before oil exploitation and in fact the hotels that once lined the Corniche are now more than 200m inland after land reclamation.
We decided to arrange for a taxi to drive us along the 6 km long Corniche to the Heritage Centre, a kind of Emerati ‘Old Sydney Town’. It’s impossible to stop along the Corniche (imagine that at Bondi) and so I took some photos from the car along the way. The Heritage Centre was worth the visit though. It was a concise summary of Emerati and Bedouin culture and the people there were very nice.
It had various traditional workshops which showed how the traditional household and trading products were made.Our Indian driver sat in the car, motor running and air conditioning running flat out for the 30 minutes that we explored the site!
Because it almost never rains here (a difficult concept to appreciate), there is always a smoky haze, which hangs around until there is a strong wind to blow it somewhere else. Only directly overhead can you see a blue sky.
On the return we had our driver drop us at the Abu Dhabi Mall, the latest addition to the Abu Dhabi metropolis. It was like a Westfield with up market brands - and a comfortable temparature. Frances did find some bargains though, so the challenge of meeting the luggage limit back to Sydney has just been raised a notch.
Walking through the mall showed some of the contradictions present here. On one hand Emirates trying to keep traditional values (ranging from strict to relaxed Islam) while on the other hand trying to become an international travel destination. The shops ranged from funky swimwear stores selling bikinis, to others selling traditional full coverage robes. The huge migrant worker population (predominantly from India, Indonesia and the Phillipines) also adds another dimension.
This poster is clearly aimed at overseas professionals and to make use of the air conditioning before the shops open, usually around 11am, and then stay open until 11pm.
We had a (not so) pleasant 10 mins walk back to the hotel in the blazing sun, requiring a dip in the pool to cool down!
By the time we showered and changed, it was time for cocktail hour again, so we dressed up and headed to the Royal Club Lounge. Again not many people but tonight we thought we sample some of the wines on offer – all Australian! Nevertheless we persevered and had a few glasses.
If you’re interested, I’ll quickly mention the snacks on offer. There were canapés, this time cooked prawns (not grey or black, but a delightful white and red) on a little bed of lettuce with mayonnaise and diced green asparagus on crusty bread. The next tray of canapés was a beef proscuitto wrapped around slivers of rockmellon and lettuce again on crusty bread. The hot dishes consisted of samosas filled with spinach and Arabic herbs and spices. Please don’t get the wrong impression, the holiday is not just about food, however it sure adds to the traveling experience.
Part of the reason for all this detail is that I propose to replicate some of the dishes we've experienced when we return - or at least try.
It's another 40C day today, so we spent some time discussing how to spend our day. Any time spent outdoors or traveling around has to be carefully considered because of the heat. Our impression is that Abu Dhabi is quite different to Muscat in Oman that we visted on our way to Europe. Almost nothing remains of the original town/city before oil exploitation and in fact the hotels that once lined the Corniche are now more than 200m inland after land reclamation.
We decided to arrange for a taxi to drive us along the 6 km long Corniche to the Heritage Centre, a kind of Emerati ‘Old Sydney Town’. It’s impossible to stop along the Corniche (imagine that at Bondi) and so I took some photos from the car along the way. The Heritage Centre was worth the visit though. It was a concise summary of Emerati and Bedouin culture and the people there were very nice.
It had various traditional workshops which showed how the traditional household and trading products were made.Our Indian driver sat in the car, motor running and air conditioning running flat out for the 30 minutes that we explored the site!Because it almost never rains here (a difficult concept to appreciate), there is always a smoky haze, which hangs around until there is a strong wind to blow it somewhere else. Only directly overhead can you see a blue sky.
On the return we had our driver drop us at the Abu Dhabi Mall, the latest addition to the Abu Dhabi metropolis. It was like a Westfield with up market brands - and a comfortable temparature. Frances did find some bargains though, so the challenge of meeting the luggage limit back to Sydney has just been raised a notch.Walking through the mall showed some of the contradictions present here. On one hand Emirates trying to keep traditional values (ranging from strict to relaxed Islam) while on the other hand trying to become an international travel destination. The shops ranged from funky swimwear stores selling bikinis, to others selling traditional full coverage robes. The huge migrant worker population (predominantly from India, Indonesia and the Phillipines) also adds another dimension.
This poster is clearly aimed at overseas professionals and to make use of the air conditioning before the shops open, usually around 11am, and then stay open until 11pm.
We had a (not so) pleasant 10 mins walk back to the hotel in the blazing sun, requiring a dip in the pool to cool down!
By the time we showered and changed, it was time for cocktail hour again, so we dressed up and headed to the Royal Club Lounge. Again not many people but tonight we thought we sample some of the wines on offer – all Australian! Nevertheless we persevered and had a few glasses.If you’re interested, I’ll quickly mention the snacks on offer. There were canapés, this time cooked prawns (not grey or black, but a delightful white and red) on a little bed of lettuce with mayonnaise and diced green asparagus on crusty bread. The next tray of canapés was a beef proscuitto wrapped around slivers of rockmellon and lettuce again on crusty bread. The hot dishes consisted of samosas filled with spinach and Arabic herbs and spices. Please don’t get the wrong impression, the holiday is not just about food, however it sure adds to the traveling experience.
Part of the reason for all this detail is that I propose to replicate some of the dishes we've experienced when we return - or at least try.
