The last time I set foot in the UAE was this year when Mrs PM and I stopped off there both on the way to Malaysia and on the way back from Hong Kong; we had to change aircraft in Abu Dhabi because we were flying with Etihad. In fact, we were lucky on the way back because it was a couple of weeks before the Orange Goblin currently residing in the White House decided to unleash an illegal war on Iran, causing Iran to retaliate by attacking the UAE. The less said about that the better because I could rant mercilessly for hours.
Anyway, we have actually been to the UAE a couple of times to visit because we have friends who live in Abu Dhabi. I have also stopped off there briefly on the way to Oman with work.
I have spent almost all of my time in the UAE in Abu Dhabi apart from one day when our friends drove us to Dubai for a day trip.
Here are some photographs:
A posh hotel in Abu Dhabi
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| We didn't stay here but we had a lovely brunch |
The UAE is largely a teetotal country but it is possible to buy and consume alcohol, especially if you are a tourist. Usually this is restricted to hotels where tourists and expats congregate for a meal and drinks. One of the things that gatherings of tourists can do is meet for Sunday Brunch at one of the hotels and our friends took us to a couple of these. Basically you have a couple of hours where you can eat from a huge buffet with international food and drink as much alcohol as you can as part of the deal. It is not good advice to do this, however, because being drunk is not a good thing and it has been known for taxi drivers to take intoxicated people to the police. It is totally illegal for Muslims to be intoxicated there.
Our friends have taken us to a couple of these events and they are in extremely opulent hotels like the one pictured above. Here are a couple of pictures of us at Sunday Brunch in another hotel.
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| Mrs PM enjoying Brunch |
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| Waiting for a good run at the buffet |
Abu Dhabi Skyscrapers
Abu Dhabi has skyscrapers and some fabulous looking buildings. If you have ever watched the Fast and Furious franchise, then you will have seen a couple of these in Furious 7, in one of the more truly ridiculous scenes where somehow Vin Diesel’s character performs an incredible stunt involving three of the above buildings. The Fast and Furious movies really are a ridiculous in scope and craziness of both the stories and the physics-defying stunts performed, but I love them anyway. In case you haven’t seen it, switch off your brain and watch this ridiculous scene.
And they left Abu Dhabi without anybody arresting them!
Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque
The Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque is a star attraction in Abu Dhabi and is the biggest mosque in the country. It attracts millions of tourists every year and is absolutely beautiful. It welcomes everybody but there are dress codes to respect. I had to wear long trousers and Mrs PM decided to hire an abaya for the visit, which you can do when you get your ticket. I hope the pictures below do it justice.
A Posh Hotel in Dubai
We also had a lovely evening meal in a posh hotel in Dubai.
Burj Khalifa
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| I can't believe how tall this building is. I hope I wasn't shaking!! |
I still have nightmares about the Burj Khalifa. It is one of the last giant edifices that I ever climbed in order to try to rid myself of my fear of heights. I never used to be scared of heights – it slowly developed since the early 1990’s and now I avoid them completely. However, in a state of gross stupidity, I went to an observation deck on the 124th and 125th floor where looking up was like looking at another skyscraper and I had absolutely no courage at all to look down. There are 163 floors so we weren't anywhere near the top. I was even scared to take the photograph above because not only do I hate climbing tall buildings, I hate seeing them from below.
Once I was inside the building, I was okay because I can cope with seeing such views a few metres from the windows. The following photo proves that. I was pretending to buy some gold from a vending machine (there is a lot of wealth in the UAE).
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| Safe inside! I think I'll buy some gold! |
Mrs PM was brave enough to take a photo from the observation deck.
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| I wasn't brave enough to take this. Thanks Mrs PM. |
Tom Cruise is a far braver fellow than me and he managed to do some incredible stunt work outside the building:
He’s absolutely bonkers!! But in the world of AI, I am equally as brave as Tom Cruise and I’ve overcome my fear of heights just for the following picture with my old pal.
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