Abu Dhabi

For the longest time I thought both Dubai and Abu Dhabi were cities in the UAE, not the individual Emirates they actually are.

Visiting only Dubai wasn't enough so off I went to Abu Dhabi as well.

There I visited Masdar City, a fairly new, planned city meant to be entirely green and clean. I didn't get the opportunity to ride in one of their driverless cars because my own car complete with driver was on a tight schedule but I did walk around and take a look at the buildings and cooling tower in its courtyard.

In spite of being in the middle of the desert, thanks to this wind tower, the courtyard and surrounding streets are kept some 15-20 °C cooler. Neat!

I only popped in to the mall in Yas Island for a bit as I'd had enough of shopping malls and only wanted a bite to eat.

The Emirates Palace is a grand place worth a visit. I enjoyed wandering around there. I was labouring under the misconception that it was once a palace but has in fact always been a luxury hotel.

It's a rather odd setup because there are tourists wandering around as well as guests. I'm not sure I'd like to stay at a hotel with people floating around the whole time but I figure they don't always allow visitors because my guide said we'd have to try our luck and only after I'd been subjected to a long hard look were we allowed inside.

The jewel in Abu Dhabi's crown is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It's beautiful by both day and night.

Though I'd worn a long-sleeved top and full length trousers, because my wrists and ankles were still visible I had to don an abaya to enter the mosque. For the uninitiated, this is very warm attire. But the interior of the mosque is very pretty and beautifully decorated and for the opportunity to see its beauty, I didn't mind steaming gently.

Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo

When it comes to aquariums and zoos I'm torn between wanting animals to be able to wander free and the knowledge that without these establishments I can never hope to see most of these creatures up close.

Fortunately the zoos I've visited in adulthood have had spacious enclosures and a clean track record to my knowledge.

The Dubai Aquarium is mostly a 10 million litre tank. I say 'mostly' because there are also other tanks with an octopus, nautilus, rays, jellyfish and some fascinating transparent fish whose species I cannot recall.

The tank is amazing. There are sharks and rays flitting about in gloomy silence and what feels like a million other fish I didn't recognise.

The tank can be seen from Dubai Mall inside which the aquarium is located. So there are lots of people around looking at the tank and taking photographs. You enter by walking through a glass tunnel, which affords you a very close look at the fish. On a different floor you can also stand above the tank, which was very cool!

The underwater zoo doesn't house anyone wildly exotic apart from a rather large crocodile and his missus. Not that the night creatures of the UAE weren't interesting. I did find the desert hedgehog a bit worrying though because he kept doing a loop round and round his little garden/enclosure while his mate/roommate did far less scurrying than that.

Burj Khalifa

I don't know what to say about Burj Khalifa. Of course it's impressive. Just knowing you're inside the tallest building in the world is enough. There it stands. Towering above everything and rising up into the clouds like Jack's beanstalk.

The light shows at night are amazing. I got to see it from all angles during the day and at night while going by metro or by car. It's a sight to behold!

I went up to the 124th and 125th floors. The lifts to go up are quite cool with an electronic display and timer.

The lift takes you from floor 1 to 124 in one minute to the accompaniment of a good soundtrack.

Inside you can walk out to an outdoor viewing platform-like structure from which you can take photographs. Dubai stretches out before you for miles. A mix of stretches of sandy desert and high rise buildings and to one side the sea shore. You can also walk around the floor inside the building and up to the 125th floor.

There's a gift shop on both floors and some really annoying camera crews who try to rope you into taking photographs. I didn't stay to find out whether an arm and leg would be required on top of the AED185 entry ticket.

The 125th floor has a postbox from which I sent postcards to my sister and to my best friend. At 456m above sea level, it was definitely the highest postbox I've ever used 😎

Dubai, UAE

I made it! Finally visiting the Middle East instead of only flying through.

This will be an altogether different experience because I'll be combining solo exploration with accompanying a friend who lives here.

On a side note – before I forget – Emirates is a pretty good airline. I have flown Emirates some years ago but I don't think I was paying too much attention back then.