Hello, happy New Year and welcome back to Riyadh where it is another day of sun! I hope everyone had a good Christmas (if you were celebrating). We spent the holidays in Abu Dhabi where it was very chill and the weather was perfect – not too hot, not too cold, but cool enough for a cardy/jacket in the evenings!
I thought for the first blog of 2022 I would share some photos from our trip and recommendations on where we stayed, ate, visited etc…
First of all a quick introduction to the city – Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – not Dubai! It is the home of the UAE government and the UAE President. Built on a series of islands along the Persian Gulf it relied on fishing and pearling until oil reserves were discovered in 1959. It is now the sixth biggest producer of oil in the world and has the world’s fifth largest sovereign wealth fund. It has grown at dizzying speed. In 1971, the year the UAE was created, Abu Dhabi had a population of 71,000, today it is home to 1.5 million people. It’s oldest building is the Qasr Al Hosn Fort which was built as a watchtower to control the coastal areas in 1761.
Today Abu Dhabi is a thriving modern city with gleaming skyscrapers and five lane motorways. It is also one of the safest cities in the world. It is best known for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Louvre Abu Dhabi and its two theme parks – Ferrari World and Warner Bros World.
We have been to Abu Dhabi a couple of times before so we didn’t do all the touristy things this time – it was more about relaxing and chilling out.
However, we did visit the Emirates Palace Hotel – a five star luxury hotel built at a cost of $3billion and opened in 2005. We visited it before, so we forewent the eyewatering $15 camel-cino coffee (!) – this time we went to see the Christmas tree which was pretty impressive!
The building is a mix of Islamic architecture and the color was inspired by the different shades of sand found in the Arabian desert.
We also went to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque which is the eighth biggest mosque in the world. It has 82 domes, 1000 columns and 24 carat gold gilded chandeliers.
The entrance is designed like the Louvre in Paris, where upon arrival tourists descend below ground on an escalator under a large glass dome. Downstairs is a mini-mall with coffee shops, a pharmacy, gift shops etc… There is also a long line of tourists being checked to ensure they are dressed appropriately ie trousers for men, no bare arms, legs or hair for women. If you are not deemed modestly dressed enough you can purchase either sleeves for your arms (like single tights you roll up each arm) or a complete covering (in nasty nylon) which comes with a handy hood to keep your hair covered. You are then linked to the mosque by an underground walkway. Tours are free.
Having visited the Louvre Abu Dhabi a number of times before (and highly recommend!) we visited the smaller Etihad Modern Art Gallery this time. It’s a small quirky gallery showing modern art by local and international artists, plus a creative cafe and gift shop which has a Thai beach bar vibe. We were lucky because when we visited the artist Noura Ali-Ramahi who is currently exhibiting a solo exhibition entitled ‘Nostalgia, a pandemic and finally losing my mind’ was giving a guided tour to some of her friends and invited us to join.
The art gallery is a very different to the big glitz and glamour of the rest of Abu Dhabi, but this little gem is worth seeking out for an alternative and perhaps more authentic experience.
Another highlight was cycling the Corniche. It’s a large, landscaped promenade along the sweeping bay and makes for a fun couple of hours if you stop off for a cool drink and a Coldstone ice cream along the way!
And to wrap up our stay we welcomed in the New Year with an amazing firework display over the Emirates Palace Hotel (Photo credit: Stephen McGrath).
We really enjoyed our Christmas and New Year in Abu Dhabi. It was very chill. Everyone we met was very friendly and helpful and the weather at that time of year is perfect – I would definitely recommend it as an alternative to Dubai if you are thinking of visiting the Middle East.
Happy New Year everyone- Stay safe out there!
Until next time, Abu Dhabi-doooo!!
Anne :0)
Info:
We stayed at: The Edition, Al Bateen Marina and the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Corniche.
We ate at:
The Eclipse Bar, Four Seasons Hotel (sushi and cocktails) – perfect for a sundowner
LPM at the Galleria Mall (French/Mediterranean)
Buddah Beach Bar, St Regis, Saadiyat Island for a Japanese themed Christmas Day brunch
Alba at The Edition is excellent for casual dining and has a daily happy hour 5-8pm
Beirut Villa in Marina Mall does excellent Lebanese food at very reasonable prices (I recommend the falafel wrap and beetroot hummus!)
I would also suggest a visit to Marsa Al Bateen Marina for a stroll with a wide selection of cafes and restaurants to choose from – the Coffee Club does a delicious iced raspberry and coffee drink – and of course you could pop into the Alba at The Edition for a shared charcutiere board and a drink if it’s during Happy Hour!
Travel info: In these pandemic times there are lots of Covid procedure requirements (like everywhere else) Our experience of traveling to Abu Dhabi included: a pre-travel PCR test, an on-arrival PCR test (queueing can take a long time, followed by even longer queues for border control). We also had to do a day 6 test and a pre-departure test for re-entry into Saudi and download the Al Hosn app.
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