Back from the Middle East

I’m back from the Middle East!

I left on Thurs, 19^th April on Etihad Airways which replaces Emirates as the official airline of the UAE. Was a good flight cos it was less than half full so I could stretch out on all 3 seats and watch 3 movies in succession comfortably.

As we were landing in Abu Dhabi, I looked out the window and I saw a light brown landscape with patches of bright green and I realized that it was the dessert. Well I knew I was going to the dessert but I’ve not seen so much sand before in my life! Sounds a big strange here but you gotta be there to gettit.

Growth

Dubai is growing at such an exponential rate. Hundreds of sky scrapers are being built right now, around the clock. While the architecture is beautiful, I can’t help but be reminded of Singapore which is a shopping and financial hub but not much soul to the city.

And the city sure is rich. Everyone knows that they have an indoor ski slope. I went to have a look but since I don’t ski, I didn’t think it was worth going it for a short toboggan ride.

Now they are building the tallest building in the world (I lost track. Who’s the tallest now? Taipei?) and also an Artic type done which will house Artic animals like polar bears and penguins (tho they are from the Antartic)!

Abu Dhabi is quieter compared to Dubai but it is the capital of the UAE. The plan is to let Dubai boom, then build up Abu Dhabi at a slower but steady rate.

Shopping

Shopping there is great. They have most of the brands we have here in Malaysia but so much more like BHS, Claire’s, Splash. But I’m not a shopper so I only went to the shops in the malls I happen to be in for other activities.

One of the things I did buy though, are bikini thongs! Those are so hard to find and I manage to find it in a ‘conservative’ country.

Temperature

It’s 46C over there! But it was nice warm weather. It’s hotter here in Malaysia at 30C compared to 46C in the dessert!

Food

Like any cosmopolitan city, one can find an array of food from around the world. I had hi tea at the Burj al Arab Hotel Dubai, Coffee at Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi and The One & Only Mirage, German at the Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi, Chinese at China at the Novotel Abu Dhabi, Indian at The Grill Muscat, Char Kway Teow (which cost RM80 before tax!) at the Chedi, Muscat.

Notice I didn’t list any Arabic food. That’s cos I didn’t have any! My mum brought me to all the nicest hotel and other prominent buildings. Which was great, but on my last night, I just had to have Arabic food so we stopped by to a shop on the way to the airport to have kebabs and shawarmas. 3 of us dined for RM40 and it was absolutely yummy!

There was so much I wanted to blog about while on holiday. But now that I’m back, I’m just too lazy to put everything down. A picture tells a thousand words right? So let the pics tell the story.

And u know how after a nice long holiday, u need another holiday to get over that one? Well that’s exactly what I’m doing! I’m leaving for Redang tomorrow on a dive trip along with Paul, Michelle Shell, Sin Cyn, Pete and other ppl.

Enjoy the pics! Will try n blog more and post pics after Redang.

View from the road leading to the Shangri-La Hotel in Muscat, Oman. It's the most beautiful hotel I've stayed in. It's in a valley of rocky mountains and the space for the hotel is almost carved out of the rocks. And the view is spectacular.

Pic with an Omani man with a traditional weapon. Taken at The Chedi.

The camels are so cute. But some of them bite and have to be muzzled. Poor camels.
The beach at the Rotal Beach Hotel in Fujairah. I sat in the sun for more than an hour and only got a slight tan. And u'd think u'll burn in the desert.

The famous Burj al-Arab Hotel at night. Went there for hi tea at RM250 per person. But all the sandwiches, scones and pastries u can eat and all the tea or coffee u can drink. That coupled with the view, was a good experience.

In the sand dunes. It wasn't too hot and there was a nice wind blowing. Just be careful not to get the sand in your eyes. There were no catuses around. Maybe that's just in the American deserts. That's where Snoopy's uncle lives.

Sunset in the dessert after san bashing and before belly dancing. It's not too hot but the sun sure is bright. Even my Oakleys can't keep me from squinting.

Me in an abayah. It only buttoned up to the waist. How liberal!