It was early January, the wind was howling and the rain was lashing the windows of our suburban english townhouse, the Christmas tree was back in the attic for another year and I'd nearly eaten all the Christmas chocolates, the dreaded winter blues were approaching fast, something had to be done, out came the laptop and so started another trawl of the internet booking and airline sites in search of our next serving of adventure.
Having visited Dubai only a couple of months earlier I was keen to get back to the Emirates and explore the differences between the two geographically close but very different cities that boast the 1st and 2nd place in size respectively, and having found a fantastic deal under £1000 ($1350) for 5 nights including flights for 2 of us with Expedia, I'd say we found a great deal.
We flew with Abu Dhabi's flag carrier Etihad, we had initially booked in economy as the price to book Business class was a little too much (not that I usually travel business class), however we took advantage of the upgrade bidding option and were lucky enough to upgrade our flights to business class for only £360 (approx $486) plus taxes per person for the outward flight, which was the lowest bid option, however we were successful, and it ensured a slightly more glamorous start to our trip then we are used to, the flight is 7.5 hours from the UK and Abu Dhabi is 4 hours ahead of GMT.
Fun fact - the name Abu Dhabi means "Father of Gazelle" due to the abundance of gazelles which once inhabited the area and an old folk tale involving shakhbut bin dhiyab al nahyan.
When we arrived in to Abu Dhabi we were not disappointed, Abu Dhabi is deffintely quieter & more laid back than Dubai's sprawling modern metropolis but thats what attracted us, it has more of an authentic Arabic feel to it, I felt at any moment I would turn a corner and walk down a path to a desert scene with an authentic Bedouin with his camel waiting to take me off for a sweet tea and dates, that didn't happen though and must say I'm a sadder for it.
We stayed in the Traders hotel which was around a 20-25 minute taxi ride away from the airport which cost us around 65 dirhams (approx £12 or $8.50), the Traders is part of the larger Shangri-la complex, and for the price we paid we weren't disappointed, the staff were excellent and the room and hotel itself was clean and modern, the complex has a souk within walking distance which has shops, stalls and a wide range of restaurants ranging from authentic Arabic to Japanese cuisine and much more, there is no need to pack a beach towel for your stay as they are provided along with chilled water around the pool and beach area, also there is a "happy hour" at the pool bar from 5pm to 7pm every evening which gets you 2 for 1 on selected alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, we had some great weather during our stay with warm sunny days and temperatures of around 25-28'c during the day (except 1 day when it rained) and pleasant evenings with temperatures of between 18-21'c, so not to bad at all for late February.
We booked Bed & breakfast and there was a wide range to have from the usual cold meals and salads to beef & chicken sausages and beans etc. so enough choice for everyone, oh and coffee on tap of course.
Whilst there we visited Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which is free to enter and is a must see attraction, it has to be one of the most awe inspiring places I have ever been lucky enough to visit, the feel of peace among the masses was amazing the building itself is breathtaking, especially at sunset which is when my photographer brain decided when we would visit and I was not disappointed as I got some great shots for my portfolio, women have to cover up completely and are given an Abaya to wear when entering the mosque unless you have your own or something similar, and men should wear long trousers and at the very least a t-shirt if not a long sleeve shirt (depending on the weather I guess)
We also visited the ultimate tourist trap Ferrari World as one of the days was a little overcast and rainy, I know . . . rain!!! we didn't expect that either, so we headed for the indoor attraction as we have enough rain in the UK to last us & didn't want to experience too much on this trip. to enter cost us $60 (approx £43) per person which ensured entry and access to the rides except for the paid attractions such as driving a Ferrari etc., yes I was tempted but decided against it as if I was let loose with a car like that I would 100% end up crashing. it was a lot quieter than we expected and it didn't take to long to queue for the rides, I'm not sure if this was unique to our trip or if this is common when people visit, but it was a nice surprise as we expected similar queues that you would expect at theme parks in the UK and other parts of the world. there are a wide range of fast food stalls and restaurants to choose from when you're hungry. I would highly recommend a visit.
One evening we took a taxi to the city itself in search of bars and restaurants however, Abu Dhabi is a working city and hasn't been build with tourism in mind like Dubai and it's huge selection of places to eat and socialise for every taste, so we wandered and experienced the city at night ducking down side alleys and streets, we didn't feel worried or intimated, maybe had a few looks from people wondering why we weren't sat in a hotel restaurant as we stood out like sore thumbs dressed up to the nines for a posh meal, after a while hunger won and we hopped in to another cab to the Ritz Carlton for a lovely meal for my wife's birthday.
Be prepared to add between 16-22% to your bill at restaurants for various taxes and service charges, also it isn't expected but a tip of around 10% of the bill left to the the serving staff is commonly practiced when visiting a restaurant.
As this was a short trip our stay was coming to an end and my wife decided she wanted to bid for the business class again, which she did, and yes we again were successful with the bid and ended up flying back to the UK and impending cold weather system known as "the beast from the east" bringing with it sub freezing temperatures and snow to welcome us home, but for 8 hours whilst in the air we played at being rich and important again.
I would visit Abu Dhabi again in a heartbeat, the people are welcoming and the culture and history of the city and region intrigue me no end, I didn't get to do all I wanted on this visit so another will be planned for the near future, and to make sure you follow me on that trip too sign up to the blog below.
Andy.