Farewell ABU DHABI ...till next time!

Under Construction:

Saadiyat Island is just one example of the amount of construction going on here - everywhere you look. This particular place is going to have the Abu Dhabi Guggenheim as well as the Abu Dhabi Louvre.

Hence why the national bird  is THE CRANE.

This pavilion was moved here from Shanghai, it was the UAE pavilion at the last worlds fair and Abu Dhabi is hosting the next one in 2020. It represents sand dunes, kind of.

The roof reflects the sun to shimmer like a dune.

Definitely not enough time to take it all in, I did manage to see what I had on my list of the things "not to be missed". Next time I would love to go further afield to Oman and do some diving, splurge on a dune buggy safari and try the indoor ski hill. Need to win the lottery first. Keep buying those scratch and wins Fiona!
Today was a little chilly, 21 degrees celsius but with the wind chill factor it felt like 10 degrees and there was a serious wind today. Amazing how quickly our bodies adjust.
I went on a boat cruise this afternoon then came back to Andreas and got ready for a very early day tomorrow, off to Thailand.

 

 The Corniche area of Abu Dhabi is beautiful, beaches and boardwalks run for a few kilometers. The beaches charge a nominal fee and are separated into a women and family beach and a mens only beach. Say no more!

Traditional Dhow boat, prior to finding oil in 1958 the UAE was renowned for its pearls. A tradition they are trying to bring back.

Like most cities today the skyscrapers dominate.

I do believe James left his yacht here! Sleek but what a terrible colour IMO.

White cars rule the parking lots,

and grey ships rule the Persian Gulf /Arabian Gulf ...depends on where you are from around here on what you call it. 

Call to pray - in all Muslim countries the "Call to Prayer" is played through the loud speakers that you can see on top of the mosque. It is played five times a day. Mosques are everywhere, they even have them along the highways so people travelling can stop in. I have renamed it Call to the Mall - for Christians only of course.

The palace at night, hopefully next time I come back the gold machine will be working! I can't imagine how much business they lost this week with it being out of order!

Till Thailand!