Abu Dhabi

For the 2nd time on this trip I landed in the United Arab Emirates in the middle of the night; but unlike the first time when I landed in Dubai at 4am to 37°C heat, this time when I landed in Abu Dhabi the temperature was in the more respectable early 20s and with a lower humidity. But it still reached the 30s in the day so a lot of my time was spent avoiding the sun! Everybody else seems to have the same idea, the streets come alive around dusk.

Abu Dhabi has a bit more cultural than neighbouring Dubai, with good museums and impressive Mosques and palaces. I visited the Louvre Abu Dhabi which was probably the best art museum that I've been to (although I haven't been to the Louvre in Paris so I'm not exactly one to talk about art museums!) I also visited the very impressive Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which isn't that old having opened in 2007, but is indeed very grand.

One of the nicest parts of Abu Dhabi is the The Corniche, an 8km long promenade that runs along the harbour. It's deserted by day, but as soon as the temperature starts dropping in the late afternoon it's buzzing with life as people stroll and cycle the paths, and socialise in the cafes and on the beach. UAE is probably the most diverse country that I've ever been to so the people watching here can be really interesting. On my last night as I was chilling in a cafe on the manmade beach I was surprised by a huge fireworks display over the harbour, which I later found out was for Diwali!Read more