WHILE modern metropolis Dubai seems to dominate when the spotlight is shone on the United Arab Emirates, the true capital is Abu Dhabi, several hours further along the coastline. Though it seems as flat as East Anglia, Abu Dhabi is in fact an archipelago of around 200 islands. The CBD is one of those islands. We had two nights to explore the expanding Abu Dhabi; it was our stopover on the way from Sydney to London.
Just getting off the plane at Abu Dhabi was an experience as entering the central hub of the airport was like stepping inside a giant multicoloured mushroom, with the roof in the shape of a canopy which arches overhead from a massive central pillar, decorated with intricate tiles.
Some of the people inside were just as interesting to look at, from robed Arabian men with traditional headgear to the women wearing all-black burkhas, with just a slit to peer out from.
Our airline, Etihad, also provided a chauffeur-driven car from the airport to our hotel. Indeed, not only had they provided a driver, they had managed to find the Arabian equivalent of Fernando Alonso, as we were sped along the dual carriageway towards the city at unnerving high speed.
Among our blurred, tired, first impressions were marvelling at how neat and newly-built so much of the area seemed, while also managing to impress through beautiful traditional structures such as a huge mosque (the biggest in the UAE) with towering minarets, which we passed at about 150mph.
But it was luxury we were here to experience, with a stay at the incredible Emirates Palace Hotel - often described as seven-star (though there is no such thing).
The palace has been described as one of the most expensively-built hotels in the world – the highest estimates say it cost a billion pounds to build.
Gold leaf and Swarovski crystals are everywhere, and walking through the hotel is like walking through an airport, except with high vaulted ceilings decorated in gold, and with incredible floral arrangements where corridors meet.
Gemma was presented with a bouquet of nine orange roses as soon as we arrived in the huge gold lobby, and we were sat in two impressive armchairs while our passports were taken so we could check in.
As well as a 1.3km private beach, we were informed that there were two swimming pools, one next to each wing of the palace.
Next to the west wing, where our room was, there was the adventure pool with water slides and a lazy river, with a jet-propelled current.
So we chose to spent some time floating round on the currents – just as it was closest, of course (a-hem).
We spent the next day-and-a-half between there, the beach, eating their yummy food, and walking round trying to find our room!
Although the cheapest room costs at least A$400 (about 160 quid), we would recommend a night to feel like a king and queen.
We also stayed at the refurbished InterContinental Hotel
The InterContinental had also undergone a revamp recently, and had a stunning lobby with backlit Onyx marble lobby and crystal chandeliers.
There was also a very friendly Egyptian assistant manager, Mr Khalid (you need to make a throat-clearing noise to pronounce his name properly) who was immediately summoned to greet us and show to our pristine room.
It was the size of a large hotel room and very modern, but with traditional touches like Arabian-style cushions on the seated area. Gemma was up early through a touch of jetlag and had a tour of the hotel with our obliging throat-clearing Egyptian friend before breakfast.
At 7.30am, we were the second and third guests to breakfast. We took our time wandering past the huge breakfast buffet which included camel’s milk sourced from nearby Al Ain, and various other items chilled on a slab of ice.
Then afterwards we headed out to explore. Though it was feverishly hot outside – temperatures regularly hit the mid 40s in summer, with soaring humidity – both the taxis and most buildings have air conditioning, so we spent a morning switching between the two.
We visited the cultural centre, which had a photography exhibition and local crafts being made by women in the all-covering burkhas. We went to the fruit markets near the port, where there was produce from seemingly everywhere, including Lebanon, Syria and even Iran. We also stopped in a shop which sold dates presented in every way imaginable. The UAE is the world’s top producer of dates, which drip from clumps high in the ubiquitous palm trees.
The seaside promenade, called the Corniche, whooshed past on our way back to the hotel.
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