AE: Abu Dhabi...

I spent two days in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. If I am not mistaken, Abu Dhabi is the biggest emirates among all the seven emirates within the UAE. Unfortunately, the airport is not as great as Dubai's airport.










Stayed at Le Meridien, room 451. A very old building. I was told the building was built around 25 years ago. The lobby has that Arabic/Middle Eastern touch and in a total contrast with the room - newly refurbished "zen" concept room! One great thing about this hotel is the Meridien Village. A very nice garden with big koi pond and fifteen restaurants (yes... fifteen restaurants!! mana ada hotel kat Malaysia with fifteen restaurants!). Ironically, I didn't try any of it - I actually ended eating Burger King and my all time favourite, KFC.. :-)

Since it was Ramadan, the shops were not opened until after iftar on Friday (Yup.. I was there on Friday and Saturday). So, Friday morning, I stayed in the hotel and in the afternoon, I took a stroll along Sheikh Hamdan street (one of the two busiest streets in the city - another one being Sheikh Zayed The Second street or Electra street).

Abu Dhabi is more structured compare to Doha. It seems that the city has been developed to follow the [shall I say] New York style - grid development. It is not as hectic as Dubai, but more chaos compare to Doha. Taxi is easy to get, unlike Doha where no guarantee for a taxi even if you have booked for one two hours earlier!

Friday, I took a taxi to Marina Mall, a huge mall at the opposite end of where I stayed. The mall is in the Breakwater area, same area where the world renowned hotel, Emirates Palace is. I went both to Marina Mall and Abu Dhabi Mall - conclusion: Dubai is better with more up to scale malls i.e., Mall of the Emirates, Ibn Battuta Mall and Burjuman Center.

Overall, the trip was just so-so. At least I got a stamp "Abu Dhabi Airport" in my passport - a proof that I have been there! I would not go there for vacation - try Dubai.

There are few photos updated in my fotopages. Take a look and please, do leave a comment. :-))
~ MT @ UAE
~~ Le Meridien, Abu Dhabi

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~