Abu Dhabi: Day 3

This day had a lot planned for me! I, with the other 3 people, was going to explore the city of Abu Dhabi on the hop-in hop-off bus.

the bus..

With a lot of excitement, we took the bus just well on time and hopped on to let this city surprise us! Our first stop was in the Yas Island itself. It is known for the F1 car racing that happens there. We were lucky enough to see a practise round of Porsche cars racing, for the event happening on the following day. More than seeing those races, it is the feeling that those cars give you which is important. The loud noise those cars make which makes your ears hurt, the speed with which they travel gives you a thrilling experience standing there. We just stayed with this feeling for long, and went to see the service station of the races.

the tracks!

cars racing! can you see the marks on the tracks?

wall of fame of the F1 racers!

the service station of the race cars!!

After this overwhelming experience and some chit chats under the sun, we took the bus and waited for our next destination on the bucket list, the Sheikh Zayed grand mosque, the main attraction of Abu Dhabi. (I will be writing a different and yet a unique post on this place, with the mosque at night also including, stay tuned for more)

We entered the city of Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE. This city was still under development, although more developed and planned than any of the cities in India. A lot of the skyscrapers and buildings were still being constructed.

under construction…

Abu Dhabi is a peaceful city unlike Dubai which never sleeps. Rules are a bit too strict. But still the sheikhs are given more privileges than other ‘common’ people. With one of our conversations with a driver, we got to know that there were only 2 types of sheikhs, one rich and the other super rich! He also told us that Abu Dhabi is the largest consumer of water per day in the world, 500 LITRES of water used per capita, out of which 97% is purified from sea water. Every tree, plant has pipes under it so that this city is a green city even if in a desert. You do not feel like you are in a desert, it is that green and clean!

a city in deserts, wow!

We after the mosque and a long tour around the city went for the dhow cruise.  A small wooden cruise, which made us witness the skyline of Abu Dhabi. With Arabic songs and rap continuously playing in the cruise we had a so called great time. The skyline was beautiful.

the dhow cruise.

It makes you believe that man hold a lot of power, also that man made things and Modern structures can be beautiful. That changed my perceptions on ‘how can mere buildings be beautiful’. With the cruise and those songs ending, we walked to the marina mall for a lunch at 5:30. When you travel, explore you forget hunger, sleep, thirst.  The mall was huge but not like the Yas mall. Not caring about the shops and brands we went to the food court direct. Had a large burger king and continued our way to go up and witnesses Abu Dhabi from a height.

we saw the skyline from that building. There is a cafe at the top, from where you can enjoy the skyline.

The next place on our list was the heritage village.

this was the heritage village, also you find UAE flags in the city almost everywhere

We had to walk some 45 minutes to go there. I being the only interested person among us 4 forced all of them to walk with me. I will never forget that walk in my entire life. How all 3 irritated me, and how I just kept on ignoring! After the long walk and the endless taunts we reached there, and were surprised to know that it was closed wow. They had all the rights to beat the hell out of me, but thanks guys for not doing it! Ha-ha. With a sorry face we took the cab back to our hotel, remembering all our adventures and memories made together in that cab. More than just exploring the place, the real fun is in exploring all that with amazing people, and these guys made me realize that. That day won’t have been the same without you 3 crazy asses. And for that, thanks a lot.

more than the place, its about the people with whom you travel, that makes all the difference.

I slept a long peaceful night that day.

Stay tuned for more..

Keep exploring,

Manasvi S.

#history #desert #skyline #world #structures #abudhabi #UAE #sheikzayedmosque #dubai #traveldiaries #heritage