Abu Dhabi
Day 2 - 10th May 2024
When we arrived at the hotel they told us there would a fire drill this morning, but when we left the room there was no sign of it (and I had completely forgotten about it) - until I pushed open the fire door on our floor that is - pure coincidence (I think) but it was soooo loud all of a sudden. We’re on the 10th floor but when we got to the lifts they had been turned off (of course, because you don’t use the lifts in case of a fake fire ) so we headed towards the first fire exit we came to and started walking down the stairs… when we got to the 5th floor someone appeared behind us and told us we didn’t need to leave because it was only a drill but because it was so loud we couldn’t get him to understand that we knew that but we couldn’t use the lifts and couldn’t find any other stairs...
When we finally got to the 3rd floor, we realised there was an exit but we needed the ground floor so ended up back in the corridor looking for another staircase. We found one that went down to the ground floor and the exit to the car park…
Observation Deck at 300
It was about a 20min walk to the Observation Deck at Etihad Towers but despite the temperature the wind was really nice and cooling. Once we got there it was a bit of a pain trying to find the entrance but we found it eventually after asking a security guard. From there it was a quick check in at the desk and off into the lift with 2 other people - a delivery man taking food to the 68th floor and another man who got off at the 72nd.
Once we got up we started taking pictures and within a minute were approached by a member of staff showing us to our little table right by the windows (we had booked the tickets with coffee and cake). About 5mins later she appeared with our two lattes and little cubes of red velvet cake... once we finished we walked around taking pictures and then went for the lift back down. There had been a group of people at the top when we’re got there but they left pretty quickly so at one point we had nearly the whole floor to ourselves.
There was no one near when we got in the lift so we just pressed the button for the hotel lobby and were nearly hounded by about 50 people trying to get in and wouldn’t let us past. So I ended up just pushing past but Stefan got stuck behind me. It was as if we were in the wrong with all the stares we were getting...
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
We had booked the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque for 3pm so just decided to go straight there even though it was only 1:25pm. It’s 20km from the Etihad Towers so it was about 1:45pm when we got there. The driver dropped us off outside a big dome but we had no clue what it was - the signs said visitor centre. We walked around the little square around it looking at the food stands and the little boutiques. I had already put my jumper on to cover my arms but was stopped by 3 different boutique owners telling me I needed a head scarf to go in the mosque, so I had to tell them 3 times within about 2mins that I had one in my bag.
After one walk around the dome we finally decided to go downstairs after seeing loads of women going downstairs without head scarves and realised there was a huge underground mall with loads of shops and other food outlets, including Boots, Costa, Bath and Body Works (yes, we got sidetracked and bought hand sanitizer ), Cinnabon, Tim Hortons and loads of souvenir shops. We noticed a queue at one of the food stalls so decided to get a halloumi sandwich and a falafel wrap which took about 15mins. There was no number system or anything so you just had to rely on the man behind the counter who seemed to remember every single order…
The hand sanitizer in Bath and Body Works cost 16AED (about €4/£3.50) each but it was but one get one free so we got 6 bottles and 2 holders (same offer) for 98AED (€24.50/£21) which we didn’t feel was too bad considering everything here is dearer than in Germany/the UK and USA).
We still had some spare time before our 3pm entry so ended up nosying around the shops, at the Cinnabon prices and at the list of rules. Just before it was time to go in I put on my scarf and Stefan put on my blouse (he forgot a long sleeved shirt ) before we realised that he could’ve gone in with short sleeves. According to the website a lot of tourists get turned away so if it happens to you then just consider it normal but we got in first try after they check your tickets you have to go through a security scanner but that was over and done within 2mins…
When you’re standing at the Dome the mosque seems far away but you don’t realise how far until you actually start walking along the long corridor… there are golf carts about that will take you down if you want and there are my most hated thing in the world, moving walkways, as well.
The mosque itself is amazing - you see pictures of it but when you’re standing in front of it it’s a whole other world! It was bright I was even struggling with my sunglasses on but luckily I came out without a headache...
You can go inside as well but are only allowed to walk around the outside of the carpets but even that is enough to take it all in… the access pass is free to get in and they scanned it about 3 times, even at the mosque but it’s definitely a must see if you’re ever here! We’re even thinking about coming back one night when it’s all lit up…
After the long walk back to the mall we booked an Uber to take us to the Abu Dhabi Mall. The driver was lovely, handed us a bottle of water when we got in the car and even apologised because he only had one...
The mall is huge and has lots of shops and food places that we knew but also lots of new ones. There was a lot of places we know from Florida too, like Chili’s, Popeyes and Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que and Wagamama too…
We wanted to go to Chili’s but they had a problem with their Visa machine (I had to stop Stefan from going in to ask if their American Express machine was working ) so we decided to head to the next best thing - Denny’s.
Dinner and 2 malls
We both got the unlimited breakfast which was scrambled eggs with cheese, hashbrowns and 2 pancakes for 49AED (€12.50/£10.50). You could add on sausages or bacon and coffee for an extra 20AED (€5/£4.30). The waitress came up asking us if we wanted refills but we ended up just sticking to what we had. Considering you’re literally on the other side of the world, it was as if you were sitting in Denny’s in Florida - quality, menu and the restaurant itself…
After dinner we went into a TK-Maxx-type shop (update: Brands For Less) to get socks and then had a nosy around Co-op before getting an Uber to take us back to the hotel. We spoke to the boys and my mum and then headed back out again this time to the Marina Mall, which is about 2km, a half hour walk from the hotel.
It was Friday night so it was pretty busy but we got a bit of a culture shock when we turned the corner to see a lot of men dressed in traditional Emirati clothing. We’d obviously seen a few about town but this was on a completely different level and it was so nice to see so many people with the respect for their own culture - something I think we’re missing sometimes in the UK and Germany
After walking around yet another huge mall we ended up back in Carrefour and got some toiletries we needed, some cheap shoes for Stefan and flip flops for me… we also got some sushi which we took back to the hotel and ate outside in the gardens…
As usual Stefan fell asleep within seconds and I sat up until half 1 writing yesterday’s blog but we hadn’t anything planned for Saturday so just decided to take it easy and not stress ourselves to get out at a certain time…
Day 3 is coming soon… it’s just past 10:30pm so we’re going to go for a walk and then I’ll write today’s blog and post it later although don’t get too excited - we didn’t do much...
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