A day trip to Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates (UAE) — October 2021

The first road trip while living in Dubai takes me to the desert country’s capital. With my roommate Liana we rent a car at the expo village and swiftly drive west to get to Sheikh Zayed Road. The highways in the UAE are wide and mostly empty, but the tricky part is catching the right exits and junctions. Almost always, the signage is very close to the actual turn and requires us to cross a few lanes to follow the GPS‘ instructions. One time we do miss the exit completely and have to continue to drive in the wrong direction for about 2 kilometers before reaching a place where we can turn around. So we arrive in Abu Dhabi with a slight delay.

However, this doesn’t stop us from pulling over when we catch a glimpse of the Mangrove Marine National Park. After passing nothing but desert on the road from Dubai to the capital, seeing any kind of sign of vegetation is a welcome change. But today we are planning to meet some of our co-workers. So I can only vow to return another time to explore the mangroves in-depth (it will take me a few more months to actually do so, but it’s 100% worth it!). Our friends inform us that they have made it to the Louvre (yes, like the one in Paris) by bus. So we get back into the car and cross the city to meet them. Once at the parking lot, we are a bit overwhelmed by the size of it.

Not looking forward to doing a lot of walking in the heat, I am very glad when one of the other girls spots some golf carts circling the premises. She shows a picture of the place she wants to see to the security guard who is driving the small vehicle. Within seconds, we are all seated on the cart and enjoying a breeze while he takes us to the desired spot. We click some pictures of the beautifully designed metal roof of the art museum and the seawater pond surrounding it. I am not surprised to hear that the building was designed by the same architect Jean Nouvel who also was the mind behind the KKL in my hometown of Lucerne. Since no one else wants to see the art installations inside, I once again make a mental note to return another time (again, it’s only in March 2022 that I do so).

Instead, we hop back into the car, this time with the three girls in the back seat. The next destination is the Marina with the Emirates Heritage Village. We cruise along the Corniche with the windows down and enjoy the pleasant ocean breeze. Arriving at the small island set in front of the city’s beach, we decide to first stop for lunch at one of the restaurants overlooking the water. After a delicious meal, we try to visit the Heritage Museum which turns out to be closed on this specific day. So we make do with taking pictures of the massive UAE flag flying high above us and the view of the skyscrapers of downtown Abu Dhabi on the other side of the artificial lagoon.

The next sightseeing spot is not too far away from the Marina. Qasr Al-Watan, the presidential palace, has been built quite recently but looks like a relic from ancient times. The impressive marble and limestone structure with multiple enormous domes is covered in intricate mosaic designs on the inside. We spend a few hours marveling at the high ceilings and taking too many pictures of the place. When we leave the palace, it’s already dark, and we realize that we have to hurry up if we want to make it to the most important landmark in Abu Dhabi: the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. So back in the car we hop, crossing the city with windows rolled down and Egyptian music blaring on the speakers.

The mosque is one of the largest ones in the world, and even the parking lot has an impressive size. However, tonight it’s almost empty. So we park close to the entrance, where we are quickly stopped due to our outfits not being modest enough. Only after buying scarves and arm covers at a shop next to the ticket gate, we are allowed inside. The building seems deserted. For the first part of the walk through the female part of the Muslim prayer rooms, we pass neither worshipers nor tourists. Only in the large open square in the middle of the marble structure, we find other visitors.

They are mostly tourists who are taking pictures of the bright stone floor and the contrasting blue illuminations lighting up the marble walls covered in colorful floral patterns. We continue our walk and finally reach the heart of the mosque: the prayer rooms, which fits up to 10’000 believers. Bear in mind that this is the first mosque I ever visit. Size-wise, none that followed ever came close to this. But I do have to say that I prefer the more classical architecture over the modern touches of the Abu Dhabi sight. The humongous chandelier in the middle of the room just feels like a bit too much for my taste. Quite exhausted from the long day of sightseeing, we decide to cut the visit short and head back to our car.

Liana safely drives us to Dubai, with the three girls in the back seat fast asleep. After dropping them off at the Expo Village, Liana and I decide to make the most of the car rental and go on a quick grocery shopping trip. The closest supermarket that’s still open at 10pm is over in Dubai Business Park, an area that we have not explored at all. Though only a short drive away, it feels like have entered a completely different world. Gone are the flashy high-rise buildings and well-maintained roads. This neighborhood far from Downtown Dubai is mostly home to workers who came to the UAE from South Asia and Africa in the hope of a job that allows them to take care of their families in their home countries.

We park the car outside the supermarket entrance at the small shopping mall and immediately, Liana and I are the main attractions. The men around the car stare at us while we make our way to the grocery store, and we very quickly notice that there are no other women there. But at this point, we are running on the adrenaline of exhaustion and can’t help but laugh at the situation. Having come to the shops without a list of things to buy, we find ourselves wandering the aisles, packing anything that looks special to us. We get dates from Egypt, Indian spices, bags of different kinds of rice, and lots more. Of course, the random shopping cart content doesn’t help our case of being the center of attention to any other customer and employee at the supermarket. After about 30 minutes we have enough and, with 5 bags of goods, we return to the car to finally head home.

10 minutes later, we unpack the groceries in the kitchen of our Expo Village bubble while telling our roommate Alina about the interesting turns of events during the day.