Though I landed in Abhu Dhabi on my maiden visit to the UAE it looked like a maze of plotted lines from the air and the airport and its surroundings far from the city didnt impress me at all ,I left to Al Ain immediately and never had a chance to visit Abhu Dhabi unlik
e Dubai which was almost my weekly timeout .So when I used a meeting in the Intercontinental and a convenient stay there ,to see AbhuDhabi I never thought I would fall for it but I did .The Intercontinental had a novel of way of inviting its guests ,the TV blinked open with a personal invitation but I was christened with a new name in the welcome as
A 
tall fountain sprayed water and mist to the roof as people lazed and gazed at it .
Malayalees were in the dozen and one could trip on them like as anywhere in the U.A.E.
The pavements are kept neat and vacummed by workers !!
Dr .Narayanan Hari Moh....... !!!!( that sounds distinctly Assamese )
In fact I liked Abhu Dhabi a lot more than Dubai for it is neater ,more organised with less people and lesser confusion .
Intercontinental near the corniche was the right place to go for a night walk which I did after the meeting and the november breeze chilled me to my bones ,I could gaze into the seven star Emirates palace one of the most wonderful hotels in the world right on the sea ,its sandstone facade was like a desert palace in Rajasthan lit in the night .
Beyond it was the Marina mall the huge shopping complex with its Carrefour and many other branded shops .
The food court in the mall was a huge cauldron of gluttons from all nations .
A 
tall fountain sprayed water and mist to the roof as people lazed and gazed at it .posh cars were available as gifts for the lucky ones .
Abhu Dhabi has huge multistoryed buildings dwarfing the roads ,there were plenty of sit outs and eating places on the corniche with brillianly coloured yatches and motorboats cruising in the bay .
Malayalees were in the dozen and one could trip on them like as anywhere in the U.A.E.
Next day was spent on loitering and meeting some friends ,taxis are more economic than in Dubai and like in Al Ain have friendly grinning Pakist
ani drivers .
ani drivers .
The pavements are kept neat and vacummed by workers !!Evening saw me move on to Tawam bus which was on its weekend shopping trip to the city and back to Al Ain .
And so Abhudhabi has one more suitor in her pocket now.
And so Abhudhabi has one more suitor in her pocket now.
11 comments:
Dear Dr.
As always you have done it again. When you describe, we feel as if we were there..
Great Work!!
Suresh
Dear Hari,
Wonderful writing, you have literally taken us for a one-day-picnic. And
with your 3-D communication skills, gave me 'virtual-feast'
Best,
Thomas Antony
tks suresh and thomas antony
compliments like these are the reward a writer hopes for
tks
I strongly feel you could think of writing a travelogue some day, if you havent already...
Perhaps the effortlessness is whats most striking at ur writing!
:)
tks mm
that cooled my soul ,you just spelt out my dream
great to read about your abudhabi visit - we used to check out all those places in the 80's during ramazan & hajj holidays while working in saudi...i see that they have all changed a lot from your fascinating pics & notings!!
tks maddy ,u r a great lead to follow
Abu Dhabi has been famous for its huge buildings well before the construction mania hit duabi in recent years. The streets wear a deserted look even on fridays-a not so common sight in duabi and sharjah!
thanks for the brief virtual trip from chennai to abhu dhabi in a span of 5 minutes!!:-)
tks maheswari
i enjoy writing about places as much as i like visiting them
i am a regular readr of this amazin magazine....so many ov my stufs r published also...
its a must read-magazine...
js love it...
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