Today is the final day we will be in Abu Dhabi. We were scheduled to hop on the plane headed back to Malaysia the night itself. So since we already got the Big Bus Tour, we went for it. The Big Bus Tour is basically a double decker bus like the KL Hop on and Hop Off concept. It has an upper deck that has no roof and people can head up and take pictures or enjoy sitting in the sun. It brings us around the entire Abu Dhabi, stopping at all the tourist spots. They also have commentary about the places we stop and also interesting facts about Abu Dhabi and the UAE.
In the morning we were quite hungry and Eng Park decided to cook some instant noodles. He has this Mama Tom Yum instant noodles that he bought in Abu Dhabi, but it is made in Thailand.
Wah I tell you this is one of Da best instant noodles I have had in a while. I don't know how to describe it but it is super LEMAK!!! Yea unhealthy but heck already on holiday mah. Eng Park even added some extra chili to give it more zing and some chicken pieces. Was a very satisfying breakfast.
We got on the bus at Abu Dhabi mall and the first stop was the Al Meena carpet souk(market). We weren't in the mood for carpets so we gave it and miss and head on to the Iranian Souk. Initially we thought this could be a good place to get off and see what they sell. However as we arrived, it look like they were selling household goods like pots and pans so we decided to give it a miss as well.
See all the tarps at the bottom of the picture? That is the start of the Iranian souk and it is right at the docks. Apparently the goods come from directly from Iran which is not that far away on ships. There is a name for the ships but I cannot remember what they are called.
The next stop is the Abu Dhabi Corniche, basically it is like an esplanade. We decided to get off and have a look around. By the way, the sun was so hot and bright that after a while I forgot I was wearing sunnies. It was so bright that to my eyes, it looks like normal afternoon sun in Malaysia. It was pretty crazy.
Check out how clean the water is, bear in mind this is right in the middle of the city we are talking about. The sea all around Abu Dhabi is just like that. How come they are able to keep their waters clean and Malaysia has Teh Tarik for a sea? We cannot blame it on the port since apparently Abu Dhabi has a very busy port as well.
My friend told me that stretch of island in the Pano shot is only reserved for the Shiek of Abu Dhabi. It is his very own private island. It is good to be a Shiek.
While waiting for the bus, had nothing better to do so decided to try some pano shooting.
Wah very fast!!!!! Hehe. Somehow I like this picture because there is a lot of blend of colors from the greenery of the trees to the blue of the sky and the stark contrast of the street sign.
We finally got back onto the bus and our next stop was The Heritage Center. From this point you are actually able to see the entire Abu Dhabi city.
Check out the view, ain't it amazing? I don't think we will be able to capture that in KL. Well then again KL is much bigger then Abu Dhabi and it not an island. As you can see from the sun it was still freaking hot out there. We walked to the Heritage Center to check it out.
The Heritage center is a combination of museum and stalls to sell souvenirs. They had a section dedicated to life in the desert.
The first picture is of a standard desert house. It was crazy hot outside and just walking in, you can feel the temperature drop by a couple of degrees. It was pretty amazing. The second picture is a pure breed Arabian Stallion. They are one of the biggest and strongest horses in the world. It was pretty camera shy and kept moving his head just as I was about to take the picture. This is the only good one I got.
We walked around the area for a couple of hours and then again waited for the bus to the next destination. The next destination is Marina Mall and apparently we had free Skytower tickets included with out Big Bus Tour ticket. Skytower is just a tower that extends from the middle of Marina Mall and there was suppose to be a observation deck there. However, we ended up in a revolving restaurant and paid 35 dirhams for coffee.
Check out my tulan face and my 35 Dirhams coffee. However of course the view from the top of the tower were pretty good.
Unfortunately I think due to the altitude and also the super spicy tom yum instant noodles I had in the morning, my tummy was acting up and had to resort to nuking the Sky Tower toilet a few times. Guess the 35 Dirhams was pretty worth it after all :)
We lepaked there a little and then once again on the bus headed towards the Emirates Palace Hotel. It is a super luxury hotel which cost 11.02 billion Dirhams to built and is the second most luxurious hotel after Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Most of the suites have gold and marble finishing. The top most floor is only reserved for Emirates royalty and dignitaries. They hotel car were all Maybachs which are kind of converted Merc S classes but like 10 time more luxurious and cost a freaking bomb.
The view going in is already spectacular...
Couldn't resist taking this picture...
The exterior of the Emirates Palace hotel was impressive but I think what was behind was even more impressive.
That set of towers is the Etihad Towers being constructed and it compromises of 5 building where 4 buildings surround a central building. I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of those 5 towers.
Now the main reason why we came to The Emirates Palace hotel was because my friend told me they had an ATM that dispenses gold. The first thing we did when we walked in was to look for said ATM but before we got to the ATM, this is what we saw.
The Christmas tree looks pretty good but it looked like any Christmas tree right? Well both you and I made the same mistake. After coming back to KL, my friend told me that this Christmas tree cost USD11million bucks. You might wonder why it cost so much, well because there are bracelets, necklaces and watches which adorn the 13m (43-foot) tree contain 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones. Just to put things into perspective, USD 11 million bucks can buy up my entire company with about 500 staff, 2 office in KL, 1 office in Beijing, Manila, Hong Kong, Thailand and Wuhan. So can you imagine how expensive that tree is?
Next was of course the ATM that suppose to give me gold when I put money into it.
Yup it is real and there is no bull cr*p about it. It was there and I couldn't help myself but to try it out.
We were all mad with the gold rush that we had to sit down and take a rest...
By the time we left The Emirates Palace hotel, the sun was already setting and once again, spectacular views as the sun sets.
This caps off a great time we had in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Coming to the UAE completely changes my mind about Middle Eastern countries. Yes UAE is different from the rest of the other middle eastern countries but I really enjoyed myself and can safely say I would actually come back to visit this place again.
Big Thanks goes to Eng Park for letting us stay at his place and taking the time of to bring us around. The pictures that do not have a border are also courtesy of Eng Park and Jason Phua.
We got on the bus at Abu Dhabi mall and the first stop was the Al Meena carpet souk(market). We weren't in the mood for carpets so we gave it and miss and head on to the Iranian Souk. Initially we thought this could be a good place to get off and see what they sell. However as we arrived, it look like they were selling household goods like pots and pans so we decided to give it a miss as well.
See all the tarps at the bottom of the picture? That is the start of the Iranian souk and it is right at the docks. Apparently the goods come from directly from Iran which is not that far away on ships. There is a name for the ships but I cannot remember what they are called.
The next stop is the Abu Dhabi Corniche, basically it is like an esplanade. We decided to get off and have a look around. By the way, the sun was so hot and bright that after a while I forgot I was wearing sunnies. It was so bright that to my eyes, it looks like normal afternoon sun in Malaysia. It was pretty crazy.
Check out how clean the water is, bear in mind this is right in the middle of the city we are talking about. The sea all around Abu Dhabi is just like that. How come they are able to keep their waters clean and Malaysia has Teh Tarik for a sea? We cannot blame it on the port since apparently Abu Dhabi has a very busy port as well.
My friend told me that stretch of island in the Pano shot is only reserved for the Shiek of Abu Dhabi. It is his very own private island. It is good to be a Shiek.
While waiting for the bus, had nothing better to do so decided to try some pano shooting.
Wah very fast!!!!! Hehe. Somehow I like this picture because there is a lot of blend of colors from the greenery of the trees to the blue of the sky and the stark contrast of the street sign.
We finally got back onto the bus and our next stop was The Heritage Center. From this point you are actually able to see the entire Abu Dhabi city.
Check out the view, ain't it amazing? I don't think we will be able to capture that in KL. Well then again KL is much bigger then Abu Dhabi and it not an island. As you can see from the sun it was still freaking hot out there. We walked to the Heritage Center to check it out.
The Heritage center is a combination of museum and stalls to sell souvenirs. They had a section dedicated to life in the desert.
The first picture is of a standard desert house. It was crazy hot outside and just walking in, you can feel the temperature drop by a couple of degrees. It was pretty amazing. The second picture is a pure breed Arabian Stallion. They are one of the biggest and strongest horses in the world. It was pretty camera shy and kept moving his head just as I was about to take the picture. This is the only good one I got.
We walked around the area for a couple of hours and then again waited for the bus to the next destination. The next destination is Marina Mall and apparently we had free Skytower tickets included with out Big Bus Tour ticket. Skytower is just a tower that extends from the middle of Marina Mall and there was suppose to be a observation deck there. However, we ended up in a revolving restaurant and paid 35 dirhams for coffee.
Check out my tulan face and my 35 Dirhams coffee. However of course the view from the top of the tower were pretty good.
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| View looking towards Abu Dhabi City |
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Unfortunately I think due to the altitude and also the super spicy tom yum instant noodles I had in the morning, my tummy was acting up and had to resort to nuking the Sky Tower toilet a few times. Guess the 35 Dirhams was pretty worth it after all :)
We lepaked there a little and then once again on the bus headed towards the Emirates Palace Hotel. It is a super luxury hotel which cost 11.02 billion Dirhams to built and is the second most luxurious hotel after Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Most of the suites have gold and marble finishing. The top most floor is only reserved for Emirates royalty and dignitaries. They hotel car were all Maybachs which are kind of converted Merc S classes but like 10 time more luxurious and cost a freaking bomb.
The view going in is already spectacular...
Couldn't resist taking this picture...
The exterior of the Emirates Palace hotel was impressive but I think what was behind was even more impressive.
That set of towers is the Etihad Towers being constructed and it compromises of 5 building where 4 buildings surround a central building. I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of those 5 towers.
Now the main reason why we came to The Emirates Palace hotel was because my friend told me they had an ATM that dispenses gold. The first thing we did when we walked in was to look for said ATM but before we got to the ATM, this is what we saw.
The Christmas tree looks pretty good but it looked like any Christmas tree right? Well both you and I made the same mistake. After coming back to KL, my friend told me that this Christmas tree cost USD11million bucks. You might wonder why it cost so much, well because there are bracelets, necklaces and watches which adorn the 13m (43-foot) tree contain 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones. Just to put things into perspective, USD 11 million bucks can buy up my entire company with about 500 staff, 2 office in KL, 1 office in Beijing, Manila, Hong Kong, Thailand and Wuhan. So can you imagine how expensive that tree is?
Next was of course the ATM that suppose to give me gold when I put money into it.
Yup it is real and there is no bull cr*p about it. It was there and I couldn't help myself but to try it out.
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| Me posing by the GOLD ATM |
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| Me taking out money to buy the gold |
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| Me putting in money to get GOLD!!! |
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| Wah like sitcom show only |
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| Gold rush, had to sit and rest a little |
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| Me contemplating what to do with all the gold |
This caps off a great time we had in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Coming to the UAE completely changes my mind about Middle Eastern countries. Yes UAE is different from the rest of the other middle eastern countries but I really enjoyed myself and can safely say I would actually come back to visit this place again.
Big Thanks goes to Eng Park for letting us stay at his place and taking the time of to bring us around. The pictures that do not have a border are also courtesy of Eng Park and Jason Phua.
