The onset of the journey from the Dallas, US didn’t go just as planned. We had buffered for a 3 day stay in India before Overlanding to South East Asia . The buffer was cut short during transit in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Crunched by one hour of transit time, we missed our connecting flight. An unexpected detour in Middle-East to our SE Asia itinerary. The airlines boarded us in the city, and it happened to be on the eve of Eid. The city I am acutely familiar with, courtesy of visiting many times for work. The city as such comes to life in the late evenings after the brunt of desert heat calms down, more so during festive occasions with decorative lights dotting the Cornish and by the reflection of the lights along the beach waters. Families picnicking along the Cornish infuses a relaxing environment. The act of casually dining at mid-night seemed to have become a ‘bragging right’ for a teenager who grew up being lectured to ‘eat and sleep on time’. We had dinner at about mid-night which is not so uncommon in this part of the world. For old time sake, we had dinner at a place right across the hotel Rotana (@ Hamdan Street) where I must have stayed for at least 150 nights. The landscape along Hamdan street with known shops and establishments have changed. Starting with the airport, Abu Dhabi is a city in a constant metamorphosis state to grow and modernize, hopefully not to ape Dubai. The changes are even perceptible for a visitor with a moderate frequency of visits, not so frequent to miss out nor so far apart to notice the obvious changes.
Next day, we aimed to tick off usual touristy spots such as Grand Mosque (Sheik Zaid Mosque – the largest in the world) and Arabian Souk. The day of Eid happens to be a break for mass blue collar emigrant workforce in Abu Dhabi. From prior experience, undoubtedly, the blue collar workers from Indian sub-continent are clearly pegged in the bottom rung of the society and made to feel so in many walks of life. A number of them were ‘vacationing’ by visiting the mosque. The interactions and physical expression among blue collar workers would defy Western protocols – middle aged men holding hands or resting over a friend’s shoulder. While waiting in line to get inside the mosque, we befriended a few, and we became a regular accompaniments in their selfie snaps.
Next, we wanted to check in at a café shop on top of the marina mall which used to be in our week-end jaunts during the past professional stint in Abu Dhabi – serving nice pastries and coffee selections with an aerial view of the city. Apparently, the café was closed 2 years ago and at about the same time, a comparable one was opened on top of a new Ethihad tower a few blocks away. In this part of the world, it wouldn’t be an overreach to assume that these kinds of orchestration to perhaps route traffic to the newly opened Etihad towers are typically ordained by the powers be. And so we went to café at the Etihad towers.
Next stop was to the simulated version of classical Arabian Souk in the comfort of AC and bright lights at the World Trade Center building. This Souk gives a modern twist catered towards tourists, all outlets manned by working emigrants. In general, the locals don’t man shops and outlets. The shops were arranged along the inner perimeter of the building with the American style food court at the center of the building with a huge atrium. In comparing to a local market I had visited in Muscat, Oman many years ago, the most missed out part of a traditional souk was grannies cooking delicacies and overhearing chatter in Arabic. The closest resemblance was a few stalls with nicely arranged jute sacks with cornicle shaped spices and the emanating aromas. We wrapped up with a cheesy photo taken from one of the touristy stalls, marking the visit to Middle-East
