Middle East 2024 - Day 7 - 12/5/2024 - To Abu Dhabi

After breakfast and a short stroll, we used the Careem app (which I finally got working after failing the verification process in Doha, but had the option to verify via WhatsApp in Dubai) to hail a taxi to take us to our hotel in Abu Dhabi. We had also considered going by bus (which would require a car to get to/from the bus station on both ends, but still be significantly cheaper), but opted for the convenience of a point-to-point journey after a couple of days of hemming and hawing. The ride to the Andaz Capital Gate took about 1.5 hours (we got there a bit after 1:30p) and cost AED 324 ($88.24 based on the conversion rate on Google, but Bank of America charged me $92.39). Brad's friend also gifted him status there, so we got a larger room (which happened to be a disability friendly room) and complementary breakfast.

I had contacted a family friend, Ngozi, the day before, and arranged to meet up with her today. This was actually a last minute connection, as I didn't think that she lived in the UAE anymore. She graciously offered to show us around, and picked us up at the hotel around 4:30p. We initially headed toward Qasr Al Watan, but had to make a detour to top up the air in one of her tires after a low pressure warning. We then found out via the internet that Qasr Al Watan had closed (at 5p), so we pivoted to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (which closed at 10p) instead. We had initially ruled this out when she picked us up because I was wearing shorts, but we decided to head back to the hotel so that I could change to pants before going to the mosque (which wasn't too far from the hotel - maybe a 10 minute drive).

The mosque was quite grand indeed, very large and spectacular. I found it interesting that Ngozi commented that they had greatly reduced the places that you could go within the mosque - it used to be essentially completely open 5 years ago, but now there was a roped-off path where you were allowed, which excluded all of the central area. She also had to go buy a covering for herself (I don't remember the name), as they didn't lend them out anymore. At least visiting the mosque was still free, though you did have to reserve tickets (which we did online).

After walking though the mosque grounds, she drove us to one of her favorite restaurants, a Japanese place called Zuma. It was quite fancy (though I was fine entering in a t-shirt), and also pretty tasty. She also secretly ordered a special personalized dessert to celebrate my birthday 😅. After dinner she drove us back to the hotel.

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Trip highlight photos can be found here.