ABU DHABI TO SINGAPORE

ABU DHABI  MARCH 16    written en route to Singapore  -  8 hour flight
       while in taxi TALKED TO DENNE IN LAKE TAHOE,  sounded like she was in the
                 next  room. 
                 She was in Thursday and we were in Friday all at the same time

Going back to yesterday:

Hotel Hilton in Abu Dhabi    When we arrived yesterday at reception we were given welcoming COLD wet cloths.
(In Abu Daubi, at the Haboot Grand it was a fruit drink.)

All service people here are very attentive in a friendly way.  The hotel has  7  restaurants,  (since we left home I have been hungry only one time for a few minutes).
Walking under a short, clean, well decorated tunnel, the hotel has private beach front.
There are 3 swimming pools and 2 restaurants and a few bars there.

No schedule today.
Breakfast at beautiful enticing buffet.
Swim. ......
Taxi around Abu Dhabi for Bob to take pictures of the AMAZING tall buildings.
Dinner at the beachfront ...    delicious Arabic food ...
                                                   romantic setting...lanterns,,reflections

This section of the trip blows my mind.......in many ways ....
Women’s bank, women’s taxis driven by women
I saw a photo of Abu Dhabi in 1968    A lot of sand and some shacks
                           
OIL        EXPLOSION OF DEVELOPMENT

Now    DEVELOPMENT  CONTINUES    so fast.   so modern   so extensive 
                   so luxurious     the buildings spare no cost

Since the economy slump some developments have stopped in Dubai       
            *************************************************
 MARCH16
ALL DAY TRAVELING
Plane ride SEEMED easy ......moved clock 4 hours ahead............

SINGAPORE ......Shangri La Hotel .....11 PM
We were not tired so we had a drink and listened to a fine singer, pianist drummer and bass player combo.  
 

ADDITION TO DUBAI POST

I think it was March 12, well one of the Dubai days....

Guide and driver picked us up early and we drove out of town....  Desert, flat with scrub little greens here and there.    Not what I had envisioned, but the wide open spaces were refreshing, and quiet.
Good roads.  Car alerted the driver when he exceeded the speed limit which was a temptation.
                       (Taxis seem to have this warning too .....are all cars equipped this way????)

Guide explained that there are a lot of circumstances for ...... FINES:  

Speeding,     if stopped,  checked for drinking and if found, big consequences    could be JAIL

Train   (METRO  behavior ...............   chewing gum or sleeping

Further along beautiful mountains.     Cutting them for concrete     aluminum
Along the wadis   (streams)    date trees b
Lunch and a  SWIM IN THE INDIAN OCEAN  Felt Fabulous!!!!!

On to another city along the coast... Furairah .......
    Fast development, growing into another megalopolis.
       Oil refineries and shipping.
On the way back the desert was the way I expected, Dunes and sand. 
 BUT lots of electric wires  crisscrossing into many patterns delivering the needed power into the brightly lighted sparkling city.  Once in the cities all wires are underground.

MAKING ARRANGEMENTS

Vehicle for a "Desert Adventure" arranged by Travel Agent.

BOB - "I was promised a Hummer"

HENCH - "You'll love his rendition of  "Desert Song"
                      
                   

ABU DHABI

MARCH 14
Just got back from dinner.  Our bed was covered with red rose petals and towels sculpted into a heart or 2 love doves depended in how you looked at it. Earlier, wine, fruit, petite fours and candy were delivered.
Hotel people  are so happy to help us celebrate our anniversary trip!!!!

This morning in Dubai our guide picked us up at 9:00 for the trip to Abu Dhabi.
Ferarri World was our first stop.
Another unbelievable!!  ( Many times on this trip I feel like I am on a different planet)
A huge amusement park complex community built around a Formula One, 5 kilometer race track .  All VERY Modern and well designed.     
             FUTURISTIC    
We stopped at one of the hotels and were toured around.  From the lavish hotel swimming pool lounge you can look straight down onto the track.      Pictures  to follow.

Onward to a Modern technological center which is part of a developing eco friendly village: 
MASDAR THE GLOBAL CENTER OF FUTURE ENERGY
We drove in a completely automated (including steering system car) 
Everything utilized here is developed here.
Solar energy is well utilized.
Our guide seems to have a lot of networking skills and arranged this tour for us.
 Arriving in Abu Dhabi, went to see the Emirate Grand Palace Hotel and the historic village (contrasts), dismissed our guides and fell into the Hilton Hotel.    

DUBAI

MARCH 13   
The Metro trip was terrific, very modern, clean and pleasant.  We entered the front car and Bob was asked to leave - only women in this car.  People are helpful and create seats for elders.

Attire for women is fascinating. Some in modern dress, some in traditional black with different amounts of head/face  showing. Today I saw a woman dressed in the traditional style with  only her face showing,  New York type make-up,  who was carrying a briefcase and had the air of a business executive.  Later I saw a young couple who seemed to be engaged in a romantic conversation, like flirting, and her face was totally veiled, no facial expression was visible. Our guide tells us that women are highly regarded and respected.

Lunch on the 122 floor of the Burj Kalifa.
We entered the property and walked up the beautifully manicured garden street to the gate. No one else was walking.  A few limos passed us.  When we announced that we had lunch reservations we were graciously greeted and we entered.  We were probably the only "walk-ins" ever!!  We continued the walk to the entrance to the Armani Hotel.
                                ..................OVERWHELMING ELEGANCE ...............

The lunch:  360 degree view of Dubai  (clean floor to ceiling windows)
                   Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere....And that's the name of the restaurant
                           Well spaced tables.....flowers
                               Each food presentation was a work of art
                                 All delicious
                                      Friendly servers
                                           We did not overeat    (The $$$$  kept us somewhat sane)

People from many countries are in Dubai.  Our guide is from India, the driver too.  They talk to people we encounter who are from Burma, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Philippines, Malaysia.
At breakfast we hear Eastern European, Chinese, Japanese, Swedish.  Haven't encountered French or Spanish. Have bumped into a few Americans.

Our hotel has comped us dinners.  At the end of the day we are glad to enjoy their fine food and beautiful grounds and not have to make any more decisions.  










 

Learn in another language, a lot of squribles

This not easy!! ........ The writing the blog.
Living the trip is easy and fun. Getting the mechanics of passwords, wireless and other geekee stuff could be a challenge on a marriage but we are doing fine.  Bob is now contributing entering the pictures and both of us are learning.  He is more courageous.

Today we are going to have lunch on the 166th floor of
Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.  We will take the
"Metra" system to get there.

Burj al Arab hotel - entry restricted to paying guests - lunch for two $700, We skipped the experience.

The biggest fish tank in the world - about 20' high and 125' long.  Almost invisible joints in the tremendous window.  
               WOW!