Abu Dhabi and Dubai 2018

Hi all,

We just got back from the UAE on Monday and I'm still recovering. I was lucky enough to visit both cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.


How we got there?
The flight duration was 7 hours on the way over. We flew with Ethihad from Dublin at 19:10 and arrived in Abu Dhabi at 06:40. I was lucky to be allowed on the flight as there was a bend on my passport. The lad behind the counter made sure to let me know I was lucky to be getting on and perhaps if I had met a different official I might not have been let on at all. When I went travelling nearly five years ago, most of my flights were with Emirates and I flew on the exact same passport with the exact same bend. Basically what I'm trying to say is if you're flying with Etihad make sure your passport is in good condition - they seem to be stricter than other airlines.

We flew back on the 09:20 flight from Abu Dhabi to Dublin. The flight was 8 hours on the way back and the time difference is 4 hours (UAE is 4 hours ahead of Ireland.)

Thursday 6th December 2018
Kevin's brother Declan collected us from the airport in what I can only describe as local attire (you can work that one out for yourself). He's been living there for the last 14 months therefore he had an itinerary done out for us. The downfall was we lost a nights sleep travelling so we were wrecked on the Thursday morning. We had an hours sleep before being collected by a local tour man to go dune bashing and riding camels in the desert. This was about 45 minutes outside Abu Dhabi and cost €34.00 per person. I wasn't a big fan of the dune bashing  (it felt like we were on a roller coaster) but it was lovely to see the camels, they are beautiful tame animals.

After this we checked into The Marriot Hotel, had a drink and headed down town Abu Dhabi. We had a quick bite to eat in Fado Irish Bar and went back to our hotel for a well needed power nap.
I'm sure many people reading this have heard about the famous 'Brunches'. Declan booked us into the Kuzbara Brunch in 'Marriott Al Whada' in the city. Here I met my friends, Tisha and Lucy who now live in Abu Dhabi. The brunch lasted from 18:30 to 23:00. It was €60.00 per person and you then have endless food and drink within this time frame. It's definitely one of the best ways to socialise there as going to the pub for a few drinks is a different ball game in United Arab Emirates. The average price of a gin and tonic was €11.50. It's no joke!

*****The Entertainer App-*****
The entertainer is a publisher of buy one get one free offers for restaurants, leisure attractions, spas, hotel accommodation across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe. It costs €100.00 at the start of the year and you can use it in most restaurants and activities throughout the city. You can search the app for great deals nearby. There are two separate entertainers for Abu Dhabi and Dubai so if travelling to either city check with a friend and they might kindly lend you their login details whilst your there.

Friday 7th December 2018
We checked out of The Marriott around noon and Dec picked us up and we headed for Dubai. First thing we had to do was visit the Burj Khalifa. It's the worlds tallest man made building. Tickets cost €70.00 per person including fast track. The fast track tickets were €20.00 extra but they were so worth it. You should have seen the queues of people waiting. After this we grabbed a quick McDonald's and headed to our Airbnb. This cost €500 for 2 nights. The location was out of this world. It was a 3 bedroom apartment and had a balcony with deck chairs. If you are visiting Dubai definitely look into Airbnb's rather than hotels. We went for dinner that night in the observation tower in the Marriot Hotel. Again we used the entertainer app here to get a discount.

We ended up in McGettigan's in JLT that night, It was lovely as we met up with people from home who were living there. I remember buying a round of 7 drinks and it cost €82.00!! I can't emphasise enough how expensive Abu Dhabi and Dubai are!! After here we went to a beach bar called Barasti. It had a live band and we were happy out when we got a table. Sheesha is huge in the UAE. Of course we had to try it and it was lovely.

Saturday 8th December 2018
Thankfully we didn't have sore heads when we woke up Saturday morning. Our personal driver, Declan brought us out to the Palm and we then went to the beach, followed by food in Chilli. In the evening we went to Dubai Miracle Garden. Entry is €9.50 per person. Apart from the four giant freaky cats staring at you as you enter the grounds - this place is pretty special. It's very hard to describe in words but you can see this place's beauty in the photos below. We ended the night in McGettigan's JBR where I drank cocktails with Kev's Mam, whilst Kev and his Dad watched soccer and rugby on the 4 screens in front of them. Everyone was happy out!

Sunday 9th December 2018
We checked out of the Airbnb at 12:00. In Abu Dhabi and Dubai the school week is Sunday to Thursday so our personal taxi man Declan had to leave us the night before. We got a taxi from Dubai to Abu Dhabi and it cost 200 dirhams which is the equivalent of about €50.00. We checked into Hotel Centro in Yas Island. We went shopping straight away in Yas Island Mall. The last few weeks I've been looking for sock boots everywhere to no avail. I ended up getting my sock boots in H&M in Yas Island Mall for €40.00. The trip was made!

After the shopping we ate in the Cheese Cake Factory here. I ate in the Chicago branch in March and I just loved it. Unfortunately we had no room for cheesecake on this occasion.

We went to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque for sun set. The women had to cover up with an abaya and the lads were wearing shorts and were made put on pants similar to tracksuit bottoms. The mosque was beautiful and is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates. On entering the mosque you are required to remove your shoes. I'm 5'6'' and the abaya was so long I was tripping over it so I gently held it up to stop myself from tripping. I soon got a tap on my shoulder to tell me I was showing too much leg. There's no charge into the mosque!

My friend Peter and his wife Sinead live in Abu Dhabi. I had arranged to meet them both at the Emirates' Palace for the lighting of the Christmas Tree. It's said that the tree is encrusted with $11 million worth of jewels. This truly was a sight to behold. If you are going to visit this palace note that they don't let men in if they are wearing shorts. Very strange rule but it's true, hence why Kevin doesn't feature in the photo below!! :)

All in all we had a wonderful few days in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. If anyone has any questions that I haven't covered in this please don't hesitate to ask. Hope you enjoyed this piece and if you did please let me know!!

I would like to wish my readers a very Happy Christmas and thank you for your support and kind words throughout the year!! I hope you'll stay with me in 2019 too :)

Lots of love,
Maria
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