Went in to Abu Dhabi today, cost about £8 in a taxi. Went to see the emirates palace. As we pulled up a guard spoke to me in the taxi and told me I needed to be wearing trousers, luckily I had packed them. I swiftly pulled them on over my shorts and was allowed in. And when I got in it was nothing but awe and grandure. The place was so shiny and clean and people all dressed ready to serve. I knew nothing about the palace before I came, I just picked it off the map I had been given on arrival. As it turns out, it's a hotel and as a result there are certain places that were off limits to people who were not staying. I know this because I ventured in to one of these areas and was quizzed by security. A friendly brick house of a man. He told me about the hotel and showed me some touch screen shots of the rooms, in between shouting at Chinese tourists who were taking photos of everything. 1 million sq feet, thats how big this palace was. After speaking to the guard I continued to wander around, get lost, eventually find a bathroom where I took off the shorts I had been wearing underneath my trousers. No need for multiple layers!
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I left out the front an took some shots then waited for a taxi to take me to marina mall. I think I was waiting for 15mins and the guards kept apologising for my wait. The apology was not necessary though I would have killed for a drink! My light coloured trousers were now dark with my sweat. I could literally feel it running down my back and my ass! Not pleasant! Eventually the taxi came, it gave me a chance to dry out with the lovely air conditioning.
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Got to marina mall, which had 5 floors and literally 100s of shops. Everything you can think of. Though most were closed for Ramadan. I found a super market on the ground floor and got some apples and juice. Of course couldn't eat these till I got back to the hotel. So after wandering round for a while, and when I had dried out, another taxi home to watch some Olympics and eat my apples.
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What is becoming increasingly clear is that you don't walk anywhere. No-one does, because of the heat. It is taxis everywhere. If you are outside the trick is not to move, even at this you will be sweating profusely.
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Been speaking to my bar man tonight, he is from Sri Lanka and is called Shamendra, though has the nick name Judy. He's been telling me that if it wasn't for Ramadan that he would take me out and show me some of the good spots. Pity I picked this time to come. He's told me next time I'm back to give him a shout and we'll get something arranged. It's interesting listening to him telling me stories of his life, and how they compare to mine. Yet we can still have the banter over the bar while I'm drinking a fanta. He keeps me entertained while I'm having my dinner, he'll be recommending something new to eat tomorrow. Priceless!