Along the lines of the cool Abu Dhabi video we shared many months back, here is a 24 hour time-lapsed video of Downtown Dubai, starting at 4am local time on 11/11/11, by photographer Gerald Donovan.
I love how the Burj Khalifa just dwarfs everything else. And it’s not like those other buildings are short – it’s just that the Burj is that big! Pretty cool.
One of our must-do’s was a trip to Sir Bani Yas Island for a stay at the Desert Islands resort. A 15-minute ride off shore about 2 hours west of Abu Dhabi, the island is home to a wildlife reserve, an old Christian monestary and beautiful coastline.
Sheikh Zayed, founder and first president of the UAE, made it a priority to preserve, protect and build up the island as a nature reserve. It was beautiful; a few of our highlights are below.
Sir Bani Yas Island is about 2 hours southwest of Abu Dhabi...3 hours from Dubai...
The "Desert Islands" are made up of 8 different islands - Sir Bani Yas being the largest
Go big or go home. That’s the UAE’s motto. You can see photo and video examples here with the Burj Khalifa’s fireworks display for New Years. Happy 2012!
A live action shot is just a click away!
Family and food – those are the terms which best describe the second half of our U.S. tour. Heading south to Williamsport, Maryland, we kicked off our “second Christmas” with a visit to Uncle Dave’s Pizza Hut, where met up with extended family, including some who were in town from Florida. Given how short our trip was, seeing them was definitely a wonderful surprise.
The rest of the trip included lots of pork, a trip to our favorite DC restaurant and lots of quality time with family. Worth every bit of the 15 hour flight!
Our first port of call back in our native land was NYC where we spent a quick overnight en route to CT. Christmas came and went quickly in the US with a short four days in New England. In looking through our photos, we realized we took a lot of photos of Alex, and not much else. Good thing he’s so cute! Here are a few highlights of our time with the Pohorylo family.
So, having never even experienced business class before, it was quite a (delightful) shock to get upgraded to first class on our flight from Abu Dhabi to New York for Christmas. We had two of twelve spots on the plane, and relished every bit of those 17 hours on flight (versus what it would have been like in coach class). Food and drink on demand? Check. Lie-flat seats? Of course. Fun extras like massage chairs and PJs. Yes! While we may never experience such luxury again, it was fun while it lasted and a very nice Christmas present for us both. Thanks, Etihad Airways!
There have been a few videos floating around that highlight the beauty of the UAE. Here’s one – Emirates Winter – that expands beyond the cities to capture the vast and varied landscapes of the country. It took filmmaker and artist, Lewis De Mesa, five months and over 300,000 pictures to create this video – just amazing!
So, in honor of winter, we hope you enjoy the video! Happy New Year!
Emirates Winter created by Lewis De Mesa.
You can read more about this here.
Christmas 2011 looks a lot different than in 2010. There’s a massive difference in temperature, no beach in sight, and the concept of all-you-can-eat-and-drink high-quality buffets will be missed. Yep, that’s right, our Christmas moved 7,000 miles West to the good ol’ US of A!
But the positives far outweigh the allure of Christmas in Abu Dhabi. We get to spend the holidays with family and friends – a rarity since our move out here.
On that high note, to all, we wish you a very merry Christmas!
We're trading bathing suits in for winter coats this Christmas and couldn't be happier!
So, our journey to stay in all seven Emirates came to an end this month with a quick stay in Umm al-Quwain – the Emirate in between Ajman and RAK. Not known for its 5-star hotels, we had a brief encounter in UAQ before heading back through Dubai for a festive Friday brunch!
Not the most climactic way to reach our goal, but we can definitely say we’ve conquered the UAE!
While not exactly understanding rugby itself, the Dubai Rugby Sevens tournament was a beautiful thing. Beautiful in that we spent part of our three-day weekend there (in honor of the UAE’s 40th birthday). Beautiful in that we saw a little piece of home in Dubai (with the US team on the roster). And beautiful in the complete crazy mix of cultures, costumes and cocktails (see pics below).
While the Brits and other Euros had this thing down, the Sevens was a new experience for us both. And, quite an experience it was. The tournament had the costumes of Halloween, the sport of Thanksgiving football, the outdoor grilling and beverages of Memorial Day and the pagentry of 4th of July. Oh, and we saw some fast-paced rugby. Too bad the US went 0 for 3…
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