At short notice Dean headed off to Abu Dhabi for work at the end of October.
For a first offshore trip away it would be hard to beat. Coming from the low teens in Europe, to 30+ was exciting, but I didn't get to be outside too much, as spent much of time indoors and in cars - both heavily air-conditioned.
Traffic in Dubai was much worse than Abu Dhabi, with an incredible amount of articulated trucks moving about. It is said that 80% of the world's construction cranes are in Dubai, and on the way back, I felt that it probably wasn't far off! Also spotted on the way back was a herd? of camels moving along beside the motorway.
Photos are limited, as photos of key buildings are discouraged, and it is considered rude to take photos of people, so I left the photos alone. But I have some photos of the view from the hotel room and inside (a very busy hotel meant I could only get a suite, sweet!, a room was bigger then our flat, and included two bathrooms. Wow). I would recommend the hotel fully if on a business trip!
The view of my lounge in the hotel. Similar area behind me, and the bedroom was the same size as the lounge!
View from balcony. The view from the private hotel beach is all construction.
For a first offshore trip away it would be hard to beat. Coming from the low teens in Europe, to 30+ was exciting, but I didn't get to be outside too much, as spent much of time indoors and in cars - both heavily air-conditioned.
Culturally Abu Dhabi is a very interesting place to visit, with oil behind the economic transformation meaning cars are the major way of getting around. Traffic wasn't too bad in Abu Dhabi, but we were lucky to have a dedicated driver to get us around. Apparently a decree by the head of the royal family means that the traditional dress is required to be worn, which made for a very cosmopolitan scene (we were OK in suits though!).
As well as meetings in Abu Dhabi we had some meetings in Dubai, and we drove the 150kms to Dubai along a 6 lane highway, straight as an arrow. Both meetings were on the outskirts of Dubai, but the architecture of Dubai was a lot more extravagant than Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi was pretty conservative, a lot of standard boxy buildings that seemed to be capped around 10 storeys high. Dubai by comparison seemed to have no limit to the height of their buildings, and the designs of the new buildings seemed to be a competition amongst the architects to create the most exciting building.
Traffic in Dubai was much worse than Abu Dhabi, with an incredible amount of articulated trucks moving about. It is said that 80% of the world's construction cranes are in Dubai, and on the way back, I felt that it probably wasn't far off! Also spotted on the way back was a herd? of camels moving along beside the motorway.
Photos are limited, as photos of key buildings are discouraged, and it is considered rude to take photos of people, so I left the photos alone. But I have some photos of the view from the hotel room and inside (a very busy hotel meant I could only get a suite, sweet!, a room was bigger then our flat, and included two bathrooms. Wow). I would recommend the hotel fully if on a business trip!
The view of my lounge in the hotel. Similar area behind me, and the bedroom was the same size as the lounge!
View from balcony. The view from the private hotel beach is all construction.
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