TOP TIPS:
- Take your own Abaya (or long dress) to the Mosque
- Take a selfie stick to include the great backgrounds
- Visit Ferrari World Theme Park
- Try Chicken Pita at Eat Greek Kouzina
M's best friend and former coworker was visiting her sister in Dubai. Now, how is it possible that a friend crosses the ocean to get to our side and we don't visit? :p We left around 3am for our roadtrip. As always, we were loaded with snacks and drinks so the stops were pretty minimal during the 10 hours drive. There was limited traffic at the border as well so it saved us quite some time. We reached Al Khoory hotel in Burj Dubai around 1pm which was an hour before the check-in time but the receptionist was helpful with finding us an available room ASAP.
We rested for a little bit and then went to pick up Jo, whose birthday was coincidentally on the same day. The night just got extra special. The highways in UAE are very confusing. One wrong turn and you just lost 30 minutes of getting back on track. It took us well over an hour to reach the Dubai Mall. We took a few pictures and then head outside for dinner at Eat Greek Kouzina Restaurant facing the enormous Burj Khalifa.
B and Jo ordered the 'Chicken Souvlaki Skewers' which were very flavorful but a little dry. M ordered the 'Grilled Chicken Pita' which was a delight. For dessert we had ice cream from London Dairy before stepping outside again to watch the water fountains dance. It's always hot in the Middle East, but the weather was passably comfortable in November.
The next morning, we went to pick up Jo from her sister's house. The neighborhood was utterly beautiful as we drove into the compound area. Her sister is a wonderful person and in just a few minutes we gained another amazing friend close to home. All three of us left the apartment an hour later to Abu Dhabi which is roughly a 2 hours (170km) drive.
Before entering the Grand Mosque platform, the women needed to wear a blue or beige Abaya (long dress) to cover any skin or tight clothing as well as their heads. We suggest taking your own because the sweat odor in each garment as well as the entire dressing room was horrendous. The men needed to wear white Thobes if their arms or legs (shorts above the knees) were apparent but B was safe. M and Jo went inside to change into their required dress codes before stepping to the other side.
The 30 acres of marble stone landscape was breathtaking. The main axis of the building is rotated towards the west, aligning it in the direction of the Kaabah (House of Allah) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
We left the Grand Mosque for lunch in Yas Mall. KFC is always a great choice when you're hungry and need food delivered quickly. We bought the 10pm movie tickets for Venom before exploring Ferrari World. We just browsed through the area because the theme park was closed. But, this is definitely on the bucketlist when we visit Abu Dhabi again.
We dropped Jo off at her sister's apartment late at night giving her a few tight hugs and missing her the moment we left the driveway. It was a wonderful weekend catching up with an old friend. Felt like home again- M.
