We started off at the Souk, where Julie wanted me to check out the bulk spices. Holy Spices, Batman! Huge bags of stuff I didn't recognize and the largest salt crystals I've ever seen! I bought some arabic spice and some dried rose buds. I know the arabic spice I can put on chicken (because you can put anything on chicken!), but I have no idea what I will do with the rose. Most likely sit it in a pretty bowl and stare at it.
Speaking of pretty bowls, I bought four hand painted bowls, two for me and two for my mom. Oh, and a pretty scarf.
Then off to pick up a new coffee cup and find some lunch.
| We had lunch on the uppermost floor of the World Trade Center Mall at Studio Masr Mediterranean Grill. We ordered a comb appetizer which allowed us to try a bunch of different kinds of dip. The steak tasted a lot like fajita meat, which went well with the taboula. I ordered for lunch the Khishkhas kofta which was wonderful, but I'm still not sure why it was served with fries. Sadly, we couldn't finish our meal during lunch. A two-fold problem. 1) we had way too much for an appetizer and were getting full and 2) we needed to stop back by Julie's apartment and drop off our shopping before meeting the shuttle to go out to our evening adventure in the desert. We have a tight schedule to keep! |
The resort was themed after a traditional Arabian village, with a restaurant, souk, pool/oasis, sand dunes to climb on and surf down. The night we were there, the village had only 8 people, of which we were 2! From talking with the employees, they had 420 visitors the night before! We just got lucky I guess to have the place to ourselves. While it was nice to not have to wait in line to do anything, it was a little eerie.
I think I also found my newest favorite adventure past time, dune bashing! To do this, you drive a 4-wheel drive vehicle, in our case, a Land Cruiser, up the side of a dune, then off it at any angle possible. Just like riding a roller coaster and of course I'm giggling the whole way! It was so much fun! I've never been muddin', but from my understanding, I'd guess that dune bashing is very similar. I'd definitely go dune bashing again. I should add that to my list of things to do if/when I go back to Abu Dhabi.
It was so relaxing at Arabian Nights that I ended up taking not just one, but two naps at the side of their pool, with the sun gently warming me. I don't know how I managed not to get a sunburn. It wasn't like I had a view of the pool from a room, it was the view from the slightly covered lounge chair poolside. All before dinner.
Speaking of dinner, it was served outside on traditional Arabic seating. We sat up front, of course, and were entertained by a belly dancer while we ate. I think my favorite was the red maize hummus dip. I wish I remembered what all they said the dips were. For the entree, we had a combination of chicken and kofta. Guess what I had! It wasn't the chicken.
As we only booked a day adventure, after we finished dinner, we climbed into the Land Rover and drove back to Abu Dhabi. Julie managed to get the driver to drop us off near her apartment, so we didn't have to catch a cab.
High: 108 F
Low: 84 F
Sunny, light breeze
My review of places I've been
World Trade Center mall is located in the middle of downtown Abu Dhabi and is confined to a high-rise building. At this point during my vacation, I'm thinking, "not another mall!'. The whole top floor was reserved for restaurants and you can definitely let your nose be your guide there.
"Great way to experience the desert!"
Arabian Nights Village has a wonderful staff waiting to help you experience life in the desert first hand. We had a great time dune bashing, soaking in the sun, and hanging out with the camels. Definitely an experience to have again. Can't wait to go back.