Abu Dhabi, UAE

On my way back from Australia, I decided to have a little 3 day stop in Abu Dhabi. I have always wanted to go to the Middle East and that was a good opportunity to have a long layover there. It was everything I had expected and more. I had such a great time! The weather with its 40 degrees of Celsius was the only sucker. You couldn't basically do anything between 12-6pm, so I barely survived at the beach.

one of the gorgeous beaches in Abu Dhabi

It all started off fancy already at the airport where a beautiful white limo from the hotel picked me up. I spent the first day mostly at the private beach our hotel had. The water was so warm (about 35 degrees) and so salty that I could have painted my toe nails while swimming.

The second day I visited the famous Heritage Village. It was filled with Emirates` history, small markets and museums. Such a beautiful place that unfortunately couldn't really be enjoyed due to the sickening heat. I did manage to buy some souvenires and even stop at the famous Emirates Hotel Palace for a picture. That night I had a desert safari I had patiently been waiting for. It started with dune bashing with cars, camel ride in the desert, sand surfing and ended with delicious Middle Eastern food and smoking shisha- without a doubt, the best experience I have ever had!

the desert

camel ride

somewhere in the middle of a desert

On my last day, I visited the famous and magnificent Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. I don't even have words for how gorgeous it was. I just hope everybody would have a changed to see something so beautiful once in their lifetime. Mandatory ropes were to be worn by women and that only added to the full experience of this holy sanctuary for Muslims. In the evening I went for a little stroll to the Abu Dhabi Mall and with that had all the places from my list ticked off.

Ramadan Kareem

speechless how beautiful

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

From the twenty countries I've been to, UAE is one of my definite favorites :)