Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The 14 hour flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi with Etihad was very pleasant. Leaving Sydney at about 10pm and arriving at 6am we had a long night with plenty of opportunity to sleep, as well as eat, read and watch the odd movie.

Melanie and Jim had booked a sunset cruise on a catamaran, which was just amazing. Calm waters, warm air, magnificent views, food and drink, and time to catch up, both with ourselves and our friends.

Much of Abu Dhabi is pretty new and the views along the cruise were very varied and of course quite different when the sun sank below the horizon and the lights came on. There has certainly been no expense spared in the development of the city, with some interesting architecture.

The Emirati make up only 15% of the population - the other 85% are foreign workers of all sorts who provide services, from teachers to builders, architects to housemaids, tourist operators to security guards. The population is apparently 80% male, since there are not all that many jobs available to women. It's quite hard to get your head around the amount of money that the Emirati have to spend. The ruling family of Abu Dhabi, which is the largest and richest of the emirates, have been ruling since 1793 and are said to have a collective fortune of $150 billion. Shopping is referred to as the women's sport, since they don't play outdoor sports. The roads are engineered to cater for the notorious bad driving, though the speed limit is often 120, with a 20kmp tolerance. Most roads are one way, pretty straight , avoiding crossroads by using over- and under-passes and there are often small judder bars leading up to a corner, to remind one to slow down.

Al Ain: Melanie and Jim had previously lived in Al Ain, which is a town an hour and a half or so out of Abu Dhabi. Highlights here are a huge date palm oasis with an ancient and apparently very efficient watering system (a UNESCO world heritage site), 

a typical fort from yesteryear (also a heritage site)

and a trip on a wide, modern road, 4000ft up to the top of a mountain (Jebel Hafeet), where there are expansive views, a luxury hotel and a palace for the country's rulers.