For years, I’ve been keeping this tradition of celebrating my birthday in a new country. Though I’m not sure how it will go this year 2020 given the covid-19 situation and travel restrictions for tourism, but let me just go back from last year’s since I’ve not blogged about it yet.
My birth month is November, and it so happened I was in the UAE at that time. Since I was in another country already (and was honestly on a tight budget at that time too), the idea of flying to a new country for my birthday wasn’t the best move. Instead, I planned a mini trip to UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi. At that time, I didn’t have the chance to explore that city yet (except for those layovers in Abu Dhabi International Airport but I just lazily bummed in the airport lounge so that doesn’t count haha).
Going to Abu Dhabi was sort of a last minute plan. With the help of my housemate Milet (thank God my birthday fell on a Saturday, which is her day off!), she came with me on this trip. We went on an Abu Dhabi group tour by Mazaya Travel and Tours for 89 AED each. I remember walking from our apartment in Al Rigga to their physical office near Al Basaam Center. Booking and paying was pretty easy. Oh, and did I mention that the travel agents are almost all-Filipinos too?
So on the morning of November 29th, my birthday, Millet and I went to the meeting place at Union Metro Station to wait for the bus. I was surprised that the entire group is composed of Filipino travelers, including the tour operators. By that, you can just imagine how thousands of Filipinos OFWs are in Dubai.
Before heading to Abu Dhabi, we had a quick stop at The Last Exit, which is a fancy Instagrammable food park along Sheikh Sayed Road in Dubai.
While most people are mistaken for Dubai as the capital of the UAE, it’s really Abu Dhabi that’s just around 160 kms away and usually takes a 3-hour land travel. As the first stop, we went to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, which is famous for having the fastest roller coaster in the world. This indoor amusement park is part of the whole Yas Island, which is surrounded by different shops, restaurants, and hotels. It’s like Disneyland if you’d ask me.
After that, we headed to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. It’s a museum that houses an array of Arabic and global arts and civilization. While there, I was somehow remembering how more grand and luxurious-looking the Louvre in Paris was (I went there in 2018!). While Abu Dhabi’s version has its own style of presenting a museum, I personally find the first Louvre in France better.
Also read: How to Travel on a Budget in Paris, France
Lunch time went by and we were dropped at Marina Mall. I was really wishing of a good place to eat (since it was my birthday, right?), but funnily, we ended up at McDonald’s because that’s the only place that could serve fast! Anyway, at least I enjoyed the harbor view outside of this shopping mall.
It also has this huge Ferris wheel, called Marina Eye, which reminded me of Mall of Asia in the Philippines. I mean, they look very identical, right?
On the way, we passed by the Emirates Palace and Etihad Towers. They're also Abu Dhabi attractions, but due to limited time, we didn't really get the chance to go down, take some photos, or even enter. I'll save them for the next visit though!
For the final stop (where we spent time the longest), we went to the most famous attraction in Abu Dhabi: The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Also called the white mosque or grand mosque, it’s the largest, and perhaps the most beautiful, mosque in the UAE. It’s named after UAE’s ruler for 30 years, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. When he died in 2004, his son Khalifa Al Nahyan and now UAE’s president, took over.
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| Entrance dome / door to the mosque |
Our bus dropped us across the mosque, then I realized the entrance was really at the opposite side. Then, we had to go down and walk an underpass (it was longgg walk actually) until we reached the escalator to the mosque.
Since it’s a mosque, all women are required to wear abaya, a dress to cover the head, knees, and elbow. For non-Muslims like us, we had to borrow at the cloak area (it's for free).
Seeing this huge mosque up close was an amazing experience. The all-white walls, pillars, and flooring truly make it very elegant.
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