Abu Dhabi Ahoy!

This morning we set off on a drive to head to Abu Dhabi, UAE's capital which is located nearly 140 kilometres from Dubai. On the agenda today are visiting the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and other incredible sights of the nation's capital.

Driving towards Abu Dhabi on Sheikh Zayed Road and passing by the Burj Khalifa...

Abu Dhabi city is the capital of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, which is the biggest emirate of the UAE. Not only is it the biggest in size, but it is also the richest - Abu Dhabi thus holds 9% of the world’s proven oil reserves and almost 5% of the world’s natural gas.

Much like Dubai, a significant population of Abu Dhabi is expatriate, and a vast majority of these expatriates are from the Indian sub-continent.

But unlike Dubai, which opened itself to the world, Abu Dhabi is a lot laid back, sedate and a lot more conservative. The buzz that we had seen in Dubai was missing here. It was indeed a lot more quieter.

And here we are today...

And as we approach Abu Dhabi, I understand that this city is indeed amazing and different. Abu Dhabi is spread across several little islands in the Persian Gulf, all connected by bridges. And creeks in between are all shallow, getting exposed on the low tide. And it seems to be a low lying city, that will be exposed to vagaries of climate change.

One of the highlights of Abu Dhabi is the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and we were being shown around the place by our Uzbeki guide. More on that very soon...