(updated: photos)Apologies to all Abu-Dhabi lovers: this city is BORING! Geez!!
Got here last night, evaded the hotel with the pack of Filipina hookers lined up in front (like, 15 of them. and it was a 350 dhs ($100) hotel. oh well.
Ended up in a really nice hotel where the owner is an old Burmese guy who spent 4 years in Paris in his youth, so he started telling me in French about his memories, with his Vespa, his girlfriend.. So cute :)
Abu Dhabi looks more like a real city than Dubai, with its distinct downtown/souk/little india part and its new financial district where i spent the past 2 months.
Went to the UAE Cultural Foundation which the Lonely Planet praises a lot -- ok, nice architecture but nothing to do in there, no exhibitions, no nothing. Well, a fake camel painted in a 'Spiderman' outfit, that was amusing. That's pretty much it.
Idem for El Hosn Palace - a fort built in 1793 (very, very old in UAE terms!) which had no guards on anything... walked for a minute in the courtyard, then headed to an internet cafe.Might check out a beach or something later today.
Tonight probably heading to Al-Ain, on the Omani border. Might sneak into Oman, if they let me in. :)
6 comments:
So what is the political landscape like? Do workers get much in the way of rights? Its a real reversal of 'no vote no taxes' over there; no taxes to pay means no vote or voice. (Your B+ Poster)
The Spiderman camel is priceless! :)
Anon B+: You were trying to get me arrested, weren't you?? :)
Well now that I'm out of the country..
Yes. It's a twisted 'no taxation therefore no representation' and, funnily enough, people seem generally content with the way it is. Well, the people who are allowed to voice their opinion. Because the immense majority of the inhabitants, foreigners, have no rights whatsoever - no political, economic, social. And surely no prospect for political participation. So in a short-sighted scope, it may seem that people are more-or-less *okay* with the way things are, as long as there's cash flowing in the country, growth, basic services provided.
Which is a really silly way of looking at it but it seems to satisfy some.
But if you look at all those to whom country has a responsibility.. it's a complete disaster and disrespect of basic political (et al) rights.
Very very boring. People dont party at all. All they do is pretend to work and do basically nothing else all day every day.
Abu Dhabi !! the most bullshit place i ever seen. Completely lifeless !
you and your lil india comments!!
lol
...dude the u.a.e is pretty much 90% indian,paki,and that whole gang...
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