Zoos

The UAE has a number of zoos, many of which are supposed to be pretty good. While I haven't been there, my kids have been to the Kid's Park Zoo for school field trips. From, what I've heard, this zoo is pretty good with play areas for kids and a variety of animals.

The best zoo in the UAE isn't in Abu Dhabi city, it's in Al Ain, a city in the Emirite of Abu Dhabi. The Al Ain Wildlife Park is a great place to relax and is a pretty good zoo. They also have special exhibitions like the animatronic dinosaurs. There is a pretty good selection of wild cats like lions, cheetahs, and leopards. The less predatory animals have a free range to roam. One thing can be said for the Emiratis, they like their exotic animals.

Unfortunately, even with the great zoos in the UAE, there are a number of "private zoos" created through illegal traffickng. Many people may remember the story of the cheetah roaming the streets of Abu Dhabi from May of this year. That was a funny sort of story that made international headlines, but it wasn't an isolated case. December of 2010, a similar case happened in Sharjah, one of the northern emirites. Animal trafficking has become so prevalent in the UAE that the head of the Dubai Zoo has called for a regulatory body to crack down on the practice.

That aside, there are a lot of little mini zoos in surprising places, like Dreamland water park in Umm Al Quwain or Khalifa children's park. Sometimes there are little petting zoos outside of museums for no reason or in cultural villages. Many festivals will provide camel rides or pony rides. The Emirati cultural love of animals helps to ensure that children living in Abu Dhabi will have plenty of exposure to them.

Yesterday's culture

I kind of touched on this when I wrote about Liwa, but if you really want to get a feel for what the UAE and Abu Dhabi specifically were like, you need to get away from the cities.

Near Liwa, there is an annual Camel Beauty Contest right around Christmas. The purpose of this is to promote and preserve the culture. One of the criteria is "camel toe cleavage." I haven't made it out there the past two years, but hope to go this year.

Also, out in the desert near Liwa you can sometimes see guys taking out their falcons for a fly. I haven't ever been asked to try one out yet, but if you ask nicely, I'm sure they'll let you take one out for a spin.

Also, I'd like to mention the Abu Dhabi Natural History group. Shortly after we first got here we attended an event put on by them. We saw a video shown regarding the pearl diving history of Abu Dhabi. Something that we hadn't signed up for but something that I would have loved had we been equipped for was the camping on the beach followed by the pearl diving expedition the following day. This group has lectures every month with occasional camping trips or events.

Even though the cities of Abu Dhabi seem to be trying to shake the image of a nomadic culture by building as many modern structures they can, it's nice to know that there are some people that maintain the old ways.

e-X-cess

It may be a bit of a repeat of the previous entry, but yes, the UAE likes things big. Not only is Abu Dhabi competing with the rest of the world, they're competing with Dubai. Sure they had the world's most expensive Christmas tree, but in the same hotel you can get $20 slice of cheesecake covered in gold shavings. In fact, the Emirates Palace is proud to advertise that they use five kilograms of gold a year of gold on their deserts. The UAE has the money so why not spend it?

Abu Dhabi uses an excessive amount of water, but those parks aren't green from the rain. Every day while driving to work, I can see the sprinklers watering the parks and road medians. Sure there are the ads telling people to conserve water at home, but no one really takes those things seriously, do they?

The cars that you commonly see driving the roads of Abu Dhabi are almost out of a movie, Ferraris, Rolls Royces, Lamborginis, or even a number of fancy cars with names that I don't even recognize. As for cars that would normally turn heads such as Porches, Hummers, Cadillacs or Lexus? A dime a dozen. I've been accused of being obsessed with cars by more than one person and maybe I am, but my obsession has to do with the vast amounts of money spent on flashy cars rather than any sort of appreciation for the car itself.

Even promotion has to be excessive. It is understandable for a country with such incredible wealth to want to shake the image of being a couple of tents in the middle of nowhere. This would partially explain the obsession with breaking every world record possible. Any time there is an event at the school, the administration wants to make sure that every seat is filled and the cameras and video are out in spades. Because our campus is a point of pride in the the UAE, our school library is decked out with all the biggest and latest technology for all the visiting dignitaries to see. Our school even hosts the Festival of Thinkers to promote thinking and innovation among students in the UAE with some top names among intellectual circles.

Sure there are a lot of excesses here, but for a newly formed country determined to shake off the image of a backwards settlement of nomads, they have a lot to overcome.

World Records

Not only is Abu Dhabi competing with the rest of the world, they're competing with Dubai. Nothing helps to promote a place like breaking a world record and Abu Dhabi has been working hard to ensure that it gets it's name on the map. Some of the ways in which Abu Dhabi is number one include:

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque has the largest hand-stitched rug, the the largest dome of its type and, I believe, the world's most expensive and gaudy chandelier. The Emirites Palace Hotel is the world's most expensive hotel and was home to the world's most expensive Christmas tree. In addition, the Emirates Palace Hotel was the host of the sale of the world's most expensive license plate. Let's not forget the world's fastest roller coaster at Ferrari World that opened up in November 2010. Nearby there are two buildings being built that are connected by the world's highest bridge connecting two buildings, higher than the bridge connecting the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. The Capital Gate is the world's furthest leaning man made tower. Visible from most of the Corniche is the former world's tallest flagpole, second only to a flagpole in North Korea. Both flagpoles are soon to be beat out by a third under construction. The company that produces these record-breaking flagpoles in located in Dubai and will only break records a meter at a time. About an hour drive from Abu Dhabi is the world's largest mobile home parked in the middle of the desert near a number of oversized novelty vehicles.

I'm sure that I'm missing a few, but those are some of the main ones I came up with. I would of course be remiss if I didn't mention a few of the world records achieved by Abu Dhabi's irresponsible little brother, Dubai.

The most obvious is the award for the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. To give the organizers credit, they didn't just break the record by a few meters or by adding a qualifier by putting up a tall antenna, they smashed the record by over a hundred meters. The world's tallest building is next to the world's largest shopping mall. The qualifier of this one is that it is the world's largest mall by total space (as opposed to leasable space of which the Dubai Mall is sixth). I'm not sure, but I'm assuming that the Burj Khalifa isn't included in that. We wouldn't want to forget about the world's largest dancing fountain on the plaza outside the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall. Something else that Dubai gets a lot of press for the the world's longest indoor ski slope, located in the Mall of the Emirites. Dubai also has the world's most expensive racetrack containing the world's largest video screen (and in my opinion the world's worst five-star hotel).

Clearly, both Abu Dhabi and Dubai have shown their prowess in world record breaking. It remains to be seen if can continue with this furious pace of impressing the world.

Visitors

Living in Abu Dhabi has many advantages. It has been great for my family and friends having a place to stay and a tour guide to personally show them around the UAE. (For a good visitors guide, click here.) I really do welcome visitors because it's always nice to get the perspective of people I know and to show them how I live. Living in a city in a region that most people have not been to means getting loads of people coming to stay. People have had to book their stay at our place months in advance to ensure the best times (i.e. when I have off work). My mother was disappointed this past January because other friends of mine were coming at a time she wanted to.

We love having people come because it gives us the excuse to do some sightseeing of our own. Having a few weeks off and going around with friends from out of town makes makes us feel like tourists in our own city. Also, we have a great chance to experience hospitality and sleep on some futons when we visit exotic locations like Milwaukee.

Urban

If you've read any of my previous posts, it should be quite clear by now that Abu Dhabi isn't a tiny little outpost in the middle of the desert with nothing around. It is an urban area in the middle of the desert with nothing around. Honestly, if you never left the island, you would likely never know you were in a desert. It is hot and sometimes there is a bit of sand in the air on windy days, but it is also humid, a very lush city with large buildings, hotels and restaurants.

The city has a busy central area called the Tourist Club Area where many of the hotels, restaurants, and bars are. The area around Hamdan Street is a busy central area with lots of stores and restaurants. Abu Dhabi is a big bustling city that you could expect to find in any modern country.

Traffic

This is a picture of an actual traffic jam in Abu Dhabi from last September. While this example is an extreme case, it is pretty typical of the type of traffic one can expect here. The side of the island I live on is a lot better, but it can still get busy. Scenes like this are why I tend to take a taxi if I'm going over to this side.

Recently, police have started giving people 500 dirham fines (about $170) to people who are stopped in the intersection in a red light. If you try to get across the intersection, you'd better make sure that you can get all the way through.

Talking to taxi drivers, the amount of traffic seems to have tripled in the past two years. Hopefully, the construction of Salam Street due to finish soon, this will ease up. It is set to be the region's longest tunnel and should provide some much needed relief to the traffic congestion.

Shisha

I'm not a big smoker, but going down to the cafe in front of my apartment for a shisha is great. For those of you deprived folks who don't know what shisha is, let me explain. Shisha is a moist, flavored tobacco that is smoked from a shisha pipe or "bong" and is quite relaxing until you try to fall asleep. While you are smoking it and chatting with your friends, time goes very quickly which explains why I see people still sitting at the cafes at 5:30 on a Friday morning.

I don't smoke shisha very often, but when I do, I drink Turkish coffee which might explain the difficulty sleeping. Plenty of women can be seen puffing along on on a shisha pipe. Even friends who don't normally smoke have smoked while here and became instantly addicted. If you get the chance, try it, you'll like it. Don't be afraid. (If you do want to try it, here is a link to some pipes. Unless you're chicken.)

Ramadan

With the Holy Month of Ramadan starting in a few days, this seemed to be especially appropriate. Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam and is an important part of the faith. Lest I display my ignorance by getting any further into the religious aspects, I'd like to talk about how Ramadan affects life in Abu Dhabi and what that means to me. (For a very interesting perspective on Ramadan, please read this Saudi Arabian woman's post.)

Ramadan is the 9th month of the Muslim calendar with is a lunar calendar. This means that the year is slightly longer than a standard year and the months shift about 10 days earlier each solar year. During this month, people aren't allowed to eat or drink from dusk to dawn. This has become an increasingly difficult challenge in recent years with the month of Ramadan gradually shifting to the beginning of summer when the hours of sunlight are the longest.

While, non-Muslims aren't required to fast, it is still illegal to eat or drink anything publicly. Don't even chew gum or smoke while driving because the chances are you'll be pulled over and fined. This makes things like exercise in 100 degree heat nearly impossible. Does this mean that I will be arrested for taking a drink while running on a treadmill in a public gym? No, but as a courtesy, you should ask those around if they mind you drinking. The chances are anyone exercising will understand.

It does mean that no restaurants are open during the day so plan ahead when you're going to be out. When out with small children who are not required to fast, bring your own food and drink. They can eat and drink, but it's best to be subtle about it.

Also, shops will have Ramadan hours specific to each shop, so don't count on being able to get much done. Mostly places will have hours in the evening after everyone has had their meal, but even that is kind of random.

Finally, while people try to be a bit more courteous during this month, most people are pretty cranky due to being thirsty, hungry, caffeine and nicotine deprived and probably tired from being up all night. Try to keep that in mind when dealing with anyone. Ramadan Kareem!

Quality

To be honest, quality in Abu Dhabi is a mixed bag. There are five star (or even "seven star" hotels) where you'll be treated like a king. There are restaurants with fine cuisine from around the world. However, if you want your internet hooked up in a timely manner or that leak in your ceiling repaired, you might have to wait or have someone come back a few times to do a proper job.

You never know what to expect. Things could be done with care and diligence or they could be done in a slipshod manner that gives the impression of negligence. A good example of this was when we stayed at the Meydan Hotel in Dubai. The interior of the hotel was amazing. Beautiful design and spacious layout. Yet, we had to deal with something stupid like loose bathroom fixtures on the verge of falling off.

In Abu Dhabi on the Corniche, there are beautiful brick walkways with the occasional deep pit that will be there for weeks at a time. The problem has to do with maintenance. When something is initially built in Abu Dhabi, appearance is everything, yet no thought is given to the practicality of maintaining the elaborate pattern of bricks on the sidewalk or the super spongy surface at the playground that needs to be replaced annually.

Another issue is that the level of quality expected differs between the customer and the person doing the repairs. Many people in Abu Dhabi expect things to be repaired to developed world standards while the people doing the repairs have never lived in the developed world and have no idea what those standards are. If the water turns on when you turn the faucet, so what if the fixture is a little loose? In the UAE, laborers are paid developing world wages to do work at a developed world standard. Until that changes, quality will be variable.

Planning

Many people will agree that planning is not a strong thing here. Emiratis I have talked to admit that this is a cultural weakness. However, even I have to admit that there is a sense of organization to the long-term planning in Abu Dhabi. The Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 is the prime example of this. There are communities that are being built up now and others with a target to start construction after 2015.

There are plans to build replicas for both the Guggenheim museum and the Louvre. Reem island is being set up as a "city within a city" and is going to be the new business district.

Infrastructure is another aspect of planning gone well. The city was working on the roads of Yas Island and Sadiyat Island years before there was anything there. There are five lane highways that go out to what is now the Formula One track and Ferrari World but went out to nowhere. They still don't need five lanes, but at least the planners recognize that the need will be there eventually.

Of course, not all infrastructure projects are implemented smoothly. Around the time I arrived, the city had just begun the Salaam Street tunnel project without any warning. One day the road was open and the next, it was closed, causing difficulties for many businesses which had no time to make arrangements for customers to access the premises. Hopefully, the organizers of the projects will consider the people the projects affect in upcoming planning.

Obesity

With all the fast food available combined with a general aversion to exercise, it turns out that there is a bit of an obesity problem in the UAE. While the statistics are nothing shocking, obesity is a problem usually associated with the US and it is easy to forget that the potential is pretty good for the same issues.

The difference here is that many Emiratis aren't even aware that there is a problem. In a survey done by a health organization, despite over 2/3 of the people questioned being overweight, 3/4 of the people thought that they were normal weight. In addition, 99% of the people questioned thought heart disease wouldn't affect them even though it is the number one killer in the UAE.

With the recent wealth in the UAE, Emiratis have everything done for them. In addition, there are few sports programs in local schools and little health education. Colleges are beginning to require some health classes, but by the time students reach this point, it's a bit too late. This article talks about some of the ways in which Emiratis are being made aware of the problem and programs that are being implemented to help people live a healthier lifestyle.

While getting people as a whole to move towards being healthy may not work, I have seen positive changes with some overweight students who are in the school's gym a few times a week. Even though it isn't that common, it is nice to know that people who want to change are being given the tools.

National Identity Card

As I mentioned previously, a mobile phone number is practically a national i.d. number in Abu Dhabi in that it is needed as a reference for any service here. The National i.d. card is actually an i.d. and is necessary for services such as registering your car or checking into a hotel without a passport.

Last year, the UAE government-created agency, the Emirates Identity Authority decided that every person in the UAE would need a national identity card by January of 2011. Anyone without it would be denied vital services, the most vital being car registration. The card itself is a useful form of i.d. and had a chip that can be scanned for ease of use. The process of getting one, however, is not so easy and has cause a few big issues.

Luckily, I could see that there was big trouble ahead and got to work on it in May 2010. Even so, I had annoying problems. You can read about my experiences here and here. Eventually, they must have realized that having two centers in a city of over a million and taking 30 minutes per person wasn't going to get the job done so they allowed the process to be completed at typing centers around the city.

The form needs to be filled out online and the large population of poor immigrant workers and laborers don't exactly have access to computers. The influx of people trying to get their card before the deadline caused a backlog of work at the centers. This caused issues with passports and other sensitive documents needing to be stored on premises.

As of now, I don't know what the process involves. I'll have to find out. I recently read a blurb in the news saying that while children didn't need identity cards before, they are now required to have one. I'm not looking forward to doing this again. A few weeks ago, a coworker desperately needed to find someone to cover his classes because he finally got his appointment to get his i.d. card and had to go or wait weeks for another appointment. The Emirates Identity Authority has now determined that enough people have their cards (only about six months past the deadline) where that can require them for vital services. We'll see how that goes.

Mobile Phones

Without saying too much, about it, this is a country that runs on access to mobile phones. I'm not really saying much new that I haven't already said, but Japan has nothing on this place. I thought my students in Japan were mobile dependent, but here every student has at least on mobile phone. Most have several. Blackberry is a popular brand. One student had the others in his class laugh at him because he didn't know that there was a fruit called a blackberry. I'm surprised that there was only one. Upon seeing that one student had three phones, I asked him why. his response was that the Blackberry was good for messaging, the Nokia good for calling, and the i-phone good for playing.

The students are constantly accepting calls or messaging during class. I was strict about it at first, but I like to give them the benefit of the doubt. If I ask it tends to be an important call from the student's father or a call from the hospital about a sick cousin. While I realize that most of the time it's not true, I don't want to risk it. When confronted, students will say that it is part of their culture. (a little known fact: the dessert nomads used mobile phones for constant communication)

Even in going to the doctor, you need a mobile phone. The first question the staff ask is, "What's your mobile number?" It's like a national i.d. number and will be used to find your case history in the database.

To be fair, there are reasons for the students having more than one phone. A student who I asked said he had one phone that his employer provided, but it was monitored so he couldn't use it for personal use. I'm sure that mobile phone use has increased worldwide. I need to check my Twitter account and ask some Facebook friends first to be sure.

Liwa

What can I say about Liwa? Well, first of all, it's an oasis in the middle of the desert. It is a small town with nothing near it for two hours of driving. There is a large resort that has seen better days but is still fairly nice. I know a guy that will take me out on a dune bashing tour in the desert. There are a few forts that are nothing special but easily accessible. Camping is pretty secluded with some cool dunes, most notably the Moreeb dune which has an annual drag race up it.

With such a mediocre rating, then why do I love this place so much and keep going back? There's camping about an hour out of town between Al Ain and Abu Dhabi. There are plenty of resorts and five star hotels with much better facilities. There are plenty of desert tours that will take you on a wild ride through the desert. For me, the attraction is the link to the past, simpler life of Abu Dhabi and the UAE. The people out here may be under a centralized government, but this is the frontier. These are the true desert nomads out here. The Emiratis that you talk to here are more genuine and will offer to show you a part of their culture.

I found the same when a student of mine from another part of the UAE invited me to come to Dibba and showed me his favorite camping spot. There is a sense of genuine hospitality that I get when I go to Liwa and if you get the chance, you should go there.

Khalidiyah

I don't have that much to say about Khalidiyah apart from it being the section of town where I live. Naturally, it is important to me and a big part of what Abu Dhabi means to me. It is next to the Corniche and is on the side of town that is not quite so busy. There is a nice shopping mall nearby and a couple of parks within walking distance of my apartment. With Khalidiyah not being as developed as other sections of town, there is a push to develop it and it likely won't be as nice as it is now, but more people will be able to live here and wish that it is was less crowded and developed.

Journalism

With the influx of people into Abu Dhabi over the past few years, not only is there a need for newspapers in English, a number of events and cultural magazines have sprung up to help people get the best out of the city.

The collective city of Abu Dhabi seems intent on proving it is not only a modern city, but is more modern than Dubai. Some of the best examples of this can be found in the local magazines. Time Out is a series of city guides that started in London about 30 years ago and is available in about 50 different cities. Time Out Abu Dhabi has been around for a few years and is a good way to find out about events. About three years ago, Abu Dhabi Week started and focuses on the people of Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi Tempo is a recent upstart and has a focus on the lives and opinions of the local youth. All three of these publications have their own niche and are good for what they are.

For people looking for the news of the day, The National focuses on the news of the UAE. I actually prefer the Gulf News because I find their articles to be better written. The Gulf News has much more regional news. Also, I've recently discovered that the National doesn't archive it's links. Al Jazeera English is pretty good, but I haven't really been checking them out. They seem to be a world news organization with a Middle Eastern perspective on the news. From what I've seen they seem fairly unbiased and are a good source of news to see what those outside the U.S. feel about certain events.

With all of the sources of information available for news and events of Abu Dhabi, I feel fortunate to have found my own little niche as a source of information.

Islam

 It would be silly for me to get into a big description of what Islam is in my blog when there are many, much more informed sources than me. (One of the more interesting articles that I found dispels common misconceptions of Islam and can be found here. For a list of books on the subject, click here.) I would, however, like to describe how Islam affects life in Abu Dhabi.

I don't live near a mosque, so I rarely hear the call to prayer. Friends of mine live directly across from a mosque with the speakers for the call to prayer directly facing their front bedroom. The 5:00 am call makes that room unusable as a bedroom. While I don't think I'd like that very much, I do enjoy hearing the call to prayer, especially when the person doing it has a good voice.

Naturally there are a lot of mosques in Abu Dhabi, but for non-Muslims, the religion isn't forced upon us. There are things like laws against co-habitation of non-married couples, and laws against Muslims drinking, but on a day to day basis, I don't notice. There is even a Catholic church here with services in a dozen different languages. So while Islam is an important aspect to many of the people here and is a visible part of life here, it is by no means the oppressive regime that it is often made into by certain media outlets.

Hamdan

Hamdan is a great part of town to walk through and a great place to find all the little shops. This is the place where all the people you see working in the restaurants and shopping malls live and shop. At the request of some visiting friends, we went to the Hamdan area of town for a walking tour.

We saw a lot of little shops selling cheap electronics and cheap clothing. There are tons of mobile phone shops and beauty parlors. There were a number restaurants selling good food at a reasonable price. It was a part of Abu Dhabi that I never really see. For me, the place to go to get goods is in the shopping malls or in the hypermarkets like Carrefore and Lulu. Of course that's fine, but if you need a new inner tube for your kid's bicycle, or even a bicycle that isn't overpriced and low quality, you need to seek out a shop where the staff specialize in kids' bicycles.
Because parking is insane, it's a good idea to park off one of the main streets and walk if you are going in. From what I've seen, it's a good place to find some good deals. Unfortunately, I hate shopping, so will likely never spend the time to find out.

Green

Believe it or not, in a city built in the desert, there is a ton of green space. Granted watering the grass daily with desalinated water isn't so environmentally green, but it looks pretty. Even the medians on the major roads are grass covered. The medians of the major highways are lined with palm trees. There are parks everywhere.

When the weather is nice, there are a number of parks and fields to take our kids. Even at the side of busy roads, there are places to park your car and playgrounds shaded with trees for the kids to run around. All of the shrubbery is beautifully landscaped as well. "Turning the desert green" seems to be a motto of Abu Dhabi and it is one that they take seriously.