Our arrival in Abu Dhabi was in the middle of the night and it seems that this is when the city comes to life. We left the airport at close to midnight and there were families having picnic dinners along the Corniche at that time. Children were playing on play equipment and people were strolling or exercising. It looked a bit weird really but then it all made sense the next morning when at 8 am the temperatures were climbing into the 40s!! How sensible that people should be out and about in the cool of the night and that they locked themselves away in the air con in the middle of the day, resting till the sun goes down. It is also still school holidays here so the children didn’t have to be bright eyed and bushy tailed during the day.
The middle of the day in the city and there are lots of (airconned) cars about but not too many people roaming the streets. “Only mad dogs and Englishmen (and Aussies) go out in the noon day sun!”. On sunset the city comes to life and the shops are open each day till 10 or 11 pm. There is a siesta period from about 2 pm through till about 5 pm. The heat at this time is particularly oppressive. There are no dogs or animals about – I am sure it has to do with the fact that they could not possibly put their feet to the ground without being grilled to perfection, barbecued from the feet up!
The heat is a baking heat. The humidity is burned off by the sun even this close to the sea, and we are right on the Persian Gulf. It is like walking into a furnace and if you walk around in the sun for more than a few minutes you can feel your skin being scorched and dried. We choose the side of the streets that are in shadow if we are out and about and because there are so many high rise buildings it is easy to locate some shadow most of the time.
When the sun goes down the humidity sets in and one of the funniest things happen – on leaving any building your glasses completely fog over and you can’t see a thing! As Ron and I both wear glasses it is a case of the ‘blind leading the blind’ as we dash from one airconned environment to another. All the taxis are airconned so it is really not too much exposure most of the time.
Taxis cruise the streets everywhere and will beep you to let you know they are free to take you. The flag fall is 2 dirham (that’s about 63 cents) and the rides are cheap. However the drivers all think they are in the Grand Prix and drive far too fast. We have taken to saying we are not in a hurry and asking for them to slow down – which they do with good grace on request. Most are clean and well maintained though there are some that have a few grinding and knocking noises I would be wary of in my own vehicle. They are a small step up from the greater majority of taxis in Port Vila! There are no buses here, except the inter-city buses so it is a taxi or Shank’s pony and you wouldn’t walk more than a block or two for fear of expiring in the heat! Petrol is only about 50 cents per litre – we haven’t seen those prices in Aus or Vanuatu for many years…….
High rise buildings form long rows adjacent to 6 lane streets on the main roads. The combination of granite buildings, concrete and bitumen intensifies the heat during the day and increases the temperature by several degrees – so don’t believe what the weather people are telling you – add five degrees (minimum) and that will be more like the temperature in the city. It is mid summer and apparently we are in the hottest place right now. Dubai is a little cooler and Al Ain is apparently cooler again. We are hoping to move there next weekend as the apartment is not yet ready for us.
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