Day 3 - Sun 31 Aug 25: Dubai - A day in Abu Dhabi.

August 31, 2025

Sun 31 Aug 25: Dubai - A day in Abu Dhabi.

I had trouble adjusting to the time zone difference, waking at 2am and was unable to get back to sleep again, despite feeling as tired as I was. Noel on the other hand seemed to have no trouble sleeping at all. We ventured down for the world’s biggest breakfast spread at 7am, and then at 8:25 we were picked up at the hotel lobby for a 80 minute drive to Abu Dhabi for a full day tour including a guided tour of the Grand Mosque, a self guided visit inside the Presidential Palace, and to the top of the Etihad Towers. Ibrahim, our tour guide provided a very informative insight into the UAE in general and each of the attractions that we visited. Overall, while being a long day, it was a very worthwhile tour, and highly recommended. Not only did we see two stunning and very significant attractions, we also learnt a lot about the UAE, the buildings, religion and the culture.

On the way to Abu Dhabi, we had a15 minute rest stop at a Mad Max themed restaurant area called the Last Exit. The dry 40 plus degree heat outdoors added to the feel of this unique attraction. From here we continued to Abu Dhabi, the name of one of the 7 Emirates and its capital. First stop was a 90 minute guided tour of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque a truly remarkable experience. Some quick stats about - there are 82 domes, 4 x 107m Minarets, the Courtyard can accomodate 31,000 worshippers, there are almost 1100 marble columns, and the largest hand knitted carpet in the world - 5,400m2 and weighing 35 tons. Check out more interesting stuff here: SZGMC

The entrance to the Mosque takes visitors underground through a massive shopping centre that provides all sorts of services like perfume stores, boutiques, take-away food outlets, restaurants and a pharmacy, to name a few. None of it visible from outdoors. After the tour we stayed around for lunch then left for a self guided walk through the Qasan Al Watan Presidential Palace, another amazing experience. Read more here: QASR AL WATAN

A quick visit to the top of the Etihad Towers, and a photo stop at the Louvre Museum before we returned to Dubai, arriving back at the hotel at 5pm.

Unfortunately, this is where the good bit of the day ended - Noel has very bad swelling in her right foot, from no apparent cause. It's not causing much pain, so for tonight, she's resting, with some ice treatment and hoping there is nothing more sinister at play, otherwise, a hospital visit may be needed tomorrow to get to the cause. For now, we're putting it down to aggravation by the amount of walking she has done over the past 2 days, a pair of maybe ill fitting runners she's been wearing and the very hot conditions (another 40 Deg day).

Sorry - lots of photos. Too tired to filter.