Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Every time I drove from Dubai to Abu Dhabi I would see this beautiful mosque under construction.  Over the past year or so, I drove past it knowing it was possible to stop and have a look, but unfortunately without the time to ever do so.  During my trip last week, which may well be my last business trip to the UAE, my colleague and I had a free afternoon.  He too enjoys photography so I timed our drive to allow us a good one-hour stop between Asr and Maghrib prayers; and arranged for our driver to stop on the way.  

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Abu Harley

Last night, as we were packing up and leaving the exhibition centre, I noticed many police cars and wondered what had happened.  This morning, I read in the paper about an event around 8pm last night by Abu Dhabi Police.  I then saw this guy on a Harley - flashing police lights and all - coming into the hotel.  I took these shots and couldn't believe my eyes!  This is ridiculous - I thought.  Why would a police department do this?

Having read  their website this evening, I like the approach of the law enforcers: to join and understand a hobby rather than fighting unknown.

Is this someone from 'American Chopper'?

Update: The rider is Paul Teutul Sr.

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Emirates Palace

The last thing I want to do is to write about my hotel experiences on this blog.  This time however was a little different.  Whilst the place is not far away from home (Abu Dhabi) it was an experience worth sharing.  The property is imposing and the furnishings very luxurious.  It's not to my personal taste but it is very impressive.  

During my five day stay, Tony Blair and Nicolas Sarkozy spent a night here each.  I found it very strange that heads of state stay at a hotel - but this made sense of all the money that had been spent on this place and the many years (if ever) it will take to get some sort of payback.

The gardens are fantastic.  From water fountains, to trees, to flowering hedges, to beautiful lawns and great designs, they are a feast even during this not-so-generous time of year.  In my opinion, the landscaping here sets a new standard for the Gulf.  

Enjoy the photographs taken last night and mostly this morning.  The ones of the interior were not good.  I couldn't control the lighting and the colours.

 

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Business Model

Pioneers of the future of the LNG business have been showing off their vessels and floating plants.  They're presenting new technology in what will be the new world of gas.  Our technology for Loading Arms is second to none - so companies looking for high safety and reliability come to us.  It was a great feeling to see the models of these companies with our loading arms included.  These have all been ordered and the vessels are being built all over the world.

I took these shots for our Marketing department in France.  They will incorporate them into presentations etc.  I like the detail so I'm sharing them with you.

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Stand Up

That's all I've done today! We're exhibiting at Gastech in Abu Dhabi.  Our stand is looking good after our final touches yesterday.  I say final touches but it took us until half past eight in the evening to finish off.  The nice little model you see above was damaged during transit.  It took three hours to fix it!  Business has been bad this year - so this is a good time for this event.

Like many things, The Exhibition Centre in Abu Dhabi is about twenty years ahead of Kuwait!  I love the scale this city works on.  It's time we started to take the same giant steps! 

I'm staying at the impressive Emirates Palace.  I hope I get some time to take a few snaps of the palace and the rest of the property.  I will of course write a post if I do. 

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Lighting Up - SLEEP

The second (and final) selection of matchboxes.  Mostly of hotels, and roughly grouped into continents.  Some of the matches missed out in the first post (EAT) were added here and there... 

Above: Movenpick (Heliopolis-Egypt), Sheraton (Doha-Qatar), Le Meridien (Casablanca-Morocco), Crowne Plaza (Farwaniya-Kuwait), The Residence (Tunis-Tunisia) & Sheraton (Muscat-Oman).

 

The Bellagio (Las Vegas-USA), Sacred Sea Room (Las Vegas-USA), Aladdin (Las Vegas-USA), Luxor (Las Vegas-USA), MGM Grand (Las Vegas-USA), Stratosphere Tower (Las Vegas-USA), Best Western (New York-USA), The Doral (Miami-USA), Pacific Time (Miami-USA) & again Luxor (Las Vegas-USA).

The Leela (Mumbai-India), Sheraton (Karachi-Pakistan), Taj Mahal Hotel (Mumbai-India), Hilton (Colombo-Sri Lanka), Sheraton (Dhaka-Bangladesh) & Shangri La (Beijing-China).

Scandic Hotel (Odense-Denmark), Castle Hotel (Windsor-UK), Swisshotel (don't know - but not Switzerland. I haven't been there), Foxhills (Woking-UK), Hostellerie Des Clos (Chblis-France), Sheraton (Stockholm-Sweden), Hilton (Budapest-Hungary), Radisson Edwardian (London-UK), The Berkshire (London-UK), The Landmark (London-UK), Sofitel (Paris-France), The Fitzwilliam (Dublin-Ireland), The Kempinski (Amsterdam-Holland), Grand Hotel (Stockholm-Sweden), Icelandair Hotel Loftleidir (Reykjavik-Iceland), Radisson SAS (Nice-France), Imperial Hotel (Copenhagen-Denmark), Inter-Continental (London-UK), Churchill Inter-Continental (London), Thistle Hotel (London-UK), Hilton (Brussels-Belgium), First Hotel (Copenhagen-Denmark), Four Pillars (Oxford-UK), Mercure (Paris-France) & Jolly Hotel (I remember laughing at the name but I don't know where I stayed in one).

East Burnham Conference Centre (Farnham-UK).  This is where it all began!  My first matchbox from my job interview in August 1996!

Prince (Danish brand includinfg the original), Think Daily (Houston-USA) & Scotts (London-UK).

Flamingo (Las Vegas-USA), The Stonemasons Arms (London-UK), Prince (Danish Brand), Don't know (Taxi in Antwerp), Q8 Denmark & The Championship at Wimbledon (UK).

The strange thing is, I don't know where these are from...

Brenan's (Houston-USA), Biella (Salmiya-Kuwait) & Cafe Mondo (Beirut-Lebanon) 

... More random boxes.  I found the BAT boxes at a building we hired for a training programme.  I found out later they owned it.

Jumeirah Hotel (Jumeirah-UAE), The Inn on the Green (Dublin-Ireland), Rantasipi Bokabong (Pillannesberg-South Africa)

Abu Nawas (Tunis-Tunisia), Safir Heliopolitan (Beirut-Lebanon), Crowne Plaza (Jeddah-Saudi Arabia), Sheraton (Kuwait City-Kuwait), The Ritz Carlton (Manama-Bahrain), Safir International (Kuwait City-Kuwait), Majestic (Dubai-UAE), Hilton (Jeddah-Saudi Arabia), Phoenicia Intercontinental (Beirut-Lebnon), Al Manshar Rotana (Fahaheel-Kuwait) & Millennium (Dubai-UAE).

Movenpick (Al Khobar-Saudi Arabia), Le Meridien (Manama-Bahrain), Le Gulf Meridien (Al Khobar-Saudi Arabia, Jumeirah Hotel (Jumairah-UAE), Four Points Sheraton (Kuwaiti City-Kuwait), Sheraton (Damascus-Syria), Ramada Plaza (Doha-Qatar), Al Shourfah (Medina-Saudi Arabia), Sheraton (Cairo-Egypt), Legacy (Johannesburg-South africa), Golden Tulip (Al Khobar-Saudi Arabia) & Sheraton (Muscat-Oman).

Holiday Inn (Cape Town-South Africa), Abu Nawas II (Tunis-Tunisia), Intercontinental (Doha-Qatar), Sheraton Gazeera (Cairo-Egypt), Huma (Tehran-Iran), Don't Know, Hilton (Mecca-Saudi Arabia), Le Meridien (Phuket-Thailand), Le Bristol (Beirut-Lebanon) & Sheraton (Abu Dhabi-UAE).

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Hazy Abu Dhabi

My host drove me around Abu Dhabi for half an hour today, which was enough to get a flavour of the city.  I really like it.  It's well maintained and there are some exciting projects nearing completion, and others further into the future.  Abu Dhabi is also preparing to host a FormulaOne race.  Parking is a real issue in the city.  It's not uncommon to make a 999 call to complain about someone blocking you.  The police call him/her on their mobile and ask them to move their car!

The gardener in me was so impressed not only by the endless green space, but by the quality and variety of the shrubs and trees,.  The area near Emirates Palace and the garden within its walls makes me forget I'm anywhere near the Gulf.

I asked about old Abu Dhabi and where the old souq is... I was extremely surprised to learn it had been removed.

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Postcard from Abu Dhabi

I use flickr to store my photographs and link them into this blog.  To my amazement, not only is Skype blocked in the UAE but for some reason flickr is too! I will upload the photograph above when I return.  

This photograph is of the carpet pattern at the Intercontinental Hotel. Security is very high in the Emirate as they host IDEX.   The gentleman on the x-ray machine at the hotel entrance asked me to take a random shot pointing to the ground.  The flash had to come on too.  I've never been asked to do that before - and I've never posted an unplanned shot before so here we are.

I'm finally at my room.  With the extra number of guests in Abu Dhabi, it is just about coping.

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Abu Dhabi

I haven't had a chance to see Abu Dhabi.  This is my second trip here and the photograph sums up my experience of this changing city.  I zoom around from meeting to meeting and back to the hotel in the evening for a flight the next day. I am so impressed by how much is happening in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.  In Kuwait, we have new towns and towers being built.  In these two cities, cities are being built within them.  I am a little concerned about who will fill these buildings? but impressive is too weak a word to describe the progress. Driving out of Abu Dhabi, I saw Khalifa City.  This is four phases of houses after houses and more.  The other side of the highway has office blocks and apartment buildings.  Malls and leisure facilities are all around.  Huge road bridges connecting the two sides are being constructed.  Reem Island is another massive development with everything that you can imagine (and some that you can't).  Good luck Abu Dhabi. My absolute favorite sight today was the Grand Mosque.  The driver was going fast so I couldn't get a good shot.  It's definitely on my list of photographs for my next trip. I hope I get more time.

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