Subtle and seductive charms of Abu Dhabi

The atmosphere of Abu Dhabi is more relaxed and a lot less frenetic than Dubai. If the latter is New York, the former approximates Paris. The traffic flows more smoothly, the boulevards and highways as glorious and the hotels and restaurants as numerous and luxurious.

You tend to see more Emiratees enjoying their city, whether it’s shopping or eating out, than in Dubai. Expatriates may still dominate the city’s residents but they don’t seem to frighten the locals away.

The wonders of Abu Dhabi include its cultural gems. The Louvre and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque are two obvious examples. The Sorbonne and New York University are two others.

I spent hours in the Louvre. The reward is not just its collection but the imaginative way it’s arranged. The rooms reflect different periods of history but cleverly combine displays from different civilisations. So, you see them not as separate entities but as achievements of mankind across different geographies but the same time period. Thus, historical artifacts from China to Mesopotamia, Mexico to France, Egypt to the US are displayed together.

Or, to put it differently, from Chola statues to Persian pottery and Belgian tapestry to Turkish sculptures can feature in the same room revealing what mankind’s artistic imagination encapsulated in any given century.

There’s only one word for the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It’s enormous. To see it you end up walking almost two kilometres! But it’s a study in surprising contrasts. The entrance via the underground car park takes you through a shopping arcade with Starbucks and Costa Coffee, perfumers, chocolatiers and drapers, upto the grand hall with its shining white marble floors and pillars inlaid with semi-precious stones and gigantic chandeliers, that resemble sparkling Christmas trees. It’s a sort of Arabian wonderland!

I always thought of Dubai as the city of inviting restaurants. That’s equally true of Abu Dhabi. Whether it’s burgers and steaks at the Four Seasons, Italian cuisine at the St Regis, French delicacies at Fouquet or a leisurely Sunday brunch at Tasha’s by the beach, this a gastronomic paradise. The only thing is it’s likely to convert gourmets into gluttons!

The hotel to beat all hotels I’ve ever stayed at is The Emirates Palace. It makes our Lake Palace or Taj Mahal feel like children’s toys. Your morning cuppa on the garden terrace attached to its beach-facing rooms, as the sun starts to warm the December air, is a poetic experience. And, bless the Lord, it’s also an occasion when you won’t miss your mobile phone!

One other important — actually inescapable — detail. Emiratees unhesitatingly follow traffic rules. Which is why things work. But the penalty for breaching them is extraordinarily stiff. Jumping a red light gets you a 5000 Dirham fine. It’ll be 50,000 from 2025. That’s almost 15,000 dollars! I saw no one jaywalking or crossing a street just where they wanted to. And I didn’t hear a horn! Not once.

Now, the only question left is, have I written enough to awaken a sense of wonder in you? The truth is Abu Dhabi — unlike Dubai — steals your affections silently, stealthily but surely. Hours after you land, you’re smitten. Dubai is bolder, brasher and seems to bomb your senses. The impact of Dubai is immediate. That of its Arab neighbour subtler but, after a while, equally steadfast and seductive.

So, the next time the Emirates beckon, try Abu Dhabi. You may not switch loyalties, but it will be a holiday you won’t forget. In fact, I’m determined to return.

Karan Thapar is the author of Devil’s Advocate: The Untold Story.The views expressed are personal

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