Dubai - Abu Dhabi 1 of 7

For our second day in Dubai we'd booked a Cruise Critic tour to Abu Dhabi a neighbouring Emirate territory which is about a one hour drive south-west of Dubai. The Abu Dhabi Emirate is also the capital city of the UAE. Like all Emirate territories Abu Dhabi has its own government headed by sultan leader, Mohammed Rashid, after whom Abu Dhabi's Port is named.

We travelled by an air-conditioned bus with 32 other tourists from the Sea Princess. When we departed at 9am and already the temperature was 39⁰C and the hot rays of the sun reflected off the roadways, bridges and buildings that we passed. We kept ourselves hydrated throughout the trip as we knew that once we left the sanctuary of the bus we'd be contending even higher temperatures. We were given a running commentary by our on board tour guide. He spoke perfect English and had trained in Egypt as a guide and is able to speak 4 languages. When the tourist trade slumped due to terrorist attacks on tourist venues and transport our guide moved his family to Abu Dhabi and took a job as a tour guide. He trained for 4 years to lead tours in Egypt, for it has SO much history and archaeological sites and museums and there was so much to memorise. He said that he only need to do a 3 week training course to learn his spiel about Abu Dhabi. This is because the modern settlement of Abu Dhabi is less than 20 years old. Most of Abu Dhabi's 22 natural islands were either uninhabited or inhabited by small nomadic tribes or fishermen who once lived in small villages along the shoreline of some islands. Most early island inhabitants found the total lack of fresh water sources made it impossible for permanent settlements to be established.

Today many of Abu Dhabi's islands are modern metropolises, not unlike Dubai but on a smaller scale. Over the past 20 years Abu Dhabi has metamorphosis from a group of inhospitable barren islands to a thriving, commercial, industrial and tourist hub. The government has created 80km of greenbelt area across many of its once dry sandy desert and deserted islands. We drove beside these greenbelt areas located on both sides of the main highway from Dubai to Abu Dhabi and were amazed how successfully grasses, trees and shrubs are flourishing in such a barren landscape. These protected greenbelt areas are surrounded by tall fencing to prevent camels eating the greened areas and families from picnicking within the green belt areas. This 80km greenbelt area is irrigated with recycled water delivered by kilometres of rubber tubing which filters life giving water to each plant and grassed area. It only rains 4-5 times a year in Abu Dhabi but the sultan and his advisors have embraced modern technology creating fresh water supplies from the oceans that surround the islands. This desalinated water supplies the households, schools, hospitals, hotels, facilities, commercial and industrial areas which are springing up all across Abu Dhabi. When developing ANY uninhabited islands in Abu Dhabi the first infrastructure that is developed is a bridge to link the uninhabited and undeveloped island to another. Next roads and the green belt areas are constructed and only when these are established are developers permitted to build residential, commercial and tourist attractions.