City of the future

Cities like Lahore or London have history — hundreds of thousands of people have built and shaped those cities over a period of centuries. The people add their lives, bit-by-bit, to the mosaic of the city making it what it is today — good or bad, spacious or cramped — but the city bears the mark of time.

Corniche, situated in the heart of the city 

Some cities do not grow organically; they are painted on a canvas, with planning, precision and a vision, with bold strokes. Hundreds of thousands of people contribute to building and shaping those cities too but they do it according to a map. Everything is shiny and new in these cities and nothing is shinier or newer than Abu Dhabi — in fact, if looked closely, half of its glory is still under construction.

I have visited UAE before but it has always been a 24-hour stopover on my way out and a 38-hour stopover on my way back to meet friends and family; this time around I went on a planned trip to Abu Dhabi and developed an appreciation for things new and glittery and it started even before I stepped foot on the land on their national airline Etihad.

One of the shiniest monuments of Abu Dhabi is the Sheikh Zayed mosque and represents the city to a T. It is flamboyant and flaunts its grandiosity like a badge of honour, complete with its gold-plated Swarovski crystal chandeliers, Christmas-like coloured Murano glass baubles hanging from the same chandeliers and world’s largest hand-knotted carpet, woven in Mashhad by 1200 women who worked for months and made it into nine different pieces for easier transportation.

It was interesting to see that our guide at the mosque was an Arab version of a character from a Dan Brown novel, bringing in ancient symbolism into everything — be it the  design of the marble floor on the entrance foyer or the carvings on the wall which he said was based on what supposedly is the Garden of Eden or the old style Arabic calligraphy with letters without dots (Kufic script), which is interesting because everything about the mosque screams modern, sparkly and new. It is a must visit if you really want to get a feel of the city that is Abu Dhabi. It is also fun to watch Korean men in Arabic dress and Ukrainian women in black Abaya taking pictures of themselves and their surroundings and having fun.

Another example of Abu Dhabi’s modern architecture and cosmopolitanism is Corniche, the stretch of beach that is home to most of the 5-star hotels and eco-friendly beaches and water sport facilities. The skyline is impressive and is lined with one beautiful high-rise after another. The view of the road at night with the lights from the road and the high-rise buildings glittering on the water is beautiful and quite endearing to a city girl like me. A leisurely dinner in one of the open air restaurants is a must during a visit to the capital city.

One of the places that I found most impressive is the under-construction city of Saadiyat. I went there to catch the ‘Cultures of the World’ exhibition, currently on loan from the British museum for the summer at Emirates Palace, a museum and a gallery. The exhibit was impressive and a great way for people who cannot travel to London to see the cultural marvels created throughout the history across the continents. The palace also houses a gallery featuring the past of the emirate and future of Saadiyat cultural city. It will have three museums, Zayed National Museum, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and world’s second Louvre museum, along with a performing arts centre and a maritime museum, part of which will be submerged in water. The museums will be opening in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and once they are all operational, these will be the biggest concentration of cultural institutions in such a small place. The model of Guggenheim looked like an architectural wonder of conical and cylindrical shapes — and I for one cannot wait to see it when built. I am definitely coming back, if only to see Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.

If Saadiyat is being developed into the culture capital of the country, Yas Island is designed as the entertainment destination of the region. For a small island off the coast of Abu Dhabi, It boasts activities as impressive Etihad Airways Formula 1 grand prix at Yas Marina circuit, Yas Links, which is one of the top ten new golf courses in the world and regular performances and concerts by all the major entertainers and artists of the world.

So many people I know hopped over to Abu Dhabi last month for the Madonna concert.

Only a short while back, Abu Dhabi was nothing more than a few villages around the random oasis inhabited by the nomadic Arab tribes, it is now one of the fastest growing cities in the world with a truly cosmopolitan mix of people living and working there, calling it home. One must marvel and admire their government and Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) for turning a desert with unfavourable climate into a tourist destination for rich and privileged with a PGA golf tournament in one of the plushest golf courses in the world, a desert rally, a gourmet food festival and an annual Formula 1 grand prix.

Granted they have petro dollars that they can spend, they also have a vision to make things happen. I only wish that we can emulate some of that spirit and make our cities beautiful and centres of culture, art and music — after all we have history on our side.

Originally written for The News on Sunday 

Photos by Ali Khurshid 

Three meals in Abu Dhabi

Pakistanis love their food, we know it, we cook it, we eat it –we eat a lot of it, and we love to talk about it. However, most Pakistanis eat their own kind of food and do not want to experiment much with different cuisines. Despite being a paindu Pakistani, I love food in all forms and from all over the world – though I too draw a line and don’t eat things like frogs and alligators – in fact no travel experience is complete without trying local foods. Abu Dhabi was a little different because finding authentic Arabic places to eat was not too easy for a new person, but as an alternative, the city offered amazing international choices that can rival any cosmopolitan city of the world. 

I was lucky in a way that the hotel I stayed in – Traders Hotel – offered great variety in the breakfast menu. Though they served South Asian and continental breakfast in all its glory, I was looking for authentic Arabian breakfast and upon consultation with the restaurant manager, decided to go for Labneh which is yougurt like soft cheese balls covered with herbs and olive oil. I also had flat bread with Za’atar which is a dried blend of various herbs such as oregano, basil, thyme, sumac with sesame seeds and olive oil. For a person who normally starts her day with a bowl of muesli, the Arabian breakfast was an explosion of taste. Both the things tasted great, however, I would recommend Za’atar for a mid day meal rather than breakfast but then again, I am not really a morning person and enjoy my food better when I am fully awake. Labneh, on the other hand, was great way to kick start a busy day.

If you happen to be or live in Abu Dhabi, I recommend that you should try out the lunch buffet at Sofra Restaurant in Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri. If a restaurant is packed for lunch on a weekday at 1.00 pm, it generally means that the food would be great. What I was not expecting was the sheer variety of food they had on offer; from a full mezze spread to a variety of salads to sushi for starters to Continental, Mediterranean and South Asian sections for the main course. The sweet dish section was so great that I decided to skip the main course and only had starters and two sweet dishes as I could not choose one. If a person with no particular fondness for sweet dishes went bat shit crazy in that restaurant, imagine what would happen to a person who actually has a sweet tooth! I predict food coma :).

The appetizers at Sofra

meetha heaven!

But the best food experience of my stay in Abu Dhabi was at the Tapas bar, Amodar in Park Rotana. The spread was amazing with everything from seaweed wrapped smoked salmon to deep fried calamari to poached prawns, to wafer thin strips of beef to batter fried anchovies, meatballs and amazing variety of cheese with thick chunks of doughy German bread. The service was great and our Spanish waiter not only explained the food to us but also shared a little bit of history of it and the background of the chef who designed the menu. Being a foodie and a food critic, Kiran asked a lot of questions about the food which brought out the two chefs from their kitchen. What happened next was magical. First they prepared an amazing entrée where they made balls of cucumber juice by putting them in calcium water and then serving them with oyster leaves, seaweed and salt water foam to give the dish its oysterish sea like feel; needless to say it was delicious and getting is made right in front of us was quite an experience. You can taste everything, from the cucumber ball to oyster leaves to seaweed separately in your mouth. With us gushing over their skill, the chefs decided to show off some more and made a sorbet for us with liquid nitrogen. They mixed an assortment of juices and drinks, added liquid nitrogen and whisked the mixture in the bowl with fog emanating from it and then served us those little sorbet balls on frozen dishes. It would not be putting it mildly if I say that it was one of my most cherished food experiences ever – anywhere in the world. Not only did we enjoy excellent food, we also learned a great deal about the cooking techniques. The way the chefs attended to us and made things for us made us feel like royalty. I personally felt like one of the judges in the masterchef kitchen. What a wonderful experience it was! I suggest that if you happen to be in Abu Dhabi, do drop by at the Tapas Bar in Park Rotana, I guarantee that you will not regret it. 

Varieties of salmon

Discussing food, loving food

 

making cucumber balls

Scooping them out of calcium water

 

Sorbet making with liquid nitrogen

The trip to Abu Dhabi was part of  LivEY experience.For those who want to try their luck traveling the world with Etihad Airways, they should check out the LivEY facebook page, who knows, you could be part of the next group to a new destination.

PS: Most of the photos are taken by Ali Khurshid

and off we go to Abu Dhabi

For as long as I can remember, there has been one thing that has not changed about me – my desire to travel. I want to see things that others around me don’t get to see, I want to experience life in all its varied shades and I want to meet people from every corner of the world because they reiterate my faith that despite all the differences, we are essentially the same with similar aspirations and ambitions in life, so when I get an opportunity to travel – whether it is to China or Charsadda, Tando Allahyar or Tripoli – I take it and run with it. 

Earlier this year, Samra Muslim from Etihad Airways contacted me about a project where they will take an assortment of people – photographers, lifestyle journalists and a blogger or two – to their headquarters in Abu Dhabi and show them how the airline works and the city that is home to it. As I have never been one to say no to travel (during my younger days, my most cherished wish was to become a travel writer) I thanked her for the opportunity and said yes to it. For some reason or the other the tour got delayed, but when it happened, it was definitely worth the wait. 

The Etihad tour – or LivEY as it is called across the social media platforms – is an experiment where they put together journalists, photographers, bloggers and social media enthusiasts and they experience Etihad hospitality and get to see the city of Abu Dhabi – courtesy Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority. 

So we packed our bags and went to Abu Dhabi last week from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Despite being a seasoned traveler, I checked the time and flight number and printed out my ticket, I was in for a surprise when I got my boarding card and discovered that I have a business class ticket! As I rarely get to travel in business class, I was very happy with this unexpected surprise. Even before I embarked on the journey, I was already in love with the Etihad people in general and Samra Muslim in particular.

It would not be wrong if I say that flying business class in Etihad was quite an experience and I am wondering how will I go back to my old ‘economy class cheapest ticket’ life. It started off with me falling in love with the seats that come with their own foot rests – they can be stretched after taking off for maximum comfort– and discovering the in-seat massager. I couldn’t wait to take off and start the massager – yes, I was that excited about it. The aircraft was a Boeing 777 – beautiful and spacious – and the hospitality was exceptional, but I would like to state that Etihad had perhaps the best coffee that has been offered to me by any airline, as I have traveled in airlines from 4 different continents – North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, I think my recommendation should carry some weight. In addition to the regular cabin crew that took care of the passengers, the first class and business class have a Cabin Manager who not only take care of food but also go and chat with all the passengers about something of their interest which is taking hospitality to another level. On my Abu Dhabi bound flight, I got to chat with Melna - the cabin manager - who came to my seat when I was watching This Means War and we ended up discussing the film and weighed the pros & cons of falling for guys like Tom Hardy and Chris Pine  (come on, no matter what you do and where you are from, girls do discuss romantic comedies and the good looking actors in it, we are programmed that way). We both thought Pine is way cuter but Hardy wins it with his tattoos and British accent.  We also agreed that things like this – two handsome men fighting over a girl – never happen outside cinemas.

Once we landed in Abu Dhabi, I met Samra and the rest of the gang, and after putting our stuff in the hotel, we were taken to Etihad HQ for a tour and a briefing. We were greeted by Calum D. Laming – Head of Guest Experience and Lee Shave – Vice President Guest Experience. Both the gentlemen took us around and showed us what it is like to be part of the Etihad family. I felt like I was back in school and was visiting a place which will help me decide about my career and what I want to do in future(I wanted to become an ice-cream maker after visiting an ice-cream factory – yes, I am that easily impressed), unfortunately I am too old to change professions otherwise I would have totally jumped the ship and tried to inveigle my way into the company.

Here are some shots from the trip.

The simulators where Etihad pilots practice, I so wanted to get in one but they were not free

Calum Laming with the group

The photographs of Etihad graduates - ranging from flight attendants to chefs to food & beverage managers.

The flight attendants during training in an Economy class cabin model

The super private First Class seat

The Business Class

Training Day

For First Class Passengers

For the Business Class

For Economy Class

Training room for emergency situations

And we have a model amongst us!

For those who want to try their luck with LivEY, they should check out the LivEY facebook page, who knows, you could be part of the next group.