On our way to Bangkok
When we planned our trip to Bangkok more than a year ago
we decided to put in a stop-over to break up the journey. Half-way puts you somewhere in the Middle
East and we elected to fly through Abu Dhabi with world-leading airline Etihad,
the National airline of the United Arab Emirates – it’s a common misconception
that that title belongs to Emirates, as is Dubai being the capital of the UAE –
it isn’t!
Four years ago I spent a fair amount of time working in Abu
Dhabi with those managing the Al Raha Beach development, one of the largest
construction projects in the world, budgeted at $US18 billion in 2008 and
slated to last at least ten years. Four
years on, how was it progressing? – I wanted to see. With Joan’s birthday coming up during our
trip, Abu Dhabi also looked like an ideal place for present shopping. So we planned a two night stop, with a single
day in Abu Dhabi, also giving us the advantage of day flights on both legs.
What we hadn’t bargained for was the opportunity to
experience one of the greatest pieces of cultural architecture we’ve ever
seen. A couple of weeks before we left
Joan read an article in a newspaper supplement about the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
(a building I’d driven past every day when working there but never thought to
visit) and that tours were available. So
we planned our day to include a visit to the Mosque, drop by the building site,
a little shopping, pass by the Emirates Palace Hotel. Having been before hiring a car held no fears
for us, so that was transport for the day sorted as well.
Let’s start with the flight in – Etihad certainly lives
up to its leading airline handle (although it does always help to be in
Business Class rather than Economy).
Chauffeur service at each end definitely takes the strain away. Service impeccable, food good – recommended!
Our hotel, Le Meridien has the advantage of a central
location and was pretty much unchanged from my last visit four years ago. Which of course means it’s familiar, but the
fabric is beginning to feel a little tired – needs a refurb although I suspect
that it may get demolished and replaced by something fancier.
Despite the plus three hour time change we were up and
alert and at breakfast by just after 8:00 a.m. and having sorted out the hire
car set off for our Mosque tour, scheduled for 11:00, but get there a little
earlier was the suggestion. Being a
place of worship conservative dress is required – but covering garments are
provided for those that don’t have them.
Women in particular have to wear an abaya, a black cloak-like thing and
have their heads covered.
Little can prepare you for the sheer scale and
magnificence of the Mosque. In planning
for 10 years and under construction for a further ten it opened in 2007. The largest Mosque in the UAE , it can
accommodate 41,000 worshippers and is the origin or the satellite-distributed
call to prayer for the 2,500 mosques in Abu Dhabi (presumably putting 2,500
muezzins out of work?). The shimmering
white marble structure, topped with gold leaf, is clearly visible from miles
around – I remember wondering back in 2008 how they would keep the domes, all
eighty-two of them, clean from the sand that swirls around in the air – needn’t
have worried – a man with what looks like giant vacuum cleaner lowers the pipe
across the surface of the dome and there we are – nice & clean!
A series of courtyards, surrounded by marble
columns inlaid with semi-precious stones including lapis lazuli, agate,
amethyst and mother of pearl lead eventually to the main prayer hall. Both outside and inside everywhere your gaze
falls gives you a breathtaking glimpse of something seen from a different
perspective – a minaret framed in an archway, Iznik ceramic panels, glass
mosaic doors.
The main dome stands 85
metres high and 33 metres wide and houses a chandelier 15 metres high and 10
metres wide above a 6,000 square metre hand-knotted Iranian carpet (which they
have shaved in parallel lines to enable the worshippers to kneel in perfectly
straight lines). The interior structure
is just as impressive as the exterior and again, everywhere you look a new
perspective on an architectural feature grabs your attention. There are a few photos here, which hardly do
it all justice – go see for yourself, it’s absolutely worth the trip, and it’s
free!
As for the remainder of the day – well we did go back to
Al Raha Beach and it’s changed, some of it is completed and a lot more is under
construction – almost certainly not as much as they intended 5 years ago, but
with the first spherical building in the Middle East, you can’t ignore it. Oh & yes, we did go shopping, in the
Madinat Zayed Gold Center, and found a suitable present. And we drove up the Corniche for the sights
and passed by the Emirates Palace – we had intended to go in, but yours truly
was in shorts which was taboo in a 6 star hotel!
An early start for Bangkok drove us to bed at a
reasonable hour to prepare for the cultural experience that will be Thailand
& the Convention.
After lunch
at a relaxed restaurant – selections suggested by our guide we took a Canal
tour by private Long Tail Boat. Returning
to the river later we passed by Wat Arun (The Temple of Dawn) before
disembarking to pass through the Pak Klong Talad (Flowers & Vegetables
Market).
Wat Pho, the Reclining Buddha is simply huge – 46 meters
long and 15 metres high. Of brick and
plaster construction it is finished in gold leaf. Mother-of-pearlinlays on the
feet display the 108 different auspicious characteristics of a Buddha
(apparently!). The complex also contains
hundreds, if not thousands of Buddhas reclaimed from abandoned temples
elsewhere in the country.
