Christmas 2014 Photo Diary: The Wonders of Abu Dhabi

We actually made a quick trip to Abu Dhabi where we stayed for about a day and a half. Since it was only about two hours away from Dubai, it didn't take long before I saw the beautiful capital of the country and our very stop in the agenda was the famous Sheikh Zayed Mosque. Read on to see more!

 Even from afar, the mosque could already be seen because it was so huge, but all this was nothing compared to what I was about to see inside.

Before going in, there's a few shelves by the side of the Grand Mosque where you have to leave your shoes and you basically tour around the Mosque proper while you're barefoot. Also, there's a strict dress code to be observed, guys can be in almost anything, just don't wear shorts. Girls, on the other hand have to dress really conservatively, plus their heads should be wrapped with a scarf or cloth, also known as a hijab since this was a vital part of the respect to be shown in places of worship.

Believe me when I say, it really isn't possible for any camera to capture the intense beauty that this mosque had. "Intricate" doesn't even begin to describe how much of masterpiece this place is.

Everything was ornamented. Everything had a pattern. You would think that putting patterns on literally everything would have made the interiors tacky but not here. *Definitely* not here. There were subtle textures and carvings, but there were also bright colors that grabbed your attention. Polished, matte, and shiny surfaces added so much dimension. Everything was so carefully planned out that thinking about my experience now still fills me with great awe. #DesignerGoals

Everything was flawlessly done with great care - I cannot get over how beautiful everything was.

This will probably be my phone's wallpaper in the future. Haha!

Lunch was served at the Emirates Palace Hotel and it was glorious. I'm still wondering what happened to all of my photos because I remember snapping a ton of photos that day. Ugh.

But in any case, having lunch here was one of my favorite dining experiences to date! There were a ton of choices, but my very favorite part was the dessert bar! Basically just ate all the giant strawberries dipped in chocolate because *strawberries* Hopefully I get to stay here when I travel back in the future because it seems like such a magical place to stay!

After lunch we made a quick stop at the Heritage Town which was basically this really small complex that sold a lot of cultural souvenirs and a few shops actually show you how they craft stuff like pottery and leather goods!

There's also this lovely beach but I'm not sure if you can swim here since I didn't really see anyone in the water. They were all probably going crazy in the awesome waterparks of the country! Haha!

Last stop of the day was Ferrari World and it was sadly the most disappointing part. #GroupTourProblems We had only about three or four hours to check the place out because we were running on a schedule. (Yes, there was a schedule for when we had to go back to the hotel.) *Sad face*

It's actually linked with the Yas Mall since it was in a totally separate island surrounded by Yas-owned buildings. I'm going to show you guys the Yas Viceroy Hotel soon because I took so many photos it deserved its own post! Yup, it's that amazing. Haha!

With the amount of time that we had plus the time it took to wait our turn for rides, I only got on TWO rides. Is that not the saddest thing ever?

The first one was the Speed of Magic which was apparently amazing. However, it definitely didn't meet any of my expectations. It just actually made me dizzy. It's a 4D ride that makes you twist and turn for no real reason and it just gave me a headache in the end. This ride definitely does not hold a candle to Universal Studios' Transformers 4D ride. Now that ride was freaking awesome.

The second one was the Fiorano Challenge and this was probably one of my favorite rides of all time. There are actually two major roller coaster rides in Ferrari World. This was one of them and I enjoyed every second of it! There were enough drops and turns to pump you up but not too many that you just end up being scared for your life. The whole ride takes about a minute or so but it felt like a long time since the track designed was far from being boring.

The fastest roller coaster in the world is here as well but that's if you're willing to wait for two hours and I've heard it just hurts your neck, so I just opted for the other rides.

Stay tuned for the amazingness that is the Yas Viceroy Hotel!