International Rotana Inn Hotel Abu Dhabi

Just got an e-mail from my superior that my application for a funding to support my upcoming trip to a meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay has been approved. This will be my first trip back to South America since winter of 2006....<br><br> <br><br>Yes, I've been to Uruguay, but only as a daytrip from Buenos ...

... go eat my food... I didn't eat that portion of the pasta. <br><br> After that I went through a security line that took FOREVER. This airport was the worst most unorganized that I have ever been in. The line took so long because every person, and I mean every person this is not an exageration, would go through the metal detector and set it off. Then that person would come back through and take off a watch, go through the detector again and set if off ...

... do not have the words... Worst part of it all, it was already winter in Abu Dhabi.. Can you believe that? The duty free at the airport is amazing! It's decorated with green and blue mosaic tiles all over... The floor, the roof, everything. There are all kind of shops in the Duty Free. Perfume shops, coffee shops, shops that sells alcohol, shops that sells cigarettes, shops that sells sweets, shops that sells medicine, anything ...

... very impressive indeed. The mosque itself has taken 12 years so far to build and now they are completing the gardens outside. As we drove in we saw teams of men on their hands and knees laying small marble tiles in mosaics with crates of many thousands of tiles to go. The mosque was open for visitors for the month of Ramadan so we had a Muslim guide us around explaining the uses and traditions. We weren't expecting it, but to see inside the Mosque itself ladies had to ...

... gold rings - the kind of things that a darts player or a cockney would wear - and he holds out his hand to me. I assume he's asking me to hold out my hand to try on one of his ridiculous products so I recoil in mock horror. In fact he's holding out his hand to shake mine, and he's deeply offended at my response. I do then shake his hand but the damage has already been done, which is fine by me. His fake gesture of friendship ...

... one once, that visible shivered under Cambridge climes) sprouting from every garden wall, and the walk through the city on our first night brought the scent of night jasmine wafting to my nostrils, reminded me of Sri Lankan times. I was impressed at the choice of location for said 16th floor apartment. Rather than opting for a white, European suburb, my friends had chosen well and although you could spot the odd honkey, most of the locals were a real ...

... good few minutes for the guys to warm up to us and actually consider the fact that we were forthright in our need of an outfit. Once they saw that we were there to purchase something before we left, we were golden. They started pulling out all these sizes, colors and styles of outfits. Showing us the different head wraps and how they are done. I was the guinea pig for one of the head wraps. We ...

... But everything matches, which is pleasing to the eye on a 11 hour flight) Their coach seats all have TV's in them with about 500 movies, tv shows, and games at the push of a button. They even have electricity outlets in the seats to plug in a laptop or phone or blender! I love them. We are in the Dubai International ...

... sounds a lot cooler than it actually was. It was a small sand dune, and the speed attained on the way down was rather dismal at best but it was still fun to try it out. The best part was seeing severely unbalanced people attempt to sand board. We saw a few Asians bail and roll to the bottom but the best was this rather large and in charge...if you know what I mean...Lady attempt and she fell backwards and then went end over end backwards down the sand dune. It was hilarious!!! What ...

... goes at trying to board on his knees, the speed slide was the highlight and some major wedgys at the bottom!! Hayden said to me to tell the bograts that there were a few german g-strings.... After the water park we checked out the Deira City Centre Mall, absolutely massive and hundreds of shops with cheap electronics (dubai is all tax free). Spent just over an hr, could have stayed for hours but Hayden was losing interest ...