Abu Dhabi, What a Joke

What do you think of the United Arab Emirates, the UAE, you think of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but it is really just an empty desert wasteland, with a city in each emirate, Abu Dhabi is all new, very little is old and if it is old it is a shitty mess, there are apartment blocks with the bricks falling off and trees growing out of walls, yes I saw a tree about 30 feet in the air growing out of the brickwork where the water from an A/C unit was feeding the tree. all the new building look the same and mostly are empty. the City has no soul at all, just ugly great buildings and millions of poor peasants from India and Pakistan and Bangladesh and from all over actually, all trying to make a living, but it has no soul, no life of its own, no community. Just folks trying to make some money. Now don't get me wrong that is a noble thing, keeping your family fed but if you don't have to live there, I would rather be somewhere with real people and real places, not a desert city, the locals all live out of the city anyway, in their huge palaces out by the airport, why would they want to mix with the plebs in town, I found it all totally boring and lifeless and not an ounce of redemption. The esplanade along the sea front is crap also, with some low lying island in front so no clear sea view. I was desperate to get away but now i am back. Nothing to shout about, some of the guys have been to Dubai, and say it is one giant building site and again everything is empty, just a speculators building site and hopefully they have all lost their shirts on it. I can say that when folks say they are going to Dubai for a holiday, they are insane, temperatures up to 50C and high humidity, no wildlife and no trees apart from the obligatory Date Palms, it is a fake place with lots of fake people. Don't be fooled by the shiny glass and expensive cars, it is a place to make some money and run away, I will run away and never return if i can avoid it, life is too short to suffer such a empty place.

I didn't mention that it is a peninsular in a mangrove swamp, good for the birds and mosquitos, just hope the global sea rise will make it a second Atlantis, i would put a photo of Abu Dhabi in here but the country blocks Flickr as though it was a communist threat, it also blocks Skype and any VOIP software as that would mean your not paying enough for your phone calls. It is like being back in the sultans palace and he has all the toys and you can have none and no food and have your balls cut off so you cannot play with the girls. This place does my head in really badly.