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Abu Dhabi

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Yas Island Viceroy Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Tay Explores

The Persian Gulf is known for a lot of man-made islands, one of which is Yas Island. It was being constructed during my visit and even though it was not complete, the Viceroy Hotel was finished and opened to the public for the first time. This was one of the places I looked up before going and once again, I dragged my friend there on a hot afternoon. I wanted to see it during daylight and nighttime. I like to get the full experience! lol It’s main focus is the diamond mesh that covers it, like a veil. This  steel and glass panel structure stretches 217 meters over the hotel which is what attracted me to it in the first place. You are able to access what is called the Skylite, a poolside restaurant/bar area which is directly under this beautiful grid-shell. After touring around and seeing the contemporary interior as…

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Biking on the Corniche in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Tay Explores

In Abu Dhabi, our apartment was near the Corniche, so almost every day whenever we went out, we’d pass by it. Corniche is a main waterfront road that spreads 5 miles in the city. It features beaches, parks, restaurants and cafes. I always saw a bike rental place on it and thought we could do it one of the days when we didn’t have anything big planned. That day came and I was ready to pitch the idea to my friend. I told her since we weren’t doing much that day, we could go explore the Corniche on bikes. She wasn’t too keen on the idea because I wanted to do it in the middle of the day. No one really did outdoor activities there that early in order to avoid getting overly hot and burnt in the desert heat (especially in the month of May and June). I was on a travel high and…

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Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Tay Explores

Now to share one of my favorites places in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. This mosque was a vision by the Late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan who set the foundation of the structure but was completed and opened for worship in 2007, after his death. When I went back in 2010, I had a basic point and shoot camera. While going through my pictures, 6 years later, I feel that they do not do justice to the beauty of this mosque (well…I don’t think any picture can really do justice to it). However, I hope that you will still enjoy looking through them. It features several different styles of Islamic architecture like Mamluk, Ottoman and Fatimid. There are four minarets and eighty two domes and it can accommodate up to 40,000 worshipers. Most of the mosque is made in the iconic white (favorite color of the sheikh who founded it) marble. It features ornate…

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Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Tay Explores

When I was in school, I randomly used to look up luxury hotels and go through their photo galleries for inspiration and also just for fun. The Emirates Palace Hotel was one of the first ones I had heard about in the UAE (besides the famous Burj-Al-Arab). When a friend told me about it, I immediately looked it up. From the pictures, I remember being more impressed with the exterior design and architecture of it rather than the interior. When I finally went and saw it with my own eyes, I still felt the same way. It definitely lived up to it’s name in that it looked like a palace.We didn’t get to go in any of the rooms or suites (I’m sure they are magnificent) but we did get to go inside and see the main areas like the lobby and the courtyard. When you enter through the main entrance, it is…

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Heritage Village, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Tay Explores

I’m going to start off by sharing with you the first place I went to when I arrived in Abu Dhabi. It was called Heritage Village which is basically a museum located on the Corniche that showcases the history of the UAE’s way of life. This is a fun and FREE thing to check out. The museum showcases jewelry, armor and basically every day items that people used back in the day. There are also setups of actual houses and campsites for you to go into and check out. I really enjoyed this part. You could actually see exactly how rooms would have been set up, where a baby would have slept, where people would have gathered in front of campfires, etc. In addition to all that, there are workshops here where different skills like metal work and pottery can be viewed. My favorite part was of the boats that were out by the water (is that even…

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