Wednesday, August 21, 2013

News story of the day

Gotta love this one!

Full story here...


ABU DHABI // Four men convicted of selling three prostitutes to undercover policemen for Dh135,000 could not have done so because the women "are not that attractive", a defence lawyer claimed today.

The men were arrested in a sting operation shortly after one of them met the undercover officers in a hotel room and received the payment, heard the Appeals Court. Prosecutors say the men sold each woman for Dh45,000 each and intended to give each of the prostitutes Dh5,000 from the proceeds.
But yesterday the lawyer for EF, the man accused of meeting the officers, said that he appeared to have been framed.

"Seems like CID tricked the men into the deal by tempting them with a lot of cash," said Fayza Moussa, adding: "Why would anyone pay Dh45,000 for each of these women, they are not even that attractive?"



Friday, August 9, 2013

Maqta Fort

There is an interesting little place next to Maqta Bridge known as Maqta Fort. Before the bridges were built this was the crossing point for those arriving by camel to cross to Abu Dhabi Island. They built a small lookout tower so that they could see who was coming from afar and to check the water depth for suitability for crossing. I believe it has been standing for some 200 years. On the mainland shore there is a small building which used to serve as a check point for people wishing to cross onto Abu Dhabi Island. It later became a police station and now it is a Tourist Information office.

It's not exactly worth a day trip, but if you are passing sometime, it's worth a little look. I took some pictures. The old look out contrasts nicely with the new Sheikh Zayed Bridge. Be aware that to the left side of Maqta bridge (facing the Island) there are some sensitive military areas, so don't photograph in that direction.















Monday, August 5, 2013

Puttin' on the Ritz ...

The other night we went for an Iftar buffet at the Ritz-Carlton in Abu Dhabi . It was our first visit to the hotel and I have to say it is a very impressive property. The hotel looks stunning and is in a great spot, with views to the Zayed Grand Mosque on one side.

However. The Iftar? Meh... The choice of food was ok, not outstanding and the service was actually quite poor. We had to chase every time for forgotten drinks orders and the service was generally just slow.

We won't be rushing back.

Here's a few pictures though, showing the nice views...

Grand entrance


The welcome mat


The lobby


Shisha galore


The Ramadan "Tent" 


The coffee man



Impressive date selection!



"Baby lamb"


"Baby camel" (which tasted great by the way)


Hotel views 








Sunday, August 4, 2013

Jet skiing days over in Abu Dhabi?

The Abu Dhabi Government has now banned jet skis from being ridden in many areas of the Abu Dhabi coastline. It pretty much puts paid to the trade in jet ski hire. Jets skis are now banned in all the areas where you can hire them (e.g. Mina Port, Al Raha Beach, Al Bateen). Only if you own your own jet ski and can launch it yourself from an area not banned, will you now really be able to ride one.

As you can see from the the link below, I have enjoyed hiring jet skis from time to time and will miss the opportunity to do so again. There are clearly marked swimming areas along the Corniche beach, but still some jet ski riders (typically local I have to say) , do seem to enjoy annoying everyone else who is trying to enjoy the beach. So, I guess it is the actions of a few that has meant there is now one less thing to do in Abu Dhabi.


http://neilandcaz.blogspot.ae/search/label/jetski