If Al Ain Got You

Last was a long weekend here in UAE, Thursday was declared holiday to mark the ascension of Prophet Mohammed. So having too much time to spend on too few things, I gave in to an invitation of an overnight friend to visit another of his friend in another emirate here in UAE, the city of Al Ain in Abu Dhabi. We left Wednesday night with me coming straight from the office. It’s a one and half hour coaster ride amidst sprawling deserts and obdurate date palms.

The City of Al Ain (literally meaning the “Spring”) is actually a secluded city being part of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, though its distance to Dubai is much closer than to Abu Dhabi. It’s a small, quite city that is in sharp contrast with Dubai. Here no buildings are allowed to be constructed more than five floors high. There are trees everywhere, surprisingly lots of green considering its in a middle of a scorching desert. There are huge highways and few vehicles on the road. There are round-abouts in almost every intersection. It’s a different environment, so far from the views of the city that never sleeps.

Al Ain boulevards are lined up with trees and flowering plants.

Al Ain actually is the home of the most number of locals in the UAE. The palace of the Sheik’s wife is found here. Some of the establishments here are landmarks in the country, like the oldest and biggest hospital, the largest public park and the biggest zoo. The tallest peak in the country is also found here in Al Ain. Most of the people who visits Al Ain are actually residents of Dubai who just want to a see different, refreshing and old town feel environment that in these days is so hard to find in the world’s fastest emerging city.

Downtown Al Ain, still dotted with trees and lush gardens.

We arrived in Al Ain, past 10 in the evening. We proceeded to my friend’s friend house and we were treated to a delightful dinner of Pinoy foods. After that , we spend time watching Wowowee in a giant plasma screen while a bottle of tequila was waiting to be unfilled . The house is huge for a single guy. Not surprising afterall, house rental in Al Ain is four times cheaper than of Dubai, same with taxi meter. Before midnight, while we were still lowly spirited, we took our rest in preparation for the next day ahead.

Housing in Al Ain is three to four times cheaper than that of Dubai.

We woke up a little late probably because of the alcohol and the weekend norms. For lunch, we had the same food we had last night. Again, we watched Wowowee right after, then cried our heart out in the karaoke for two hours and then a sacrifice, a movie starring John Lloyd and Bea Alonzo. I hardly watched Pinoy movies, not even in Theater, how much more in a dvd.s So I have fallen aslept, It’s an effective nap inducing device afterall.

After the movie, we dressed up and as we would be going to the mountainous area of Jebel Hapeet. The green grasses covering the mountain side is a sight to behold. Imagine, the barren, rocky and sandy hill slopes were planted with drought defying sand crawling grasses and now the whole place resembles a rugged surface of green carpet. There was also a spring flowing at the foot of the hills down to a pool where you can bathe your stress away. In short, the area is an oasis and so many people visit the place to camp, relax and see something new.

In Al Ain, greening the mountains is a top priority.

Then we headed to the Al Ain Zoo, its actually the biggest zoo in the UAE. It’s really huge and walking through the park by feet is not a bright idea if you wish to take a glimpse of all the animals they have there. Adding up to the inconvenience is the humid weather that dries up all the liquids in your body. But it’s all worth it. The park is well planned, the animals are housed perfectly in their natural setting. There are air-conditioned booths throughout if you have enough of the sun and the sweat. After sunset, we went to a small arena to watch the nightly bird show. Though we were not as enthusiastic as the many kids waiting to see intelligent birds perform their tricks, its nonetheless a better way to spend time than just to lock yourself at home and thrive in your miserable existence.

At Al Ain Zoo, visitors can wander through 45 hectares of land and see over 600 animals in their natural habitat, like these oryx and OMG! Anaconda!