Day 4 - Return to Abu Dhabi, and the art of not allowing blogging to give you the...

Listening: NPR All Songs Considered podcast - Interview with Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen of Portlandia Fame (I'm so hipster...)
I had high hopes for seeing the rest of AbuDhabi today. Check out the Hyatt Capital Gate (another architectural masterpiece, see below) and later the Marina on Yas Island.




In all honesty, by the time I got back to Abu Dhabi and checked into the hotel, I was keen to get down to brass tacks on the blog and take advantage of the free Wi-Fi the hotel offered. That's probably the only redeeming feature of the Sands Hotel that I can think of. It wasn't bad, as such, but on the whole pretty average. Trip advisor reviews are interesting - full of Filipino hookers plying their trade apparently. Now I can't vouch for this, but the "English Pub" downstairs did at times feel like a night out in Kuta.
Anyway, I get ahead of myself. Decided before leaving Dubai that I had to get myself a traditional headdress (if that's what you call them - I'm so ignorant!!. Can feel a Lawrence of Arabia phase creeping up into my sartorial exploits. Here you go, I'd say I'm a natural)




After returning from the souk, checked out and grabbed a cab to the bus station. Cab driver asked why I wasn't hiring a cab to take me back to Abu Dhabi. I said I actually quite liked the bus. He looked at me like I was retarded. In all honesty I probably was, but I was genuine in my praise for the buses. Seriously, what's there to complain about? My trips both to and from Dubai were in buses that were half full, they were fast, and air conditioned. Gave me time to write a bit, check out the desert sights, and attempt some high speed photography at some obligatory desert mosques (see below)




Anyway, spent the rest of the arfternoon and evening trying to get the blog up and running. Those who have commented favourably, I thank you. It is by no means they aesthetic masterpiece I'm envisioning. Quite frankly the two blogging apps I'm using are turning into the most excruciating balancing act. And trying to edit through Safari is close to impossible, due to the act that the my Blogger page is now coming up in Arabic, and I for the life of me can't find the menu to change to English. Both Blogger and Blogger+ are ok but really have their limitations when it comes to layout of photos in-between text, so if anyone can recommend a better one I'm all ears. [Postscript - currently trying out Blogpress, so far OK but has an annoying habit of losing your list of posts once you upload one - you end up having to "restart" in order to retrieve them]. Until then, photos are probably out of place and lacking, my apologies.
I was working on this thing up till midnight, interrupted only by a couple of beers downstairs at forementioned "English Pub" - watched Czech Republic beat Greece at the Soccer. Poor Greece, can probably do with a bit of a lift.
That's the anouncement to turn of all electronic devices. Seems like a perfect time to stop. Day 4 I'll just consider a travel day. Looking forward to Amman. Yes, in case you haven't realised, my location of narrative has shifted from the desert to my flight to Amman. In-flight listening: Nothing But The Beat - David Guetta (heeyyy, in flight entertainment at its best).
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