My first two days in 📍 Abu Dhabi, UAE were promising, with me getting to visit a nearby beach at Hudayriyat and Qasr Al Watan, the Presidential Palace.
Chasing sunsets continue in this post, where I will share the rest of my Abu Dhabi trip. This is once again going to have tons of images, so hang on tight and and enjoy the views with me!
Abu Dhabi has water taxis! Maybe just a tad bit expensive (I'm such a cheapskate), but the experience was worthwhile!
Just like the days leading up to it, our itinerary was more of a suggestion than a strict schedule. The next day, though, we had a specific spot in mind: the 📍 Louvre Abu Dhabi!
My sister, her kids, and I headed out. The kids were with us this time -- they still fall under the free entrance category. LOL. (I pay for our tickets while my big sister pay for our food.)
📍 Marsa Mina Port
Now, even though we had a car at our disposal... we thought a water taxi would make things way more fun. Of course, fun... wouldn't be without some kind of hitch. We got lost -- and we only had around 10 minutes before the water taxi left!
Everyone we asked for directions didn't know where the water taxi station was. Meanwhile, there was this huuuge ship docked in the Port, and an equally huge building in front of it. Surely, this might be the station?
Imagine our confusion when we realized that no, this was not the water taxi station. Thankfully, Google Maps told us that it was just a few walks away. Except it was a five-minute walk away!
To make things worse, we were already running late for the scheduled trip.
Thankfully, we immediately spotted the unimpressionable and small water taxi station. From the window, we saw someone waving at us, as if he saw we were running to his direction and urging us to hurry along. He was so kind and understanding, though. He had us drink water from their dispenser first before going. LOL.
The water taxi was mostly empty, with just me, my big sister, her kids, and another Filipino family on board.
It wasn't long before we docked near our next destination: the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
📍 Louvre Abu Dhabi
The Louvre I knew was the one in Paris, France. The other Louvre I knew was the Louvre in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Then my big sister kept talking about Louvre Abu Dhabi.
The last time I was in a proper museum was when I was in college, during a cultural trip for a deep dive into Filipino history. It was the Philippines' national museums, and I remember having so much fun. I just knew I was going to like this, too.
There was just absolutely so much to see. I loved how we started from Ancient Worlds to Middle Ages to Early Modern Times to Modern and Contemporary period.
From the Louvre website:
Louvre Abu Dhabi focuses on cross-cultural interactions: the stories of human creativity that transcend individual cultures or civilisations, times or places.
"In Africa, when an old man dies, a library burns to the ground."
What really gets me is how most of those in exhibit were things I only ever read in books. Or artifacts I have only ever seen in documentaries.
Seeing them in the flesh, at least at this point in my life, was an exhilarating experience. It's something I would wish others get to experience, too! Although, just get ready to walk a lot.
And I mean hours' worth of non-stop walking and maybe bumping into strangers. Because if you thought you reached the end of the museum, ready to exit, you would be greeted by the very architecturally ingenious and maybe even opulent dome of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. And it's huge.
And just like that, we were suddenly getting ready to board our scheduled water taxi once again. We were so tired and hungry, but the earth just had got to treat us to some very beautiful sunset on our way back to Marsa Mina Port.
And so, my Day 3 in Abu Dhabi, chasing sunsets, concludes.
Do I recommend the Louvre Abu Dhabi? If you're into the arts, love learning about history, and just generally are in search for a different but less chaotic experience, I definitely recommend the Louvre, plus the water taxi!
The Marsa Mina Port has also got some food trucks around and, nearby, you can even find restaurants (including seafood restaurants--the smell was mouth-watering!) and shops.
So... for the rest of my Abu Dhabi stay, what did I do? Plenty more. :) Things I hope I can share with you in the next iteration of my Abu Dhabi Trip series.
Here's a sneak peek 😉:
