Emirates Trip. Day 2: Al Ain

- April 01, 2017

First-time experience, both LHD and in the desert

Roughly 130 km from the city of Dubai, Al Ain is justly known as the garden city due to its greenery. Not to mention the city full of circuitous routes every ~2 km, I guessed.. :P. Anyway, we started our journey from Dubai early after breakfast, while I was still shaking to familiarize myself with right-hand traffic. Considering most cars move rather fast, we just keep ourselves to the most left lane... err, right, or the slow lane. Mind you, the freeways speed limit is 120 km/h with the minimum speed of 60 km/h, and that speed limit is enforced by camera at almost every 10 km.

Al Ain is known for its oasis and once was the birthplace of Sheikh Zayed from the Al-Nahyan royal family, who founded the United Arab Emirates. Al Ain is located to the east of Abu Dhabi, bordering Al Buraimi of Oman. Since it was too early to check into the hotel, we stopped at the Hili Archaeology Park; however, it's only open after 4 pm. We saved this stop for tomorrow and continued to Al Ain Oasis, the largest in that city. An Oasis Miniature was displayed beside the visitor parking area. There was an Eco Center that briefed the history of the Oasis. Then, we walked 5 minutes to visit the Al Ain Palace Museum and came back to the oasis later.

The construction of the Oasis Miniature was still in progress.

A unique wooden structure housed the Eco Center

Behind the walls was the oasis

Practicing my photography skills

The converted Al Ain Palace Museum was the private residence of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Nahyan. The construction resembles typical buildings in the UAE that are characterized by their ventilation systems that keep the indoors cool. I didn't snap one at the palace, but lucky me managed to save one at the Sultan Fort. By the way, most of the attractions in Al Ain were free or at most a minimal fee.

Mathap Qasr Al Ain, guess what it is?

Simple yet cozy, you can feel the 'cool' air

You will find this inside the Oasis, a traditional irrigation system

Quite shady, right?

Surprisingly, Al Ain is full of blossoms!

Starbucks, anyone?

Hot coffee are served in that room

This is how they hosts their guests

After spending around 45 minutes at the Palace Museum, we stepped back to the Oasis. We saw rows of bicycles and thought of renting one, but to no avail; only payment cards are allowed for that purpose. I've tried several times, looking at the other tourists who manage to accomplish it. Anyhow, we simply walked through the shady and tranquil Oasis. I've installed the Oasis apps, which were beneficial as an audio guide to get to know the details.

The irrigation system plays the vital role in the development of the emirates

Nu'man was so disappointed as we can't get the bicycles rented

Macam-macam gaya nu'man posing

The mother well and the channel

To the east of the Oasis are situated the Al Ain National Museum and the Sultan Fort. There were hundreds of excavated items and artifacts in this rather small museum. It's a kind of old-school museum without any audio or interactive features provided. All in all, it tells the history of the UAE and Al Ain particularly. It just caught my attention with the history of the tomb existing in the prehistoric Islamic age. Meanwhile, the Sultan Fort was the first fort that we visited, and Al Ain is the city with the richest collection of forts and castles in the Abu Dhabi emirate.

Wearing a burqa signalled a married woman. :P


The Hili Archaeological Park signifies the bronze age existence

The Danish that did the excavation works in Al Ain

An epic view of the Jebel Hafeet

It was late afternoon, and we had neither had our lunch nor checked in to our hotel. Loaded with tidbits, we headed to the Mercure Grand Jebel Hafeet. While I was searching for the hotel's booking, I actually didn't realize that it was the only unique mountain oasis resort located at the top of historical Jebel Hafeet. Going through a windy road yet a short and safe route, we reached the hotel around 15 minutes from the foothill. We spent that evening in the hotel resting and had pizza for an early dinner at one of the hotel's restaurants. The best part was having a splendid night view of Al Ain city from the top of Jebel Hafeet.