Interesting place; mediocre photos

And now, a brief pictorial representation of my journey and exploration of Abu Dhabi with a point-and-shoot digital camera that doesn't work very well at night. (I need a snappier title, don't I?)

The suns sets... someplace. Over the Atlantic, I think. This is my first attempt at making the ISO work for me.

On a French-built airplane with a German-speaking crew, and the map is in Arabic. Where am I going?

My first look at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

My second glimpse of the airport: a piano bar. (!?)

The very hotel room from whence I put together most of these blog posts. That desk, specifically. Gigantic luggage in left foreground.

Me, my street view and 18 hours of jet lag.

This is the Tourist Club Area, where my hotel is situated. There aren't many tourist clubs anymore... just hotels and high-rises. And lots of parked cars.

The Abu Dhabi Mall. It's hard to express how gigantic this thing is. Shopping, as I have said before, is a big-time pastime here, especially in the summer where everyone wants to be indoors anyway.

The Corniche, a huge lakeside park not unlike Chicago's Lake Shore Drive parks. The frame is empty because, as usual, I am the only idiot wandering around in the afternoon heat.

My first meal outside the hotel! It was at a Lebanese place, a chain called The Automatic. On the right is a (delicious) falafel sandwich, and on the left is a (delicious) plate of hummous. They serve it with a plate of pickled vegetables and more bread than you could eat in three sittings.

1) I wish I could figure out how to rotate photos. 2) When you go to a restaurant and order a "cocktail," you get something like this. It's layered fruit juices, quite tasty and healthy, but missing a key element.

The high-rises under construction on Al Reem Island in downtown Abu Dhabi. These buildings alone should ease the massive housing crunch here and allow blue-collar schlubs like myself access to fancypants housing.

The city is filled with "streetcorner" mosques. Every neighborhood has one. And you get used to hearing the calls to prayer several times a day.

The Emirates Media building. I had to wait a couple of minutes to get this shot (I'm standing on the median of a busy street) because the traffic was so thick.

The entrance to the Abu Dhabi Media Company. I think, but can't prove, that the seven small flags represent the seven emirates, and the giant flag represents the United Arab Emirates.

The newsroom. Basically like every newsroom ever, with pillars, lots of computers and strategically located televisions.

More (and less lame!) pictures to come.