WHEN you first land in Abu Dhabi, it is the smooth wide roads, the tree-lined boulevards, the water fountains and the finely manicured roundabouts that make an impact. Is this really a desert? On a winter night, it looks like a city that has it all, yet it is oddly quiet. The quietness continues when night turns into day.
Abu Dhabi is the capital of the cluster of seven states that form the United Arab Emirates. But for way too long, it has been in the shadow of Dubai, its more cosmopolitan, hipper and busier counterpart, which is the UAE's top travel spot with about five million visitors a year.
That could change. Abu Dhabi has embarked on a tourism offensive. It has an all-encompassing plan that involves developing a 670-acre cultural district on Saadiyat Island, where some of the world's best-known architects such as Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Zaha Hadid and Tadao Ando are building the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, a branch of the Louvre, a new Maritime Museum and a stunning performing arts centre.
Read Deepika Shetty's full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.
