March 30th, 2010 §
After an epic Friday with the ‘trainee’ gang (meaning an all-you-can-eat brunch, PJ O’Reillys (Royal Meridian), Pearls & Caviar (Shangri La), Chameleon (The Fairmont) and then Etoiles (Emirates Palace), rest and recuperation was required.
Up early to grab our spots on the beach, we ended up having a great view of the Red Bull Air Race off the Corniche from the Hiltonia Beach Club. Whilst we couldn’t hear the commentary, we could tell who was doing well and who wasn’t (including wincing as one pilot was disqualified for ‘dangerous flying’ as he swooped barely a meter above the water).
All in all, good fun although the weather is definitely heating up!
Click the photo for the rest of the gallery.
March 13th, 2010 §
This weekend I drove to Dubai to visit friends and to watch the Dubai Polo Gold Cup. In the scorching heat, the polo was good fun although considerably less polo was played than at the “World Cup” at the Hurlingham Club, Fulham, last summer.
My first time in Dubai, I found it to be crazier and more hectic than Abu Dhabi, but didn’t see why so much fuss was made out of it. Having said that the Burj Khalifa was impressive!
March 8th, 2010 §
Wakestock Abu Dhabi organised a number of international artists to perform in the evenings after the wakeboarding.
I must admit I didn’t know Maximo Park very well before their concert but I was impressed; they were simply superb.
Paul Smith (lead singer, pictured) had such incredible charisma on stage, he was fantastic to photograph. I had trouble choosing a photo to use here (the rest can be found here).
March 8th, 2010 §
Abu Dhabi is perfectly arranged for beach-related sports events. The Corniche is a fantastic stretch of beach which this weekend hosted Wakestock, 2010’s (and Abu Dhabi’s) first stop on the ‘Wakeboard World Series’ tour.
March 2nd, 2010 §
There is something extraordinarily relaxing about sunsets; perhaps it is because they signal the ‘wind-down’ of another day?
I thought I’d seen impressive sunsets in Europe but here, they may be very short (you can literally watch the sun drop out of the sky) but they are beautifully golden and bath everything in a wonderful glow.
I haven’t had a chance to photograph many but it is going to be a project for the next few weeks!