We woke up earlyish on this morning, and looked out the window to see fog. Fog everywhere. We couldn't even see the ground. It was insane. Anyway, we went for breakfast as usual - sitting right near the foggy window. Christian persuaded the hotel to loan us towels to take off the premises, signing his life away in the process.
We got kitted up for a day of watery fun, and went to ask the staff to call us a taxi over. It was a woman driving, which was great to see. She was silent the whole way, though. We asked her about the fog and how often it happens, but she didn't understand the question - I don't think her English was very good.
It was quite a long journey to Yas, through some pretty uninteresting country, including Saadiyat and Al Jubail islands. It was a bit of a wasteland, though difficult to tell through thick fog.
We eventually arrived at Yas Waterworld, and the car park looked mostly empty. Win! We chose the right day. The taxi fare was about 64 AED, so not cheap. Christian left his phone on the seat after getting out. Lucky I spotted it. We took our places in the pre-booked tickets queue. It took ages, but we were finally seen to, and handed our double tickets for Waterworld and Ferrari World.
We were greeted by some oversized cartoon characters at the main entrance, and walked into the shop/changing area. We paid for a locker, and each of us went off to shed our clothes. With everything safely stashed, and a locker band on Christian's wrist, we went in search of fun.
I had felt a little self-conscious in a bikini top and shorts, but I certainly wasn't the most scantily-clad person there, and there were plenty like me. We found some lounges with an umbrella and left our things there. There were private cabanas available for a small fortune, but it wasn't worth it for us, given there were plenty of lounges available.
We didn't really know where to start, so began at the 'beach', which was directly in front of our lounges. The water was unnaturally warm, and the waves were strangely off-putting in rhythm, and I decided I didn't like it, particularly after Christian dumped a giant inflatable ring on my head and dunked me.
We got out and went in search of a ride. We decided on 'Falcon's Falaj' which looked like the 'Snowy River Rampage' at Australia's Wonderland. But the resemblance was superficial. We took our places in the six person round raft with four young guys, and set off. It started off OK, slipping and spinning around inside a big tube, but then it went over an enormous precipice, spraying us with water, and my stomach dropped. And I screamed. Lesson learned. Wasn't going to do that one again.
Next, we headed for the Yadi Yas wave river. It took a while to find the top, and we got on top of a giant double ring and pushed off. It was peaceful, but fairly slow and boring. Every so often, there was an intake wave, and that was fun. We needed something in between.
After some exploring the park, in which we found the kiddie's areas, boarding waves, a pearl diving attraction, and a silly rollercoaster where others could shoot you with water cannons, we decided the best place for us was the Jebel zone.
We made our way there, and decided to go on the Slither's slides. You had to collect a ring at the bottom and lug it all the way up the stairs, and there was a significant queue. At the top of the stairs, there were six choices, and I'd forgotten what each one was. Some had more of a queue than others. I asked a nice man, and he directed me to a mild slide to begin with (the yellow/cream one), which had no queue. I stepped in, sat on my ring, and pushed off when the light went green. It was a nice ride, not scary, but I didn't really like being inside a dark tube. Just before it spat you out into the open, it drenched you with a blinding spray of water. Christian had gone on a fast one, and he enjoyed his.
We went back up to have another go. I couldn't decide which to go on, so my nice man helped me choose the next scariest one, and I was brave enough to try it (I think it was the orange and purple one). I liked this one much more, because you could see where you were going next. I think we had one more go on these.
Christian visited the toilet at this point, and I decided to try the Sebag 'mat race'. It was another long queue, and you had to lug your mat up the stairs. The mats were fitted with large handles at the front, and fairly heavy. In the queue behind me were an Australian man and his daughter. As we got to the top, and the six people ahead of us took their places, I told the girl that she was going to be number 2 this time. She chattered about which ones she'd been on so far.
When it was our turn, we stood in front of our chutes, and the woman explained how to do it. For this one, you had to position your mat in the slide, and when the light went green, launch yourself into the chute from the step. The light went green, and we were off. There were some twists and turns, and then the blinding spray of water, and then a huge drop. We were spat out in lanes, beside our companions, so it was a bit of a race. It was a bit scary, but in a good way. I was keen for another try.
Christian met me at the bottom, telling me that someone had just hit their head, and been assessed medically. Hmmm. I had belted my foot at one point, and could feel a bruise forming. He joined me for another go. I was in lane 2 this time. We took off, and the sudden left turn (which it was too dark to see) made my neck snap over and I hit my head. It wasn't bad - just enough to rattle my brain a little. Still worth doing the ride, especially because I beat Christian. :-)
Both of us felt like we'd had enough by this point, so we made our way back to the beach, had one more dip, and then headed for our lounges. We'd seen a clever swimmers drying mechanism, and stood on the scalding base and pressed the button, but we didn't have any credit on our wrist band. So we went to get changed, and I had a shower. My underwear had stayed with Christian, and he tried to get it to me via a staff member. I was aware of women shouting 'Angela', but I just thought it was a hysterical mother trying to find her child. Anyway, we sorted it out in the end.
As it was time for lunch, we walked to Yas Mall (after asking for directions). It wasn't far, but access was not set up well for pedestrians. It was full sun by now. The entrance was through a department store (Tryano), which Christian insisted would link up to the main mall. Turns out he was right. The mall was quite exclusive, but more laid back and welcoming than the World Trade Center one. We decided on lunch in Shakespeare and Co, which was in a large open square.
We were taken to a table, and seated with menus. The guy who took our order was pretty hopeless. I ordered a 'gone fishing' burger, which was a salmon patty. Can't remember what Christian ordered, but I think he got a kiwi mojito. The service improved from there. An old woman at the next table had her bare feet up on a chair beside me, which dented my appetite somewhat. I did some people-watching while we waited. There seemed to be a trend inside the mall for men to wear their traditional robes with baseball caps. Very odd.
After lunch, we continued on to Ferrari World. Turns out it was joined on to the same building, but we sort of went around the outside, and found all the other places that we could have eaten, in a beautifully laid out, shady area with a stepped fountain. Never mind.
At the entrance to Ferrari World, there was a huge crowd surrounding some people in fancy dress throwing swords around. We hurried past them. I fancied something chocolatey, but failed to find anything suitable.
At the gates, a man tried to help us scan our tickets, but then ran off with them. We called him out, and he apologised and let us through, almost forgetting to give them back. Very silly. Inside, there was a definite winter theme, with snow gently gliding down around us, and children frolicking in white stuff. The building was vast, with soaring internal structure inside a massive sail.
The first thing we did was get an ice cream (rude not to and all that). Then we pottered around, having a look at everything. We lined up for a virtual tour of the Ferrari factory in Maranello, which was interesting. We sat in cars on a rail, which rotated and spun to face whichever screen we were supposed to be watching. Quite good.
There were life-size cars negotiating a life-sized slot track, which we wanted to go on, but the queue was too long. We saw a lot of food outlets, and went into the merchandise store (everything was very expensive). Christian wanted to have a go on the driving simulators, but you either needed to book, or pay a fortune. We went outside to briefly watch the crazy-fast roller coaster. After waiting for about ten minutes, chatting to a British woman, the roller coaster finally came screaming past at an alarming rate. It apparently gets 'launched' and reaches 100 km/h in 2 seconds, with a top speed of 239 km/h. Not for the faint-hearted.
There were some movie screenings, which we decided against, and various other things not very car-related. Finally, we got to look at some actual cars in a show room, which was interesting. We decided we'd seen enough around 5pm, and headed for the exit (via another shop, of course). It was like a theme park first, and Ferrari second, rather than the other way around.
I'd thought about the possibility of maybe calling into the Viceroy for a drink, but we decided it was better to head back to the hotel and prepare for a nice dinner locally.
We asked around about how to get back to the city, as there were a number of buses pulling up. But taxi was the only option. So we went to the taxi rank, and got in one. The man driving us did two U-turns before we even left Yas Island, leading us to believe he was lost. We called him out, and he said that you couldn't go the way he needed to from the direction we'd come. But he actually just used the wrong lane.
The journey was almost as uninteresting as on the way there. We could see clearly now, but the whole area had been reclaimed and was under construction basically. We got back to the hotel without further fuss (the taxi fare was 70 AED, rounded down from 71), and set about choosing a restaurant while we got ready. We'd toyed with the idea of the Japanese restaurant at Jumeira, but when we discovered that the Hilton had a Japanese restaurant as well, with reasonable prices, and that their bar had a cocktail happy hour, the decision was easy. We rang to make a booking for 7.30.
We set off walking at about 6.45, and got there in time for one happy hour drink. The Hilton was a lot more subdued than the Khalidiya Palace, but still very nice. The Bocca restaurant was upstairs, so we walked to the far end and up the stairs, and took our seats in a stylish area with black fringing defining different sections. Over the balcony we could see a bridge over a water feature. Happy hour drinks were half-price, so 25 AED - bargain! I had a very delicious peach bellini, and Christian had an Aperol spritz (bleurgh). We were the only ones in the bar, and the guy was very friendly.
We did have to leave quite quickly to keep our reservation, though (shame, as I'd have loved to stay longer), and we retraced our steps to the main entrance, going outside and along the front to the Toki restaurant entrance. They welcomed us very professionally, and showed us to a table in a booth. It was fairly busy, with a number of takeaway orders going out, but still fairly hushed.
We'd decided that we were going to have the teppenyaki option; I ordered 'shrimp', and Christian ordered the combination ('shrimp', fish, chicken, beef, vegetables). They came with miso soup, salad, and rice. I ordered a cranberry juice, and Christian a pomegranate thing (noting a theme here?). They brought us complimentary sushi while we were waiting, which was very good.
The miso was delicious, and the main course soon followed. We each had a massive plate of food to negotiate, but it somehow wasn't too much. The prawns were slightly disappointing as they were a bit tough, but I'm sure they were fresh. Of the three sauces that came with the food, one in particular was amazing. It tasted like miso and saki or something, but they told me it was 'mustard'. The beef on Christian's plate was particularly outstanding. Really good food. The bill was 391 AED (about £90), but we felt it was worth it.
We walked back to the Khalidiya Palace, and probably watched something before bed. A good day.
We got kitted up for a day of watery fun, and went to ask the staff to call us a taxi over. It was a woman driving, which was great to see. She was silent the whole way, though. We asked her about the fog and how often it happens, but she didn't understand the question - I don't think her English was very good.
It was quite a long journey to Yas, through some pretty uninteresting country, including Saadiyat and Al Jubail islands. It was a bit of a wasteland, though difficult to tell through thick fog.
We eventually arrived at Yas Waterworld, and the car park looked mostly empty. Win! We chose the right day. The taxi fare was about 64 AED, so not cheap. Christian left his phone on the seat after getting out. Lucky I spotted it. We took our places in the pre-booked tickets queue. It took ages, but we were finally seen to, and handed our double tickets for Waterworld and Ferrari World.
We were greeted by some oversized cartoon characters at the main entrance, and walked into the shop/changing area. We paid for a locker, and each of us went off to shed our clothes. With everything safely stashed, and a locker band on Christian's wrist, we went in search of fun.
I had felt a little self-conscious in a bikini top and shorts, but I certainly wasn't the most scantily-clad person there, and there were plenty like me. We found some lounges with an umbrella and left our things there. There were private cabanas available for a small fortune, but it wasn't worth it for us, given there were plenty of lounges available.
We didn't really know where to start, so began at the 'beach', which was directly in front of our lounges. The water was unnaturally warm, and the waves were strangely off-putting in rhythm, and I decided I didn't like it, particularly after Christian dumped a giant inflatable ring on my head and dunked me.
We got out and went in search of a ride. We decided on 'Falcon's Falaj' which looked like the 'Snowy River Rampage' at Australia's Wonderland. But the resemblance was superficial. We took our places in the six person round raft with four young guys, and set off. It started off OK, slipping and spinning around inside a big tube, but then it went over an enormous precipice, spraying us with water, and my stomach dropped. And I screamed. Lesson learned. Wasn't going to do that one again.
Next, we headed for the Yadi Yas wave river. It took a while to find the top, and we got on top of a giant double ring and pushed off. It was peaceful, but fairly slow and boring. Every so often, there was an intake wave, and that was fun. We needed something in between.
After some exploring the park, in which we found the kiddie's areas, boarding waves, a pearl diving attraction, and a silly rollercoaster where others could shoot you with water cannons, we decided the best place for us was the Jebel zone.
We made our way there, and decided to go on the Slither's slides. You had to collect a ring at the bottom and lug it all the way up the stairs, and there was a significant queue. At the top of the stairs, there were six choices, and I'd forgotten what each one was. Some had more of a queue than others. I asked a nice man, and he directed me to a mild slide to begin with (the yellow/cream one), which had no queue. I stepped in, sat on my ring, and pushed off when the light went green. It was a nice ride, not scary, but I didn't really like being inside a dark tube. Just before it spat you out into the open, it drenched you with a blinding spray of water. Christian had gone on a fast one, and he enjoyed his.
We went back up to have another go. I couldn't decide which to go on, so my nice man helped me choose the next scariest one, and I was brave enough to try it (I think it was the orange and purple one). I liked this one much more, because you could see where you were going next. I think we had one more go on these.
Christian visited the toilet at this point, and I decided to try the Sebag 'mat race'. It was another long queue, and you had to lug your mat up the stairs. The mats were fitted with large handles at the front, and fairly heavy. In the queue behind me were an Australian man and his daughter. As we got to the top, and the six people ahead of us took their places, I told the girl that she was going to be number 2 this time. She chattered about which ones she'd been on so far.
When it was our turn, we stood in front of our chutes, and the woman explained how to do it. For this one, you had to position your mat in the slide, and when the light went green, launch yourself into the chute from the step. The light went green, and we were off. There were some twists and turns, and then the blinding spray of water, and then a huge drop. We were spat out in lanes, beside our companions, so it was a bit of a race. It was a bit scary, but in a good way. I was keen for another try.
Christian met me at the bottom, telling me that someone had just hit their head, and been assessed medically. Hmmm. I had belted my foot at one point, and could feel a bruise forming. He joined me for another go. I was in lane 2 this time. We took off, and the sudden left turn (which it was too dark to see) made my neck snap over and I hit my head. It wasn't bad - just enough to rattle my brain a little. Still worth doing the ride, especially because I beat Christian. :-)
Both of us felt like we'd had enough by this point, so we made our way back to the beach, had one more dip, and then headed for our lounges. We'd seen a clever swimmers drying mechanism, and stood on the scalding base and pressed the button, but we didn't have any credit on our wrist band. So we went to get changed, and I had a shower. My underwear had stayed with Christian, and he tried to get it to me via a staff member. I was aware of women shouting 'Angela', but I just thought it was a hysterical mother trying to find her child. Anyway, we sorted it out in the end.
As it was time for lunch, we walked to Yas Mall (after asking for directions). It wasn't far, but access was not set up well for pedestrians. It was full sun by now. The entrance was through a department store (Tryano), which Christian insisted would link up to the main mall. Turns out he was right. The mall was quite exclusive, but more laid back and welcoming than the World Trade Center one. We decided on lunch in Shakespeare and Co, which was in a large open square.
We were taken to a table, and seated with menus. The guy who took our order was pretty hopeless. I ordered a 'gone fishing' burger, which was a salmon patty. Can't remember what Christian ordered, but I think he got a kiwi mojito. The service improved from there. An old woman at the next table had her bare feet up on a chair beside me, which dented my appetite somewhat. I did some people-watching while we waited. There seemed to be a trend inside the mall for men to wear their traditional robes with baseball caps. Very odd.
After lunch, we continued on to Ferrari World. Turns out it was joined on to the same building, but we sort of went around the outside, and found all the other places that we could have eaten, in a beautifully laid out, shady area with a stepped fountain. Never mind.
At the entrance to Ferrari World, there was a huge crowd surrounding some people in fancy dress throwing swords around. We hurried past them. I fancied something chocolatey, but failed to find anything suitable.
At the gates, a man tried to help us scan our tickets, but then ran off with them. We called him out, and he apologised and let us through, almost forgetting to give them back. Very silly. Inside, there was a definite winter theme, with snow gently gliding down around us, and children frolicking in white stuff. The building was vast, with soaring internal structure inside a massive sail.
The first thing we did was get an ice cream (rude not to and all that). Then we pottered around, having a look at everything. We lined up for a virtual tour of the Ferrari factory in Maranello, which was interesting. We sat in cars on a rail, which rotated and spun to face whichever screen we were supposed to be watching. Quite good.
There were some movie screenings, which we decided against, and various other things not very car-related. Finally, we got to look at some actual cars in a show room, which was interesting. We decided we'd seen enough around 5pm, and headed for the exit (via another shop, of course). It was like a theme park first, and Ferrari second, rather than the other way around.
I'd thought about the possibility of maybe calling into the Viceroy for a drink, but we decided it was better to head back to the hotel and prepare for a nice dinner locally.
We asked around about how to get back to the city, as there were a number of buses pulling up. But taxi was the only option. So we went to the taxi rank, and got in one. The man driving us did two U-turns before we even left Yas Island, leading us to believe he was lost. We called him out, and he said that you couldn't go the way he needed to from the direction we'd come. But he actually just used the wrong lane.
The journey was almost as uninteresting as on the way there. We could see clearly now, but the whole area had been reclaimed and was under construction basically. We got back to the hotel without further fuss (the taxi fare was 70 AED, rounded down from 71), and set about choosing a restaurant while we got ready. We'd toyed with the idea of the Japanese restaurant at Jumeira, but when we discovered that the Hilton had a Japanese restaurant as well, with reasonable prices, and that their bar had a cocktail happy hour, the decision was easy. We rang to make a booking for 7.30.
We did have to leave quite quickly to keep our reservation, though (shame, as I'd have loved to stay longer), and we retraced our steps to the main entrance, going outside and along the front to the Toki restaurant entrance. They welcomed us very professionally, and showed us to a table in a booth. It was fairly busy, with a number of takeaway orders going out, but still fairly hushed.
The miso was delicious, and the main course soon followed. We each had a massive plate of food to negotiate, but it somehow wasn't too much. The prawns were slightly disappointing as they were a bit tough, but I'm sure they were fresh. Of the three sauces that came with the food, one in particular was amazing. It tasted like miso and saki or something, but they told me it was 'mustard'. The beef on Christian's plate was particularly outstanding. Really good food. The bill was 391 AED (about £90), but we felt it was worth it.
We walked back to the Khalidiya Palace, and probably watched something before bed. A good day.
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