Shortly after I arrived in Abu Dhabi two years ago, a friend stayed on a 10-hour stopover in the capital. I didn't have the slightest idea of how to best spend that time, and we ended up at the cafe in Emirates Palace, which was hardly her cup of tea. She has hiked through the jungles of Peru and scaled Mt Etna in the snow, and is little impressed with star-rated extravagance. And, even though I was paying, in general she doesn't like places that require spending a lot of money.
But I just hadn't been in the UAE long enough to be aware of all it has to offer budget travellers and when she left Abu Dhabi that evening she said, to my chagrin, that she had no intention of returning.
One recent Saturday afternoon, however, I found myself at home wondering, if this opportunity were to present itself again, how I could be a better guide? So I rang up a friend and asked her what she was doing for the next 10 hours or so. She accepted my appeal to spend that time seeking out the best Abu Dhabi has to offer for little or no money.
Well, I did make one investment that will likely pay dividends for months to come: I rode over to Orlando Sports (www.orlandosports.com; 02 443 7356) in Al Wadha Mall where I found a badminton set for US$50 (Dh185). You see, I am not big on swimming and suntans, but I wanted to find a way to enjoy one of the greatest assets of living on this island of Abu Dhabi: we are blessed with good, clean beaches and almost six months of temperate and nearly cloudless weather that is the envy of New York or London. There are few other places in the world where I would feel as comfortable as on the public beach behind Emirates Palace when I left my wallet and car keys in my trousers on the sand and played badminton for a few hours without thinking of them for an instant. And no one catcalled my friend. Copacabana may have a catchy name but it doesn't compete in terms of hassle-free security.
And, instead of the occasional syringes you find washed ashore in Coney Island, here I was surrounded by families sprawled out on blankets with shisha pipes nestled in the sand nearby.
After we'd worked up an appetite we decided to take advantage of one of the other boons that Abu Dhabi offers - mounds of inexpensive restaurants representing the home cooking of all the ethnicities which have settled here. When I lived in New York I was a restaurant columnist and would scour the boroughs for authentic Indian food. Here in Abu Dhabi, one can not only find a dozen Indian restaurants in a single block, but each will serve the cuisine of a specific state in India. I can go for the coconut curries of Kerala followed by a Hyderabadi biryani in one outing just by walking a few shop fronts down. And there are wonderful Punjabi, Ethiopian, Sudanese, Yemeni, Lebanese, Indonesian, Filipino and Uzbeki restaurants too that would have New York foodies in fits.
In this case I headed to Arab Udupi (02 631 9676) on Hamdan Street behind Sun & Sand Sports where a counter window serves traditional pani puri, a snack found throughout India. The type at this humble eatery, however, hails from Bombay. Pani puri is not only delicious but fun to eat. Prepared correctly, the seller should have near him a pile of hollow, thin, golfball-sized fried shells with a hole poked in the top. Then he fills the inside with a dollop of mashed potatoes, a few stewed chick peas, a mix of chopped onions and coriander and a few drips of sweet tamarind sauce. He will then pour in pani - a spicy, tangy water infused with tamarind, mint and chillies. Then he passes the potent ball through the window to the customer in a metal dish. The pani puri must be eaten immediately because it is a ticking time bomb that will collapse into a terrible mess once the water begins to seep through the shell.
At Udupi you can stand there passing the metal dish back and forth with the food vendor, having it refilled five times for only $1 (Dh4) and the experience is among the most authentic recreations I've found outside of India.
When we were finished, I was pleased that in my short stint as tour guide I had already provided sport and a tasty meal. Next, I sought to add entertainment.
In addition to there being food from all over the world in Abu Dhabi thanks to its large immigrant community, there are also a variety of venues showcasing performers from the different nationalities represented in the UAE. The Emirates Plaza hotel (www.emiratesplaza.net) in the Tourist Club area caters to these communities. Every night of the week, for example, a six-piece East African band plays at the Mombasa nightclub situated on the third floor. We sat close to the stage and watched the performers sing Ethiopian pop tunes in Amharic and Tigrina and dance in a style melding western and Ethiopian moves. Occasionally, one of the patrons rose to take to the floor and shimmied shoulders while pecking his or her neck in a dance that can be seen at any club in Addis Ababa. From there we went downstairs to the second floor where a singer was crooning Bollywood oldies in Hindi besides a keyboardist and a mridanga drum player.
After two stops we were ready to call it a night, but in the same hotel there are also restaurants and nightclubs with Nepali, Filipino, Sri Lankan, Iranian, Arabic, Punjabi and South Indian music. And on most weeknights these hidden wonders charge no admission fee. While some of them seem a bit rundown, if they were transplanted to New York they would likely be taken over by hipsters seeking so-called world music. And best of all, for budget travellers, the most authentic places here also are some of the cheapest.
The next time that a friend hops off a plane on a citybreak, I'll be spoilt for choice for things to do.
lkummer@thenational.ae
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Company%20profile
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Getting%20there%20and%20where%20to%20stay
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
