It was slightly surreal collecting Marwan from the bus station in Abu Dhabi. Only four weeks ago he was living in Whangarei and we were all together at Pete’s birthday party. Now he is based in Al Ain, which is a little over an hour and a half away.

We managed to fit in a few touristy things such as a visit to the Heritage Village and drinks at the Shangri La Hotel watching the sun set over the Grand Mosque.

These photos are for Ginny. This is the leather workers shop in the Heritage Village. The leather is a snake skin.

The Shangri La Hotel has Venice-like waterways complete with gondolas (electric!).

But the best feature is the view of the Grand Mosque as the sun goes down …