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Marahaba from Abu Dhabi! It looks like the volcano has calmed down and everything is getting back to normal-thank God. I've been writing about my Europe/Middle East trip; last week I left off just after touching down at the AUH airport from Brussels. A quick recap for those that are new: I flew from Los Angeles to Berlin via Zurich on SWISS. I then drove to Wolfsburg, Germany, to check out the Autostadt (home of Volkswagen). A couple days later I took a train to Brussels and went on a chocolate factory tour, and last week I had a six-hour dream flight to the United Arab Emirates on Etihad Airways. Now it's time to hit one of the world's newest and most incredible resorts: Qasr Al Sarab! Wait until you see this desert oasis. To give you a little preview of the activities, check out this professionally edited video of yours truly on a desert safari.

ABU WHERE?
I take it most Americans don't know much, if anything, about Abu Dhabi. In fact, the majority of my friends and family kept asking, "where are you going?!" Some people I spoke to had never even heard of the United Arab Emirates, which is quite sad. I know, I know ... maybe I need to start surrounding myself with some more worldly people.

ABU DHABI AND THE UAE
A quick introduction to Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates (UAE): The UAE is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Maine. Abu Dhabi in Arabic means "Father of Gazelle". It's capital and the second largest city of the UAE - the largest of the seven emirates in the UAE is Dubai. Dubai is 75 miles north and both emirates, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, operate like a family business as the two heads are distant cousins. The Maktoum family runs Dubai and the Nahyan family runs Abu Dhabi.

THE RICHEST CITY IN THE WORLD
The UAE borders Saudi Arabia, Oman and just across the Persian Gulf is Iran (Here's a map). One would think that most people here would be Arab but that's not the case. In fact, only 20% of the country is Arab. The other 80% of the population come from over 180 countries to make or spend their fortunes in this land without taxes. According to CNN, Abu Dhabi is the richest city in the world. "The emirate's 420,000 citizens, who sit on one-tenth of the planet's oil and have almost $1 trillion invested abroad, are worth about $17 million a piece! (A million foreign workers don't share in the wealth)".

MODERN HISTORY
But Abu Dhabi didn't start out that way. Not long ago did Bedouin tribesmen roam the desert and pearl divers have huts where the city is today. The first paved road wasn't completed until 1961 but Abu Dhabi has taken a different approach than Dubai. They are learning from Dubai's infrastructural mistakes and have always kept their moral values. But I did hear they are a bit jealous that they are not as internationally recognized as Dubai. But these guys don't have to worry ... from what I saw, it won't be long before they take the lead.

THE SHEIKS
Things changed for Abu Dhabi in 1958 when British explorers discovered the world's fifth-largest crude oil reserve here. Then in 1968, the UK withdrew from the Gulf and in 1971, the Emirates gained independence. Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the emirate's beloved ruler from 1971 to 2004. He was respected by the US and Europe because of his religious tolerance and pro-Western stance. His eldest son Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan took over as President of the UAE when he died. Both of their visions are what put Abu Dhabi on the map.

LANGUAGE AND RELIGION
The official language is Arabic but English is widely spoken; I met just one person who didn't speak English. Even the street signs and menus are in both Arabic and English. The official religion is Islam but those of other faiths are free to attend temples and churches; they just can't try to convert others. In most Muslim countries, weekends are Thursday and Friday. That's because Friday is the Islamic holy day. However, the UAE feels they can't afford to take two days off from the Western workweek so weekends here are Friday and Saturday.

WHEN TO VISIT
The best months to visit Abu Dhabi are October, November, December, March, April and May. From May to September the daytime temperatures range approximately 104 to 113 Fahrenheit - on average that's about 40Celsius.

SAADIYAT ISLAND
My last trip to Abu Dhabi I checked out the world's most expensive hotel, Emirates Palace. It cost $3 billion! While touring around I learned the city is in the middle of a $100 billion-yes, billion-spending spree on infrastructure. It's all to attract more vacationers. SaadiyatIsland is the biggest project. It's a 670-acre cultural district designed by the world's best-known architects. For instance, Frank Gehry is designing a 323,000-square-foot Guggenheim and Jean Nouvel will create a 258,000-square-foot Louvre Museum, the only extension outside of Paris. Zaha Hadid is designing a Performing Arts Center and Tadao Ando is designing a new maritime museum. It's scheduled to be completed in 2011�2012 at a cost of $27 billion. The other $73 billion will go towards a new stadium, golf courses, hotels, housing, and a 650-foot-high translucent tent so residents can play outdoor tennis, take boat rides, or relax at the pavement cafées all year round.

QASR AL SARAB
This trip I bypassed the city of Abu Dhabi and headed 90 minutes into the desert to be one of the first to stay at the country's, and even possibly the world's, newest premier resort, Qasr Al Sarab. The hotel is owned by Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) and managed by the upscale hotel company Anantara.

ANANTARA
The word anantara means "without end" in Sanskrit. It's supposed to evoke the freedom, movement, and harmony that are the spirit of the Anantara experience. Based in Thailand, Anantara began in 2001 and today they have 12 resorts in 4 countries (Thailand, Maldives, Indonesia and United Arab Emirates). They also have Anantara spas in China, Tanzania and Jordan but they aren't their hotels. I've always heard incredible things about Anantara, so I was excited to experience one of their properties for the first time. FYI: Anantara Resorts is also a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Virtuoso, and the Kiwi Collection.

PICKUP
Just as had been previously arranged, the hotel driver was waiting for me and my new buddy, Nicholas, outside of baggage claim with a sign. FYI: I was on assignment with a production company to do a story (print & video) on this once-in-a-lifetime property.

AIRPORT TO THE HOTEL
I forgot how green and colorful the main roads of Abu Dhabi are, with lots of wide tree-lined streets and parks. But all that changed after a few miles heading away from the city, as the landscape quickly turned to flat desert. Our driver was from Libya; he didn't speak much English but he was very friendly and, most importantly, a good driver.

SPEED LIMITS
We were in a brand-new Audi A8 and he didn't go at crazy speeds. The speed limit was 80/100 kph (50/62 mph) and we probably were going 140 kph (86 mph) most of the way. A couple weeks ago my driver in Germany was going 215 kph (133 mph), which is mind boggling. TIP: If you think your driver is going too fast, ask him to slow down-he will.

DUMP TRUCKS & CAMELS
Along the way we saw a ton of trucks, one after another, going to/from the dump, which just shows the kind of development Abu Dhabi is working on. Once past the dump yard we passed the Emirates National car museum, which supposedly has the amazing private collection of H. H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan. Shortly after that we began to see a good number of camels; it was the start of our surreal trip to the legendary Liwa Desert in the Empty Quarter, the largest uninterrupted sand desert in the world.

SLIDESHOW OF QASR AL SARAB
We stopped about halfway to get some gas and use the loo; the place was just like a normal gas station/store you would find in the United States. I was excited to get to the resort and a little apprehensive as well because it's out in the middle of nowhere. What if I didn't like it or it was so dry that my breathing was affected? These questions were rumbling through my head, though as you are about to learn neither of those fears were realized. To give you a better look and feel for the resort, I'm including an unprecedented 51-photo slide show (it's that spectacular) with captions of the Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort and some of its activities.

*PLEASE tell us what you think of this week's newsletter!

CLICK HERE FOR SLIDE SHOW

Qasr Al Sarab Slide Show

Note: This trip was sponsored in part by Qasr Al Sarab.

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