We were cheering…
Fifa Club World Cup
It started well and it just got better and better. The semi final had that Messi goal – proof that he’s worth the hype that built until the second he was brought onto the pitch. He scored in the final, too, but the true stars of that game were the Estudiantes fans, who brought a level of loveable crazy with them, unprecedented in the UAE capital.
Stadiums around the city.
TOAD December.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Could it ever live up to expectations? The drivers certainly thought so, with Lewis Hamilton praising ‘an incredible job’ and ‘a really nice track to drive’. Free concerts for ticket holders made it a great event, but many citizens felt excluded simply by the cost of entry.
Yas Marina Circuit.
TOAD October.
Capitala World Tennis Championship
What could the championship, essentially an exhibition, possibly mean to the players involved? Well, what resulted was a ferocious battle that saw one of the most exciting tennis finals in years, with Andy Murray taking the inaugural title. Thrilling stuff.
Zayed Sports City.
TOAD January.
We were meeting…
Naomi Watts
Ah, the delightful Ms Watts. You laughed at goats and gave us weirdly long and detailed advice on our love life. You may have looked a little perplexed by everything, but you were nice as pie and didn’t mind a cadre of blushing journos being traipsed out in front of you. We sat on a sofa with you and couldn’t have been happier.
TOAD November.
Black Francis
Never meet your heroes, they say. Pah! Those people just have the wrong heroes. They have also never spoken to Black Francis (and his missus). Since Time Out Abu Dhabi was a pudgy, pubescent child, it has dreamed of speaking to the screaming, moon-faced Pixies frontman, imagining a fearsome figure. Instead, he was sunshine personified – even though we gushed like a schoolgirl.
TOAD February.
Marco Pierre White
Yes, yes… we know we keep harping on about him, but he really did win us over with his mild eccentricity and lived-in face. Crowning moment: he got us into a conversation about former England football player Mike Summerbee, then – figuring he alone could never do his hero justice – pulled out a phone, dialed Summerbee’s number and offered us the receiver for a truly surreal chat.
TOAD August.
We were eating…
Foie gras coated in a spicy chocolate sauce: Sardinia specialises in delicate appetisers, seemingly whittled by culinary pixies. Several times this year we’ve allowed ourselves the over-indulgence: bite-sized balls of foie gras, flavoured with fruit and coated in spiced chocolate – a remorselessly decadent morsel capable of quelling even the most mewing of spoiled aristocrats.
Sardinia, Abu Dhabi Country Club (02 446 5455).
TOAD December.
Hotpot
Just the sight of our hot pot prompted a skeptically raised eyebrow. The stew came encased, not in the traditional clay pot, but rather a large loaf of hollowed-out bread. And yet the joy of dabbing up the last bit of gravy with our makeshift bowl proved our eyebrows to be judgmental fools as we sampled chunks of soft potato, pleasantly resistant beef and a heavenly gravy that made for an embarrassing plate-licking finale.
Third Avenue, Sheraton Khalidiyah (02 666 6220).
TOAD June.
We were listening…
To Coldplay
Hailstones the size of baseballs dropped from the sky smashing windscreens across the capital, and yet Chris Martin and his buddies played on. Smash hit ‘Yellow’, performed beneath a dramatic electrical storm, was one of our most memorable moments of 2009.
Emirates Palace.
TOAD March.
At Womad
As much as we loved Coldplay in the rain, Womad was the first event to throw its gates open to everyone. From oil-rich CEOs to labourers fresh off the building site, we were all there, and it just felt special. The way Johnny Kalsi rocked the dusty masses brought tears to our eyes (though that might have been the dust), and seeing Robert Plant in the flesh was a life affirming moment for any man who thinks ageing equates baldness.
Corniche and Al Jahili Fort.
TOAD April.
Beyoncé
For many, it was our first venture onto Yas Island, and our first sighting of the F1 facilities. But the moment the lights went down and Beyoncé struck a silhouetted pose, all thoughts of speedy cars blew out the window. Not one person left that night without a ring on it.
Ferrari World, Yas Island.
TOAD October.
We were visiting…
Dwarika’s Hotel
Back in May we jumped into Asia, taking direct flights to colourful places, each flying out of Abu Dhabi International. Staying at Dwarika’s, a magnificent folly on a hillside in Kathmandu, was a little like staying on the set of an Indiana Jones movie, with wild monkeys climbing the walls and historical trinkets scattered around every bedroom. A place to have adventures and fall in love.
Battisputali, Kathmandu, Nepal.
TOAD June.
Qasr Al Sarab
We stumbled off the beaten track into the Empty Quarter late last year and found this palatial resort raised in the desert. Great restaurants and a stunning location make it a must for any visitor to the region. Better start saving, though: it aint cheap.
Qasr Al Sarab Road, Liwa.
Yas Marina
It’s an odd place now, feeling much like a ghost town most times of the day, but when we first arrived for the Grand Prix in October, it took our breath away. The way the hotel changes colour on the breeze might well be a modern wonder of the world. It gets our vote anyway.
Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
TOAD October.
We were, er…
Pole dancing (sorry…vertical flexing)
There was nothing sordid about it. The emphasis was entirely on fitness and, as we found ourselves clambering up and down the pole like a rather agile cat, our muscles cried out for mercy. Moves like ‘the snake’ and the ‘body ripple’ might make a man weak at the knees, but when it’s all the girls together it’s really just a bit of a giggle.
Expressions of Dance and Drama (02 626 2533).
TOAD March.
Mango soup
If you only have one item from the menu at Hoi An, make sure it’s the chef’s renowned mango soup. A golden froth laps at a small island of ice cream at the centre of the dish, as a flotsam of mango slices washup on its sugary beaches. Simply heaven.
Hoi An, Shangri-La Hotel (02 509 8888).
TOAD August.
Skydiving
All we could see was sky…then earth…then sky…then earth. You can’t fault us for our bravery, though, and the experience of having our cheeks wobbled so much they almost took flight is something we certainly won’t be forgetting in a hurry.
Umm Al Quwain Aeroclub (06 768 1447).
TOAD April.
Bodybuilding with the Abu Dhabi Police
They could crush us with the slightest clench, but we enjoyed our time with Captain Khald and his team anyway. Looking at them, you can see why crime generates trifling statistics in this city – who’d want to mess with these He Men? We’re still not totally sure why they paint themselves gold, though…
Police Sports and Culture Club.
TOAD November.
