I’ve lived in Abu Dhabi just about a year now, and if there’s one lesson I’ve learnt about the place, it’s that it’s a city of extremes. If you’d asked me a few months ago what kind of extremes, I would have probably cited ‘heat’, ‘boredom’ and ‘smell of bins’ as the three most significant (me and August don’t really get on very well). The streets were lifeless, the bars and restaurants empty, and nobody picked up their phone for months on end. At a particularly low point I even complained to our IT department that my email account had crashed, but then it turned out that no one had actually sent me any emails. In fact, back then, I’d have insisted I lived in the dreariest place on earth (and would probably have gripped your wrist and hissed ‘You must take me away from here…’ straight afterwards).
But then quicker than you can mumble ‘table for one’, everything changed. Practically overnight, Abu Drab-i went from dullsville to an exciting, buzzing city that people were actually choosing to visit. Of their own free will. Stratospherically successful people, like the host of stars that made an appearance for the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, Janet Jackson, and the mighty Metallica. And anywhere Metallica deign to visit surely can’t be all bad, right? Then after those two sensational concerts, there was Abu Dhabi Art, and Formula One, and Britney, and Incubus and Paul McCartney, and Eid parties, dinners, new bars, restaurants and hotels to try out. Editorial meetings used to consist of long silences broken only by the hollow, bitter laugh of the Nightlife Editor after being told putting out a blank page is never going to be an option. Nowadays we spend hours arguing about how to squeeze all the art shows, sports events and concerts into one issue.
But all this fun has started to take its toll already, and I don’t just mean on the bags under my eyes. It’s more of a mental problem – I got so used to leaping at the chance to attend any event that sounded vaguely sociable, that I’ve lost all ability to tell what’s worth going out for. You’re adding a new mocktail to your menu? Give me an hour and I’ll be there to try it out. Spotted a new brand of gorgonzola at Spinney’s? Well that sounds like the perfect excuse to throw a cheese and grape night! An envelope you say? Opening here, in Abu Dhabi, tonight? Taxi!
So I just have one suggestion. Could we maybe, just maybe, space out Abu Dhabi’s events next year a little? For all our sanity?
