[RC] Linda in Abu Dhabi - Day 2, part 2 - Jay Randle
The ponies were happy to see us and devoured their breakfasts while we cleaned the boxes and got things organised for the morning exercise. We’d decided that we would do some water bottle practice today and we had two dozen water bottles already in the back of Meg’s Patrol so off we headed. Neither Kalahari nor DV have experienced endurance UAE style so we wanted to make sure they were both comfortable with the process of being handed water bottles.
We’d drive along, find a good spot, wait for the girls in the middle of the track with a bottle in each hand and the girls would ride past at a walk to get the horses used to the passing up of the water bottles. It didn’t take a real lot of tries for DV to be happy with the process as he is so laid back and relaxed about life! Kalahari was not as comfortable with the process but I’m sure she’ll be right by the time the ride comes around. We had to contend with a few camels again and Kalahari got a bit spooked but wasn’t too bad. The girls rode up through the finish chute and into the strapping area where we took HRs and then into the vetting area for a trot up. We did this just to get the two acclimatised to what they should expect on the day.
After finishing the exercise session and returning to the stable we washed up the horses, gave them some lunch and headed back to the motel for a quick change and then headed off on our shopping expedition. Meg had decided to stay back so we went off exploring with instructions to follow the road until you hit the water and then turn left. None of us were sure that we were heading the right way but eventually found the mall. I can truly say that the driving displays on the way in were a little scary! I’m not sure how there are not heaps more accidents the way those people drive! Indicators are optional, lane changing every 10 seconds seems to be mandatory, speeds about 60km in excess of the 80km speed limit are the norm, and most people seem to have their fingers glued to the horn and exhibit a obsessive compulsion to hear it every 20 seconds! After navigating our way through the middle of Abu Dhabi we saw the mall on the other side of the bluest lagoon you have ever seen. And, of course, there was the world’s biggest flag above the mall. It really stood out on the skyline!
The mall, like everything in the UAE, is bigger and better and brighter! And, I’d have to say, really confusing to navigate your way around the place. We spent a few hours in there shopping and none of us could find anything that we liked. We gave up in the end and headed to a place that had ‘free’ internet services. Free if you bought some food that is! So we had a late lunch and spent 20 minutes downloading emails and the girls did Facebook stuff!
We headed for home and fought the traffic battle once again. A Cayenne Porsche took the award for most dangerous driving stunt as he tried to push a poor little Yaris out of the lane it was in. When the Porsche couldn’t achieve that from the left side he dropped back, changed lanes and then tried the same manoeuvre from the right side. It was awesome driving from the Yaris guy but it was fairly reckless.
After making the 45 minute trip back to the stables we got the afternoon chores sorted and the horses walked and then bedded down for the night before heading back to the motel. We all agreed that a quiet night was the go and after a relatively late dinner I hit the sack to try and address some of the sleep deficit issues.
