After a nice dinner with friends on Thursday evening, we woke up on Friday without any particular plans. A trustworthy tourist magazine suggested we visit the Emirates National Auto Museum (say yes to everything!). Unfortunately, we missed a turn on the way there, and ended up halfway to Al Ain -- so we decided to go the whole way. Al Ain is the second-largest city in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. It is a popular spot in the summer, because though it is even hotter than Abu Dhabi, it is less humid. It is also more (naturally) verdant and has many oases.
The Al Ain Zoo is the best in the UAE, and we've been planning to go for ages. Fortunately for us, the zoo started its winter hours this weekend -- meaning it stayed open during the day -- but sadly, they kept the summer weather. Curiously, they sell neither sunscreen, nor postcards (unless you're interested in high-end dino holograms, which we normally would be -- but at a zoo?).
The zoo has a large collection of animals native to the Arabian peninsula and northern Africa. Some had some pretty incredible headgear, including the aptly named scimitar oryx.
Believe it or not, flamingos make their home in the UAE for a brief period of time on their way from Russia to Africa. We saw some more permanent residents:
There were some giraffes living contentedly with some rhinos, with a beautiful mountain in the background.
Margaret saw her first ostrich up close:
And some hippos!
The sand dunes on the drive home were beautiful. We are excited to take a camping trip once our sand tent arrives with the rest of our worldly possessions (this week - fingers crossed!).
The Al Ain Zoo is the best in the UAE, and we've been planning to go for ages. Fortunately for us, the zoo started its winter hours this weekend -- meaning it stayed open during the day -- but sadly, they kept the summer weather. Curiously, they sell neither sunscreen, nor postcards (unless you're interested in high-end dino holograms, which we normally would be -- but at a zoo?).
The zoo has a large collection of animals native to the Arabian peninsula and northern Africa. Some had some pretty incredible headgear, including the aptly named scimitar oryx.
Believe it or not, flamingos make their home in the UAE for a brief period of time on their way from Russia to Africa. We saw some more permanent residents:
There were some giraffes living contentedly with some rhinos, with a beautiful mountain in the background.
Margaret saw her first ostrich up close:
And some hippos!
We had trouble finding the exit, so tentatively entered an unlabeled building near the entrance. Turned out it had an exhibit on local birds. Some of them looked like they'd been painted by Dr. Seuss.
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