Mazyad Mall Adventure

Taking advantage of the lovely weather, M and I planned a walking trip to the newly-inaugurated Mazyad Mall near Mohammad bin Zayed City. Mohammad bin Zayed City is a new development project right outside Abu Dhabi... villas are being built all around. Some are occupied but most are in various stages of construction.

I put on a black abaya and scarf, M donned a baggy shirt and wrapped a shawl around her hair and we set off around 5:00 pm. It was really windy- sand whipped our faces and I tasted sand in my mouth :P. We trudged across the desert, heads bent against the wind. Since it was Friday, the laborers (mostly Pakistanis from the north) had a day off and were enjoying a game of cricket. We had to pass by to reach the mall and as we approached, the game came to a sudden halt and everyone stopped to stare, like we were some exotic species/aliens (most of these men are here without their families and probably don't see women up close for months at a time).

We walked a little faster leaving them behind and reached the main road. Cars whizzing by slowed down to match our pace and follow us and drivers rolled down the windows to stare and grin... Now I can relate to monkeys in the zoo :P

45 minutes later, we finally made it to Mazyad Mall, bought bottled water at Lulu Express and took a taxi home.

Note to self: NEVER walk outside in Mohammad bin Zayed City again.

As an aside, it's been raining constantly this past week and it snowed in Kuwait! I was reminded of The Day After Tomorrow... climate change is real and it's happening too quickly. But, true to my roots (I am from Karachi after all) I went and got soaked in the rain :D