on the road to abu dhabi with karl
Our trip started at Manchester early on the Wednesday morning with a 5 hour delay... Thanks Quatar!
* Post returning home Quatar sent me a gesture of good will... free flights which I will be using to travel to Singapore for the 2012 Grand Prix hopefully!
Our flight flew Manchester-Doha-Abu Dhabi with quick and easy airport routines and we finally reached our hotel - The Armed Forces and Officers Club which was huge. The staff, food and cleanliness at the hotel were excellent and they even provided a shuttle bus to and from the track. However we opted for a taxi which converts to around £8 each way which was an absolute bargain!
* Post returning home Quatar sent me a gesture of good will... free flights which I will be using to travel to Singapore for the 2012 Grand Prix hopefully!
Our flight flew Manchester-Doha-Abu Dhabi with quick and easy airport routines and we finally reached our hotel - The Armed Forces and Officers Club which was huge. The staff, food and cleanliness at the hotel were excellent and they even provided a shuttle bus to and from the track. However we opted for a taxi which converts to around £8 each way which was an absolute bargain!
Our journey took around 20 minutes but when we arrived at the track our first thought was "wow it was huge and brand new".
It was extremely well sign posted and the staff were helpful by informing you on what bus to use to take you around the circuit. As the race day approached the atmosphere at the track was continually building. We were located in the Marina Grandstand which I would 100% recommend. It had a great view of the track, DRS zone and the return of the cars to the track. The broader view across the Marina at the yachts and Yas Hotel were also an incredible back drop to the location and was a great spot to take photographs, the colours looked beautiful especially in the evening. |
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I would definitely recommend investing in a Fan Vision for the weekend, it costs around £50 for the 3 days but is well worth the money by keeping you up to date with goings on at other parts of the track throughout the weekend.
During the evening the yachts were loud and lively with the buzz of a motor sporting hub approaching a pivotal race for the F1 racing calendar. Even was relaxed including the drivers, team principals and personnel and the celebs who had turned out for the weekend. We were lucky enough to meet Christian Horner, Mark Webber, Martin Brundle and Michael Schumacher (who might I add was a real gentleman!) with all of them taking the time to stop to talk and have their pictures taken. |
The racing was a HUGE highlight for us as we saw Lewis Hamilton take the win... and being huge McLaren fans we couldn't have wished for a better result!
The entertainment aside from the racing at the track was also incredible providing a lively and buzzing atmosphere and some great food! Each night there was a concert including performances by Britney Spears and Paul Mcartney. On the Monday after the Grand Prix we took time to visit the Ferrari World theme park; as everyone begins to travel home on the Monday the theme park was relatively quiet meaning we got to go on the worlds fastest roller coaster 4 times! Its a MUST do if you can! (I'm three rows from the back on the right) -> |