Day 15 (2023) Abu Dhabi: Horseback riding on the beach, swimming at Soul Beach & IFTAR at 'W'

April 19, 2023

Day 15

Visited highlights: Sanam Stables Beach Ride, Soul Beach, 'W' Abu Dhabi

Happy birthday to my dear daughter - today you are already 19 years old!!!

After celebrating your 18th birthday last year during the Easter holidays in New York, now your 19th birthday falls in Abu Dhabi. But hey, there are worse things, right?

My daughter is an enthusiastic rider and I have planned a special surprise for her 19th birthday: a horseback ride on the beach!

The search for suitable riding stables or offers turned out to be really difficult. Many stables only offer traditional riding lessons, and rides through the desert or on the beach were hard to find. When I did find something, the fun would cost 400 AED (about 100 €) or there were no offers in the morning. We want to go to the beach in the afternoon and have an IFTAR dinner at the 5-star hotel in the evening, so it had to be in the morning.

Finally, I found SANAM STABLE, the reviews online are mostly positive and the first impression is good too. There's just one catch: I don't receive a response to my emails, the in-house booking app doesn't work for me because I don't have a residence with a phone number in Abu Dhabi. Oh no, now what? The chat via SMS doesn't work either, I just don't get a response. Two days before, I'm very frustrated and think that the big surprise is going down the drain, when we finally try it in the evening just before 10pm by calling with my cousin's phone. We actually reach someone. We are told to contact them via WhatsApp and they will provide the details. Phew, done. I can communicate with my phone via WhatsApp and book the 'Beach Ride' at 8am (50 minutes for 200 AED seems fair to me).

Now I just have to figure out how to make it clear to my daughter that she has to get up very early on her special day and go with us 'somewhere' dressed only in cycling shorts and a T-shirt. Without her brother - he really doesn't feel like waiting at the beach for an hour.

So on the evening before, I explain the following to her:

I found a very special 'INSTA' spot on the beach where you can take really cool pictures. She doesn't need to bring any special clothes, they would provide local garments there, do her makeup, etc.

Since I booked the very last timeslot at 8am, we would have to leave very early because we would have to drive for another 30 minutes.

She swallows the white lie, but in the morning she is very skeptical about the outfit. But I can convince her to wear 'just' cycling shorts and a T-shirt.

We get up at 6:30 am and surprise everyone at 6:45 with a sung 'Happy Birthday', the cake 'Opera' tastes like Tiramisu - delicious. Even our son got up voluntarily J

We leave at 7:15 am. Secretly, I have smuggled the riding gear (chaps, riding pants, and boots) in a bag to Abu Dhabi. The bag is already safely stored in the trunk.

We drive 30 minutes north towards Dubai and arrive at the agreed meeting point at 7:50 am, a turning circle in the middle of nowhere next to a canal, there is nothing else to see here. Hm... strange. I'm already worried that the horseback riding won't happen, but let's wait and see. The daughter is now more than skeptical. There is really no one here, the canal is not really a great 'beach', no other INSTA fans, no costumes...

Then we see a horse transporter approaching. Even before the SUV with the horse trailer arrives, I see that there is only ONE horse in the trailer!?

The daughter has now also seen the trailer and we reveal the secret.

"Ta-da, for your birthday we give you your own horse", trumps the husband and adds, "your own horse for one hour!"

Now she is beaming! Yes, she didn't expect that!

In front of our eyes, the Arabian mare "Salama" is unloaded, a graceful chestnut mare with a narrow blaze. While the daughter is still speechless, I hand her the bag with the riding gear and tell her to change.

Surprise successful!

What I didn't realize, however, is that there will be no classic beach ride, but the daughter can ride the approximately 2-3 km long stretch next to the canal all by herself, ride through the water, in all gaits - however she wants. And for 50 minutes! She is thrilled!

The employee from Sanam Stables hands her the mare, gives some instructions, and then we walk together through the sand past the ferry pier to the canal and riding trail.

We now watch as the radiant daughter befriends the chestnut mare and rides along the canal through the sand and water. At first in a walk, then in a trot, after a few rounds she switches to a canter and zooms along the water. Wow, how cool - I would love to do that now.

The wind is completely missing here at the canal - is it because of the island in front? I'm sweating quite a bit. Good thing we chose the 8am appointment and not the 9am.

After almost an hour, we return to the transporter. We say goodbye and are happy that the surprise was successful. The daughter probably won't wipe the smile off her face today.

Back at the house, we pack our beach things and drive to Saadiyat Island to Soul Beach. We have packed our cooler bag with us - very convenient that we are allowed to take all of that to the beach. At Carrefour, we get something for lunch later. There are delicious puff pastry pockets, flatbread with tomato, chili, and cheese, böreks, etc.

At the beach (50 AED entrance fee per person / about €12.50), we get 4 sunbeds and 2 umbrellas and make ourselves comfortable. The weather is great, very little wind, pleasantly warm - but not hot! For this time of year, it's actually too cold (normally it's over +30 degrees in mid/late April), but I think the 28-29 degrees are great. The sea is also still 'refreshing', maybe around 25-26 degrees warm? A nice cool-down! The last time we went swimming on Saadiyat in the autumn, the air temperature was almost 40 degrees and the water temperature was 35 degrees. Yuck, who wants that??? Not me 😊

We enjoy the lazy day at the beach and drive back to the house around 4:30 pm. Tonight, we have booked a table at the 5-star 'W' hotel (formerly Viceroy) right on the F1 track with the family. Tonight, there is a buffet, the so-called 'IFTAR', the evening feast to break the fast after sunset during Ramadan.

Dressed up, we go to the 5-star hotel. Since it's also my daughter's birthday today, it's a double reason to celebrate 😊

We get a nice table outside on the terrace and have a direct view of the F1 track, where runners, joggers, and cyclists are now. Right, it's Wednesday! Every Wednesday, you can explore the F1 track on foot or by bike. We did that a few years ago too - on foot. It was soooo hot.

The 'W' is really cool. Of course, I have to do an INSTA photo session with my daughter before the buffet. It's a must. Hehe.

The buffet is incredible. I don't even know where to start. Soooo much to choose from!

I indulge in vegetarian sushi, various hummus varieties, salads, spreads with flatbread, Malaysian curry noodle soup, and main dishes. Since many main dishes contain meat, I'm glad to have soooo many fantastic appetizers to choose from. The dessert buffet also leaves nothing to be desired. From fruit with a chocolate fountain (it brings back memories of the Atlantis buffet), pastries, pudding, creams, ice cream, cookies, crème brûlée, fruit cups, yogurt, chocolate desserts, chocolate mousse, nougat, and so on...

Amazing!

Quite stuffed, we leave the restaurant at around 10 pm. We actually wanted to go to the rooftop bar that we knew from the 'ex Viceroy' to have a drink, but we have to realize that the now-called 'Wet Deck' is reserved for hotel guests and no longer has a bar. Oh, what a shame... The rooftop bar up there used to be really great. The daughter is briefly disappointed, but we promise her to go to another bar tomorrow where we will have a cocktail.

The only disappointment tonight was actually the other guests. Most of the guests (many hotel guests) appeared in sloppy clothes, hoodies, jeans for dinner, and some even came in flip-flops and bikini tops (an absolute no-go in ANY restaurant, regardless of whether it's 5-star or 3-star). The behavior of many guests was also very embarrassing. Food (especially dessert) is hoarded, piled up in the middle of the table, poked at twice, and left. It's unbelievable how many people apparently didn't receive any upbringing. It annoys me every time I see how much food goes untouched directly into the trash. Such a shame. For us, tonight was something special, for most others it was just an opportunity to 'pig out'. But as I said, we won't change such people.

The main thing is that WE had a nice evening and ate delicious food. It was definitely a special experience to participate in an 'IFTAR'.