Aldar HQ

I had to go to Abu Dhabi for a meeting this morning. Not a lot of fun as the 100 mile drive was hairier than usual. Driving standards are generally appalling and worsen during Ramadan. Since Dubai rents are now much cheaper, a lot of people have moved to Dubai and commute daily to Abu Dhabi making the road much busier. This morning I witnessed the aftermath of 2 multiple car shunts and a minibus on its roof in the middle of a roundabout!

Anyway, the picture above is of the HQ of Aldar Properties, the company responsible for developing Abu Dhabi. It is over 100m high and is very impressive. It especially stands out since the rest of the Raha Beach development appears to have ground to a halt. Abu Dhabi is a rich place (Wikipedia says the average net worth of the 420,000 inhabitants is $17 million US!). However, it seems that it is not entirely immune to world recession.