QASR AL WATAN 

ABU DHABI UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Oh! Hello there! 😃

I'm back again for another travel blog. I'm looking forward to visiting this place a long time and finally, I made it. This is Qasr Al Watan situated at the heart of Abu Dhabi, A few kilometers away from Emirates Palace. If you are visiting Abu Dhabi, here is the best thing to see in the city. 

What is Qasr Al Watan?

- or simply "Palace of the Nation", It is the meeting place for official state visits or where global leaders are hosted. This year, Pope Francis visited Abu Dhabi and a specific event was held on this location.

How to get there?

- If you are a tourist and trying to avoid the scorching weather, better ride a taxi and tell them that you are heading out to Qasr Al Watan, they know it already or if you are an expat. Ride a bus number 34. For more details about the bus timings, you can check this link for more info.

How much is the cost of the entrance?

Palace and Garden Ticket 

This includes all access to in and out of the public spaces

An adult will cost 60 dirhams and 30 dirhams for children 4 to 17 years old, while 4 years old below is free of charge.

Garden Ticket

This ticket can give you access to the grounds and visitor center.

An adult will cost 25 dirhams while children cost 12 dirhams, 4 years old below is free of charge as well.

Facts about Qasr Al Watan: 

I research about Qasr Al Watan, and here's what I found :

• The size of the area is the 380k equivalent of 53 football fields.
• It comes with 3 wings. Dedicated to the President, Vice President, and the Crown Prince.
• It is not a residence thus only a working palace.
• No one lives here.
• Inspired by Arabian gulf architecture.
• The main dome is the largest in the world that comes with 37 in diameter.
• The facade consists of white granite limestone that built to last in 100 years.
• White symbol of purity thus the palace itself.
• The finish stones sun glare to stand out.
• The Arch colonnades are based on "Liwa"- a large oasis area in the Western Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.

Why you need to visit this magnificent place?

Traditions and more

If you want to learn more about the governing traditions, values and explore a well-preserved legacy, knowledge and more about cultural understanding, then you are in the right place.

Nation's progressive journey

Qasr Al Watan Library is open for everyone. Individuals who want to learn more about the Arabs contribution to various fields of knowledge. You can find a various collection of books and resources pertaining to the UAE and know about the nations progressive journey.

Cultivating journey to see inside

 I was able to see all the halls that typically reserved for the official summits. Some of the halls are fitted for dining along with beautiful chinawares to name a few. A dedicated hall that consists of gifts given by the other countries who visited the country can be found here as well. The Philippines, for example, gave a figurine of a carabao to the UAE. Other than that, a lot of beautiful gift collections from other nations can be found here. More likely a token of partnership and appreciation.

Parking lot

There's ample parking for visitors and best of it? It is free! Though you might charge for valet service of 80dhs. It's optional anyway.

My journey starts here:

Since I'm staying in the city center, ample buses are available from my location. It's a bit far from my location, So I need to ride 2 buses. First, bus number 11,  I dropped at the corniche walkway a few meters away from Emirates Palace, then I had to cross to the stoplight.  A few meters away from the Emirates Palace, another bus stop shed is available, You can wait for bus number 34 that passes by inside the Qasr Al Watan. The bus will drop you off exactly on the same spot where the visitor center is located at.

Entrance

 

 

I fill up an online form, after which, I paid 60 dirhams ( approximately $17.00). A directory guide and a small card that contains my information were provided.

Before entering the vicinity, I need to remove all any metal object on my body, my belongings are kept on a tray that passes thru an Xray machine. This is there s.o.p for the safety of everyone.

Dates and Tea

 

 

Locals welcomed me with tea and dates. I'm not a fan of their local tea. The dates are tasty though.

Afterward, I went inside the bus. The bus is comfy too, so far the best colorful bus seats I've seen (lol). The bus usually leaves every 30 mins. Lots of Chinese tourists were there. For some reason, the security personnel mistook me as a Chinese. 😂 I'm an Asian so they assume that I'm a Chinese too. 😁

Inside the bus

 

It takes 10 mins from the visitor center to reach the palace. I highly suggest that if you visit the Palace, you should come around 5:00 PM, to avoid the scorching heat. Facts about the Palace can be overheard inside the bus. 

Here’s a glimpse of what inside of this prestigious architecture. 

Starting from the outside...

 

 

  And here we go inside...

Some of the halls are fitted for dining along with beautiful chinawares to name a few.

  

A dedicated hall that consists of gifts given by the other countries who visited the country can be found here as well. The Philippines, for example, gave a figurine of a carabao to the UAE. Other than that, a lot of beautiful gift collections from other nations can be found here.

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 And before leaving the palace, I went to the washroom to freshen up myself and look what I found.

Where on earth you can find a gold bidet? Only here at Qasr Al Watan :)

And of course. There is a one-stop shop for souvenirs and a coffee shop.

look at the ceiling of the shop, fascinating is it?

Bonus...

Light Show at Qasr Al Watan

 

The cashier informed me about the light show that starts at 8:30 PM.

Since I am free at this time, I opt to wait for the light show. So far the best light shows that I ever watched that even the visitors was clapping after the show.

Here's the video of the light show.

I also recorded a video of what's inside the palace.

Here's the link on youtube.

Video 1

Video 2

After the show, Dozens of shuttle bus will pick and drop you off back to the visitor's center.

And that's a wrap 😃

Is it worth to visit?

If you're a person who loves architecture and more on the historical side, then I highly recommend visiting this place. If you love to upload pictures on snap-chat or Instagram, this is the right place for you. Other than that, there's a lot of places to see in the City too. 

You have the option to book your tickets online by clicking this link or you can go straight to the palace. Cash, credit and debit card is accepted

Again, thank you for reading this travel blog. As usual, don't forget to like, subscribe and share this content.

Next travel blog again,

--Ceddy 😘

Apple Pay in the UAE | First Hand

photo credits to APPLE

Time Flies So....Fast

As the year goes by, Digital Mobile Payment is on the cloud-nine now, where else the traditional mode of payment does still exist- cash.  Yeah, Right. It's a bit hefty to carry cash along with you. Especially the coins.

Living in the most advanced and technological country- The United Arab Emirates, Technology rises fast. From un-manned operating metro network to automated self driverless cars. And now, Digital mobile payments.

When, Where and Why?

Apple Pay launched in the UAE, 2 years ago. And it seems that most of the consumers are now adopting from this mode of payment. As Apple's marketing campaign seems promising too.

 I'm working in retail and I do handle cashiering as well, So what I notice was, out of ten customers, 3 or 4 of them uses this mode of payment rather than taking out their credit or debit card.

Several UAE banks are available since the day that Apple launches the digital wallet in the region.
Some banks in the UAE can be found on this list and merchants as well.

This year, I transition to another bank with which Apple Pay is available.
And I was able to enjoy to use this feature on my device. Paying at restaurants or coffee shops.

What is Apple Pay? 

So for those people who are new to the Apple Ecosystem. What is Apple Pay?
-Well, it's a contactless payment technology exclusive only for the Apple devices such as iPad, selected Macbooks and newer iPhone devices, starting from the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch as well.

It allows you not to carry along with you, your credit or debit card. Instead, it was designed to move consumers from the physical wallet and where your debit or credit card is inside your iPhone or Apple watch, allowing to pay using your device in a most secured way.

Extras..

Which cards support Apple Pay?

It does support most of the major credit and debit card providers like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. You can check more information on this list.

Is it safe to use? 

Well, When it comes about money, we want to make sure that all of the funds on our bank accounts are secured. Totally, that no one can hack.  As Apple promised, Safety is their first priority to the consumers.  So they are taking it seriously especially if money is involved.
Technically saying, The Apple Pay uses a "token based system" placing your finger on the touch id or by scanning your face via face id, It allows the transaction to go through, but payment and personal information are kept safe in case you lost or your phone is stolen.

And also, iOS devices has its own "Device Account Manager" wherein it encrypts all the data within the chip of the device. So to make it short, When you make a payment using Apple Pay, It does not share the actual debit or credit card number to the merchant, thus it passed thru a transaction dynamic security code. So yeah, Secured and safe.

What about the experience?

Personally, I'm not biased with Apple. I've been to the ecosystem of Apple for a long time,  Though, there are some pros and cons when using digital wallet payment. Not only for Apple but also from its counterparts like Android Pay (former Google Wallet) and Samsung Pay, not all merchants support Apple Pay. On this era, There are still a lot of things to prioritize. Little by little, society will accept this kind of transition. Not now, Not later but in the near future.  For Me, I am totally satisfied with this type of service, and it keeps me fascinated about all these things that Apple introduced. They are not the first hand to introduce this type of service, Paypal did this a long time but as time passes by, It is not the first who made this payment rather its all about the experience that the user can gain from the brand. Which I totally enjoy since the beginning.


Thanks for reading my blog and don't forget to subscribe and join my mailing list. Follow me on my social media accounts too 😀

--Ceddy