
So true it’s not always sweet and rosy on the other side of the fence but if you are lucky you will have often taste the sweet life than the lemon sour on your taste buds. Definitely the UAE particularly Abu Dhabi gave us a huge opportunity and a different kind of life that we didn’t experienced in our own backyard.
It is now finished and just reminiscing the good life we had while we are there pre-covid times. Unfortunately for those newcomers in times of pandemic they may find it very hard nowadays to even feel the life unless of course you want to risk getting sick if you do the way people do before the pandemic. There’s a lot of job losses and businesses closing here and there. On and off lockdown and non stop quarantining of people.



Let’s face the reality… I may not be able to see these places above. Travelling is banned overseas (well for us NZr’s & most countries) and it may take a year or so before we even get back to normal outside of our boundary. We definitely do not want to risk it.
No more lavish buffets, eat all you can and shop till you drop when there’s a big sale which is almost every public holiday or special events! End of those days we are so feeling carefree. FYI, foods (restaurants & hotels) and branded products are so much cheaper in the UAE or some part of Middle East and yes including Saudi Arabia… and may I add even GOLD. Even now they introduced 5% vat in the UAE for all goods and services, it’s still cheap as compared to prices in the West, South and most part of Europe. Correct me if I am wrong!


No more ladies night (50% are mom’s like me who sometimes enjoy the night out and the hubbies are the ones taking care of the children for once! Fact, most hotel bars are decent and caters to all women with free sushi and drinks to lure them). No more beautiful events to be held in the posh hotels and parks (Fact, you can even get 50% discount to these posh hotels by buying in groupon and other discount coupons!)
What I am saying is… I truly treasured the times we were in Abu Dhabi as an expat family. I will never forget the high and lows. These were good memories that will last a lifetime as we may never have this again.
Now back to our home country New Zealand, facing the reality now of having the pandemic all over the world and the market crashing down… I can also say we are lucky just in time to be HOME. NZ is still not open for other countries which I approve of to minimize the risk though on the other end our economy is suffering… but ALL countries are anyway so we just have to bear with it and try to be patient. Health is wealth!
Take care everyone!
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The photos and articles on this blog are a property of the blogger unless otherwise stated. None of them should be used without his/her permission. Snippets and links could only be used on one condition: full credit is given to Evewanderer11 and the site, “Wanderlust, A new chapter”.
I so understand your concern and have the same campaign for ensuring things should be in place during these times. I mean “Health is wealth”! So as much as we want to travel, internationally of course, we should avoid the urge.
That’s the reason why I’m also hesitant to go on vacation by January. People would be flocking in the airports by then and you get the picture.
Glad to know you’re back in NZ before the lockdown. I’m sure majority of the people around the world would love to be in your country during these turbulent time. Yours truly is one of those…
PS, Love your pics of Abu Dhabi.
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Dubai is open again, and quite honestly its not that hard to navigate the requirements to be a tourist. If you hate crowds, its even better! No lines at the water parks or tourist attractions! Great food and great service! https://americanexpat.blog/2020/10/04/covid-on-the-beach/
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Yes I can imagine. I do miss our life in the UAE.
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We miss the good old days when we can travel freely, enjoying hotel brunches. Hope and pray that this pandemic will end soon, Stay Safe .Godbless
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We are lucky here in New Zealand as we are now almost back to normal. For now we just need to wear mask and the must sanitizer everytime!
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https://youtu.be/un8u2VCvrcg please check this and if you could subscribe the better! Thanks 🙂
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Thank goodness for memories like this to reminisce on and keep us going until we can travel comfortably again – this pandemic really made us appreciate what we had the opportunity to experience ✈️🔆
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Yes agree. Thanks for your comment.
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Wow! That’s nice
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Thanks for reading and commenting.
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You are welcome 🤗
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Such a lovely post. As an Abu Dhabi expat I could completely relate to it. I love living here as an Indian I get delicious Indian food in the restaurants which is very difficult to find in other countries (the same taste).
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Thanks for checking me. I do miss the UAE.
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How I miss the pre-covid days. I still wanna make it to UAE. Lovely post, Vinneve. And the food pictures made me salivate.
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HI Boots how are you? Life will never be the same after covid. I do miss UAE I have more friends there than here in NZ though here it’s more closest friends than a temporary ones.
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I wish I can visit the UAE once covid is done. I felt the same when we moved to Texas after being an expat in Japan. I still wish we were there. I hope you’re doing well
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We’re fine despite the fact that we’re not covid free anymore in Auckland (only).
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This makes me sad! But your government has handled it way better than us here in the US and there a trust between them and it’s citizens! Take care Vinneve!
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Thanks Boots we are safer here yes. Update: we’re soon back to level 2 some sort of normal better than level 3-4 coz we can go around but with restrictions like fewer people and wearing mask + social distancing.
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What great memories you have of Abu Dhabi and thanks for sharing them. I visited Dubai, enjoyed the desert experience but didn’t enjoy the ‘shinyness’ much and was told that Abu Dhabi was better. Ah, how most of the world envies New Zealand in these times. Stay safe.
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Hi thanks for the comment and I have some older post about our times in Abu Dhabi if you like to check it out. We left last end March 2019.
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Health is definitely wealth! It’s a very difficult time for everyone. I daydream and anxiously wait until we can really travel again. Stay healthy! 💛
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Thanks Liz you too!
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It’s a really weird time – we are fortunate here in Western Australia and are relatively free from restrictions but clearly things can quickly get out of hand if people are not vigilant. Hopefully our state borders will stay closed for some time as that seems to be have protected us well so far. It is a tough time for so many. I imagine the world will be a very different place going forward. Take care 🙂
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Yes and I often think back about the life pre-covid that we took for granted until.
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Yes I find myself doing the same. We had so many travel plans too and now we’re learning to accept that may not be possible for many years at least not like it has been before. It has really made one focus on what it truly important like our health and welfare.
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Wow vinneve, looks like you had wonderful life in Abu Dhabi. I’ve never been to the Middle East but from posts like yours I could tell the countries there seem beautiful. But hey NZ is a very very beautiful country, you are truly lucky. 🙂
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Hi thanks for checking my new post. I wasn’t happy at first but with the help of new friends I started to adjust and realized everything. I am grateful for the experiences I had. Yes I can consider myself lucky to have experienced these countries and am here in NZ just in time. Have a good day and keep safe!
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Memories of the good life and lavish meals are good enough for now. You can count them as your blessings. This pandemic and the subsequent lockdown gave us time to recalibrate priorities and values. I hope this will make us more responsible, thoughtful, and appreciative travelers when the time comes. Be safe and be well!
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So true! thanks for reading and commenting.
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There is no place like home. Hope you are doing well in NZ! It’s still COVID-free, right? Here in Vietnam, we did have 99-day without local infections. I honestly thought that our life were getting back to normal. And then the second wave came. We are in alert mode again 😦
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Yes we’re still fine but the govt is telling us to be alert at all times as some countries having a second wave. I wish this covid be gone forever as it’s like a very bad dream!
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No traveling ideas without good health conditions as of now.. Everything’s changed.
Let’s all be safe.
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Oooo… I hold your version of ladies night out where we called it “Mommies Night Out” before the pandemic! It is the same rules as yours where mommies dress up in their little black dress, dolled up and we will gather at a bar with live band and free flow drinks while our husbands will stay home to babysit.
Recently, I just restarted this again in a milder form where we met for dinner and drinks.
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Unfortunately, I cannot do it here in NZ as most moms I know here doesn’t do this thing 😦 plus the fact that there is no free taste or food in NZ. Everything is in $$$ especially Auckland.
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Really? The moms in NZ don’t go clubs to let down their hair and whine about housework? 😱
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Only the people I know… most of my friends are either busy working or saving money especially now. I guess some mom’s are doing it in the City on a Friday after work as I was doing it when I was single. It’s easier to do it in UAE as most bars have ladies night which means “FREE nibbles and drinks!” 🙂
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Lovely post Vinneve. Yes health is wealth definitely.
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Thanks Sue how are you?
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So true. it will take some time for the global economy to recover from this. tourism, for that matter, will be affected tremendously. until that time, it’s best we remain careful. and frugal with our finances. things will be different now, friend. expect a new norm that will be quiet difficult.
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And I was wishing that it will not happen in my lifetime… I feel sorry for the kids now adays too.
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