Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Ferrari McLaren Red bull race cars

UAE 2010 (once again) Day 2 – Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi F1 and Linkin Park concert

Date: 13th November 2010

If you are wondering “Errr…. where’s Day 1?,” well, I wanted to push this one out because it contains a large chunk of why I was in  Dubai and Abu Dhabi for a second time this year. Long story short, I won a contest on VH1 to fly all the way to Abu Dhabi during F1 weekend to watch Linkin Park, one of my favourite bands, live in concert.

All the details of how I got here will be in the Day 1 post. [EDIT: Day 1 is now live]

Since we had shopped a bit yesterday, we had to spend the morning trying to find a carton to fit all of our IKEA shopping. We met up with my friend Azhad who took us to a cargo shop to find us a large box. After we bought one, we made our way back and then headed out for lunch.

For lunch, Azhad took us to a Syrian restaurant in Al Rigga.

Aroos Damascus restaurant Al Rigga Deira Dubai
This was the restaurant
Aroos Damascus Syrian restaurant Al Rigga Deira shawarma
And that is a LOT of meat
Aroos Damascus tables outside Syrian restaurant Al Rigga Deira Dubai
Azhad and my brother Nithin at the table to the left

As fans of Arabian cuisine, we ordered a few items unaware of just how much food was coming our way.

Syrian Arab lentil soup dal
First up: Lentil soup (dal)
Aroos Damscus restaurant Al Rigga Deira starters Dubai
Then, salad and a diamond shaped bread
Fattoush salad Arab restaurant Dubai
Next, fattoush salad
Arab restaurant kuboos bread Deira Dubai
With healthy supply of kuboos (Arabian bread)
Arab restaurant fresh fruit juice kiwi
Then our juices (the green one’s Kiwi fruit; it’s what I ordered)
Arab restaurant hummus mutton
After that, our hummus with mutton kheema & grated almonds
Aroos Damascus restaurant Deira grilled chicken
…and finally, the ‘main course’ — one full grilled chicken

By the time our ‘main course’ arrived, my hunger was already taken care of. All I could think of was ‘how the hell we were going to finish that bird!’.

And just as we began to dig into it, I get a call. It was our taxi driver, for our pick up. We had to tell him to wait at least 15 minutes as we were having lunch… and that we had an entire chicken to go through.

Sadly, even 10 minutes in, we knew it was hopeless. We would have needed at least an hour of slow eating to finish all the food that was on our table. Or according to Azhad, we needed our friend Jassim.

The bill came to around Rs. 1200, very reasonable considering what we ordered was enough to feed 4 to 5 people. After we paid up, we quickly made our way back to our hotel where our taxi was waiting for us.

Now, we were expecting a taxi. We weren’t really expecting this:

Lincoln towncar black Dubai
This was our ride

Lincoln Towncar limo interiors
Not bad. Not bad at all.

We dashed off to Abu Dhabi via Sheikh Zayed Road.

Sheikh Zayed Road tunnel lights inside car

Sheikh Zayed Road tunnel light from inside carSheikh Zayed road from inside car

Emirates towers building from car
The Emirates twin towers
Sheikh Zayed road metro station
This is what Dubai’s metro stations look like
Sheikh Zayed road small building contruction
Construction activity has slowed down…
Sheikh Zayed Road Gloria hotel rooms for rent
… because there is still plenty of over-supply
Sheikh Zayed Road offices for lease
Still no takers

Sheikh Zayed road empty buildingThe real estate scene hasn’t seen much improvement since the last time I was here.

Sheikh Zayed Road leaving Dubai

Burj Al Arab from inside car
Burj Al Arab in the distance

Sheikh Zayed road Dubai Marina skyscrapersWe drove past the impressive Dubai Marina and entered Jebel Ali zone.

Sheikh zayed road Ibn Battuta Mall
Seen at Ibn Battuta Mall

Sheikh Zayed road Jebel Ali offices Jafza view 19 twin towers

Dubai Hummer stretch limo rent
Okay, so our limo wasn’t as pimp as this one…
Sheikh Zayed road radio tower
Not a whole lot to see on Sheikh Zayed road…
Sheikh Zayed road vehicles
… besides cars

Sheikh Zayed Road is one heck of a highway. For one, it’s really straight. So it’s filled with a lot of speeding cars. And despite being extremely wide, and UAE’s strict code on the way you drive — accidents are still common.

We lay witness to one one this trip.

A Toyota Yaris lost control, swerved right across two lanes, rams into a Mercedes convertible, and dangerously reverses back on to the highway. Everybody brakes. Fortunately we were slightly far behind and the Yaris did eventually come to a stand still.

Sheikh Zayed road accident Mercedes
The Merc that got rammed into
Sheikh Zayed road accident Toyota Yaris crashed
Dunno how he lost control

The police car quickly made its way towards the accident site…

Sheikh Zayed road accident truck overturn
…from *another* accident it was tending to

So yeah, just because you have awesome roads, don’t assume its accidents-free.

An hour-long drive later, we were in Abu Dhabi.

Getting to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi by taxi

IKEA Abu Dhabi near Yas Island Ferrari World
Damn you IKEA! Here too?!
Ferrari World La Rossa roller coaster
La Rossa — the fastest roller coaster ride in the world, part of Ferrari World

We actually asked our driver to drop us at Ferrari World because we had time and didn’t want to head to the Yas Marina Circuit so early. Plus I had to check it out, sine the last time I was, it was still under construction.

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi front side

Ferrari World mall entrance reception
The entrance leads you to a mini-mall
Ferrari World mall escalator stores
But a lot of stores were yet to open

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi main entranceInside Ferrari World Abu Dhabi entrance

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi main lobby
The ticket counter is to the right
Ferrari World Ferrari store Abu Dhabi
They have a pretty big Ferrari store to the left

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi Formula 1 model car

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi Formula 1 model car
This was in front of the Ferrari store

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi interiorsFerrari World Abu Dhabi main exit

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi gates to theme park
You pass these gates to enter the theme park

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi old Ferrari grand prix racing car

After checking out the store, I made my way to the ticket counter.  The tickets to Ferrari World come in ‘general’ and ‘premium’ classes — the only difference being the premium admission give you access to a VIP lounge. Otherwise the general admission costs AED225 (Rs. 2500) and entitles you to unlimited rides. Not bad, compared to how expensive other world class theme parks cost.

But I still felt compelled to ask the ticket receptionist if it was worthwhile if we went in today. She replied that we’d need at least 2 hours to go through the whole place (Ferrari World is the largest indoor theme park in the world). Also, the main attraction at Ferrari World: La Rossa — the fastest roller coaster in the world, wasn’t (let’s just say) functioning perfectly. There were stopping it intermittently to run check ups.


Now, I know Ferrari World had just opened during this year’s Grand Prix race, but I didn’t feel like paying AED225 to be a crash test dummy at 250 kmph. So I decided to skip it and check it out next year. Hopefully by then all the chinks are sorted out.

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi entrance hall
We made our way out
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi logo Mithun
That’s me ^_^
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi cascade walk
There was an open area we felt like checking out

Ferrari World fountains water walkFerrari World fountains water cascade outside mallFerrari World Abu Dhabi cascade walk waterFerrari World Cascade walk fountains waterFerrari World Abu Dhabi dome creekFerrari World Abu Dhabi cascade walk signFerrari World Abu Dhabi cascade open areaFerrari World Abu Dhabi cascade water fountains

Ferrari World cascade walk fountains Nithin
My brother Nithin

It was nearing 5pm at this point, so we decided to leave.

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi mall to entrance

Ferrari World bus to Yas Marina circuit
They had buses to Yas Marina Circuit
Inside bus to Yas Marina circuit Abu Dhabi
The buses go all around the circuit stopping at all the entry points
Entering North Stand Yas Marina Circuit
We got down at the North Gate entrance
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi road to Yas Marina
Which isn’t very far from Ferrari World

North Grand Stand Yas Marina circuit parkingEntering North Grand stand Yas Marina Circuit

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix F1 ear plugs guide
This is what you get as you pass the gates: ear plugs and a guide
Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Yasalam
This is where Linkin Park is going to perform

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit atmosphereAbu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina Circuit drag race displayAbu Dhabi F1 experience Yas Marina circuit eventsAbu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit go karting

Abu Dhabi Yas Marina circuit sunset
It was time to go in

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit M gateAbu Dhabi F1 experience Yas Marina circuit drag carsAbu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit drag racer

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Yasalam Linkin Park stage
They were running a sound check and you could hear Chester test his vocals
Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit North Grand stand lounge
This is the lounge area for North Grand Stand ticket holders

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit North stand

Yas Marina Circuit North Stand panorama view
This was the view from our seat

And this is the action we saw:

Our seats were great, we were at the grand stand at the North section of the track. The vantage point is a good one as you get to see the cars coming in from a distance (though in a matter seconds, they’re already at the turn) and then you have the long straight stretch where you get to see them accelerate.

First thing that really hits you is the noise. I experienced this during the Singapore F1 back in September. I loved it there, I loved it here as well. Of course, you have to love cars to to enjoy the sound of a lightning fast engine. Otherwise you’d be deemed ‘weird’.

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit north gate panorama

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina Lewis Hamilton St. George flag
Since this was the crucial final race of the season, the Brits obviously had Lewis Hamilton’s back
Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit north stand flags
Not that the Spaniards and Canadians were far behind
Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit big screens
They had screens broadcasting the rest of the circuit

They had commentary on the speakers too, but because of the noise from the cars, you won’t hear it until the cars pass.

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit evening

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Red Bull car
Red Bull racing was doing pretty well
Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Force India car
Force India wasn’t doing that bad either

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Ferrari cornerAbu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Lotus carAfter seeing cars zipping by and listening to engines for nearly an hour, I went inside the lounge to have some of the gourmet food on offer.

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina North Grand stand lounge food
Gourmet food in very tiny portions I might add. But you can take as much as you wanted.

The whole affair was very posh, with German waitresses and what looked like local celebrities (or posh posers) in the lounge.

After having a bite and drink, as I walked back, I suddenly stopped. And I do mean suddenly stopped. I literally froze.

I turned to my left and in front of me were two guys. One, a fairly large, tattooed white bald white dude and next to him, a regular looking Asian guy, fairly tall. Dressed in formals, he looked like a guy who probably worked in an IT firm. I looked at him and they both looked back at me. The white dude  sitting next to him nodded as if to say: “No”.

But in my excitement, I said ‘hi’ and that I had one question to ask him. I began to prep the camera when he smiled and said: “No Interviews”. The bodyguard was about to get up so I put my camera away and just asked him. He answered and then I asked him if I could take a photograph. The bodyguard said “No,” but he said “It’s fine,” gave my camera to his bodyguard and asked him to take our photograph.

The bodyguard pressed the shutter and it didn’t click. The guy joked: “He’s not very good at this” and asked his bodyguard to take the shot again.

So who was the guy?

Mithun with Mike Shinoda Linkin Park Abu Dhabi F1
None other than Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park! The ONE guy I was hoping to meet!

I thanked Mike and told him how much I liked their new album and said: “Keep experimenting” to which he smiled and said “Thanks”.

First impressions. Wow, he’s taller than I thought (I’m 5′ 6″). Plus, he’s changed a lot since his Hybrid Theory days.

Oh, what was the one question I wanted to ask him and finally could?

“When is Linkin Park coming to India?”

Mike said they needed find the right promoter and figure out the logistics to try and cram it into their tour schedule. It wasn’t a very convincing answer so I asked him whether they had ever considered touring India, to which Mike replied: “Oh yeah! Of course!”. I told him Linkin Park has such a huge fan base in India and he nodded his head: “I know…” with a smile. He said it will happen and assured me the band would tour India — but he just couldn’t tell me when.

Oh well, at least he knows we’re dying to see the band live in India.

As I went back to my seat, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. When I got the call from Vh1 telling me I had won, I was so hoping to meet the band. But I was informed there would be no meet & greet. And despite all that, I still got to meet the one guy I wanted to talk to. I know for a lot of girls its Chester Bennington, but for many hardcore LP fans, it’s Mike Shinoda — the unofficial spokesperson and leader of the band.

I told my brother Mike Shinoda was inside and he got a glimpse of him too, but neither of us disturbed him again.

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit night race
The race was at its final laps

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Ferrari McLaren Red bull race cars

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit at night
The qualifiers had ended; Vettel took pole postion with Lewis Hamilton in second
Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit photographers
That’s the kind of lenses you need to cover an F1 race

We got up from our seats and went back into the lounge to get a good view of where we were heading next.

Abu Dhabi Yasalam Linkin Park concert venue
There were people already making a beeline for the concert gates

Abu Dhabi Yasalam after F1 race

As I walked out I saw Mike again… and Dave Farrell, the band’s bassist! Dave smiled at me and gave me a thumbs up, probably after noticing my Linkin Park t-shirt and I wished him all the best for the show and that I was looking forward to it. I was tempted to ask for a photograph again but the bodyguard kept looking at me everytime I passed by. Oh well, he’s doing his job.

Walking towards the venue, I came prepared and fully charged with my camera and lenses… but unfortunately, there was dude announcing on the speakerphone that DSLRs and other high end cameras were not allowed in. Crap.

So, I hesitantly hand over my camera to the counter and make my through the gates. Hundreds were getting their alcohol (on sale for 21 and over only) and though there were a lot of people at the venue, everybody had enough space to move about freely.

Me and my brother chose a spot a bit far away from the speakers and right in the middle.

Yasalam Linkin Park Abu Dhabi concert panorama
They were showing promos of who all had come before… (yes, the Jonas Brothers were here before LP)

We could have gone further up front but I was going to be recording videos on my phone and staying too close to the speakers only meant “brrrrr brrrr” in recordings.

The stage itself, as you can see above, was quite impressive.

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert warm up
They had a DJ spin out some good hip hop to warm up the crowd.

After half an hour or so, the DJ leaves the stage. The crew come on, clear everything and the crowd begin to cheer. A lighting rig comes all the way down, two guys get into seats on either side and the rig goes up again.

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert stage setupAfter some more waiting, finally, the show begins:

They opened with The Catalyst, the first single off their latest album A Thousand Suns.

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert
After that, the crowd went crazy for the next song

And when I mean ‘crowd,’ I mean me, my brother and a few young Arabs around me. I was seriously aghast the whole crowd wasn’t jumping up & down.

But then again I reminded my self that this concert was only open to Formula 1 ticket holders, most of whom were 30-plus. Not exactly your core Linkin Park fanbase.

Abu Dhabi formula 1 Linkin Park concert chester on stage
Man, Chester can scream his face off!

I didn’t record every song in full, intentionally. I had to conserve my phone battery and I didn’t feel right about recording the entire concert as though I was going to bootleg this or something.

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert Mike Shinoda
“Hey, I met that guy!” 😛
Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert Joe Hahn
The awesome Mr. Hahn

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert Chester Bennington

Of course, some songs I had to record in full.

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert stage lights
The lighting was just as good as the music

This was the ending set:


After a very brief break, the band were back on stage for the encore.

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert band stage

First, they performed one of my favourite songs from the new album:

…before closing out the show with some more of their biggest hits!

Nearly an hour and 45 minutes later, the show was over. In that time, they played pretty much all their singles (except for “Breaking the Habit“). The band said their goodbyes and left the stage. Everyone except Mike Shinoda that is, who would spend nearly 10 minutes or so shaking hands and greeting fans in the front row. What an awesome guy.

We left Yasalam, collected my camera bag and managed to contact our taxi driver who had come all the way from Dubai to pick us up.

Abu Dhabi Formula one buses after race
They had plenty of buses plying from the venue to Abu Dhbai city and Dubai
Abu Dhabi Formula 1 bus service to city
But there were quite a lot of people queuing up for them
Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Ferrari world at night
We had nothing to worry about…
Inside Toyota Previa taxi Abu Dhabi
… ‘cos we had comfortable private ride back to Dubai. Tee hee.
Leaving Yas Marina circuit Abu Dhabi
It was past 11pm, time to leave Yas Marina Circuit and Abu Dhabi

As we drove back, I couldn’t help but think back on the past few hours. Sure, we were tired as hell, but what a weekend! Landed in Dubai yesterday, went around, shopped, today witnessed a Formula One race on a Rs. 40, 000 ticket (which we got for free) and then watched one of my favourite bands perform live (again, for free)! But most of all, the moment that did it for me, I met Mike Shinoda and got a photo with him! That was good enough.

On one hand, I enjoyed a evening with a decent crowd with no pushing or shoving and an amazing stage setup. On the other hand, the concert could have used a better crowd. But thinking about it, I can’t fathom how much I would have hated the first Linkin Park concert in India — with thousands of their young fans who are going to go absolutely apeshit because they waited for so long to finally get a glimpse of their rock idols. (I pray Linkin Park plays at least 3 venues when they land in India)

Every artist uses the “We’ll be back” line at the end of their concerts. Some do, some don’t. Linkin Park will be back in UAE for sure. And next time, it will surely be for their real UAE fans at some event more suitable like the Desert Rock Festival or a stand alone concert.

Dubai driving Sheikh Zayed road night
An hour of cruising at a 100kmph later, we were in Dubai

Once back in our hotel, we quickly went out again to grab some shawarmas and some juice for dinner. We didn’t have anything planned for tomorrow other than packing and heading to the hotel.

Yeah, it would have been nice if we could have stayed back one more day, saw the Sunday race and watched Prince perform afterwards. (We had tickets for all 4 days; Kanye West performed on Friday but we couldn’t have been bothered to drive all the way to Dubai for his inflated ego). But I just couldn’t afford to. I had to head back to office on Monday and then on Tuesday night, had to catch my postponed flight to Thailand for my next trip.

All in all, a hectic but memorable experience.

Oh, and finally, thanks VH1 India! (Especially Aparna)


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7 Comments

  • Shishir Cr

    21/12/2010

    Mithun buddy you’re really so lucky. I don’t know if you care or not but many guys might be jealous of you by now. Wish I was your brother too…!! 🙂
    God waiting for Linkin Park so badly.
    \m/

  • rishabh rastogi

    21/12/2010

    superb!!
    wish evn i could hv made it..

  • Azhad

    21/12/2010

    Whata day, eh?

    Mithun Divakaran Reply:

    Oh yeah, what a day indeed!

  • Alok

    22/12/2010

    Hmmmmm…. must say you are lucky to have such a awesome day …..wish you may have many more days like that …..B.O.L 🙂

  • vic

    24/08/2011

    Now I feel like going to Dubai 🙂

    Mithun Divakaran Reply:

    You should. It’s a crazy glass-structured jungle! Worth visiting if you want to see what a lot of money can build (but unfortunately can’t fill ;)) I’ll be seeing Linkin Park again, next month in Singapore when I visit during F1 week.

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