Every Eid and Ramadan there is usually a floating "dry" day, where restaurants and bars don't serve any alcohol. I've been here for 18 months now, and there just seems to be no easy way of determining when this will happen. It's not like the newspapers publish a heads-up; it's not like the government in a Muslim country places any priority at all in informing expats their steady and cherished flow of booze will be interrupted.
But it's always a pretty big topic of conversation when it happens, and a surprise at the same time. And invariably, whether you are a big drinker or not, the dry day falls just when you've made plans that involve alcohol. For example this time around a friend and I had planned to see the Guggenheim exhibit at Emirates Palace and then head to a pub. Instead I woke up to the news in the form of a text: "What is there to do on a dry day off in Abu Dhabi?"
We survived.
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1 comment:
Yeah, that is a problem.
As a guy who has second thoughts about attending beerless entertainment venues, workarounds are necessary here.
Plus, I keep an emergency supply at my house in case of public holidays or international conflict.
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