Jaunted - Abu Dhabi

Joe Jonas and Ashley Greene Caught with a Cheese Knife at Airport Security

cmb — 2010-11-29T12:30:46-05:00

Lovebirds Joe Jonas and Ashley Greene had some explaining to do when the singer was stopped by airport security after forgetting he packed a cheese knife in his carry-on. The young couple was flying from Abu Dhabi to New York City when Jonas was flagged before making it to the gate for their flight.

“We had too many bags to check so we took one as a carry-on instead of checking it through security. We were going from the Middle East to New York - to JFK, so tons of security, tons of screening," Ashley explained to George Lopez on a recent "Lopez Tonight" appearance. "We got through one actually, surprisingly enough, but at the second one, they all of a sudden stopped and kind of looked at us with these really stern faces and they were like, 'what is in your bag.' And I look at [Joe] and then [had] flashbacks of this knife set that we got."

Ferrari World and The World's Fastest Roller Coaster to Open October 27

JetSetCD — 2010-09-30T08:34:56-05:00

It's happening, and soon! The theme park we never thought would happen, or at least this quickly, has announced it's official opening date. Abu Dhabi's Ferrari World debuts to the public on October 27 of this year. It's only the soft-opening period until the big grand opening in December, but still. It'll exist and hopefully it won't be long before YouTube is full of point-of-view videos of the world's fastest roller coaster, the park's Formula 1-inspired "Formula Rossa."

But of course, that's not all. The thing has a 21-acre roof, painted in Ferrari red. It's under here where the crowds will find most of the action. Six days a week from October 27 through December, the park will open at 12 noon. Adult ticket prices start at AED 225 ($61.25), but AED 375 ($102) will get you a Premium Ticket, which will give priority ride access and entrance to a lounge with refreshments.

Now a preview of the Big Three rides at the Ferrari Theme Park:

Where to Find One of the World's First Gold Bar ATM Machines

JetSetCD — 2010-05-13T08:52:13-05:00

Even though it sounds like something out of a James Bond movie, there is now an ATM that dispenses pure gold, and it happens to be in the one place we'd absolutely expect it to be: Abu Dhabi. Dubai ain't got nothing on them now, huh?

Sitting inside the Kempinski Emirates Palace Hotel on the West End Corniche, this machine will draw tourists and locals just to gawk at it, and who knows if security will be needed for people who actually want to use it to grab a gold bar to go. It's actually called Gold To Go, developed by a German, and it monitors the daily gold price ($1,245 an ounce yesterday!) and "offers small bars up to 10 grams or coins with customized designs." The first machines appeared in Frankfurt Airport a year ago, and now they're gaining steam.

'Sex and the City 2' Goes to Abu Dhabi? Actually, It's Morocco

JetSetCD — 2010-04-09T14:40:21-05:00

We're a little more than a month away from the return of Manolos and cosmos as Sex and the City 2 releases into theater in late May. And just like in the first movie, the girls—Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte—must get up and out of New York City for a little bikini and fruity cocktail time in someplace exotic.

In Sex and the City 1, they went south of the border to Mexico, but this year they're gone far more afield...to Abu Dhabi. Or that's what they'd have you believe. The film has the girls going on some all-expenses-paid junket to the Emirate for camel trekking, bazaar buying and even a run-in with old flames, but all of this isn't actually in Abu Dhabi. We spotted the crew filming the Abu Dhabi scenes last November in the medina of Marrakech, Morocco.

What does it all mean? Find out after the jump

Abu Dhabi Takes First Rihanna-fied Steps To Becoming Party Capital

JetSetCD — 2010-01-04T14:21:02-05:00

Well, at least she kept her thighs under lock and key...

The New Years holiday is the time for celebrities to scatter themselves all around the globe, from the ski slopes to the beaches of St. Barths, but if you're a celebrity entertainer, then the odds are that you've got a very well-paying gig you'd rather not miss.

Such was the case with Rihanna, who did a very hyped, very controversial concert in Abu Dhabi at the Emirates Palace for 10,000 fans, followed by fireworks. Although the girl raked in $500,000 for a few songs—and no doubt had a private, paid-for jet to get her through the crazy airport security of the weekend—the controversy came when they asked her to cover up a little more than usual for the performance.

Abu Dhabi as party capital?...

Etihad Slowly But Surely Getting The Word Out About Abu Dhabi

JetSetCD — 2009-11-06T12:54:22-05:00

Dubai, Dubai, Dubai. The Middle Eastern city on everyone's lips these days is still Dubai, despite the economic beating they're currently taking. Nonetheless, inch by inch Abu Dhabi is eeking its way up there, and Etihad Airways is majorly helping the Emirati capital to capture the world's attention.

In the last few years, Etihad has scrambled up to serving 58 destinations, with a goal of 70 worldwide by 2010. Is it a ploy for world domination or what? Our guess is that Etihad just wants to make a profit, since they haven't yet. Here's the next few routes we can expect from this growing Abu Dhabi giant:

Etihad Now Comes Complete With Women Pilots

amandak — 2009-10-28T11:24:18-05:00

From a region of the world not exactly renowned for recognizing women in the work force, Etihad Airways is keen to let the world know that they have just graduated their first local female pilots from their flight training program.

Etihad is based in Abu Dhabi and has only been up and running since 2003—and their pilot cadet training program has only just taken on its 100th trainee, so the female-male ratio is not too tragic, especially since they've got four more local women still in training now.