Looking Back: Invited to the Gala Dinner at the Royal Presidential Palace of Abu Dhabi, UAE.

This is probably the closest I can get to see the White House!

In October 2013, I attended the 2013 Thalassemia International Federation (TIF) World Congress that was held in Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC) for 4 days. While in Abu Dhabi, we visited various places, from the cool, ever-bustling Abu Dhabi Central Market to the sweltering, lonely Rub al Khali desert, in the middle of which I had one of the best buffets I have ever had. However, there was this one particularly unforgettable experience that will probably never repeat itself ever again, and, in fact, this is a story that even only a few of my closest friends know about. On the second day of the event, our group was invited to join the Gala Dinner at the Royal Presidential Palace of Abu Dhabi initiated by the highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, one of the members of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi.

I can recall fondly the moment our group was offered the invitation by one of the event committees. It was the second day of the congress, and the day was going to be closed with a talk show featuring the medical specialists. We had initially decided not to stay until the very end of the event since we were extremely tired due to our late-night excursion the day before. One of the event staff, however, insisted that it'd be in our best interests to wait a little bit longer because after the event ended, there would be an invitation for some of us to attend a Gala Dinner at the Presidential Palace -- the White House of UAE. Quite honestly, I was slightly skeptical and the fact that I wasn't wearing the proper attire had made me think twice before I finally realized that we would be able to set foot at one of the most luxurious, most lavish places in the whole Abu Dhabi, and quite possibly in the whole Emirates. And on top of that, the fact that it was a direct invitation from Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan himself made it the final icing on the cake.

It wasn't long until we found ourselves on the shuttle bus taking us straight from the slanted ADNEC building to the Presidential Palace. Passing the main entrance gate, you couldn't help but be mesmerized by how big the place was -- hectares upon hectares I believe, not to mention the palace was adjacent to the bay, granting the residents direct access to a huge array of water transport, most prominently were some yachts docked yonder.

As soon as we passed the main entrance, we were brought to the Al Buteen area, as stated on the invitation, which was one of the many halls or areas at the palace. Our bus apparently wasn't the first to arrive as we could see hundreds of others either already dining or queueing for the dinner, and some were just having a nice conversation. We were cordially welcomed with a performance that appears to be the traditional gun dance.

The banquet was held outdoors but there was also an indoor area where those with a sweet tooth may go inside and never come out again. There was just an endless plethora of dessert there, from chocolate fudge to ice cream, from patisserie to fruits coated with chocolate and gold dust. YOU READ IT RIGHT!! GOLD!! And it wasn't like it was made from your everyday cooking ingredients and processed so that it would resemble gold dust -- it was real gold dust! Fancy. That was my first time ever tasting what a 24k gold tasted like.

Besides the bizarre food, the whole tableware, both indoors and outdoors, was made of or decorated with either gold or silver, which gave it a luxurious touch.

The party outside was as lively as inside. On the contrary to the indoor area where we could satisfy our sweet tooth to our hearts' content, the outdoor area was designated for the main dishes and bread. Though the food was really tasty, I couldn't bring myself to queue for the food to have second since I had to maintain my composure in front of these fancy-looking invitees.

Anyway, as you can see there were many falcons-shaped (before I thought it was eagles) ice sculptures on the set because falcons are seen as status symbols and one of the Emiratis' favorite animals. One thing I noticed as well was that all the furniture there was also made of or decorated with gold and silver—truly the epitome of splendor!

Most of our time there was spent either chewing on food or just enjoying the vibes while having random chats with the other guests, most notably a fellow participant of the congress from Canada, who is now a very good friend of ours. And, I'm telling you that it is from this kind of random conversation where a new bud of friendship sprouts (so poetic!! #cringe)

We were finally brought back from the "wonderland" when the bus came to pick us up and bring us back to ADNEC. Surely, this wonderful experience is so going to be featured in the highlights of my life and it is a memory that forever I will treasure.