Intercontinental Hotels Intercontinental Abu Dhabi

So as you may well have gathered, i'm at Abu Dhabi airport now, in transit. I'm here for, hmmm 10 hours or so. Yeah, every person that has checked my ticket here has looked at me like a crazy person when they realise i intend on staying at the airport all that time.

Any way, it won't come as any surprise to any one that i made a mistake as soon as i arrived here and headed for baggage claim instead of just staying at the gate. I was under the ...

... get boarding passes, go through multiple low-tech security screens, have immigration officers inspect and stamp our our scraps of paper and passports, and then wait in long lines to board.  We were delighted to actually board... Rest of blog posting is at www.changeinplans.net

... I think he was more interested in pulling Sally than showing us some falcons but it was quite funny listening to him about how they go into the desert to hunt and can't take any food, my response being "well if the falcon doesn't catch anything at least you could eat it", which didn't go down that well. Time to go home I think, which we did. Next day Stu and I were up early to go and have a round of golf at Abu Dhabi golf course with a colleague of his called Gary. I ...

... in a double bed that did not require acrobatics to enter. It also didn't have an extremely loud air-conditioning module right next to it. Lastly, and probably most important, it allowed me to escape my sailors and I only needed to be responsible for deciding what channel to watch and where I was having dinner. In the end I can safely say that it was bliss. I didn't get out and about much in Abu Dhabi, but I did walk to the local shopping mall. It was very much like any ...

... as my pal and I sipped wine on her balcony overlooking the Indian Ocean, we looked down to see a man looking up at us having a vigorous ****. It was the way he didn't stop when we noticed him (even when we pointed and laughed) that bothered me most. Quite revolting. Of course these creatures wouldn't dare touch themselves in such a way on Emirati soil I am sure, but the thought was there I am sure. So it's back to "the club" tomorrow for more ...

... and taxis, everything else is the same price or round about the same price. The top of the range fuel is priced at 6.75AED per gallon. It costs about $22 to fill up our car (that's about 46 cents per litre). We have a car - well I have one, this being my own first car so of course it had to be a flash one so I have a Mercedes, nice little number, gold in colour with everything that opens and shuts. Eddy is allowed ...

... to other nationalities. Most kids on my travels are well behaved and quiet. Admittedly, in some places it's because they've either learnt that noise gets them a smack or that crying doesn't change anything, so they just put up with it. The old British attitude of "children should be seen and not heard" is live and kicking in many places. But overall, it just makes Western kids look whiny and spoilt. There is something worse though: upper class Middle Eastern/Arabic kids. Oy ...

... inside of the arrivals area of the airport very well now, since I spent a good 20 mins walking around and asking where I should go. Problem was that Ethiad Airways had arranged a hotel for me to spend the night in, but hadn't told me which hotel or where to get picked up or anything. Eventually I found a desk and got a coupon thingy. Whilst I was waiting I got chatting to a Lebanese guy called Anas, who lives in Abu Dhabi. As he left he gave me his card in case, as I gently ...

... this little old lady next to me covered in all black was in fact a ninja for a moment but then once the oxygen started reaching my head again I realized she was a harmless little old lady....Funny huh. Anyways, back to the bus stop, we waited for a while and then I began using my brain to figure out with the map from the hotel in hand which side of the 4 lane roads should I be on. We were at the right side at first since that is where someone else had pointed us too but then I ...

... as Superstar). We went back last week and they asked where The Hutches were. Day 2 Everyone slept in as the constant flying with no sleep had taken its toll. We eventually got up, went for a quick cruise up and around the Corniche. It was about 40degrees so we tried not to spend too much time outside the aircon splendour of the rent-a-wreck. We drove back to Dubai via Jumeirah beach where we saw the new huge Palm Jumeirah island and the famous Burj Al ...