14 hour layover in Abu Dhabi
Trip Start
Jul 02, 2007
1
4
38
Trip End
Aug 03, 2007
Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
1d) times I got completely lost.
Having said that, I wasn't lost - I knew exactly where I was, just not where I was meant to be...
Rewind a little. I set off from home at 7.45am and Mum promptly drove the right-wrong way to the airport. It worked the same though, so it's all good. [Thank you Mum!]
Owing to the security status in the UK, we had to queue more than usual but it wasn't too bad. My bag goes all the way through to Delhi - excellent.
I didn't have a window seat, so I didn't see much, but on a toilet trip I was able to look out as we passed over Lake Van in Turkey. I also made friends with the Indian boy sat next to me. We had two things in common: we're both students [I'm an ex-student now, so 'graduate' really, but whatever] and neither of our onboard entertainment systems were working. Mine got reset, but his only started to work as we came down to land 7 hours later. Typical. I needed the entertainment to stop me from committing small-child-icide towards the kids sat behind who insisted on kicking my seat. Grrr.
Other than that it was a good flight - the food was good and the map system pointed the way to Mecca at all times. You know, just in case. Interestingly, I did see a man with a bruised forehead, presumably from praying too hard.
Abu Dhabi was hot, even at 9pm, and more humid than I was expecting. I know the 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 mocked him, I should have a problem in the 12 hours before my next flight. It was nice of him though.
The drive to the hotel - now with the name the Golden Tulip - was really nice. Date palms and signs in Arabic scrawl, square pastel houses with wooden struts sticking out the side, and sand! Sounds stupid, but the place is so flat and sandy. Love it. We passed a huge mosque - the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, second biggest in the world after Mecca - truly beautiful lit up at night! The cab was air-con but after all the dry air on the plane, I felt my eye balls had had enough. Unfortunately, to make conversation with my taxi dude, I had said, "Hot!" when I got in. Great dialogue huh? I meant outside, but he then whacked the air-con right up and pointed all the vents at me. To switch them off I had to be really furtive.
The Golden Tulip is a really nice hotel. Like, wow! Not just a bedroom with a double bed, but an en-suite, walk-in wardrobe, living room with sofas for 4, a dining table and a kitchen. For free! Oddly enough it didn't have toothpaste, and I had counted on either getting some on the plane or in the hotel. Shoeshine, but no toothpaste.
I didn't have my backpack, but still, I was hardly dressed right. I then made a complete idiot of myself by asking to change a tiny amount of money - as a souvenir, not because I needed to buy anything.
Bonus - it's right across the street from a dentist!
Dinner and breakfast were included - I was even able to eat from the buffet at 10pm. I ate with a woman from Toronto, though originally from Afghanistan. She and I couldn't find any bread, so we were forced to eat chocolate cake. It's a hard life.
I tried to drink water all day, but inevitably I got a headache.
Eee! I'm in Abu Dhabi!
Highlight of the day: watching a woman at the airport arguing with a security guard. She was determined to take the big metal luggage trolley through the metal detector.
The stupid, it burns.
