A day in Abu Dhabi

What follows is a night at the airport, feeling very tired, sitting on very uncomfortable seats, surrounded by hundreds of other travellers who are also waiting for their morning flight. And yes, ofcourse there’s a delay. They are not exactly giving us much information, but by 5 a.m. it’s clear we are not on schedule anymore to catch our connecting flight from Abu Dhabi. At this point I just want to get on flight number 1. Which eventually happens around 5.30 a.m. By the time we arrive in Abu Dhabi our next flight is gone and it seems that everyone who needed to catch a connecting flight to a European destination is in for a day of waiting.

They have new tickets and vouchers for everyone. Our flight to Brussels leaves at 2 a.m. the next night/morning. At first I’m not accepting the reality that I have to wait a whole day, I’m in denial, but there simply are no other options. Luckily they’re putting us all in a decent hotel, so next thing we’re in a car with a few other travellers on our way to the Holiday Inn. It’s a grey day in Abu Dhabi and we see posh cars, apartment buildings, villa’s. Nothing appealing. But all I care about now is a bed to get some much needed sleep. I must say, the hotel staff welcomes us in a very friendly way, we get a super breakfast buffet and the room has everything we need. Oh, and we spot a few ‘sjeiks’ in the hotel lobby :-)

We sleep a couple of hours, watch some tv, get a shower, and in the evening there’s a diner buffet. So we can’t complain :-) Pick-up at the hotel to go to the airport is at 11 p.m. so back in the room I set the alarm clock as falling asleep again is very appealing and I definitely don’t want to miss the bus.

Abu Dhabi airport is very much alive this time of evening/night. Our gate is packed with pilgrims. I don’t know where they are flying to but we are about the only Western people here. Men are changing into some traditional outfits with white towels, right at the gate. So there is plenty of people watching to do. Finally around 2 a.m. we board the plane and can start the last part of our journey home. The end of a beautiful roadtrip!