Abu Dhabi

 by Red

2 – Wandering Abu Dhabi

Here I am right now, sitting in CaribouCoffee, in the middle of Marina Malls shopping centre. Off the breakwater in Abu Dhabi. Visited the giant flag pole overlooking AD’s central area, but the Heritage Centre there won’t be open till 4pm cos of Eid holiday. The beachfront is under construction to make it a swimming area. I figure when I return here in Mar it will probably be ready. =P

Had breakfast after taking the 901 bus (3 AED from outside Terminal 3, 1 hr) down from airport to the city. Roti Prata set 8 AED! off the little shops. With Tristan and Geordie, who left for the airport thereafter.

Me I made my way to the Breakwater, where this mall is. I tried to upload pics onto Flickr and here’s the message that popped. “Access to this site is currently blocked. The site falls under the Prohibited Content Categories of the UAE’s Internet Access Management Policy”. Wha?

I’ll add on to this entry when there’s a chance…Heading off to Sharjah later. Before that I’ll pop by the Emirates Palace, maybe.

28th Nov 2030pm, Sharjah Airport Departure Lounge
At Sharjah airport, which resembles more like a budget airport terminal compared to Abu Dhabi’s relative grandeur, waiting to check in. It’s 8.30pm UAE time (1230am Sg) and i am bloody exhausted. It could be the jet lag, or (coming to) two consecutive nights of sleeping on airplanes, or some 3 hours of bus rides today. Or even hunting around for AirArabia’s pickup point in town (its across the road off the eastern wall of Qasr Al-Hosn (white fort). It could be walking down half the distance of the corniche just now (didn’t get to go in the Emirates Palace, cos of the crowd and i was probably too shabbily dressed with my giant pack to be allowed in). Ah…i know the reason. It’s the damn bag…My thighs ache and i just want to get on the plane so i can sleep. (4.5 hours flight this time –> and i reach there at another ungodly hour (0130am). I am REALLY looking forward to a nice clean hotel bed at Alexandria where I can just sleep for a bit and get a proper shower. It would be great to finally settle down on one location for a couple of nights.
in Asia / UAE 0 comments
 by Red

1 – AirAsiaX we will go!

1: Flights

Hello all. The SG to KL flight was delayed by an hour, due to weather. Its a good thing I gave 4 hours allowance then. Reached LCCT at quarter to 7 with plenty of time to spare for dinner. Checked in the bag. I don’t feel comfortable with the weight. Firstly it seems like too much weight. Secondly, its a bit top heavy and bulky. I’ll try to adapt and adjust. Better get used to it, that and I’ll try to drop off some weight along the way.

Met up with Tristan and Geordie. Both on the same flight out to Abu Dhabi. From there we split, I make my way to Alexandria while they’re off to San’aa.

Right now Im in my first AirAsiaX flight. 2200hrs set off, reaches 0130 hrs. Its a 7.5 hr flight on a budget airline. =). The plane itself is an Airbus 340 instead of the usual AirAsia 320 models. Larger, with two aisles to walk down. Best of all, it’s half empty, so everyones sprawled across 3 seats. Me i took up 5 seats. Pretty comfortable for a relatively long haul flight.

Reaching Abu Dhabi at 130am later, will stay about the airport till there’s light then make my way into the city. I’ll need to catch the 4.30pm bus to Sharjah Airport.

in Asia / UAE 0 comments