First Days in Abu Dhabi

Well, I’m finally here in Abu Dhabi. The flight from Chicago was a long, 14 hours but Etihad provided some great service. There was plenty of food including 2 hot seafood meals, Klondike bars, and caramel corn, and drinks. The only downside for me was that my headphones didn’t work, so there were no movies on the flight for me.


When we arrived, Nirvana Travel met us and led us through Customs very smoothly. They did a retina scan on us as well as part of the processing. After claiming our bags, we were given roses, left the airport, and went to our hotel. I am staying at the Beach Rotana (5 Stars)! It has been very nice. There is fresh fruit and bottled water in our rooms each day. The only down side is no free wi-fi. The room though, is serviced 3 times a day! In fact, here is a picture of my room:

Yesterday, I went to the Marina Mall with some other teachers and we visited the Carrfour-think Wal-Mart on steroids. The food selection is tremendous, including fresh fish, spices and produce from around the world. There is everything I could get in the US and more! After that, we went to visit the Emirate Palace (a 7 Star Hotel). WOW! It sure was beautiful and grand. We also stopped and visited their Embroidery Exhibit. It was amazing.

Finally, last evening, I met up with several other teachers and we went next door to the Abu Dhabi Mall and had dinner. Since Ramadan is going on right now, we had to wait until 8 PM to eat (it is illegal to eat or drink anything in public during the daylight hours). By the time I got back to the room for bed it was 11 PM. I will have to learn to become a Night Owl and take naps during the day to keep up with everyone!

Anyway, I have to run now to get off to my orientation. I will try to post again in a couple of days. Bye, for now!