Travelling from KL to Abu Dhabi

I have been in UAE for more than a month now. I actually arrived on January 29 (after a few days notice from my company). My assignment was to handle warranty cases in a power station situated some 250km southwest of Abu Dhabi. So now, bored with life here in the barren desert, I finally found myself blogging. Wow... I never thought I would do this. But there's always the first time huh? But there's lots to write to cover my first month here. So I'll start today describing my travel from KL to Abu Dhabi.

I boarded a Qatar Airways flight from KLIA to Abu Dhabi with a 6-hour layover at Doha Airport. The flight itself was uneventful. Although services are quite acceptable on Qatar Airways, I find the male stewards a bit arrogant and unfriendly. There was an LCD screen showing movies and sometimes flight details. I was abit puzzled by a display showing a compass with an arrow pointing to a black dot. At first I though that must be the direction of my destination city - Doha. But later I found out that it was actually the Kaabah at Mecca.

The Doha Airport itself was actually a small airport. The funny thing about this international airport is that it does not have aerobridges. Therefore, one has to walk down a flight of stairs from the plane and board a bus that brings one to the terminal building. Once in the terminal building, you will be ushered to either the immigration counters or the transit lounge. The airport is pretty small and manageable. But it could be horribly boring if you were to spend 6 hours in transit. To make it worse, my onward flight was delayed and I had to be in Doha Airport for 7 hours. Thank God there was some Internet PCs available for free allowing me to pass some time. Wi fi is available but quite weak.

The food outlets were expensive. Imagine an A&W burger with root bear cost RM28! It's broad daylight robbery! But that's probably the most reasonable thing to munch on. There are some cafes which are more expensive. And the nearby food court serves food that do not look at all appetizing.

The duty free zone is small and offers some duty-free watches, perfumes, chocolates and liquor. Funny, liquor in an Islamic country. The entire zone can be covered within minutes unless you really have something in mind to purchase. Another funny thing about this little airport is that there doesn't seem to be a single FOREX counter within the transit lounge. As a result, I had no choice but to use USD for my purchases - not to mention the change would be given after a not-so-nice exchange rate conversion.

Nevertheless, the service within the transit lounge was quite good. The entire place was neat, clean and tidy. It has a modern feel to it - something like a bigger version of Senai Airport. The staff were friendly and offers any assistance as required by travellers. There is this Arab lady who would walk up and down the lounge announcing the next flight and making sure that nobody misses his/her flight out. She also directed me to my gate when I first arrived in the lounge. Most of the staff are actually Indians - the janitors, waiters, shop attendants, maintenance crew etc. This is a scene I would later see in Abu Dhabi as well. The overwhelming number of expatriates in the Middle East (especially Indians and Filipinos) make the entire region look more like India. I mean, if you have blindfolded me and brought me into the region announcing that I've reached India, I may actually believe it. I may ask why the desert? But then there are some barren landscape in India. I may have asked why Arabic words, but there are some parts of India near the Pakistani border which uses Arabic script. So yup, I could have been in India.

My flight to Abu Dhabi from Doha was to take only an hour. After 7 hours of waiting, only an hour to my final destination. Abu Dhabi airport was small and very crowded compared to Doha. As you enter the terminal building it feels as if you are entering a queen ant's nest or something like that. There is this magnificent structure in the middle of the building that I could not quite describe. I was in a rush and therefore did not spend any more time in the terminal. I had to collect my Visa and make my way out as I was already 1 hour late. Outside of the terminal I was received by my driver who would whisk me away in the night into the cold desert.

2 hours later, I reached Ruwais. This small oil town settlement is the source of Abu Dhabi's oil wealth. It is said that there is enough oil reserves to last for more than 100 years. More than 90% of UAE's oil wealth comes from Abu Dhabi. But this barren place is 250km from civilization. So alas, after almost 24 hours of travelling, transit, waiting etc. I've finally arrived at my destination - Ruwais. I was too tired to think of anything else but to just hit the bed when I reached my room. This is the beginning of my life in UAE. Would it be a fulfilling experience? Would I fall in love with this country or would I abhor it? Would I survive the next few months here? Would I miss home? I'll just have to stay on see.