Violent Sandstorm Strikes!

A violent sandstorm struck UAE on Friday. After days of strong winds blowing sand and a mild sandstorm on Thursday, the big one came! The storm coincided with my weekend trip to Abu Dhabi so I had the opportunity to experience it first hand. I was waiting for my bus at Ruwais station when the sandstorm gathered strength. By the time I got onto the bus, there was a thick layer of sand powder on my forehead. Sand was in my ears, nostrils and hair. The wind was extremely strong packing high volumes of sand across the highway as the bus made its way to Abu Dhabi. You can hardly see anything out there in the desert and everyone was covering their face. Palm trees bent down under the heavy sand and strong wind. It looked very grim and frustrating outside. I made it to Abu Dhabi safely. In a way, it was good that I was in Abu Dhabi as the full effect of the sandstorm was filtered out by the tall buildings in the city. There was some sand blowing in the city but was mild compared to even the usual sand-blowing conditions in Ruwais. The weather was slightly stuffy at 35degC and it was hazy throughout Friday thanks to the sandstorm. A bit of a dampener on my holiday mood but I enjoyed myself in the shopping malls instead (but not after a bath to remove all the sand!)
Thankfully, the storm abated by the end of the day. The next day was a beautiful day with cool temperature. After days of hot weather, the mercury seems to have plunged to around 20degC and wind was chilling. At night, it went down to below 20degC which was great!
So, I've survived my first sandstorm! (Proud of it somehow) Sandstorm is a nasty experience especially if you need to be outdoors. The feeling of sand making its way into every single orifice of your body is not a nice feeling! The feeling of sand particles hitting you at 20knots is also not nice. But the worst of all was when I returned to my camp after the weekend and found a bit of the desert has shifted into my room! Yup, even with all the doors and windows tightly shut, the sand made its way into the room through any small gaps. That was how strong the wind was on that fateful sandstorm Friday! So after my holiday trip, I need to do some cleaning! Oh well... maybe I'll just leave it to the cleaners and sleep...