we continued to wait for the limo and at 5pm it arrived and scott informed us that yes we were flying emirates and all would be organised at the airport - we drove across the peak district in lovely sunny weather
at the airport after an initial confusion we booked our luggage to dubai - i know we wanted to go to abu dhabi but we were assured that a limo would be there to take us to abu dhabi. a
after going through security and xray at manchester airport - my boarding pass completely and uterly disappeared - never to be seen again - i was reassured that having already gone through security meant that they would board me but it caused a little delay as they had to re print me another boarding pass to the annoyance of the boarding lady
as once we reached dubai etihads organisation was excellent as we were efficiently driven to our hotel by an emirates driver - the beach rotana - minor delays while the driver conferred with the local taxi drivers as he didnt know abu dhabi and didnt seem to have a gps
the hotel was comfortable and had an executive lounge which ian had organised so that we could eat and drink during the day as it was ramadan
we had a quick snooze and then ventured out on our sand dune and bbq safari - we were picked up by lafitte who drove his 4 wheel drive with 3 south africans - we seemed to have a real enjoyment of riding through the sand dunes at good speed and we at times flew over the crests of the dunes - our ride was interupted by a good bogging - it took the guys about 45 min to dig us out - the 2 females sensibly supervised as it was still in the high 30s and sun set hadnt yet occurred so we couldnt drink - finally the car was freed and we set off for a bbq dinner - camel steaks and sausages were tried
and a camel ride was experienced.
then next day we had organised a 4 hour tour of abu dhabi - we had our own driver and guide and we were taken around the mosque - unlike the uk we were able to take pictures but i had to dress all in black to go in
we visited the cultural centre the fish market and the date market then headed back to the hotel for an afternoon of rest
a post prandial walk after tea showed us that the temps hadnt fallen much and that it was still very humid
at about 1am ian decided to log on to etihad to organise our seating for the flights back to melbourne that evening
i awoke to ian "argueine/ discussing " with the operator as we somehow had been cancelled off the flight and we were told that we should already be in melbourne as they had booked us through with emirates - no we said we were still in abu dhabi - they had driven us there and we would like to get home - finally it was decided that it would be easier to fix things in the am when the etihad office next to the hotel would be open
we were up bright and early - ie 9am and headed down to the office - the lady was pleasant but not overly helpful and also implied that we should already be in melbourne as they had arranged - no we said we had paid for and had enjoyed our break in abu dhabi and going straight through had never been discussed with us. she finally suggested that she email her supervisor and see what she could do - we headed back for breakfast and awaited our phone call
i was beginnning to think that we were going to be stranded in abu dhabi in the heat and in ramadan when she rang back to tell us we could pick up the tickets - no apologies etc - perhaps i expect too much
we were picked up from the hotel and taken to the business entrance of the airport where porters picked up our cases and took us through customs and security- way to go!!!
a quick visit to the camel stall - new camels bought and off we took
cant complain about the etihad flights - wonderful - food good slept ok
had to get a taxi at the melbourne end as the limo had been cancelled when the flight was cancelled and it was too late to re book but we didnt care - we were home - safe and sound after a lovely holiday
