Sunrise in Abu Dhabi
After a too short stay in Jakarta, I flew Etihad to Amsterdam, stopping in Abu Dhabi. The eight hour flight to Abu Dhabi did not serve a meal after departure, while breakfast was a shitty warmed up fried pastry. How the mighty have fallen.
I was going to have a long enough stopover in the UAE, so I had been looking for short excursions from the airport, but only found vague offers, and activities that didn’t interest me much, and were immensely overpriced.
But, I should have done this research earlier, as I found a claim that Etihad gives you two free hotel nights if you stay on a longer stopover in Abu Dhabi. Though I soon learned I probably have to take that with a big grain of salt.
This, because I also found an announcement, from as recent as March, that Etihad customers, on their stopover, get a free Abu Dhabi pass, a tourist pass for transport and a bunch of activities. Except, actually getting it was not at all obvious, and when I went through the trouble of talking to the pass’ Helpdesk, a difficult discussion later, I was told the offer no longer existed, not even a year after it was announced.
I could still get the pass, but only if I also purchased two activities for it, while it also would not get me transport from the airport. As an example, the city’s hop-on-hop-off, also not leaving from the airport, would cost an insane 100 dollars. Other activities were similarly absurdly priced.
Searching around a bit more, I found a free shuttle to Yas island, which is where the decadent Ferrari World is located. Not that I wanted to enter, as this would cost another 100 euros or so, but the building is interesting.
The shuttle only leaves a few times a day, but because my flight was set to arrive very early, it would be possible to get the shuttle, admire the architecture, and get back to the airport in time for the second leg of my journey.
But then, arriving at the airport, first discovering the ‘Yas lounge’, I was told the shuttle was only free for those who had booked something on the island.
Public transport to Yas island, though quite near to the airport, would require a transfer with middling connectivity. An Uber would be affordable, but could I be sure to get wifi once in Yas?
The regular city bus, however, only costs about a euro for a ride. So, I revisited the city of Abu Dhabi, for the first time in 13 years.
I arrived early, balked at the high prices for restaurant food, got myself a freshly made meal at a small supermarket instead, and enjoyed sunrise at Rotana Beach.