So here we are. 8 months living in the UAE. Seriously, how does time go so fast??? With the world being in lockdown, we thought it was about time to start up the blog again and write about some of our adventures to remind us that this isn’t forever and the longer we isolate now, the better our future will be.
Anyway, we lived in Spain for a year and did a terrible job of keeping up with the blog so we’re not going to let the same happen again! Watch out for some Spanish posts though as we’re going to add some on about places to visit and things to do as we really did have the best year and visited awesome places!!
So, Abu Dhabi. Where do I even start?? Flying in from Manchester, the first thing I noticed was the fact I could actually see our apartment from the aeroplane!!! Only finding out the evening before we flew where we were going to be living was a bit daunting but after a quick google search, we knew we’d be okay!! We live in Gate Tower 2 which is the middle one of the trio and this is a view from one the pools.
Now you can understand how we could see it from the aeroplane!! We have not 1 but 3 outdoor swimming pools on the complex and I think there are 4 gyms but as I don’t go, I’m not sure!!! Our journey was bizarre as we were sat next to somebody who was also flying over to work for the same company. Then we landed and it turned out the place was FULL of people working for the same company, haha! None of us quite knowing what was going to happen when we stepped off the plane or what on earth to expect. But safety in numbers and all that. We suddenly felt very safe and relieved that we weren’t in this alone.
A million things are going through our heads. Are we wearing acceptable clothing?? Will our bags get stopped?? Will we be interrogated?? Obviously, everything was FINE!!! Just a normal airport going through the usual motions. Sigh of relief breathed!! In my email I’d homed in on the ‘you must get your e-visa stamped’ so I was obsessed with making sure it was stamped. Of course it was, haha! So now all the new staff are greeted by reps from the schools, who look stressed as they’re frantically trying to make sure they get everybody accounted for and onto the right bus. Then, to throw even more chaos into the mix, virgin mobile and etislat are there selling their SIM cards so everybody then panics and queues up to get a SIM. Not being the best at on the spot decisions, I think we are the only ones who just got leaflets from both and went away and thought about it, haha.
Fast forward a little bit and we’re on the bus to the apartment. I really don’t know how to describe our initial thoughts on the landscape. These words spring to mind: barren, odd skyscrapers, roads and cranes. I know I’m not selling it but I really couldn’t think of much else – until we drove past the mosque. WOW!! Could only see it from a distance but that was enough to still be in awe of its beauty. Then, the closer we got to the city, the skyscrapers came into view and it looked more like what I’d imagined.
Fast forward a little bit more and we’re in our apartment on the 27th floor of a huge building and it’s amazing! We have a wonderful view and we instantly feel at home. A nap was definitely needed then and whilst we dozed, we thought about the SIM cards and opted for Virgin media and felt better that we’d been able to think about it. With a couple of people we met on our travels, we went to the mall (which is ludicrously big) to sort it out and had our first chicken shawarma! This was of course our first of many.
So, first day done and we were really happy and relieved with how smooth it had all gone – we knew we’d be happy here.
Look out for more posts on life in Abu Dhabi including beaches, parks, landmarks and of course the infamous brunches.
Take care xx