Day 152: Travel Day – Nairobi to Abu Dhabi to Dubai
After a final breakfast at La Maison Royale (who totally redeemed themselves from our first stay), we were picked up by Robert – our guide from our first day in Nairobi – who brought us back to the airport. We arrived at 11AM, very early for our 2PM flight on Eithad, but we were hoping to get an hour or two to relax at the airport lounge. Good thing we arrived early – there was a massive line at the Eithad counter – we soon realized the line contained everyone on our flight. After a waiting 45min without the line moving an inch, we got frustrated asked what was going on – turns out the airport internet connect was cutting in and out, and the airlines were having trouble checking in their passengers!
Our Kenya SIM card still had some data on it, so we asked if we could just check-in via mobile, and bring our bags as carry-on – the attendant said sure, but before we had a chance to finish, she changed her mind and just told us to go into the first class line, where the computer was momentarily working, and check our bag as well. Not sure why we got bumped up in line, but we’re not going to complain! The attendant was able to get Igor’s boarding pass and our baggage ticket before the internet cut out again. She then ripped off a blank boarding pass ticket, and starting hand-writing Lindsay’s boarding pass! “Um, will they accept this at security?” Lindsay asked dubiously. “Yes, yes, you can go ahead.” O…K…
Navigating Nairobi traffic on our way to the airport. Before we even get into the airport grounds, Robert tells us we have to exit the car and walk through a metal detector, while the security agents inspect the car. Not sure to be impressed by the layer of security, or worried, as there was no one manning the metal detector
Lindsay’s hand-written boarding pass got her through security. Unfortunately, we discovered that our Priority Pass lounge was in the domestic terminal, not international, so we just walked by the Government VIP lounge with envy as we waited for our plane. We got super lucky when we boarded and the woman behind us in the exit row asked to switch seats with us, as her son was too young to sit there – score! We had tons of legroom, entertainment, and a three course meal with wine for our trip to Abu Dhabi.
We arrived in Abu Dhabi around 8PM. After an hour long wait at Immigration, we finally picked up our bag and headed to the car rental counter to pick up our brand-new but bare-bones 2016 Ford. The highway was pretty empty by the time we got out of the airport at 10PM, so the drive to our hotel only took about an hour and a half – especially with a 120KMPH speed limit with officially sanctioned 20KMPH wiggle-room.
We were starving by the time we checked-in and were about to start searching the hot and humid streets for take-out, when the hotel manager mentioned the grocery store behind the hotel was open until midnight. We were ecstatic! Dubai is one of the most expensive cities in the world, and we had booked a room with a kitchenette, hoping to save money on meals. We dashed over and picked up some pasta, eggs and fruit just as the poor guys were closing up. After a cheap – yet satisfying! – dinner, we finally called it a night.
Driving from Abu Dhabi to Dubai