Day 1 (monday 8/12/08)
Arrived at abu dhabi during aidiladha at 12 midnight with my brother. my sister and mother decided to come 1 day later due to passport problems that is too long to discuss here. We were picked up by my uncle at abu dhabi airport. As we stepped out to the parking lot, I can smell the unfamiliar balsamy desert air that is very much different back home. The surrounding is also new to me as I walk along the streets lined with palm trees. Excitement fills me as I anticipate the days to come. The airport is surrounded by desert area that looks newly developed. Only a few clusters of newly constructed buildings can be seen.
Because of the long flight, we stopped for a quick bite at burger king on the way home. there are plenty of fast food joints over here like malaysia. But the price of food here is quite expensive as you have to fork out double the amount of what you usually pay back home, but the portion of food is bigger here so I don't mind much. As soon as we reach home, we chatted for a while before going to sleep.
In the morning, my uncle and brother went to a local mosque to perform eid ul adha prayer. I just stayed at home with my aunt and cousins and watched a live telecast of haji from mekah. In the evening, we went to a shopping mall called marina mall coz it's just by the corniche (a public beach). The mall is pretty much like mid valley mall in kl except it is filled with arab women in their black jubahs and their men in white. Another thing i noticed is that the arabs like to take their small children/infant with them everywhere as couples pushing baby stollers are everywhere in many different shapes and sizes. it was quite a sight as i rarely see so many people with baby strollers at shopping malls in malaysia. We stayed around until about 11pm before heading home.
