Leaving Abu Dhabi today bound for Istanbul. Well, almost anyway. Got to the airport in plenty of time to check in, have some breakfast, and browse the duty free shops, only to be told that our flight had been delayed by 4 hours. First, and hopefully the last glitch of the trip. At least we won't be in a rush.

25/11/2012 - Arrived in Abu Dhabi around midnight last night. Good news, no lost luggage this time. Both bags arrived safely. It's 1am by the time we arrived at the hotel, 2am by the time we finally got to bed. Totally exhausted. Started our first day in a leisurely fashion. Late rise, late breakfast. After a quick look at the tourist map, we decided to take a walk up to the Abu Dhabi Mall - supposed to be quite something. Not. Just another shopping mall. ...

14 hours later and here we are in Abu Dhabi. Already been flying for 20hours and we're still only half way there. Now I know how people living on cattle stations feel! Anyway, Abu Dhabi. What a melting pot. Seems like every nationality feeds thru here on the way to somewhere else. The airport doesn't seem as flash as its big brother in Dubai. You can tell where all the flash cash has gone to - Dubai is all glitter and shiny and new. Abu Dhabi seems more "used",...

Well here we are in Dubai, after a long 14hour flight. A word of warning - don't let anyone tell you that the Airbus' are more comfortable, they're not!!!. Sore back, sore legs etc etc. Oh well, that's the worst part of the trip over. Just another 5 hours to Athens and then the trip can begin properly.