From the following day onwards, my health started deteriorating. I must have started feeling the intense heat and tiredness, a complete switch from what I was used to daily in Japan. In any case, I knew that my time here is limited, so I wanted to make the most of it.
Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, is quite different from its neighbouring emirate - the glitzy and glamorous Dubai. Siwe had a day off on this day and was able to take some time off so we could have a quick getaway. We planned to go kayaking at Anantara Eastern Mangroves Abu Dhabi Hotel. After having refreshing smoothies for breakfast, and me failing to return the rented bicycle, we made our way to Abu Dhabi, enjoying G-Unit's music as I was entrusted to be the DJ. We made it just in time for our booking and enjoyed the beautiful sunset while getting a good arm workout. Amazingly, you can find such a thriving body of water and life in a desert nation. The purple and black crabs, in particular, were very mesmerizing.
After kayaking, we shared a heartfelt conversation with our guides and headed off to our hotel in the city centre. I had booked for us to stay at the Sheraton, but we accidentally drove to the wrong Sheraton. It turns out there are two Sheratons in Abu Dhabi, but I wasn't aware of this at all. From this point on, our host of problems started. We ended up having a string of bad luck until we eventually went to bed. Murphy's law was in full effect for us.
Upon arriving at the actual Sheraton I booked for us, parking was an absolute nightmare. The room I got was also completely different from what I booked, and when I reported it to the lady that kindly helped us with checking in, I was told that what they have on the system and the room do match. Of course, this was incorrect, I kindly explained. We eventually got the proper room, but it was still not great at all, it was subpar, and not up to the Sheraton quality/standard that I have been exposed to before. Nonetheless, we still wanted to make the most of our time in this city, so we planned to go out for the evening, but it was also nightmarish.
In contrast to Dubai, taxis in Abu Dhabi are very few, and most of them only accept cash as payment. COVID restrictions were also taken very seriously in Abu Dhabi, as security at hotels' bars were diligently checking if people had the Alhosn app, the official COVID-19 status app of the UAE. I was not even aware of this app's existence, and Siwe, living in a different emirate, also did not have it installed. After many attempts at various places, and with little luck with taxis, ATMs, and entering bars, we decided to go find some fun close to the hotel, somewhere within walking distance. However, that was also a failure. By this time, a lot of establishments were also sadly closed. We had dinner at the hotel's pub, and the food and drinks we wanted to order from the menu were also out of stock. It honestly felt like the day couldn't get any worse, and luckily it didn't.
We knew that in the comfort of the hotel's pub, we would be okay. After catching up over dinner, we called it a night as we were emotionally, physically and mentally tired. The long catch-up session was very heartfelt, and I got to know my brother on a deeper level.
