1. Flight & 3. Stopover: Abu Dhabi

The first flight was already a big adventure for me. On one hand, there were three rows of seats next to each other, and on the other hand, there was not only one screen with movies, but you could also listen to music, watch series, or play games. I spent my time enjoying the family-friendly version of Taylor Swift's albums 'Midnights' (my favorite), 'The Tortured Poets Department,' and 'Red.' I also played a bit of Monopoly, lost to the computer (oh man), and started watching Zootopia. We were very hungry, so I devoured the food on the plane, which I would later regret, because there was chicken with rice and the chicken was a bit disgusting (not everyone can be as clever as Tina and just leave it). Unfortunately, they didn't have a vegetarian alternative. The rest of the time, I struggled to sleep and used Tina as a pillow, but I failed miserably.

Upon landing in Abu Dhabi, we walked through a huge airport where you could buy EVERYTHING with printed camels on it to reach our gate. As soon as we arrived, I swapped my sweater for a shirt. Meanwhile, the gate changed, so we set off on another long trek. The smoking areas in the airport were confusing, as they were sometimes located right next to the prayer rooms. During boarding, they collected our carry-on bags, triggering a personal crisis for me, as my printed visa was inside, which I would only realize on the plane.

As we like to say: 'The horrors persist.'

➡️ next stop: Mumbai