I flew from Budapest, Hungary, to Abu Dhabi, but the following illustration shows how far from home I was on this trip.
I have always seen the Emirates football (soccer) jerseys and Emirates Airlines’ amazing first-class service on social media. An Uber driver once told me it was not expensive, and I have been intrigued ever since.
When I bought the Wizz Air all-you-can-fly pass, Abu Dhabi and Dubai were at the top of the list. When I planned my European trip in the fall of 2024, I kept checking the standby availability and accommodation options. I was able to make it happen after Austria with a little logistics. I took a Flix bus from Vienna to downtown Budapest, Hungary, and an Uber to the airport. Once I arrived (hungover AF), I had a few hours to spare for my six-hour direct flight. Holy shit, it was happening!
I was still fired up from the reality that I was actually in Abu Dhabi and got to visit Dubai too. Once I arrived at my hostel, I went outside as they had a nice courtyard to relax. The first person I met was who we all called Bahrain, as that is where he was from, and that was easy to remember, and what an absolute GEM.
He was wearing a traditional men’s abaya, smoking cigarettes, and drinking a beer. 
Over the next several days, Baharan (left), Syria (right), and I would spend a good amount of time talking about life.
Baharan (left) could not speak English, so a lot needed interpreting, but his body language and animation made it pretty clear what was going on most times. I was constantly laughing at him, and he knew it, so he kept up the entertainment.
We were visiting the Presidential Palace and then had lunch at a Yemeni restaurant! 
The manager sat with us and sent me home with some tea from Yehman that they use with their tea. Yummy!!
After lunch, Bahrain dropped me off at the airport and gave me one of these traditional headscarves.
I was headed back to London on my way back to America, as I was at the end of my trip after visiting Varna, Bulgaria, Vienna, Austria, Budapest, Hungary, and both London Gatwick and Heathrow areas of London.
I wrote a post on a day trip to a camel farm, and here are a few more pictures from my visit!
The amazing architecture in Abu Dhabi is almost impossible to share, so I added a Google link here to help share what I saw in the five days I was there. I also made a day trip to Dubai, but I will post about that amazing trip.
