Abu Dhabi...is a major bust

Well, I’m having some really unfortunate luck today. Apparently there have been tensions brewing between the Canadian and UAE governments for some time now, culminating in massive visa restrictions for Canadians effective January 1, 2011. Which means I am not allowed to leave the Abu Dhabi airport. At all. Damn I wish I had brought my Australian passport along too. Apparently I have Air Canada to thank for this…the root cause of the escalating issue is apparently a desire by Emirates and Etihad to fly into major Canadian cities, but Air Canada is unhappy about the competition this prospect would pose. Aka, AC likes their monopoly and hopes to continue ripping off Canadians to whatever extent they can. As a traveler, I find them pretty nauseating, and avoid Air Canada whenever possible. However Etihad is also underwhelming me. When I checked in this morning they dinged me $300 extra for my luggage weight – and made me include the hand luggage weight in this fee as well. All in all they have been incredibly useless and unhelpful. I won’t be flying them again. So disappointing too, after hearing many stories about how luxurious they are. I’d say Emirates has nothing to worry about with these guys. So, to kill 14 hours at the airport, I will get caught up on my blog and some photos.  

Abu Dhabi is a BUST…