Because traversing 1/3 of the globe all at once seemed like a poor idea, I split our journey between Japan and Morocco into two parts; after leaving Tokyo, we spent two nights in Abu Dhabi in a posh hotel that we booked for cheap through Etihad Airline’s stopover program.
I have to admit that mostly we just stayed in the hotel, with occasional excursions to the nearby mall for Indian, Thai, and Lebanese food. (Normally, I find malls pretty unappealing. However, if they all had food courts like this one, I expect I’d like them a lot more.)
Other than the mall, the only exploring we managed was half-day trip to the desert. Normally, Theo is a pretty good traveler. On this particular day, well, he wasn’t.
Apparently, Theo hates deserts.
First, he cried because it was hot. Next, because there was sand. Later, because it was bright. Most enduringly, he cried because our car had to drive over dunes to reach the camp. This was apparently terrifying, even though we suggested it was supposed to be fun. Luckily, our guide and the two German guys who had the misfortune of being on the same tour as us were kindly good-humored about it all.
The one part of the day that Theo LOVED was feeding camels at a camel farm. For at least 10 minutes, he forgot to cry. (Then he remembered again.)
