Rose Of Dawn
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Eejanaika (Fuji-Q Highland)
Yesterday afternoon, I got back from what's quite possibly the biggest trip of my life.
I've done trips to several parks across Europe, and as a teenager I had several holidays to the USA, but last year I really got an urge to go somewhere completely different.
For the past few years, I'd become obsessed with Hong Kong, so I started arranging what would've been just a week long trip to the city. I then thought about adding Japan to the trip as well, as it's a place I'd wanted to visit since a child. When looking at flights, I saw that flying with Etihad would give me a stopover in Abu Dhabi, so I added a few days in the UAE to go to Ferrari World and visit the Burj Khalifa.
During this trip, I went to nine different parks: IMG Worlds of Adventure, SEGA Republic, Ferrari World, Hong Kong Disneyland, Ocean Park, Tokyo Disney Sea, Tokyo Dome City Attractions, Fuji-Q Highland and Tokyo Disneyland.
Before going on this trip, I hadn't been away for more than a few days since a trip to Florida back in 2007. To say I was excited would be an understatement!
Monday 12 September
Accommodation: Yotel Heathrow
My first flight (of many) was from Heathrow to Abu Dhabi. To give myself a stress-free start, I wanted to stay over as close to the airport as possible, so I opted to stay over in the terminal itself, at Yotel Heathrow.
Yotel is designed for very short stays - essentially for people that have early flights, or just to get a few hours rest when they arrive. It's located in Heathrow Terminal 4, although it's hidden away somewhat. Rather than paying per night, you actually choose how many hours you wish to stay and they give you a price. It cost me around £72 for less than 12 hours.
I arrived with the onset of a cold coming, so wanted to crash as quickly as possible. Check-in was painless, and the guy behind the desk helped me to my room.
The rooms at Yotel are very compact. It's essentially a bed and a tiny bathroom, with a television located above your bed. It's very much no-frills. Despite this, I felt the room was quite nice! The bed was very comfy, the bathroom was decent, and there were plenty of amenities in the room. For a short stay, there wasn't much more I could ask for.
Not wanting to faff around with food too much, I decided to try the food available from Yotel themselves. I wasn't sure how to use the phone in the room to order it so I went to the front desk to request it. For £4.95, I got a ham and cheese panini, a packet of crisps and a bottle of root beer. Quite good value for money, considering the location! After this, I just crashed, using the alarm that came with the room to get up early the next day for my flight.
Despite being small, I'd recommend Yotel Heathrow for anyone with an early flight. It means less stress with arranging transport early in the morning, and the room is comfy enough for a few hours rest.
Tuesday 12 September
Airline: Etihad Airways
Accommodation: Royal Rose Hotel, Abu Dhabi
Getting through security at Heathrow was very smooth, especially taking into consideration the horror stories I'd heard in the past. There wasn't much to do in the terminal, so we boarded the flight as soon as we could.
Etihad are a fantastic airline. The food was probably the best I've had on a flight, and there was a great choice of in-flight entertainment. Onboard wifi is also an option, although I decided not to get it as I can live without internet access for a few hours. As I was sitting by the window, I got lots of great views of various mountains and desert terrain. The flight itself was less than seven hours.
Before stepping foot in Abu Dhabi, I'll admit I was worried. A month before travelling, I'd read about a trans woman who was denied entry to the UAE on the grounds of her gender identity. As the UAE is a conservative Muslim country, they come down very hard on LGBT people, where people do risk getting in trouble with the law simply for their sexuality or gender identity. I almost cancelled my stay in the country, and spoke at length with Etihad about it. They assured me that provided my travel documents match my gender, I'll experience no problems. I took their word for it, and I'm very glad to say they were right. There were no issues with passing customs, and I actually found everyone I spoke with to be very friendly.
After a short taxi ride, we arrived at our hotel. The Royal Rose is located in central Abu Dhabi, with close access to Abu Dhabi bus terminal and a number of shopping malls. It's a 5* hotel (the first I've ever stayed in), yet it was only £75 per night. This was probably the cheapest hotel of all in the trip, and it was by far the best.
The room was nothing short of spectacular. It came with a huge bed and massive bathroom. The view was fairly non-existent, but as I wouldn't be spending much time here it didn't bother me. I was very tired at this point, so I ordered some room service. I got an amazing chicken curry delivered to me in a very fancy way (with one of those metal things on top of the plate), ran a bubble bath and went straight to sleep. I'd be up early the next morning to have a day in Dubai, visiting the newly opened IMG Worlds of Adventure and going up the Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building!
I've done trips to several parks across Europe, and as a teenager I had several holidays to the USA, but last year I really got an urge to go somewhere completely different.
For the past few years, I'd become obsessed with Hong Kong, so I started arranging what would've been just a week long trip to the city. I then thought about adding Japan to the trip as well, as it's a place I'd wanted to visit since a child. When looking at flights, I saw that flying with Etihad would give me a stopover in Abu Dhabi, so I added a few days in the UAE to go to Ferrari World and visit the Burj Khalifa.
During this trip, I went to nine different parks: IMG Worlds of Adventure, SEGA Republic, Ferrari World, Hong Kong Disneyland, Ocean Park, Tokyo Disney Sea, Tokyo Dome City Attractions, Fuji-Q Highland and Tokyo Disneyland.
Before going on this trip, I hadn't been away for more than a few days since a trip to Florida back in 2007. To say I was excited would be an understatement!
Monday 12 September
Accommodation: Yotel Heathrow
My first flight (of many) was from Heathrow to Abu Dhabi. To give myself a stress-free start, I wanted to stay over as close to the airport as possible, so I opted to stay over in the terminal itself, at Yotel Heathrow.
Yotel is designed for very short stays - essentially for people that have early flights, or just to get a few hours rest when they arrive. It's located in Heathrow Terminal 4, although it's hidden away somewhat. Rather than paying per night, you actually choose how many hours you wish to stay and they give you a price. It cost me around £72 for less than 12 hours.
I arrived with the onset of a cold coming, so wanted to crash as quickly as possible. Check-in was painless, and the guy behind the desk helped me to my room.
The rooms at Yotel are very compact. It's essentially a bed and a tiny bathroom, with a television located above your bed. It's very much no-frills. Despite this, I felt the room was quite nice! The bed was very comfy, the bathroom was decent, and there were plenty of amenities in the room. For a short stay, there wasn't much more I could ask for.
Not wanting to faff around with food too much, I decided to try the food available from Yotel themselves. I wasn't sure how to use the phone in the room to order it so I went to the front desk to request it. For £4.95, I got a ham and cheese panini, a packet of crisps and a bottle of root beer. Quite good value for money, considering the location! After this, I just crashed, using the alarm that came with the room to get up early the next day for my flight.
Despite being small, I'd recommend Yotel Heathrow for anyone with an early flight. It means less stress with arranging transport early in the morning, and the room is comfy enough for a few hours rest.
Tuesday 12 September
Airline: Etihad Airways
Accommodation: Royal Rose Hotel, Abu Dhabi
Getting through security at Heathrow was very smooth, especially taking into consideration the horror stories I'd heard in the past. There wasn't much to do in the terminal, so we boarded the flight as soon as we could.
Etihad are a fantastic airline. The food was probably the best I've had on a flight, and there was a great choice of in-flight entertainment. Onboard wifi is also an option, although I decided not to get it as I can live without internet access for a few hours. As I was sitting by the window, I got lots of great views of various mountains and desert terrain. The flight itself was less than seven hours.
Before stepping foot in Abu Dhabi, I'll admit I was worried. A month before travelling, I'd read about a trans woman who was denied entry to the UAE on the grounds of her gender identity. As the UAE is a conservative Muslim country, they come down very hard on LGBT people, where people do risk getting in trouble with the law simply for their sexuality or gender identity. I almost cancelled my stay in the country, and spoke at length with Etihad about it. They assured me that provided my travel documents match my gender, I'll experience no problems. I took their word for it, and I'm very glad to say they were right. There were no issues with passing customs, and I actually found everyone I spoke with to be very friendly.
After a short taxi ride, we arrived at our hotel. The Royal Rose is located in central Abu Dhabi, with close access to Abu Dhabi bus terminal and a number of shopping malls. It's a 5* hotel (the first I've ever stayed in), yet it was only £75 per night. This was probably the cheapest hotel of all in the trip, and it was by far the best.
The room was nothing short of spectacular. It came with a huge bed and massive bathroom. The view was fairly non-existent, but as I wouldn't be spending much time here it didn't bother me. I was very tired at this point, so I ordered some room service. I got an amazing chicken curry delivered to me in a very fancy way (with one of those metal things on top of the plate), ran a bubble bath and went straight to sleep. I'd be up early the next morning to have a day in Dubai, visiting the newly opened IMG Worlds of Adventure and going up the Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building!