2019 - FIP Abu Dhabi: Day 5 - Sun 22 Sep: Abu Dhabi

29 - 40 deg C; 84 - 64 % humidity. Once the haze starts to burn off or lift, the humidity tends to drop a tad

We had an extra long breakfast this morning as everytime we were about to leave, someone else that we knew would arrive. We eventually left about 9:30am!

The rest of the morning was taken up with discussions and preparations for the next few days and having abit of downtime before the mayhem starts.

The FIP Congress Opening Ceremony started at 3pm so we all had to be in the hall and seated by 2:45pm. We started almost on time and the ceremony followed the usual programme of opening addresses by the various important people, myriad awards and entertainment by an artist using sand which was unique, unusual and entertaining, although you did have to pay attention to the first half of the show where the artist was depicting the history of the UAE, then later the history of the FIP. Our President was awarded an FIP Fellowship for services rendered not only to MEPS, but also FIP.

The Welcome Reception was held immediately following the opening ceremony where we were served mocktails and tiny bowls of fruit salad.

We hung around for a little longer than we should have and then found somewhere to have a proper dinner. After reviewing the options, the closest was a Lebanese restaurant just down the road called Mosaic. When I say just down the road, some of us could probably have walked there, but it was dark and hot and still quite humid. So, we all piled into taxis and made the five-minute journey there. Let's just say that we will probably not be going back in a hurry as some people got dishes they did not order and some of the meals, including mine, were not very nice at all.

By the time we got back to the hotel it was almost 10pm and well past bedtime.