Travelling with the Family
Iain D McGregor
Just how had we managed to get ourselves assembled at Glasgow Airport one dull January morning in 1975, hoping to find fame and fortune, and a place in the sun? Our destination was the developing city of Abu Dhabi in the Arabian Gulf.
I had been a regular visitor to the Gulf countries for several years working on sea water desalination plants. Whereas Scotland had reserves of oil and copious quantities of fresh water, these small countries bordering the Gulf had enormous reserves of oil, but very little water. They needed more water for their rapidly expanding populations. Their existing desalination plants were not operating well and needed improvements as well as new equipment.
Apparently, the World Bank had been involved in assisting these Gulf countries to invest their new oil wealth, and was asked to give advice on the water problem. A delegation was sent to examine the situation, and their main advice was to 'get yourselves some engineers.' I must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was selected to be one of these engineers. I had a young family and the last thing I wanted was to be stuck in the desert for months on end. I had to have my family with me. This was agreed, and so there we were, all packed up and ready for the early morning flight to Heathrow.
Our departure was not without some sadness. My father had been in retirement for some years following a stroke, and in the months preceding our departure, he did appear to be ageing quickly. I guessed, correctly, that I might never see my father again.
Our spirits lifted with the plane, and above the clouds it was sunny and bright. Five-year-old Mandy, on her first flight, gazed out the window - her big brown eyes in wonderment at the sudden transformation from the gloom below to the sun above. "Will we see God up here?" she asked. We didn't.
The adventure started, it went from better to better. Heathrow and the walk from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 was easy. 'Security' consisted of showing our new passports at the Departure desk, and a short wait before our flight was called. Our tickets were for First Class on Gulf Air, calling in at Beirut for refuelling. Take-off from London was dead on the dot of 11 a.m. The hostess brought along lemonade just before take-off, and made sure we were all comfortable. Christine, always the good mum, thought the bairns might be a little parched after their morning excitement, and passed the lemonade over to them.
The air hostess seemed a little surprised at this. Eight-year-old Karen screwed up her face and didn't like it one bit. It was then we learned of the difference between champagne and lemonade!
Beirut! Quiet, warm, winter sunshine! What a pleasant temperature, and to see and feel the sun on our faces as we walked to the terminal building. Was this what life held in store for us? This was, of course, just before their civil war, and the family were a bit surprised to see a guard at the bottom of the aircraft steps holding a very large gun. However, it was not pointing in our direction. After winter in the West of Scotland, it was a change to spend an hour on the airport terminal's warm balcony awaiting the next flight to Abu Dhabi.
Our arrival there was in the dark and the local time was nearing midnight. We showed our passports and collected our luggage, which had survived the two transfers, as in these days it had to be collected after each flight and taken to the next check-in desk. After a minor delay at 'Arrivals', we were met by a gentleman in full Arab gear, ushered into a very large white American station wagon, and driven to the Strand Palace Hotel. The fame of 'The Strand' is still noted in the 1993 edition of 'The Lonely Planet' guide to the Arab Gulf States.
Under 'Dangers and Annoyances', it quotes - "Abu Dhabi is generally a pretty safe city. What passes for 'low life' can usually be found in the vicinity of the Strand Hotel on Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum St."
It lived up to its reputation. We had two single beds for four of us. The cockroaches, never before seen by the family, were good examples of their kind. The harmless geckos that raced around the stained and peeling walls and ceiling looked like ferocious mini-crocodiles. I didn't tell them of the pet rat which was a regular at the bar downstairs and was fed crisps by the regulars.
The room had curtains - mostly lace, but originally of thin cotton, and hung limply from rusty steel rods. The bed-sheets matched the curtains - thin, dull grey and lacy. All this after First Class from London!
The girls held tightly to their mother.
To try to stem the family's tears, I had a bright idea. "I can't do anything about the Hotel now. We'll have to wait till morning. It's still early for us. Let's go outside for a walk in the pleasant night air and I'll show you what a city in the desert looks like."
We went out. The rain came on! The rain leaked into electrical junction boxes throughout the city - blue sparks, splutters, blackness. We had arrived in Abu Dhabi!
The following day we were transferred to a brand new hotel, so new in fact that they were still building it. Life in Abu Dhabi had its ups and downs, fortunately mostly ups. It was home to us for most of the next 25 years. Oh, and they now have a water production capacity of over 600 million gallons per day, almost enough to supply the whole of London.
