Besides it being my birth month, I was looking forward to October because of the promise of colder weather. Somehow it did deliver as promised, but in odd trickles and intervals. There were some mornings that were as vibrant as summer, but there were also a precious few that were as muted as Autumn.
It was a quiet month, for the most part. It was mostly us swinging along with the rhythm, having gotten the hang of things, sort of.
Ibis and Abu Dhabi - In reality I was quite anxious about this trip more than anything. Besides it being our first time in Abu Dhabi, it was the first time I'd be attending an organized race that we sponsored and I hadn't the faintest idea where to begin. It turned out I was psyching myself out for nothing - the entire event was as painless as a dentist visit.
What made the trip even better was our short stay in Abu Dhabi c/o Ibis Hotel. We had a last-minute booking done online and we arrived at half-past 9PM - far too late to enjoy anything in the city, yet we had a great time just the same. We had dinner at the poolside bar and restaurant in the 2nd floor, entertained by the friendliest staff we've ever met! Topping all of that off, we slept in THE softest bed ever. I loved the fluffy comforters! As you can see from the photos above, the room we got is actually an apartment-type one, complete with a kitchenette and a dining set, and a washing machine. We nearly booked in for another night! Surely in the future, Jed and I will be staying in Ibis again. 😂
So on the photo on the left I was actually trying to take a photo of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque while inside a moving cab. Obvs, I failed and got a nice shot of these date trees instead. During the summer we found that the date fruits from these trees were in fact harvested and either sold or kept for consumption. Neat!
The other photo is of the ramen we got in Ibn Battuta Mall while we waited for our bus to Abu Dhabi. I've already forgotten the name of the restaurant but we got it for cheap and was surprisingly pretty good! It even beat Motomachi's ramen, I'd say. We also got some of their (teeny-tiny) gyozas and chicken pops. I'm pretty sure I'll be ordering their ramen again when we return to Ibn Battuta.
Name Days - Soon after we got back from Adu Dhabi we had another reason to break out the booze: my (and Emman's) birthday! I'm not sure how Jed is faring as far as his experience living with two flaky Libras is concerned, but I think he's still sane to a degree. To celebrate, the three of us headed to Dagat-Dagatan and had a birthday seafood buffet, with a complimentary cake to commemorate our Name Day. 😂 I was so adamant on getting us two cakes instead of one because two people were celebrating but their one-cake-per-table policy got in the way, lol. It was completely fine though; we just stuffed ourselves some more with their seafood selection.
It was one of the more low-key celebrations I've had in a while, which I didn't mind one bit. Having another year to celebrate and being with good friends and my dearest Jed is more than enough.
Towards the end of the month we had another race organized, this time within Dubai. Finding a way to get to the sports complex proved to be such a challenge though, because apparently there aren't any public utility vehicles that drive around the area. My only option was to ride a cab at try to get there before 6AM, at least until my boss suggested we carpool with the other runners. We got to the complex a little before 5:45AM, just in time for the sunrise (photo above). The day turned out pretty great, actually. I crawled back to bed the moment I got back home and slept the day away. 😆
I'd say it's all good so far.
Is it too late to ask how your October went? I'd love to hear about it!
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