After seven months in in my little corner of the sandbox, I finally ventured out to explore more of it.
Landed at midnight in Dubai, where I was so kindly picked up by a colleague and brought to my cousin’s flat.
I was all for calling it a night- it had been a long day at work and I’d made a dash for the airport – but surprise, we were going out instead!
Nothing to complain about when my cousin and his lovely wife took me to VII at the Conrad. 🙂 I like the Conrads in Hong Kong and Singapore, and the Dubai property did not disappoint either.
Loved hanging out on that outdoor deck with the breeze (artificial, to be sure), looking over the big, glitzy city.
The next morning found Clancy and I aboard the bus to Abu Dhabi. (There’s Wi-Fi on these buses, which really helped while I tried to figure out my roaming data. Props to a very helpful customer service team at Ooredoo.)
You know how sometimes when you arrive in a city and you just know that you like it there? That’s the positive vibe I got as we rolled into the emirate.
Soon enough my bossy gremlin krung-krung partner and I reunited, she hustled us into a cab, up a building, into a colleague’s flat for the quickest outfit change I have ever had to do, and then back down into another colleague’s car and we drove to the marina for a fine afternoon aboard a party yacht. 🙂
Free-flowing alcohol, music, hot people, unlimited sunshine, the beautifully clear expanse of the Gulf against cloudless skies… what more could you ask for on a FriYAY holiday?
The universe was not done being awesome just yet.
I got an invitation to cruise around the corniche area. At sunset. On a Jet Ski. Owned by a hot guy whom I had literally just met a few minutes earlier. :p What the heck, yolo and all that.
That was nice. That was a very Abu Dhabi moment.
And when we circled around to where we’d left the yacht, it was no longer there. (Thanks, friends.)
What to do yanni?
So we stopped off the beach, went for a swim , and it was right up there with the sunset as one of my favorite UAE memories so far.
Hot guy dropped me off at the marina, and Van and I went to have dinner with our other friends. We’ve always been family, and it is truly heartwarming (I say it without the slightest irony or sarcasm) to know that the ties remain across time and distance.
That was an absolutely lovely, lovely evening, further reinforcing my feeling that Abu Dhabi would not be a bad relocation choice.
But the universe still was not done being awesome.
Hot guy picked me up (all dressed up, in his Beemer, looking as charming as hell) past midnight and I got a taste of the city’s nightlife. Nothing like being with the locals (or at least resident expats) to really get the feel of a place, eh?
What happens in Abu Dhabi, definitely stays in Abu Dhabi! 🙂
The next day found me back in #titasofAbuDhabi mode with Van as we enjoyed a dim sum brunch at Shang Palace.
And all too soon it was time to catch the shuttle back to Dubai, where the countrymen onboard were kind enough to help with directions and get me into a cab to the airport.
The cabbie was a nice man who earnestly advised me to find a good boyfriend and get married because I was missing out on life, and the immigration officer back in HIA surprised me with a “How are you?”
Me (tanned and smiling broadly) I had an excellent weekend, thank you.
*****
Love you, UAE. I shall be back.
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