December 24, 2014. It's the day before Christmas. My day has just started while more than half a day has already passed back in the Philippines.

Christmas 2013 with my family back in the Philippines

I've just finished my breakfast and I'm preparing for my lunch as I write this post, while I'm sure my household back home is now  busy preparing for tonight's Noche Buena.

I'm living alone away from home, Mark and I won't be seeing each other until the weekend, both my flatmates are out on vacation, add the fact that I'm in a country who doesn't celebrate Christmas, so it's a bit of a struggle, no, make that it's definitely a struggle, for me to get through today.

And even just going through some old Christmas photos is giving me tears. And yes, I am missing home, big time!

Mark decided to bring me to Ski Dubai in Mall of the Emirates one fine weekend. Will get into the details of our adventure in my next post. :) Before wandering into the snow, Mark chose to have some snacks first. He has been raving about Shake Shack ever since he first got to try their burgers so I wasn't surprised when his feet and his (always-)hungry stomach led us to this burger joint. And although I know he is on a strict diet as he is preparing for an upcoming competition, it suddenly became his cheat day! Haha!

SmokeShack™ Single - 38.00 AED

SmokeShack™ Double, SmokeShack™ Single, and Cheese Fries

Ordering was a breeze but choosing what to have, well at least for me, was sort of a torture. Everything in the menu seemed to be heavenly! Good thing the staff that attended to us was nice (and patient) enough to deal with our undecided minds. :p

Once there were two soulmates who vowed to travel and explore the world. On their quest for a new adventure, they were lost in an unknown city and were led by their curious minds and feet to an enchanted train which brought them to an experience like no other. They came by to visit the pyramids in Egypt, conquered the mountain ranges in Andalusia, explored the vast lands of Tunisia, had a quick stop at India, then flew to Persia, diverted to India, and finally decided to watch a movie in China....all in just one day!

Alright. Fine. Nope, I'm not crazy. Homesickness has not taken over my sanity, just yet. Haha! But seriously, it's just that there's this mall in Dubai which is so grand and awesome that I can't even find words to describe it.

Chinese Junk in China Court, Ibn Battuta Mall

I've always dreamed of travelling the world, and although I know that it won't be very soon that I'll get to live that dream, Ibn Battuta Mall has somehow made me cross a few destinations out from my list. Haha! :p

Ibn Battuta Mall, the world’s largest themed shopping mall (yet another world record for Dubai), has six different themes based on the travels of the 14th Century Arabic Explorer, Ibn Battuta. Every section was carefully crafted which makes guests feel and relive the travels of the great explorer.

Mark took me out on a dinner date one weekend after we heard an anticipated mass at St. Mary's Church in Oud Metha. And because BurJuman is just a few blocks away from our house, it instantly became the venue of our dinner dates.

Dinner Date ♥

St. Mary's Church in Oud Metha, Dubai

There are a number of restaurants and cafes in BurJuman but Hatam Restaurant was the first one that we got to try. I guess it was also a plus that it was the one nearest to the escalator where we came from. Haha! :p

We concluded my first weekend in Dubai with a dinner date by the Dubai Creek. Mark chose this restaurant because he says that the food here is good. He would usually stop by this restaurant for some gastronomic treat before heading to the camp. It is also just a few walks away from the Al Ghubaiba metro station and near the bus station to Abu Dhabi.


There's an air-conditioned part of the restaurant, where the kitchen is also situated, but we chose to have an al fresco dining experience.