Both of us had Wednesday off. The only day this week that will happen. So we had to do something, right?

Doing something can be a little tricky here. It’s not a tourist destination, like Dubai, up the coast.

Abu Dhabi is far quieter (some would say “dull”), and more family-oriented … and it’s often also really hot. So, those who suggest there isn’t much to do (once you’ve decided you don’t want to go to a Western hotel and drink) … well,  they’re pretty much correct.

The mall pulled us into its orbit. The mall and, particularly, Bowling City.

Bowling is not something we do regularly. Maybe once … a decade?

But when you’re looking for an affordable date-night situation, the malls here almost certainly are going to enter into the conversation.

That’s where the movie theater is. That’s where the well-lighted open spaces are, with no cars with blaring horns about to run you over. The mall is where the A/C is cranked up to a pleasant 70 degrees or so.

And the Abu Dhabi Mall also is where Bowling City is.

This was Leah’s idea. It seemed like something familiar,  even though she couldn’t recall the last time she bowled. If nothing else, it was different than watching something on the sad collection of channels available in the apart-hotel. And a bit goofy, and when you’re in a culture that you can barely puzzle out, why not go for goofy?

Nothing like having a guy from India (I’m pretty sure) handing you two-tone bowling shoes … on the Arabian Peninsula … so you can bowl. Seems absurd, really.

The guy behind the counter also offered us socks, since all the Emiratis (and most of the expats) always always always wear sandals.  But we already had shoes, and didn’t need the socks, thanks.

So, we got to bowling. The place has a total of eight lanes. It’s a sort of odd “entertainment center,” actually. With a karaoki bar (a juice bar, presumably, since it’s in a public place, hence no booze) upstairs. And a half-dozen video games around the corner.

At least my first ball didn’t end up in the gutter. But I didn’t exactly roll a strike, either. My first game ended with me struggling through 10 consecutive open frames. I couldn’t pick up a spare to save my … dignity. I rolled a 79. Leah’s score was something less, even with a spare thrown in there, because she was taking turns sending a ball down the left gutter, then the right.

We decided to go for another game. I then was en fuego. Three consecutive spares. A strike (that was semi-bogus, because the hinky pin-setter knocked down the one pin that was actually still standing). Another spare in the 10th frame. I finished with a 146, which probably isn’t far off my all-time high. (Hard to imagine I ever have rolled a 200 game. I’m not that good, and I never have played often enough.) Leah was better in the second game, too.

The fun part was the video screen/electronic scoring on the monitors above our head. It identified itself as dating to 1994-95, and was made by Brunswick, and it made me wonder if the whole setup was taken apart from some dying bowling alley in Ohio and put back together again here on the fourth (top) floor of a mall halfway around the world. Maybe. The video machine would mock your open frames. (“You are officially OPEN for business!”)  Who needs that? We already knew we were struggling. Though no one seemed to be watching, which was good.

I was ready to go for a third game, but Leah tore off a nail, as she expected she might, and that was that. Too much fun. They charged us 15 dirhams per game per person, or 60 total. That’s about $17 U.S.  Is that the going rate for two people playing two games each,  these days? I have no idea. And no, they don’t give you a discount for playing more games. It’s 15 dirhams for every game. Whether it’s one game or 101.

We got out of our bowling shoes and headed out, passing the movie theater, which was showing that Vince Vaughn movie, “Couples Retreat” … which seems kinda racy for Abu Dhabi. It had a midnight showing … and maybe that’s the only time it’s shown? So the kiddies can’t see it? The rest of the mall closes at 10, I do believe. Anyway, we’ll have to check on that some other time.

Then it was down to, yes, the food court! About 10 choices there, and after making a circuit of a lot of the usual American stuff (Mickey D’s, Hardee’s, Subway and KFC, which is everywhere on the planet, I do believe) … and rejecting the Mexican option (by acclamation, no one in Abu Dhabi serves even vaguely decent Mexican food) … and we ended up back at Indian.

I ordered lamb kebab with rice. Leah ordered something else but what she got was tandoori chicken with rice. It took them about 10 minutes to pull it together, and we wondered what took so long. The lamb kebab, maybe? Oh, and we each had an Aquafina water for one dirham. That’s 27 cents. Imagine your fast-food place selling you a standard, 600-milliliter bottle of Aquafina for 27 cents. Won’t happen.

My lamb kebab with rice also came with fries. Don’t know what that was about. The kebab was spicy. Quite.  Too much for me. And Leah wasn’t all that keen on the tandoori chicken she hadn’t actually ordered, so we switched … and she was the one who ended up with the stomach ache.

She was thinking “Baskin-Robbins mint-chip ice cream” to finish off the night … but they didn’t have it in stock, and she wasn’t interested in anything else. And, at that moment, I could live without ice cream, too, and whenever you can say that, you should avoid the 1,000 calories, or whatever, and leave.

So, we moseyed out of the mall, stood in the long line for a cab, made the ride back to the hotel … stayed up late watching “When Harry Met Sally” on DVD on one of the laptops …

And that was our date night. I imagine we will have others rather like it.