FUJAIRAH – ROAD TRIP WITH THE GIRLS

My friends Christina and Katherine are leaving the UAE and will be moving to Europe by the end of July. So we planned a road trip to Al Aqah Fujairah and booked our stay at the Intercontinental Resort.

The adventure started at 5AM when I had to drive from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. I picked up Christina at around 6:45AM and drove to Mimi’s place. We then had breakfast at 8ish and picked up Katherine at 10AM and embarked to Fujairah.

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We made a quick stop at the petrol station to get coffee and few snacks and arrived at the hotel at around 1PM.

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We had an awesome time hanging out by the pool, walking on the beach, we even had dinner at a fancy restaurant and enjoyed we enjoyed the hotel’s breakfast the next morning with unlimited COFFEEEE. ICE COFFEE, AMERICANO, LATTE, CAPPUCCINO, MY FAVOURITE TURKISH COFFEE……..

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We had the best time ever and wished we did it before rather than a farewell get together.

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I highly recommend the resort. It’s a 5 star hotel and has all the facilities and private beach access with the view of the mountains.

We had an amazing girls trip which was definitely needed.

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February 2019 Recap

I can’t believe we have entered the end of Q1 2019 and it feels like we’ve done nothing so far. Well I’m starting to get a kick start of what I want to do with my life and I’ve been just busy reading and doing lots of research.

For now, we will  put our travel plans on hold because we have lots of things and those plans will affect our finances especially that I’m unemployed it makes it difficult.

However being free also helps me manage our paper work and follow up with necessary documents. I can’t really share what we will be doing but once something comes to place then I will share it with you.

Destinations we’ve visited

Like I said 2019 will be quiet and we have nothing planned yet. However, Tim and I have been going out on weekends to meet up with friends and family so for 2019, we will focus on places we’ve visited in the UAE and particularly Abu Dhabi.

We might be travelling this year to our home countries but other than that nothing planned.

Highlights of the month

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  • Did a semi Abu Dhabi tour with my uncle. (Visited the Car Museum and Warner Bros

 

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What I watched?

Netflix Specials and Series:

The Fix: Humorous way to handle world problems. This show makes me laugh.

Narcos Mexico: I haven’t finished it yet but I’m actually enjoying it.

Perfume: I enjoyed the movie so I thought the series would be interesting to watch but I hated it. This is just my opinion.

Conan Without Borders: So I decided to head back to the gym and during my cardio session I watch Conan Without Borders to keep myself entertained.

The Umbrella Academy: The trailer caught our attention and when I watched the first episode I wasn’t impressed but I continued watching the series and actually enjoyed it.

Movies:

The Princess Switch: CHILDREN’S MOVIE that’s all I can say. My uncle and I decided to watch it because we both adore Vanessa Hudgens #proudfilipinos

Julie & Julia: A funny movie about cooking and I loved it.

Alita: When I first saw the trailer and saw Christoph Waltz; I was like I MUST WATCH THIS MOVIE and we did and I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT.

What I read this month?

Disclosure: The links below are affiliated links and there are no additional cost to you. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Catch 22: Almost done with the book but I’m enjoying it. It is a classic.

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Crazy Rich Asians: I enjoyed the movie but my friend, Renee got me the book and it’s slightly different but still hilarious.

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What music did I listen to?

What have I blogged about?

Honestly, I wanted to blog a lot more but my cat got ill and we had to take her to the vet. So she’s in constant pain because of the medicine and I usually stay with her most of the time so I didn’t really have time to write anything.

So this is a recap of February 2019 and will keep you posted with our plans and I hope we do get to travel soon 🙂

 

 

 

 

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30 Things to do before you turn 30

YUP!!! I JUST TURNED 30!!!!!

I always thought whoah 30 is old but naaahhhh I was soooo wrong, I still feel the same and don’t feel old at all. If you asked me if I wanted to change things about my past, I’d say probably few things here and there but I don’t regret things because I am who I am today because of the stupid things I’ve done. So here are 30 things to do before you turn 30.

  1. Eat Healthy and Drink Water.
  2. Travel Solo at least once.
  3. Learn Languages.
  4. Spend time volunteering.
  5. Take a Road Trip.
  6. Go Crazy. Bungee Jump/ Sky Dive/ Para-glide
  7. Meet new people from around the world.
  8. Pay attention to detail.
  9. Question things.
  10. Be grateful for what you have.
  11. Listen to your parents. They may not be perfect but don’t be stubborn and listen to their opinions.
  12. Invest in Good Friends.
  13. Remove Toxic People from your life.
  14. Invest. You can make money in the future and retire early 😛
  15. Learn the Art of Patience.
  16. Believe that good things will happen when you least expect it.
  17. Trust your gut. It is always right.
  18. Have a bubble bath.
  19. Don’t take things seriously. Life is meant to be lived.
  20. If something goes bad, always remember nothing is permanent. The problem will eventually go away.
  21. Cry when you feel like it. Crying always helps.
  22. Take a day off on a weekday and watch a movie in the cinema by yourself.
  23. Learn how to cook.
  24. Give without expectations.
  25. Life is unfair but don’t make excuses.
  26. Set Life Goals and work hard to achieve them.
  27. Read.
  28. Eat different cuisines.
  29. Take Risks in Life.
  30.  Be Honest. Especially to yourself.

Here are 30 things to do before you turn 30 and along the way, you will experience a lot and learn a lot. Enjoy your teens and enjoy your 20’s and honestly 30 doesn’t feel any different.

 

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September 2018 Recap

Gosh! A lot of things happened this month, I don’t know where to start. So, I finally handed my resignation and my last working day is Tuesday 9th Oct. 2018. After working 5 years with the same company it was time to say goodbye. I want to blog about it separately with many other pending blog posts. Now, I have time to do things for myself, I can have a ME TIME. I will have time to blog, edit photos, paint, sketch, read books, organise the mess, file important personal documents because everything around me is completely disorganised ever since we moved to Abu Dhabi.

September was a very good month, we celebrated my brother’s 24th birthday at Wokyo then had cake and coffee at Bystro Dubai. We also travelled to Nepal to celebrate Tim’s 30th birthday and my surprise gift was paragliding. So here is a quick recap of what happened in September 2018.

Destinations we’ve visited

UAE

  • Al Ain
  • Dubai
  • Abu Dhabi
  • Sharjah

Nepal

  • Pokhara
  • Kathmandu

Highlights of the month

  • My car battery died in Abu Dhabi so I stayed at Mimi’s place in Dubai for a week to be able to commute to work easily.
  • I officially RESIGNED from my job. As of 10th Oct. 2018, I will be unemployed YIKES!
  • Tim and I went to Dubai’s Park and Resort/ River Land/ Lego Land and Motion Gate.
  • Celebrated Mohammad’s 24th Birthday at Wokyo and Bystro.
  • Travelled to Nepal for Tim’s 30th Birthday and went paragliding.
  • Celebrated Tim’s birthday with my family at a seafood restaurant in Sharjah called Sammach.

What I watched?

Series:

  • Dark Tourist
  • Explained
  • Queer Eye

Movies:

  • Equalizer 2
  • Life of the Party
  • Game Night
  • Incendies
  • The Motorcycle Diaries

What I read this month?

  • The Travels of Ibn Battuta by Tim Mackintosh Smith
  • The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto “Che” Guevara

What have I blogged about in September?

 

I’ve got lots of plans in the month of October, we will be arranging the outdoor garden, having farewell meals, organising the house, attending few events and more blogging hehe.

 

 

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Bellion Travels – 3 Days in Hong Kong

We took Philippines Airlines to Hong Kong from Manila. Before writing down the itinerary of what you can do in 3 days; I added the below map from Trails of Indo China to explain our trip in a  more simplified matter.

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Hong Kong Map From : http://www.trailsofindochina.com/hongkong/map

As you can see there are 3 main islands which are all easily connected by a train.

Day 1: Kowloon (Orange Island)

We landed at Lantua Island where the airport is located and took the train to Kowloon. It took us almost an hour to find our hostel and we just gave up looking for it and asked a stranger if he knew where Urban Pack Hostel is located. He just pointed up and we realised it was on the 14th floor. (Interesting for a Hostel)

We left the hostel to have lunch and our first stop was to have lunch at the famous Michelin star Dim Sum Restaurant called ‘One Dim Sum’. 

For day one in Hong Kong, we decided to check out Kowloon so we visited 4 main markets.

  1. Flower Market: You can make out what kind of market it is by its name. LOL.
  2. Ladies Market: Good for souvenirs. Men can shop there too.
  3.  Gold Fish Market: They sell lots of fish, turtles and have pet shops. Weirdly, they sell the fish in plastic bags.
  4. Temple Street Night Market: We enjoyed walking around and exploring the local area. They have good and interesting street food.

Tim and I decided to walk to the Garden of Stars to take a picture with the famous Bruce Lee Statue. Afterwards, we walked back to the hostel to get enough sleep for the the next day trip to Macau

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Day 2: Hong Kong (Red Island)

Half of the day was spent in Macau.

As soon as we got back we took the train and headed to Hong Kong Island. We visited the Central Market and Mid-Level Escalator. Hong Kong Island was highly recommended for night life.

They’ve got great bars, clubs and restaurants. We spent the night at the Habour and headed back to Kawloon Island to have hot chocolate at Charlie Brown’s Cafe.

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Day 3: Lantua Island (Yellow Island)

Lantua Island is the yellow part of the map. We got up early in the morning, packed our bags and took the bus to the airport. It worked out cheaper for us but took longer.

We headed straight to the airport and rented a locker for 5 hours at the Airport Storage. 

Disneyland is located in Lantua Island but since we did not have enough time, we decided to go and visit Tian Tan Buddha followed by Ngong Ping Village and Po Lin Monastery. They are all located in the one area. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get on the cable car (AKA Ngong Ping) because it was under maintenance.

We headed back to the airport to catch our flight back to the Philippines.

So here is our 3 day itinerary in Hong Kong. We will post a separate blog about our stay and hostel.

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Camping in Ras Al Khaimah

So for a change we thought instead of booking in a hotel located in the middle of the desert, why not save money and camp for the night.

We packed our supplies and drove to Ras Al Khaimah and spotted a nice location to camp.

All through the night, we BBQ-ed and told each other stories.

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In the middle of the night, we heard donkeys and camels pass our tent and were making weird noises. It was a creepy night but a story to tell. The whole night they kept going in circles around our tent. We managed to stay still and quiet so we wouldn’t allow them to go wild. The noises they were making sounded wild LOL.

With all the weird entertainment happening outside the tent, we got enough sleep and woke up at 5 AM to watch the sunrise together. We then packed our bags to head back to civilisation.

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UAE – FIGAROO FIGAROO FIGAROOOO – Dubai’s Opera Theatre

UAE: FIGAROO FIGAROO FIGAROOOO – Dubai’s Opera Theatre

YUP!! We Dubaians (that’s what I call people from Dubai) have an Opera Theatre. Luckily I work for the developer so I sometimes manage to get really good tickets to some of the shows. So far, Tim and I attended ‘The Impossible’ which was a magic show and also attended ‘Les Miserable’ with my girlfriends and managed to get our own personal box. WOOP WOOP.

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Dubai is a city filled with ART. From it’s galleries to it’s lavish skyscrapers and now this classical theatre where all amazing intentional shows are being held such as CATS, Nutcracker, Italian Operas and much much more.

We are so fortunate to be living in such a city and to experience magnificent shows in one of the most sophisticated theatres in the world.

If you ever live or visit Dubai, please experience it even if it’s once.

Below are youtube videos of some of the shows.

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