October 2018 Recap

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October was interesting for me, I quit my job last month and 9th Oct. was my last day at work. I’ve been working at the same company for 5 years and had a full time job for 10 years and was working since I was 14 years old so being unemployed feels weird and I will blog about it later. Tim and I managed to spend most of October in Abu Dhabi and trying to get to know the city.

Destinations we’ve visited

We spent the month of October in UAE, between Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Highlights of the month

  • I’m currently unemployed (my last day was 9th Oct. 2018)
  • Had a mini farewell gathering.
  • Christina and Mimi celebrated my freedom by inviting me for a delicious breakfast at The Coffee Club.
  • Tim and I went to Warner Bros. Theme Park with Christina, Reuven, Noah and Mimi.
  • Backyard has now a proper seating area. Can’t wait for winter  😀
  • Attended Sharjah Children International Film Festival.
  • I started a new course called Digital Marketing.
  • Attended The Big Bad Wolf Event which is the biggest book sale event in the world.
  • Attended the first public event in Abu Dhabi with Priyanka, Clint, Mimi, Salah and Mustafa. We went for movie under the stars. The weather in the UAE is getting better so its the best time for outdoor activities.

What I watched?

Series:

  • Queer Eye
  • Sabrina
  • Dear White People
  • A Chef’s Table
  • Dare Devil
  • Fauda

Movies:

None. I focused on TV series.

What I read this month?

I’m currently reading Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

What have I blogged about in October?

And as we are approaching end of the year, we hope for more good things come 🙂

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2 Nights and 3 Days in Tenerife

Tenerife is a well-known holiday destination and the most visited Canary Island. It is also famous to be a honeymoon destination. Since it’s a 15 min flight from Gran Canaria we thought well why not visit it.

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We made a huge mistake by booking a flight that lands in the North and the apartment we booked was located in the South. There are two airports in Tenerife and we kinda missed that information.

Our apartment was in Costa Adeje so we rented a tiny car and drove South. It was a 1 hour drive. Regretfully, I forgot my driving license in UAE so Tim had to drive the entire trip. We landed early in the morning and arrived at Costa Adeje at 10AM.

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The Landlord can only arrive at 4PM to handover the keys so we kept our luggage with a gentleman who was guarding the compound and we were picked up at 1PM to quad bike. The tour picked us up and introduced us to our group and we all drove to Mount Teide. We stopped at one of the villages for snacks and later that day, we went to the beach for a walk and to explore the area and had a proper Spanish dinner.

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The next day, we woke up quite early in the morning, bought few items from the supermarket and drove to Jungle Park. We saw a lot of animals and actually enjoyed the Exotic Bird Show and the Seal Show. Afterwards, we drove around the island and checked out other resorts and hotels. As it got darker, we decided to head back to Costa Adeje for dinner. We ate at an Indian Restaurant which was packed with people, we actually had to wait for an hour to get a table. The restaurant is called Delhi Darbar and the food was delicious. We later went for a walk around the area and did some shopping.

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We got back to the apartment quite late, so we packed our luggage and woke up early the next day to handover the keys to the landlord and drove back to the Northern Airport of Tenerife and flew to Alicante.

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It was quite a short trip and we kinda wanted to stay a little longer because there were other activities to do on the island but we wanted to explore mainland Spain together.

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August 2018 Recap

August was such a busy month. I did not even blog and had no time to edit photos or anything like that. I took a break from blogging and focused more on work but also lots of things happened in August. I decided to enrol in an institute to study during my free time but my classes will start mid Oct. Tim and I visited Abu Dhabi and travelled during the Eid Holiday with my best friend Mimi to Bangkok. So here is a recap of what happened in the month of August.

Destinations we’ve visited

  • Al Ain
  • Thailand

Highlights of the month

  • Visited Al Ain and stayed at Telal Resort
  • Travelled to Thailand during the Eid Break
  • Had Lasik Surgery

What have we watched?

Series:

  • Dark Tourist
  • A series of Unfortunate Events
  • Disenchantment

Movies:

CRAZY RICH ASIANS

What I read?

The Travels of Ibn Battuta (still reading)

What have I blogged about in August?

NOTHING LOL

So here is what happened during the month of August. Lasik Surgery went well, THANK GOD. We travelled to Bangkok and DAMN that place is amazing for shopping. I bought a lot of clothes and I fell in love with a store called Sugar and Cream that sells vintage outfits. ME GUSTA. We also stayed at Telal Resort for the weekend which is in the middle of the desert. We personally love it, it was voted as one of the best luxury resorts in the CONTINENT. So, we’ve got plans for September and hopefully I will get back to blogging ASAP since I have Spain and Thailand to blog about.

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Dubai in Three (3) Days

If you are visiting Dubai for 3 days, here are the places we recommend you to visit.

Day 1:

  • Visit Old Dubai and Ride the Abra (Located at the Al Fahidi Metro Station)
  • Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa and Dubai Fountain.  All those attraction are located in Dubai Mall which is currently the largest mall in the world. (Dubai Mall Metro Station)

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Day 2:

  • Desert Safari, Camel Ride and Dinner at a Bedouin Tent. You can book through any Tour Agency in Dubai and even Hotels can book it for you. We recommend you contact the Tour agency directly, they’ll offer a better rate.
  • Spend the late night in Dubai Marina. There are so many restaurants, bars and cafes to try.

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Day 3:

  • Emirates Mall for Skiing OR Water Park activity either at ATLANTIS or WILD WADI
  • Dinner at Madinat Jumeirah

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There are other places to visit and tons of activities to do. You can also look at visiting IMG World which is the biggest indoor Theme Park and trust me it is worth visiting, there’s the Miracle Garden in Dubai Land and Dubai Parks and Resorts which include Lego Land, Motion Gate and Bollywood.

Hope you will visit Dubai soon 🙂

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How To Maintain Your Relationship When Travelling?

So my previous post ‘I choose travelling with my partner than by myself BUT there’s a catch…’, yall know that I prefer to travel with my husband rather than being alone.

I’ve mentioned why travelling with my partner is better but no matter how much we love each other or have similarities there will always be minor disagreements.

If you are currently in a relationship, Tim and I recommend that you guys should travel together. You will be surprised how much you’ll learn a lot about one another. Travelling can either make your relationship stronger or make you grow apart.

Here are our tips on how to maintain your relationship when travelling:

  1. Agree on a Budget: before booking any trip, you both have to discuss your budget and how much you want to spend. So we write down an itinerary of where we want to go and places we want to visit and then look at forms of transportation and compare rates.
  2. Plan an Itinerary: I’ve to admit, our itinerary changes when we arrive to our destination however we have a plan. So before finalising the itinerary, we both write down the locations we want to visit of the country we are going to. So after listing the places, we then discuss and make it work so we both get to do the things we want together.
  3. Be Ready to Compromise: Like I said our itinerary doesn’t always work according to plan. It changes on circumstances and you need to be ready for that. (Compromising has to be from both)
  4. Communicate & Be Honest: If there’s something you do not like and do not want to do. Tell your partner rather than giving attitude and ruining the day. We’ve seen it in other couples and we agreed to discuss things if it doesn’t make us feel comfortable. For example, I really did not want to go for the Japanese Bath (Sentō) but after discussing it for 5 days LOL. Tim managed to convince me.
  5. Plan a Date Night or a Surprise: I know sounds corny but it works. There are times where Tim and I have no plans so we look up romantic places to visit and go on a date together. For example in Morocco, I booked a table in advance and planned a proper meal with entertainment for Tim’s birthday. It keeps the sparks *wink wink*

So when travelling with your partner, remember to compromise, to plan, to communicate and to be romantic; and the outcome of your trip will truly be worthwhile.

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I choose travelling with my partner than by myself BUT there’s a catch…

Hi Everyone

This blog is to talk about couple travelling. I previously wrote a blog about Female Solo Traveller, recommending all women to travel solo at least once in the lifetime. Now that I’m married, this blog is about why I prefer travelling with my partner rather than myself however do carry on because it’s not the right travel for everyone.

As mentioned previously, I was a solo traveller till I met my husband abroad. So people asked me ‘So Nissreen, do you prefer travelling alone or with my husband’

That’s a really good question, here’s the thing; when I met my husband in Singapore, we got along from the moment we said hello.  We realised we had a lot in common and have some similar interest. After going our separate ways, we agreed meeting every month at a new destination.

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Now travelling shows you a lot about a person and yourself. You will go through a lot of obstacles such as transportation, navigation, languages, local market rip offs and other challenging situations. Tim and I passed it all and before being a couple, we were friends and really good friends. It felt like we knew each other before. So I’d say I prefer travelling with my partner than being alone.

My opinion on this would be neutral and here is why. When I was single, I never wanted to travel with anyone because I knew we wouldn’t get a long. I have friends who I trusted and wanted to travel with but unfortunately circumstances didn’t allow us to travel together. My close friends are the ones that I can face all challenges with. Travelling with them is the best and you wouldn’t want to be alone. You get along because you have the same core values but share some similar interest and that’s how it’s like being with your significant other.

I know for a fact that I would have hated travelling if I’ve done it with particular people. I’d leave and prefer to be alone. There is nothing wrong with them, it’s just that we are completely different.

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I support travelling alone 100% however if you find that special bond with someone then it’s lovely to share moments with them and create memories. So if you are in a miserable relationship, I do not recommend you travelling with your partner but travel by yourself to enjoy and appreciate things. To make yourself happy and content. Appreciate the moments and live life.

When Tim and I were still dating, he travelled for 10 days to Japan by himself. He contacted me every minute by sending me pictures, calling me and updating me about his trip and what he ate and what he tried. When we met the next month, he said he would never ever travel alone and just wants to travel with me. And ever since he only travels alone if it is work related.

So do not travel with someone who doesn’t make you feel fulfilled; whether it is a friend or a partner. So travel alone to do what you love but if you ever find that person who completes you and shares the happy and sad moments with you then travelling as a couple would be the best travel experience EVER.

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A Short Break from Travelling

Hi Everyone,

After 2 weeks of not posting on the blog, here I am writing with not even a slight interest in doing so.

2 weekends ago Tim and I joined Mimi and Noor for a weekend stay in Georgia the country, it was a needed holiday and we celebrated Noor’s 30TH Birthday. We visited 9 beautiful places which of course I will write about separately.  Last weekend Tim and I went to a place called XSpace with our friends Reuven and Christina. Where you get locked in a room and had to solve riddles to be able to get out.

This year, Tim and I have travelled to Japan, Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau and Georgia. I’ve added those places on my trip advisor travel map and I got ‘completed 8% of the world’. Next week, I’ll be travelling  to Lebanon to renew my travel document. After that trip Tim and I will be taking a short break from travelling abroad due to unpredictable circumstances.

Writing this really hurts but thankfully I was able to see 8% of this planet and the 92% can wait for some time. I’m blessed and grateful to be able to travel to as many places as I did. So I’m not saying that I will stop travelling but will be taking a short break till things work out.

I’ll be continuing to blog about living in UAE and the remaining pending destinations that I did not include in the blog. So sadly, here I am announcing a break from travel for some time till things pick up again.  I’m very thankful for the opportunity that I had to see those places and share those memories with the man I love. I’m not pessimistic about this break, you’ll never know how things in life can turn around. We don’t know what tomorrow brings.

Keep loving life no matter what obstacles you face and everything will go fine 🙂

Cheers

xx

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Appam Corner – Dubai Investment Park

One of the best and affordable Indian restaurants in Dubai Investment Park. We gave it a try when we read free unlimited Appams and visited quite few times ever since. Appams are type of bread displayed in the picture below.

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Tim had the meat thali while I had the veggie thali. Thali is a meal where different types of curries are served on a leaf.  When I say it’s affordable, I do mean it; the meals range from £2 – £6. If ever you feel like having Indian food, do give it a try. Thali’s are always the best but only served for lunch so if you go there for dinner I recommend the Tandoori Combo.

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The restaurant is good for people who love meat and vegans.

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Female Solo Traveller

At a recent party we attended, Tim and I were introduced as the travelling couple. So obviously people ask the standard questions “where have you been?”, “Did you meet abroad”, “Where is your next destination?”.

So one of the female guests at the party asked me, “have you ever travelled alone?”. My response was “of course, I was once a female solo traveller before I met my husband.” With that answer, many questions followed … so let me illustrate how the conversation continued.

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To every girl who dreams to travel alone, please continue reading and to every guy, please support solo female travellers. One of my favourite female travel bloggers is Adventurous Kate, I regularly read her blogs and follow her on social media and I think she is the biggest example of ‘Female Solo Travellers’. Another female traveller, who I find extremely inspiring is Sonia Gil and check out her YouTube videos under the name of  SoniaTravels. I adore her because she loves adventures, travelling and mainly learning a new language which is my primary interest in life.

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Here are the Q&A’s that are frequently asked and my answers follow.

  1. What is cool about travelling solo?

Travelling solo is the best way for self-enrichment. It’s the ultimate experience for oneself.  Best thing about it is that you get to do whatever you want whenever you want. You can wake up whenever and you can eat whatever and discover new places wherever. No one will interfere in your schedule. Solo travelling gives you the feeling of independence and freedom. It helps develop your personality and makes you stronger to face the world.

  1. Is it safe to travel alone?

Before travelling to any country, you must extensively research the place. The countries I’ve travelled to were safe and I did not face any problem. However, because of researching, I knew which places not to visit alone. Oh yeah! my first destination was India and I stayed 3 days with friends and continued on my own. I avoided further areas to travel alone as it was too risky especially that I was 20 years old at that time. So please RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH and trust me travelling alone isn’t as scary as you think.

  1. Where to stay when travelling alone?

I recommend Hostels and yes, you can find safe and clean ones. Check out www.hostelworld.com and always read reviews and search locations before booking your stay. Hostels are the best way to make friends and meet other travellers. I met my husband at a hostel. (Check out How We Met)

Also a safe and beneficial accommodation would be staying with local families. That way you can embrace and learn their culture.

  1. What is the biggest obstacle when travelling alone?

Taking the perfect picture of myself. I don’t want my album to be filled with selfies and when I do ask someone to take my photo, it always looks terrible.

  1. What’s your advice?

Besides research about the country. I’d also add follow your instinct and YEAH girl that gut feeling you get is always freakin’ right. Never ever act foolish and don’t trust strangers immediately. If you don’t feel safe then just stay in your accommodation and don’t go out after a certain time.

So far 2 of my close friends took my advice and travelled alone and they said they’ve never experienced such a convenient travel.

Many other questions follow like “Do you like to travel alone or with your partner?”.

Now THAT, ladies and gentlemen will be discussed in the next post.

soooo……will be continued….

*Hey if you took my advice travelling alone do message me and share your experiences and whoever did, please share your stories in the comments below. lets motivate others WOOP WOOP 🙂 🙂

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