birthday madness.

29 na ako. official late twenties. omg now lang naging official ang pagiging late 20s ko kung kelan last na last na ng roaring 20s ang age ko. so here is my birthday post 🙂

 

1. July 25, 2016  6am, my friend from the States came to Dubai together with her boyfriend. We booked in Bab Al Yam for a breakfast buffet. It is a restaurant in Burj Al Arab so we had the chance to enter a  7 star hotel! Within is like a palace full of delightful pieces in every nook and cranny. My eyes were popping out everywhere because everything  in the hotel is just so shiny, sparkly clean, and omg so intricate.  Hotel staff were very polite but extremely mindful to everyone. No queue, no throngs, no noise. Ultra serene and exclusive.
2. July 25 1030 am- we visited Dubai Mall. My friend Jill and her bf Mike shopped and had an Arabic photoshoot in one of the stores in the mall. We had no time to go to the At The Top of Burj Khalifa because their flight is at 1500. they had to go back to the airport by 1300.
3.  July 25 1300- lunch in “Parkers” in Dubai. it is a popular restaurant in dubai with an “exclusive” feels in it. many locals love the place because of that feature. search on it more because you need a “key” to dine in there. kakaloka. not your typical restaurant im telling you. (p.s thanks miss myrle for the treat)
4. July 25 1400-ish we checked in Tamani Hotel in Dubai Marina. it is a 2 door hotel apartment facing the tram so it is hyper over sized and hyper accessible. we were in the 41st floor so the view was so nice! After some time, we swam until sundown. we were in our robes most of the time. there were 2 bath tubs so we dipped in a hot bubble bath saraps! (ty again miss myrle for the treat takte ang tindi na ng marks of utang na loob ko haha)
   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   
5. July 25 0800 We went to Pier 7 Fume Restaurant. It is a restaurant with the bar inside. they serve alcohol so I ordered a cocktail. I ate pasta, myrle tried handpulled beef burger and hahah sanirae tried a lamb pie. i just cant tolerate the taste of the lamb. maybe our palate was not accustomed on the flavor. it tasted different. i just cant… myrle ordered a big ass milk chocolate drink and she was sooo happy about it. i tasted it and yeah chocolate milk heaven. (thanks again myrle ahlabshoo magkaka boyprend ka na talaga ng perpektong nilalang this 2017)6.July 25 1030 – We went to Media City and had an 85 aed worth of whole body spa. pede na pede na. soothing!!!7.July 26 0000 MY BIRTHDAAAY! we just had a quiet moment of harutan looking out of the windows while waiting for my birthday… I wished and i silently prayed. after sometime we had an ultimate tita moment. we watched the SONA of President Duterte hahah.8.July 26 1330 Breakfast then Check out from Tamani Hotel then crashed Patricia’s hotel in The Rove Hotel near Dubai Mall. Every corner was instagrammable. Great marketing team!

   

   Crashed in  The Rove hotel

   

   9.July 26 1700 Swimming time! we swam in the open pool and what’s cool was that the hotel was giving free coolers. yum yum and it was a great thirst quencher.10.July 26 2000 We ate in the Royal Orchid Restaurant in Downtown. Noodles for my birthday. Im so Asian by the way.11. July 26 2130-ish wow a surprise buko!!! hihi had a cool time blowing my Buko Cake.

   

   

   

   

   12.July 27 0600 sani and i needed to leave the hotel because of sani’s morning shift. Officially. My birthday was over 😦

too sad im 29

so happy i reached 29 alive and kicking

old but i’m happy 🙂

Had the chance to visit Windsor Castle (UK 2016)

In the Philippines, there isn’t really a “castle”… mmm, like the Snow White/Sleeping Beauty castles that would objectify the imaginary architectures described in the story books I grew up reading. popular fairy tales authors were usually from the west so I grew up fantasizing such kingdoms with princesses and queens, of course prince charmings hehe. in the philippines, we got mansions and big houses, but a legit castle, err nope. di ko icocount ang enchanted kingdom hihi.

I chose the Windsor Castle over Stonehenge because of its proximity to the airport. It was my 4th and last day in UK and because it was a work related travel, i needed to be back on the exact booking day to submit my documents or else, ill have a tough time explaining hehe. Any way, I was so hyped when my cousin ate twinkie and her husband kuya jose told me we’re heading to the Windsor castle before my flight. felt like a kid promised with a happy meal decades ago haha. they have two cute and cool kids and it can be hard for the family to move around far but they love me so much they voluntarily toured me (lakas ko haha). we were a little bit prioritized generally everywhere in the UK because we got a 3 year old in tow plus a cool red baby stroller. Apparently having a kid is a big deal or the Brits.

Just as expected, it was pure magic. The Queen is known to relax in the castle. Im imagining her reading a lot of books and drinking some tea and talking to Sherlock at times (ive been re-watching Sherlock series lately hehe). Her private castle is of course well-guarded and blocked with high fences. i even sighted a cannon which i dont know if still works in this century. if her flag is up (she has her own badge flag Btw), she’s there. but sadly, only the UK flag was there so no Queen Elizabeth chilling in the castle.

Windsor castle has the museum part where me and my 10 year old niece mia had the chance to roam around. i learned a lot of the monarchy and richness of the history of UK. It was just a glimpse because boy, theyre kingdom has been there for centuries, information overloaded but every crooks and crannies were eye candy! architecture, paintings, rags, pieces of furniture, clocks, haaay too much to mention. with every conquer/voyage, the kingdom collects glorious things all over the world and they hire the best of the best to paint portraits and design the castle. every piece is glorious on its own. parang pag pangit, di pede sa castle hahaha. imagine, this is just one of UK’s castle/museum. the well preserved vast richness of UK is popular all over the world–a first world country.

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I just cant help but feel envious ng slight. UK has 4 seasons and cold as hell at times. The Philippines has only two season dry and wet. It is too easy for us to move around. Medyo mainit but not as hot as the desert. Our country has a lot of things to offer. We have great resources (people and nature). this recent elections of leaders had me thinking a LOT and it’s centered with HOPE. Philippines to be a country with dignity and pride; the recovery of the title pearl of the orient which we got dethroned a few decades ago. I hope that we turn to be a country that “preserves” humanity, history and culture just like in UK. huhuh. we are a growing nation and yeah progressing but i hope that the new leaders will help us Filipinos move forward some more and have a great leap for the better because we really need change. there’s a lot of things needing to improve and repair and yes eradicated.

Whenever I travel, I am proud to say that I’m from the Philippines when asked and i try hard to be a good ambassadress (naks!) whenever i have a chance such as when a local is curious what’s in the Philippines and all (syempre the kickass beaches and nature and people kaagad yun bidahan). However, we can also be popular with a lot of nega things (like typhoons, corruption, pollution, crimes, ALDUB-not nega ito ha hihi  etc.). I hope that we will get mapped again as a strong and independent nation with happy and contented citizens. –praying…

no royal flag was up= wala si queen elizabeth 😦

the royal guards! idol sa tayuan… hashtag dedicated!

Im in a different kingdom and it’s spring in it :)

Prince George, Prince Charles, Prince HARRREEEH open niyo naman your gate hahaha. Anyway i did my ugly curtsy because i want to haha…

Although still cold, here are some of my SPRING FLING kaartehan shots

 

London Payphone

I’m telling you, my tour was well documented by my friend…

Big Ben, Westminister Abbey and all that Jazz

DETAILSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! when mr Big Ben chimed because it’s 12 noon already, goosebumps!!! ahahhaha actually my first meeting with the Ben was hilarious. Lianne pointed something overhead when we went out of the Under Ground Station. I told her, what there’s dirt? i was referring on the clear roof overhead all dusty and grimey. Then i double taked my vision. THE BIG BEN IS LOOMING OVER THUUUR. hahaha and in front of me is THE LONDON EYE and all over are important buildings of the historical London. haaaay. London is so clean. People are generally polite. ❤ wish i had more time because i bought ticket to get in the London Eye which i had no time to use huhu . I hope i can go back again and ride it!!  it has one year validity hehehe IM SO HOPEFULLLL!!!

(LIANNE TOOK ALL THOSE PICS, SHOUT OUT TO HER AND HER PATIENCE TO MAKE ME NADINE LUSTRE OF UK FOR ONE DAY HAHAHA)

Meet and Greet With the London Eye and Thames River

HAHAHAHA. touristy shots po . nakaka start struck talaga everything about it. how nature is one with infrastructures. There is 100% English charm everywhere. the weather is sooo nice. Im a tropical girl and I feel kilig when temperatures plummet down to 10 degrees na. hihi. Sunny but windy and cold. MMMM the mix can make you sick if you won’t bundle up for it. haaay seeing the pics makes me kilig. I havent had the time to pause and let my eyes drink the scenery. we kept on moving because i only have less than 3 days to more around!

 

UK 2016

My job gave me an opportunity to transfer one patient to London last April 27th. It gave me a 3 and 1/4 day to roam around London and I had a time of my life. If you know me, I lack some adventurous bones  in my body. i love planned getaways and i love staycations. I want my family, fiance and friends with me in my trips! i know people who wants to be alone in their trips but nope, not my cup of tea. I want to be secured to have someone to share my amazement with. alone is boring.

but life gives us surprises. i traveled Singapore alone (medyo hikahos ako), and i had a cool adventure of London “thinking” that Ill be alone. imagine my minor heart attack of knowing my flight will be in three days. i have no hotel booking yet, no idea what is in London, the weather, fashion etc. i gave my friends and family in London their own mini heart attacks. I am invading their time and I NEED a place to crash because of a long story and London is too expensive huhu. Napabili din ako ng selfie stick ng wala sa oras haha. ang laki kasi ng faces ko sa selfies ko in Singapore.

Im so blessed that my family and friends in London volunteered their place and “time”, and yes 100% effort of taking good pictures of me in their city. The funny thing is two of my friends has their birthdays on the days of my tour. i ransacked Deira City Center to find presents for them. I am in debt in the person who made me stay in her pad for three days. hahah baklava lang ang naibigay ko. and i havent treated her pa. FACEPALM! but i’m positive that ill get a next time. babawi ako.

after all the hospital endorsements, I AM FREE!!! i’m a London tourist! God gave me a tiny miracle, my previous roommate who just moved to UK is working in the same hospital i transferred my patient!

I relaxed in the cafeteria of her hospital and met two cool Filipinas and had a heart to heart full 1 hour talk with one nice ate. hihi. by 8 pm Anna and I had a nice dinner in Franco Manca and chugged our beers! We cant stay until midnight though because we’re commuters and she’s going to have a tough time going home but we catched up a lot! daming tsimis and im so proud of how she can get to point a to point b with city mapper app.  hahah. she was able to locate Maryam’s place (where i stayed) before we had dinner. She also helped me to buy my sim card, load, umbrella, and breakfast (pancake and milk) from a grocery store. it was more complicated that i expected. ang gulo hahhaa.

We met Maryam, our high school valedictorian, president, hyper active and hyper smart human being in one of the Tube Station because I am crashing in her pad. Im thankful that her flat is free for the 3 days Im in London. it’s located in Earl’s court and ang swerte kooo. Three metro stops and Im where London Eye is AHAHAH. I’m lucky and blessed she’s there. no wonder she’s 100 times more blessed!!! she “ENTRUSTED” me with her key and her entire flat. nakakaloka siya but im so touched. her value is to help each other when we’re all far from home, the Philippines. makes 100% sense. shout out to you yayam! medyo nakakatakot lang yun elevator ng Courtleigh but apart from it, your home is sooo cozy!! may christmas tree pa.

I slept soundly sa sobrang pagod ko din. hahahaha cant imagine i was in London. Can’t imagine i crashed with a days notice, and can’t imagine how ill tour the next day! walang sure sa friends ko to tour me but theeennnn…. THE LIANNE MALIGAYA – BELLO has her day offfff hurray. hahha she just confirmed before i had my English breakfast in a nearby pub. Im in England, I need my English Breakky ahaha.

I did a little bit of diary writing before my english breakfast came. Gwen 1 Nightingale 2. — this is an inner circle joke i do with me and myself. Im crazy having bets with Ms Nightingale hihi.

Hi guys, she’s my college friend Lianne! we had a blast during college ( in St Paul haha). She’s quiet but madaldal. IDK isa siyang kakaiba na tao and yes! she’s  very smart one din. DEEP siya and magkasama kami nag sumesenti sa chapel when college life was just too tough for us to handle. pero funny siya kasi malupit ang imagination niya hahha.  She toured me all over London and nakakaloka dahil nakakapagod din for her yun mga pinagpupuntahan namin. back to back day, she also went with me in Harry Potter’s Studios and BAker Street the next day. Im so grateful to catch up some tsismis with you also Lianne! Thanks sa pabaon mo na pansit where we devoured in the park and yun cake na hindi ko nakain tsk sayang! hahah. Im so happy also with all the blessings in your life! i can’t waaaaaaait for our next chismis. bwahaha i miss u!!

Ill create a new entry for my day trip in Central London and some Harry Potter loving….

Trip to Oman

It was myrle‘s birthday and it’s in her bucket list to see dolphins on her 29th. To celebrate her birthday salubong, she treated us in Dao Xiang Restaurant along Shiekh Zayed Road. Ok na sana super sarap ng food (chinese obviously), pero may videoke on the side. And the choice of songs of some were horrific. pero we lived. my people here in Dubai are always hilarious.

 

Here’s Myrle, she’s 29 pero forever 21. She can be mistaken as a h.s student pa din forever hahaha. You need to pay for me with this one.

 

Took a pic of all of them minus metmet in SZR backdrop. It’s one of our main fave spot here in Dubai coz of the concrete jungle feels. The weather even cooperated. First time to be cold in mid-April. Hence, the world is really warming up.(GLOBAL WARMING IS SCCARRRREEH)

Well, say hi to our cool service attendant ANGEL! Kilay, lips, pilikmata, everything on point. He’s a star! Filipino servers rock! there’s one genius kuya who memorized all our orders without a pen and paper… a promil child! pede na si kuya to be promoted in a Michellin star restaurant 🙂

We effin finished at 0200! and we needed to be up at 6 am for our Oman trip RAWR. So at exactly 515, i took a bath and we hailed a taxi at 6 am going to Movenpick hotel Deira coz our tour van is waiting for us there. IT WAS LIKE A FIELD TRIP. it took us 3 hours going to the border of Oman and Dubai. I was asleep the whole time though. HAHAHA we passed by RAK and IDK where. Actually, we picked up some tourist near Dubai Mall and RAK. Those were the only times my eyes opened. To myrle and tisha, I remembered our italy day trip din. we were sedated the whole time poor tito manny, jim and elisha.

 

After all the visa stamping in the oman boarder, we were so hyped and energized! dolphins, here we gooooooooooo!

 

my choice of outfit was a booo. i was wearing a billowing dress and the air was soo much! I havent worn my bathing suit inside so epic fail! there’s a miraculous washroom down the boat so i immediately changed to my swim wear. 

ze birthday girl is patiently waiting to see the dolphins. suddenly our omani tour guide (who used german and french 70% of the time in the entire tour) pointed the dolphin packs!! they’re so big and gray. 100 times more majestic in their natural habitat than in the pools of water parks. pics were deleted from my phone… see  1/6 of my year got erased

look at our tour guide and what’s inside the boat! we had a good lunch but breakfast wasn’t much.  the crew just offered some bananas and oranges plus arabic tea,coffee and dates. good thing we bought loads of field trip food with us hehe. for lunch, we were served veggies, yummy chicken curry, hummus, and soda. We were soda pumped the whole trip. If only they offered us fresh juices uhuhu.

 

my bff tisharoo and sanirae ooohlala basking under the Omani Sun.

now, time for a dip!!!!! omg the sea was cold but comfy. it was so hilarious that my friends sani and myrle who both were non swimmers took a plunge. we all had life vests on.  even if I know how to swim, i still worn mine coz i promised my mom hahah. swimming in the sea is 50% more tiring than in the pool because of the waves+anxiety  regarding the sea creatures underneath . the german and british tourists were troupers. they snorkled without any floaters. I JUST CANT EVEN. hahah.

my artistic side view shot of the birthday girl!!!  

after our more or less 2 hours sea-scapade, we went home with full happy tanks. Happy birthday myrle! thanks for forcing us to join your dolphin hunt.

Craving

after my 18 minutes jog along the area of our hospital, i suddenly craved something juicy, greasy, and fatty. Oh Shake Shack.

 

Bastakiya

I’m fixing my life after On the Wings of Love. HAHAHA. Yup, I got sorely hooked in that Filipino drama and i’ve been obsessing on it day and night in the past few months. Lo and behold, it ended and now I’m a free girl encl0sed in the reality of my own life. Imagine, it’s one big reason why i haven’t updated my blog. A big chip of my day was always spent fan-girling and now that its over, hurray im backkk!

Wedding update: Soooo, i’ve been slacking on my wedding preps. i considered hiring an events coordinator and just be a happy and cute bride without any drama. (But, i still doubt it haha drama is always a part-always.) I’m still in search for one so the big hurdle aint over. Praying to have the best wedding coordinator to make our lives easier. singlehood has been too good to me, but i think it’s time for me to belong to someone. NAAAKS. My soon to be husband gave his word on being hands on haha. Let’s see once he’s back to the Philippines hihi.

Fitness Update: I’ve been spending more time exercising these past few days/weeks. I feel amazing. I love the feeling of accomplishment whenever i outrun my other runs. I love competing with myself. It stirs my inner A+ girl I was back in the ol’ college days.  I am tricking myself in considering physical activity as a challenge and a game. My strength had improved immensely. It’s crazy that I can run 2km without vomiting. My previous record was 15 minutes max of continuous run, now I can do half an hour without a pause. I’m into other classes though. I did back to back yoga and pilates and it relieved my back pain around hmmm 80%. I’m looking forward to do more mixed activities. i need to accomplish that pool of sweat we’re talking about (shout out to the fiance and our inner joke  for fitness).

Being pretentious about my fitness, I and my friends had a sudden whim of going to the Old Dubai via jogging from the Rolex tower in Al Rigga enroute to the Dubai Creekside with a break of a little nice abra ride. My fiance and I stayed in the area (Al Fahidi) during his last tour and we enjoyed every bit of the Abra rides and Old Dubai feel. Their cultural heritage area is located a few walk from the Dubai Museum. If you’re a tourist and pissed off with the looks of the Dubai Mall/Dubai skyscrapers, try going to “Al Bastakiya”. It is located near the  Al Fahidi metro stop, a few walk, and you will reach the historical neighborhood of Dubai. (google map it!). You will absolutely find the exterior boring. But inside is a labyrinth of crazy lanes of different art galleries, Hotel boutiques, cultural understanding lectures are offered in specific timings in some gallery, and numerous artsy/traditional cafes. The mixture is so odd but I liked it.there’s an alice in wonderland syndrome in getting in the area. The exteriors is just so boring kasi!   If you’re going to dubai museum, better ditch it and go in the picturesque Al Bastakiya.

Enjoy…

here is our few post run pic. omg look at my baskil (wet armpit) hahahha. it’s so gross but yeh just deal with it!

our groupfie in the Abra. Old Dubai meets pretentious joggers

we stumbled in a great looking cafe. The lighting inside is to die for. It’s called make_dbx or make dubai. All your selfies will be amazingly lit hahah the area is like a tent. But fear not, the aircondition works well, not hot inside. i can’t promise you in the summer though. I do plan in getting back coz of the cozy feel and the place is called “Make,.hence, it makes you want to create and do more in life haha corny ko.

The cafe is located in the heart of al bastakiya. its surrounding is full of fun trinkets and art that you’re eyes will be full first before your tummy. We met a gorgeous barista. If you’re getting in there, say hello to Mauwee 🙂

 

I bet the food is organic (havent fully asked if it is coz of my personal hunger I immediately chowed haha). I can taste what it’s made of. I had pasta and it was awesome the three had English Breakfast. 

This was my face when we reached the second floor. the place looks chill but we decided to eat our food downstairs indoors.Actually this was my face/ feels when they said we will eat na!

i told you selfie game is strong in this one.

i drew the 4 of us in their guestbook. the funny flower is not mine though.

❤ ill really come back ! 🙂 #make_dxb