Oh Malé, Mawldeevs!

Recently, I went on an unplanned trip to Maldives with my travel buddies. It happened so fast and until now I can't effing believe I've been there.

At some antique shop for give-aways in Malé

Anyhoo, it started when I was snoozing and being lazy on my bed. I was sleeping and when I woke up, I got loads of bbm messages from these trip addicts. They found a very cheap flight going there. Usually, it will cost you like AED4,000+ just to fly there. Since Etihad had this promo, they unhesitantly booked tickets!

We stayed there for almost two days. Did some tour the moment we landed. We were surprised that you can tour the whole Malé Island for like 3 hours on barefoot. LOL Nothing to see in there but yeah, we did some arrangements for the following day - island hopping and snorkeling. We thought we could make it into diving but we lack time. We are flying back home after a day! Ugh.

So t'was like: Wednesday - tickets were booked, Thursday - booked the hotel, Friday - off to Male, Saturday - enjoyed the sun, sand and sea, and Sunday - head back home to Sandpit! Just like that.


Malé Island



I just love this pic because of different types of blue in it :)



Light blue sky and dark blue sea



Peacefully free ME!



Travel buddies :)



*speechless*

 But you know, unplanned things like this are the most enjoyable and memorable moments of life. I actually want to extend and stay like a couple of days more. You can't blame me. Maldives is just A-MAZING! Your jaws will literally drop at its beauty.

Looking forward for my next trip! :)

Pinas Vacay 2012

I finally got a chance to be with my family again for this year. Munchkin's gotten so big.. as in literally BIG! :) This time, everything is planned and it turned out quite well. Kudos to my partner in crime Keti for making my agenda.

Reunited

First two weeks was all about pigging out, Xioms school thing, and meeting with old good friends. Having a 3-hour sleep early in the morning is a satisfaction on my part but times like this happens once in a blue moon so I have nothing to complain.

What made my vacay more interesting and unforgettable was the fact that my Munchkin was recognised as one of the outstanding students at school. It's in the genes man! Hehe.. Seriously, it's one of the most rewarding days of being a parent.

showing off Munchkin's medals

After this two weeks of craziness, it's Boracay time! Mum and I did our assignments you know. We planned this wayyyy back so my vacay will be worth it. Five days at the beach is fun and relaxing!

Overjoyed

On our way to ride a boat for some snorkeling!

Reef walking with Nicole

So there, my vacation was a blast and I wish I could stay longer. Looking forward for my next homecoming!

x, P

Fish-aholic!

Work's been stressing me out recently. I don't want to end up having twitching eyelids again so I decided on buying a fish tank.

Ish was telling me that seeing a swimming fish inside a tank releases your stress. Well, I browsed over the net and got hooked to these little fishiiiieeess. :) I even bought loads of fish, like one or two every night, which made my tank look very crowded. LOL. I also enjoy feeding them and watching them for a couple of hours or even more. I can't explain it but once I sit infront of a tank, time just flies so fast but this made me feel so good and relaxed.

But to tell you honestly, keeping a fish tank is a lot of job. I sometimes have these mixed emotions whenever I see some fish bullying the other or worst, a floating dead fish in the morning when I wake up. But those moments are already gone. I managed to know how to take care of them so yeah, I'm a PRO now. Hahaha... The thing that I'm really addicted to in having a fish tank is - cleaning it almost everyday! I know it's not good but what do you care? :P But yeah, I stopped doing it because I read that it's one of the reasons why I'm having dead fish in the morning. Like I said, I'm a PRO now. ;)

Anyway, how about you? How about having some fish as a pet?

with my fishies ;)

Volvo Ocean Race 2012

Volvo Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world. This year, for the first time, Middle East is part of the race route. They will stopover Abu Dhabi which means water sports events - paddling!

Coach Mike was pretty excited when he announced this to the team. The event was held in Corniche Beach.



Champ! :P



Last kick!

Of course, we won. I just can't remember which category. I got a wooden paddle as a price. :) More paddling events in the coming months!

x, P

Real Dragon Lover

Have I told you that am not a fan of sun and beaches and water sports? Remember my previous post regarding ADU Dragoneers? That day, my life changed as I met this monster team who loves paddling.

Of course, this was Rache's whole idea. We joined this team who calls themselves "ADMar Barbarians". They practice every Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at Shangri-La. At first I don't even know why a lazy ass woman like me joined this kind of team. I mean - I'm not into sports, I don't work out, I drink, smoke and party hard. But I was like, okay, bring it on!

So after some trainings with these guys, I got the privilege to paddle with them in this dragon boat festival. It's some kind of a race open for everyone. Rache keeps on telling me that this team is the "king" of dragon boat here in Abu Dhabi and after paddling with these guys, hell yeah they are!

I actually didn't find it hard socialising and making friends with the team as most of them are from back home - "kabayans kumabaga". Plus the Coach is nice and a real person to look up to.

As I was saying, I got the chance to paddle with these guys and gawd, they are mosters! They We received almost all of the awards.

ADMar Family - Champion at 1st Abu Dhabi Dragon Boat Festival

ADMar Ladies

I think I am loving and enjoying this sport. I guess you'll see more of me under the sun in the boat with a paddle on both hands! :D

Peace out! x

ADU Dragoneers

I am really not a fan of sun, beaches, water sports and all that stuff but when a good friend of mine dragged me to join and do dragon boating, man I enjoyed it! Enjoyed it more than a cup of peanut butter infront of my lappy.

Anyway, t'was my first time to paddle and compete. Our university joined a regatta at Shangri-La. Unfortunately, we didn't win anything but hey, ADU's there to have some fun! We are awesome and we really had fun!

Thanks Rache! You brought me out of my shell, love. :P

ADU Dragoneers!

Goofing under the heat with Rache!

Oh Istanbul, Türkiye!

Since I was a little, t'was been a dream of mine to travel and see the world. This 2011 Eid holiday, I've been blessed to visit the capital of three empires where romance and traffic jam go hand in hand. :)

I went to Istanbul with my travel buddies - Kimi, Coco and Tin. We were so lucky to find cheap flight and hotel for 3 days and 2 nights!

Departing at Dubai Airport sucks a bit as our flight has been delayed; eventually, we arrived Istanbul at around 3PM. As soon as we got out of the airport, I felt the city's chilly weather and I liked it... a lot! Istanbul is divided into two continents: Asian and European. We landed at the Asian side and from there, a tour bus was waiting for us to go to the European side where our hotel is located. Travelling time is 2 hours because of the heavy traffic.

Day 1: Checked in at the hotel. Sightseeing nearby mosques. Dinner at a Turkish restaurant. Had some shots of vodka. Planned on going to erotic shop.

Dinner (Turkish style!) with the ladies at Artukoglu Sark Sofrasi

Day 2: A whole day Bosphorous cruise trip. Went and saw Galata Tower, Dolmabahce Palace, Ortakoy Mosque, Bosphorus Bridge, Beylerbeyi Palace, Guksu Pavilion, and Rumeli Kavagi. Searched for the erotic shop's entrance door but failed.


Wandering the street near our hotel

Galata

A must-try street food - PRETZEL!

Bbbrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Cruise trip

Nice view eh? That's Blue Mosque.

Pinoy family we bumped into

Jumpshot!

Birds. Lots of birds.



This veiled girl pulled me for a pic and thought I am a hollywood star. LOL



I know.. I know but NO, it's not made of cockroach's pee

Tram. One thing I miss about Istanbul

Day 3: Roam around the city. In and out of tram. Rode a buggy. Fed some pigeons. Became pescatarian for a whole day. Bought some souvenirs and presents. Peaked at the erotic shop and it's closed! :P

While waiting for the tram

Buggy ride

Pigeons

Busy street

So there! Tea-sugar-enderim - that's how they pronounce thank you in Turkish language. :)

Looking forward for my next trip!