visiting dubai - part 1

ali from australia (?) asked me to write up something about dubai - she's planning to visit in the (distant) future, and so does ms. francesca of france...

so what can i say about dubai? well - it's full of arabs! ha ha ha ... joke! dubai is one of the emirates of the UAE, the others being: Abu Dhabi (the capital), Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah.

kidding aside.. dubai is a "melting pot" of different cultures; name it and you will find them in dubai: i have met and made friends (and acquaintances) with different groups like the britons (of course!), americans, swedish, australians, irish, germans, lithuanians, french, italians, etc, etc,etc, and of course, the asians, indians (a lot), malaysians, singaporeans, thais, indonesians, nepalese, pakistanis, the middleast and gulf arabs ie, lebanese, palestinians, jordanians, egyptians, syrians, iraqis, iranians, qataris, omanis, kuwaitis, bahrainis - who have come either for work or have settled here for good.

climate is good - well, during non-summer months which is from late september to late march, temperature is really just fine for outdoor activities like overnight camping, desert safaris, wadi bashing, etc... early april would be a bit warm and good for swimming!!! summer months starts from late june to early september where temperature would run from 38 degrees to 45 degrees (or more!) during daytime... humidity is always at its best sometimes at 50-70% :) so if you are planning to visit dubai - do not come around these summer months!

you will feel like you are in an oven during these times - no wonder a lot of heatstroke cases are reported daily... yeah, yeah, yeah.. the airconditioning is there, but once you get out of a building goodness gracious! you would want to run back again!!! if you can just carry the A/C around with you, would do that!!! a simple fan won't help...

the people, i mean the local arabs or the emiratis as they are called, are nice people - warm and hospitable. ahh well, not all fingers are the same though! :( i think like everywhere, you will find some disgusting characters - here in dubai though, most of these kinds are the expatriates who are more arrogant than the locals!

shopping - galore!!! with the new malls and more establishments coming up - you should be armed with a loaded (cash-full) wallet or a "beautifully smiling credit cardS!" once you're done with your shopping - check if your credit card is still smiling . . . :)

and yes dearie ams, there is snow in dubai! at the new emirates mall where the Ski Dubai is located - artificial of course! check this site: www.skidxb.com . my friends went there a few weeks back and by golly they said they couldn't get in - full packed! esp. on week-ends... tsk, tsk, tsk... i haven't been there myself yet - i really wanted to go there and enroll in some ski lessons.. but maybe later on.. when i find work again - i heard the fees are quite expensive...shhh

there are a lot of activities you can engage in while on visit... well if you're visiting for 15 days only i think you can see most of the UAE! there are lots of activities on offer, first on the list is the desert safari or sand dune riding, morning and evening schedules are there - i prefer the evening schedule which actually starts at 4:30pm pick-up and finishes by 10:30pm. it's not too hot and the desert is cool in the night. besides, watching the sunset in the desert is really very nice. the package includes the pick-up and drop-off, sand dune riding of course, welcome snacks, buffet dinner, drinks, belly dancer and camel ride. anybody visiting shouldn't miss this out... there are a lot of tour operators these days but i prefer (and recommend?) the NET Tours (www.nettoursdubai.com)... nah, i don't get discounts from them, just that i liked their service...i've taken my friends on their tours and they enjoyed it. well i've tried the others too, but maybe because i got used to their services that's why i prefer them.. the drivers are ever courteous....

the waters of dubai is good for swimming and other water sports. all public beaches are with well trained life guards on the round from morning till 7pm... different water sports are also available. waterparks are also there, wild wadi in dubai (www.wildwadi.com) and dreamland aqua park in Umm al quwain (www.dreamlanduae.com).

... to be continued...

masakit na masarap!

tatlong araw na akong parang sawa na nagpapalit ng balat…itong si flatmate, akala ko kung ano yung ipapahid.. pang peeling pala!

kasi ganito yun, nasabi nga ni flatmate na ifa-facial niya ako (siguro naasiwa sa pagmumukha ko?!?!?!), pero ang alam ko naman facial eh yung me steam steam ka dyan sa face, tapos massage-massage ng kung anong parang paste/lotion o whatever yun, tapos cover-cover ng hot towel, tapos apply-apply ng mask, tapos cleanse-cleanse ng water tapos, apply-apply ulit ng ewan ulit kung ano yon.. for final touch..

eh iba naman ginawa ni flatmate! pinahiran niya ng parang astringent ba yon… 3x…asus kahapdi naman po talaga at parang makati… anak ng tinolang manok! sabi ko kakatayin ko siya kapag namusarga mukha ko! and that was to go for two days.. matuk mo yun?! two days – dalawang araw ng dusa sa hapdi at kati… (pero aktwaly, the morning after the first pahid, uyy… kinis ng face ko sana ganito kakinis parati! banat-na-banat bah!– look ako sa mirror – ako ba ito?? he he he – di po – biro lang – nag iilusyon lang ako!) :)

after the two days na dusa, pahid naman ng oil… ahh sabi ko oil lang yan.. ‘langya napa-awwwoooohhhh ako sa hapdi ulit! parang langgam na sinabog sa mukha ko! ahhh… gusto kong hilamusan agad pero wag daw kasi lalong hahapdi…so tiis, paypay, switch on ng a/c – todo agad sa no. 5! paypay… tingin sa salamin sa banyo… namumula ang face… tingnan ko si flatmate ng patagilid.. sabi agad: “ate, ganyan talaga yan kasi first time mo! mahirap talaga magpaganda!” ininsulto ako – kaya sabi ko: di ka kakain ngayon ng kanin! waaahhhh…. bakeettt daw? sabi wala, kasi di kami nagsaing! he he he…

after the second day of oil pahid…eto na nga.. nagpi-peel na po ang face ko! kaya pala ganun na lang yung expression sa face nung delivery boy ng grocery – iniisip nun siguro na baka me sakit ako! :)

third day - peeling pa rin! me binigay na cream para kung lalabas daw ako eh ipapahid ko at di siya magpi-peel.. shhhhh.... si ako naman sa nakikita kong peeling ng face so sarap tuklapin! parang na sunburn baga.. he he he ...

today 5th day na... ok na raw - pwede na raw ako magproceed sa next chapter nang pa-beauty. ngee... di pa pala tapos! still have to apply the mask pa raw tapos yun na nga, white/blackhead extraction na raw tapos finale - secret daw! aba de pa secret-secret pa tong si flatmate...

so abangan ang kadugtong nitong kabanatang ito...

tinanong nga ako ng insan ni friend when they visited the other night - kung magkano daw ung service. sabi ko di ko alam kasi si flatmate nga lang gumagawa nito sa balay ba namin... kasi sa pinas daw one procedure na ganito would cost around P8000/-.... mangha ako..aba muntik ko pa namang katayin si flatmate ano! tingnan ko daw pricelist nila sa spa... abaw gid... dhs.500/- mga around usd150/- na pala yun! asus... buti na lang sa akin...FOC !!! :) he he he makapagsaing nga nang me kanin si flatmate mamaya!!!