Saudi Sexpat Stories: Tales from the Kingdom

Di man ako taga-hanga ng larong boksing dahil masyadong “brutal” ang dating nito sa akin, di ko mapigilan ang aking paghanga sa nag-iisang “Pambansang Kamao” na si Manny Pacquiao.  Pinatunayan niya na kaya ng mga Pilipino makipagsabayan at manaig sa mga pambato mula sa iba’t ibang bansa.  Siya ngayon ang tinaguriang ”greatest pound for pound fighter of all time” dahil sa pagkakapanalo niya sa apat na iba’t ibang dibisyon ng boksing.  Ipinakita niya na kailangan lamang ang sipag, disiplina, determinasyon at ang malalim na pananalig sa lumikha para makamit ang mga pangarap at minimithi sa buhay.   

Marahil, ang naisulat ni Recah Trinidad sa Philippine Daily Inquirer kamakailan kung paano tinulungan ni Pacquiao ang kanyang katunggali matapos niya itong mapatumba - sa halip na pabayaan lamang ito at agad na yakapin ang kanyang matamis na tagumpay - ay isa na sa pinakamagandang deskripsyon kung ano ang sinasagisag ng isang Manny Pacquiao sa ating mga Pilipino:

“…Pacquiao may have not realized it but, after making his countrymen very proud with his conquest of a fourth world crown, he next handed the Pinoy a rare gift. The native nobility Pacquiao displayed in that moment of moments helped immeasurably in telling the world that the Filipino, cheated, cursed, corrupted, is brave, strong, and, last but not the least, worthy of applause and respect.

Thank God for the greatest Filipino fighter ever.”

Mabuhay ka, Pacman! Saludo kami sa iyo - tunay na ipinamalas mo ang “Tatak Pinoy” sa buong mundo!

Yup, in exactly 2 days, the kids and I will be in the “beloved motherland” once more to spend their summer break from school - a GLORIOUS two months and a half of “abaya-free” existence - woohoo!!!

Sadly though, this also means that I would most probably lie low from my blogging presence during this time to let “real life” unfold more fully.

To all my pals in the blogosphere, I will definitely be back! And when I do, I promise to fill you in on all the “juicy” bits from our Pinas holiday…

Till then, please pray for a safe, uneventful and hassle-free flight tomorrow evening… and please do me a favor and keep my hubby, Leap of Faith,  ”entertained” by your “cyber-presence” during the time we are away.

Goodbye for now and here’s looking forward to my tons of “bloggables” when I return.

Still woozy from the heady and exhilirating experience that was Dubai. Planed in three days ago yet I still feel that the time we spent there has been oh-too-short - waahh! God willing, there would be a next time so we could hopefully have the chance to explore this marvelous city in a more in-depth manner.

Dubai is what I can describe as a “superlative” city.  Almost everything in it seems to adopt the theme “big, bigger, better and best” - from the tallest “unofficial” (since it is still a work in progress) skyscraper in the world, the Burj Dubai, to the only indoor ski park in the world, Ski Dubai, to the only 7-star hotel in the world, the Burj Al Arab, as well as its more than 50 grandiose shopping malls - the place just seems to scream “Notice Me!” to everyone who visits it.  Seeing the seemingly endless development in the area (our tour book says that 15% of the world’s cranes are situated in Dubai owing to its infrastructure boom), I really found it amazing that this was a mere sleepy fishing and diving village 30+ years ago.  In fact, as a country, the UAE (of which Dubai is one of the seven emirates) is fairly young - having been formed only in 1971. While I am in awe at the progress it has made since its “birth”, I also feel a tinge of sadness that our very own country, the Philippines, despite its very talented workforce and abundant natural resources, still remains in ”perpetual development” and has yet to make its mark as one of the world’s stronger economies.

It was a good thing that we decided to book the “Hop-On, Hop-Off” bus tour (similar to the one they have in London) so we at least got to see some of the highlights of the city such as these:

 The world-famous Burj Al Arab. Some trivia - did you know that people are not permitted to take the right side (in this picture) of the building? Why? Because it appears that in the middle of this great monument to Arabic culture, which is predominantly Moslem, is a cross!  Yes, a cross right smack in the middle of the Burj Al Arab! If that’s not the height of irony, I don’t know what is…

 A reconstructed Arabian village with its distinct wind towers - a primitive form of air conditioning

 The Egyptian-inspired Wafi Mall which boasts of nearly 350 stores, restaurants, bars, a spa and leisure club

The awe-inspiring pyramid-shaped, stained glass roof of the Wafi Mall 

 The Grand Dome of the Mall of the Emirates - the largest mall outside of North America with an area equivalent to 73 football stadiums!

At the viewing gallery of Ski Dubai - we didn’t want to brave the sub-zero temperature inside since Keith and I were afraid of the children getting sick due to the drastic change in temperature 

 Since we weren’t able to avail of our free Dhow (traditional Arabic sailing vessel) cruise, we settled for the “mini-dhow cruise” above at the Dubai Festival City

 One of the many mosques in Dubai

The magnificent traditional Arabic architecture of the Souq Madinat Jumeirah

The kids also had a special treat since we were able to catch Disney’s Mickey’s Magic Show during its last remaining runs in Dubai.  Apparently, this was the first time Disney launched these types of shows worldwide so we were really lucky to have experienced one of its debut performances.

Lastly, on our final night in the city, we also got the chance to have dinner and exchange pleasantries with fellow ME bloggers Grey, Chung and their partners, at Japengo, the outdoor Japanese resto at the fab Madinat Jumeirah.  Thanks a lot, guys! We really enjoyed your company!

Blogging pals unite! With Grey, Chung and Papa Harvey Not in photo: “Papa Oscar”, Grey’s better half

As a whole, we were absolutely “dazzled and delighted” by Dubai.  It was indeed a blessing to be able to take this trip with the whole family since, as mentioned in my earlier blog, it was also a joint birthday celebration of sorts for Keith and Marga. What’s even cooler is that, as Keith realized, this was the first time ever that he got to celebrate his birthday in three kingdoms - Dubai (the UAE), Bahrain (where we landed en route to “our” kingdom), and Saudi Arabia! If only for this, I bet this is definitely one birthday that will stay with him for a very long time.

So long, Dubai, we shall surely look forward to the next “Marhaba”…

PS For more photos, click here.

Yes, I am happy to confirm that all the “kinks” have been thankfully ironed out and we are definitely all set for “D”-Day! Yahoo!

“D”, as you may already have read from Keith’s earlier blog, stands for Dubai, the “fastest growing cosmopolitan city here in the Middle East”.  Aside from the glorious sights and experiences Dubai has to offer, we are also looking forward to our EB with our two equally “dazzling” UAE-based blogging pals - Grey and Chung. 

With the all too familiar song “…all my bags are packed…I’m ready to go” ringing more loudly in my head as our holiday draws nearer, I ask for your prayers (and all the “positive vibes” that you can conjure up) so that all will really be well for this family trip - you know, no sickness or hassles or whatever of this sort.  After all, this is also our way of celebrating Keith’s and Marga’s upcoming birthdays (which, incidentally, are only 10 days apart) so we really intend to make this one holiday we will remember for quite a while.

I promise to post pictures as soon as I can so you guys can also join in on the fun.

Till then, hasta la vista, babies!

PS At sa lahat ng aking mga pinagkakautangan (ng “tag” lang naman ), I ask for your patience and understanding.  With everything that’s been going on (and with our Manila home leave hanging above my head as well), there might be an expected “slow-down” in my “churn rate”, so to speak…

Last weekend was particularly eventful for us.  We decided to check out the new water theme park in our neighboring kingdom, Bahrain - The Lost Paradise of Dilmun.

Impressive bovine structures greet us at the entrance of the park

Dilmun is actually one of the earliest civilizations in Bahrain.  They were believed to have been descended from the Greeks. We were fortunate to have visited the original site of the Dilmun ruins - a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site - during an earlier visit to Bahrain in October last year.

The attention to detail of the outer walls was a good sign - we weren‘t disappointed when we finally got inside!

What a welcome sight! A replica of an ancient Dilmun aqueduct

Highlights of our visit were the wave pool (apparently the largest in the Gulf region) , the Kids’ Rain Fortress (where the kids spent most of their time) and of course, the exciting water slides!  Too bad, though, that we weren’t able to take pictures of all the attractions we tried since it was quite difficult to bring our non-waterproof camera along while we were having so much fun in the water.

The Kids’ Rain Fortress aka The Water Temple - where we shared a lot of fun, BIG splashes!

Keith and I were so happy to have done something different and fun (for the kids, most especially) for a change.  Our weekend adventure was definitely one of our finer family bonding moments.

Our three blessings

Click here for more pictures.

 …is how I would describe our 10^th year wedding anniversary celebration in Miniloc Island, El Nido, Palawan.  

Modesty aside, this is also how I feel about being married to the same wonderful guy whom I’ve known since we were 12, who has given me three equally wonderful children, who has made me laugh with him, at him and at myself countless times, and who has been my rock all these years. 

My dear Hon, on our 10^th year, these are the ten things I am especially grateful for … 

…waking up each morning by your side

…the life we have together

…the memories we continue to build each day

…the lessons we have learned and continue to learn

…how you manage to put things in perspective for me when things get crazy

…your undying sense of humor

…the snippets of you I see in our children

…your genuine concern for people and how you truly care for them

…all the trips we’ve taken together (foodie, sightseeing and everything else in between!)

…being able to look to the future with you still by my side 

True, the past ten years may not have been all roses and yet, with you, I can’t help but remain hopeful that things can only get better and that life would definitely be more meaningful. 

Love you always. 

Pinky

PS Here’s a teaser dear hubby prepared for our Palawan trip.  Do check out our Multiply site for more photos! A word of caution though, before you click on link, you’d have to be in our Multiply posse to view the pics.

Spending nine days in the kingdom for the end-of-Ramadan holidays proved a bit too much for us so we decided that we should plan for a quick R&R someplace else.  The logical choice? Bahrain, of course!

Since the kingdom of Bahrain is only a 1 1/2 drive from our place and it being an “open city” (translation: no abayas, eat-all-you-can lechon kawali and binagoongang baboy, movies galore OR simply put: ”life as we know it”! ), we hied-off to this neighboring kingdom for a quick 3 day-2 night get-away.  Of course, the trip wouldn’t be complete without our fave cousins, the Megas, traveling with us. ;) We were also joined by Keith’s “uber-showbiz” pal from NCB Riyadh, Raffy Clemente (believe me, meeting Raffy is the closest I may ever get to “rubbing elbows” with Philippine showbiz denizens - hahaha! He is sooo “well-connected” and super-”in” on the latest “showbiz chika” that he kept us entertained for the most part of the trip… ).

Apart from the usual stops in Bahrain (i.e., the Seef Mall and Swan Lake), we all agreed that we should try and explore areas in this kingdom that we have never been to before.  We sure were glad we took this step as this brought us to the UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site of Dilmun, where we saw Bahrain’s ancient capital and the ruins of its old city. If only for this stop, our most recent Bahrain visit was truly worth our while.

On the down side, we also checked out the much-hyped ancient burial mounds, which, incidentally, were quite disappointing, as they actually reminded us of construction debris more than anything else… :( Note that the Moslems bury their dead in unmarked graves in accordance with their religious customs.

We also drove off to see the “Lost Paradise” water oasis (water park) but were also disappointed to find out that it actually hasn’t been finished yet and is still under construction.  Well, at least, this is another thing to look forward to for our future visits.

Next stop was the Bahrain International F1 Circuit, which we visited again to show Ge, Ira and Raffy - who were going there for the first time.  While there, we were pleased to hear (since we weren’t of course allowed to go beyond the stadium gates - too bad!) the revving of race cars in preparation for the upcoming “Australian Challenge” to be held in Bahrain from 01-03 Nov 07.  Keith and I made a mental note to see at least one F1 race before we leave the Middle East…whenever that is!

Pardon the poor picture quality of this shot - our old reliable Sony digicam seems to be getting more and more “tired” these days!

No holiday in Bahrain would be complete without also exploring “uncharted gastronomic delights”.  For our first dinner together, we tried the Portuguese “peri-peri” (apparently a method of barbecueing in Portugal) resto, Nando’s.  Alas, despite the tastefully done ambience, we had a “peri-peri” (very, very) ordinary eating experience which left much to be desired - bland-tasting espetadas, soggy fries and food orders which they initially got wrong and which arrived more than an hour later… :( Definitely not recommended.

A more exciting discovery was Marble Slab Creamery which offered to-die-for ice cream and yogurt concoctions.  Their selling point is actually mixing the ice cream or yogurt and the fresh ingredients (i.e., marshmallows, nuts, chocolate chips - name it, they have it!) with a spatula on a marble slab only as you order it.  I’ve never tasted a more creamy Rocky Road while Keith was equally happy with his candy-sprinkled caramel ice cream. Yum-o!

On our last night, I was able to coerce convince my dear hubby to return to our fave Japanese resto in Bahrain, the Gulf Hotel’s “Sato”.  Though we had to settle for a regular table at the central dining area on this visit, good food, great service and even greater company (nothing beats a good ol’ family meal - without me cooking! Hehehe!) more than made up for not dining at the more spacious tatami room. 

This wraps up the highlights of our recent Bahrain holiday.  I definitely look forward to “re-discovering” more places of interest in Bahrain yet again… till the next visit - will definitely keep you posted!

PS For more pictures, check our related Multiply site here.