Bidding adieu to 2016

2016 has been an interesting year — good and sad. Yin and Yang or in my case it's Yang and Yin. 

Highlights of my year: leaving the yin, keeping the yang.

👉 Welcomed 2016 in great style – outside my comfort zone in Eastern European country Georgia. 

Thank you self! 

👉 Received my first-ever and probably last-ever Pandora rings which  according to a friend, are more expensive than her wedding ring. 

Anyway, thank you.

👉 Graced, LOL, the spectacular world's richest horse race Dubai World Cup show and sang & danced in the crowd during Janet Jackson's Unbreakable  Concert. 

Thank you company!

👉 Tried Jacuzzi and Steam/Sauna for the first time in my life. 

Thank you self!

👉 Went for a little healing retreat in Bangkok. 

Thank you self  

👉 Company sent me to some Training Workshop for skills upgradation. 

Thank you boss for the endorsement!

👉 Experienced an Emirati wedding with a weekend getaway in Abu Dhabi. 

Thank you boss for the invitation!

👉 Had walked to "Beat Diabetes" for first time. 

Thank you Landmark Group for this initiative!

👉 Marveled the water cascading from the bridge over Dubai Canal – one of Dubai's newest attractions in 2016.
Thank you Dubai for your never ending attractions!


Hello 2017 💃

An Emirati Kinda Wedding - 1/2

A destination wedding experience and an ultimate getaway. 

Got an Emirati wedding invites and didn't let it slip through my fingers as it might be the last opportunity I had to experience such wedding. 

That being said, I was provided with 2 nights accommodation at St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort inclusive of breakfast and any meals/beverages that aren't part of the wedding banquet – all paid by the bride and groom. A life no ordinary person would ever be able to afford.

The Hotel

The beach front hotel is located on the pristine beach of Saadiyat Island and framed by the prestigious Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi. 

St Regis is the most bespoke resort on the Saadiyat Island.

A buffet dinner with the bride and groom and their whole clan, I assumed it was a rehearsal dinner, was held the night before the wedding banquet, the first night on the island. It was set up near the hotel lobby lounge on the 3rd level, conveniently few steps from my room. The thing about dining in a posh place and rubbing noses shoulders with well off Emiratis IS you can't just whip out your phone and snap what's on your dinner plate.

The Room

Alone in the room, the feels of it evoked nostalgic memories of weekend hotel holidays, especially when I wanted a coffee and got no clue how Nespresso machine works, wish I had paid more attention when someoNe made me a coffee over a Nespresso machine. Anyway, let me tour you around my lavishly appointed room. 

Here comes my comfy bed

Behind the table is a door and a shoe rack facing the cupboard

the telephone desk where I call my Butler service

Below the TV is the mini bar and behind it is a spacious double vanity bathroom; left door to the loo; right door to the tub

the bathroom with Remède bath amenities, from the toilet side, Shower in the middle and Tub at the far end

The bathroom with Remède bath amenities; from the Tub side, Shower in the middle, and Loo at the far end

The Butler assigned to me was kind enough to make me a bubble bath a la St Regis

Had to do this, LOL

View from the bath tub

My room has its own private balcony, offering a glimpse of captivating views of the bluest sea and beyond while enjoying a cup of tea, couldn't make me a coffee coz you-know-why

view from my private balcony

for the love of salmon, I ordered room service

The Hotel Interior and The Beach

Buffet breakfast the best and my fave is located on the level one of the hotel with panoramic view of the ocean and beyond, it features cooking stations where staff await guests' every whim. It has indoors and alfresco options and a very relaxing dining experience with local, mediterranean, international menu... superb choices for anyone's taste to enjoy. Again, the thing about dining in a posh place and....

So let's roam around the hotel and beach, shall we? A certain mystique surrounds the hotel due to the Mediterranean architecture and contemporary interior design...

And I can't get over the hotel's turquoise ocean view... breathtakingly stunning! It was super blue and beautiful out there.

Up next: The Wedding Banquet

Horse Racing, Not My Thing

Last year, I posted this on my Facebook..

Regret of the day: Giving away my #DubaiWorldCup2015 Apron views ticket... I think it would be fun to dress up, wear hat & fascinator... And pretend I have enough money to rub elbows with the rich and famous. LOL. FTW!

This year I had a chance to experience "the world's richest horse race" for "a day of ultimate excitement". Dubai World Cup day is held at Meydan Racecourse on the last Saturday in March every year.

I dressed up but didn't wear the fascinator headband (my ultimate dream, LOL) that I bought because we left home late and reached Meydan Racecourse around 8pm. As I didn't know the Do's and Don'ts of wearing this fetching British headpiece, instinct told me not to. It would be unnecessary as it was already dark. Besides I didn't think it would be okay to have something in my head while watching Janet Jackson's concert.

Anyway, I was really there for the after-race concert as horse racing is not my cup of shai.

I have heard a lot of stories about the spectators yearly - what were their behaviour like. That night I have had first hand experienced of what they are really like. As early as 8pm a lot of them are already drunk as a skunk. The so-called "dress code" are also out of the window, my, what a risqué! And at the end of the event, most of the women are totally pulling a Cinderella. 

Would I go attend this event again next year? Of course! To watch the concert, dress up, wear a fascinator and Instagram it. LOL.

Watch Dubai World Cup 2016 video clips by clicking the links:

The moment where California Chrome wins world's richest horse race

DWC 2016 Fireworks Display 1

DWC 2016 Fireworks Display 2

DWC 2016 Fireworks Display 3

2017 DWC ►

Some Snippets from Letters Written While in Georgia

04-January-2016

I am writing this while in the car traveling from Tbilisi to Kaheti region. It's negative four degree Celsius (-4°C) here, it snowed yesterday so everything is covered with snow...

05-January-2016

It's snowing again, negative nine degree Celsius (-9°C). 

Would you believe I climbed a solid rock mountain for an hour despite the weather - snowing and windy? Because the medieval cave monastery in Vardzia was dug out of that rock mountain. Crazy and dangerous, I know. 

I came from down there.. I'm the Queen of the World!

Thank you for the good boots. Aside from having a good grip, they're made for walking and climbing. I told roomie that in our second life, if there really is, we should do it in our 20s. LOL.

We've been climbing Monasteries on Armenian and Georgian mountains for the last 10 days. I wonder why all Monasteries were built  on the top of the mountain... maybe because it made them feel closer to heaven / God. 

We  headed to some castle in Akhaltsikhe and the snow got thicker. 

At Home With The Georgians 2

At Home With The Georgians.. Or Not. (continuation)

Day 1 of 2016, we explored outside Tbilisi with this other hotel guest (OHT) who joined us the prev night.

Fast forward to evening of Jan 1 2016 in Tbilisi, we've gone to McDonald's in Rustaveli avenue and had our dinner there. One old homeless man sat next table to us whom started showing us his drawings. The locals stared at him bluntly. So we started giving him some of our food till the McDo's manager (I assumed) came and muttered something to him. 

We proceeded to watch a musical program (it's like a concert of some artists or band) in Rose Revolution Square somewhere near Rustaveli avenue. When we arrived I saw a special wall of messages where people wrote their messages, so I took my pen out of my bag and started writing "I ❤️ NAIF", can you spot it where?

While walking near the stage, a band playing an upbeat song so Roomie and I started jumping dancing to the beat and mixed up with the crowd. At one point, we were given chocolates by the locals as bribe to make us stop hopping because they're on their 'Happy Holidays' mood. Though they were singing in Georgian language, we still enjoyed hanging up with the locals who were in a very party mood. In the middle of the concert, a guy and a girl were called up and came on the stage. The guy knelt down and presented a ring to the girl and congratulations were in order - sweet!.  It felt great doing something different, having fun with strangers in a strange land. 

• There were a bunch of teeners there who were pranking us throwing us 'firecrackers' after they saw how scared I was of firecrackers. They always got me every time. I always panicked, ran and screamed to death (don't blame me, the experience from previous night was very traumatising).

Late night after the concert, we walked to this old building somewhere in Rustaveli, where pubs/bar are located in a dark underground of the building which got me scared (apparently, everything scares me).

• It looked like an old theatre building. The pubs/bars  weren't opened that time because it was still early (it was around 11pm). I was told the nightlife begins there at 12am. I have noticed the Gulf flags there and was told some of the bars are owned by Gulf nationals (unconfirmed).

Anyway, we left the area and started walking towards Freedom Square metro station. On our way there, we passed by two men arguing with one another, one is middle aged and drunk (Mr Drunk) and they got a little physical. While we were almost near the entrance of the Metro station, someone stepped on my right boot behind me and when I looked back it was Mr Drunk so I just ignored to avoid trouble.

Tbilisi Metro platform

When we were in the platform, we saw the bunch of teeners who continued pranking us throwing 'firecrackers'. So I walked away and hid behind the pillar. And then suddenly Mr Drunk started harassing OHT, dragging OHT's baseball cap from his head and covering his whole face over and over, which again scared the hell out of me. 

Thankfully, a mother with a girl, stood between them and pulled OHT away from him while saying something to him. And an old lady called the attention of the security. Then she, the mother, came to us and apologised saying they (Georgians) are not really tourist-drunk harassers people. We thanked her for her concerns and niceness.

So we stayed far away from Mr Drunk and when we saw he was going in a compartment, we immediately entered in another compartment. To our surprise, he followed us. And just like a movie scene, we silently moved fast to the other end/next compartment while he was trying to get near us. Luckily, the compartment got crowded and he got blocked by the crowds. When we reached the next station (where we were heading), we hurried briskly towards exit. We ran from the platform to the up escalator. When we were on the up escalator catching our breaths thinking the chase has ended, I looked back and got horrified to see Mr Drunk passing through others on the up escalator looking at us as if he wanted to beat us.  I told roomie and OHT that Mr Drunk is behind us, when they saw him, we started running again. 

• Just so you know, Tbilisi has deeper metro station than Dubai, it has an escalator length of 120 meters.

Roomie and I on the down escalator to the platform of Tbilisi Metro station. This was taken on our way to McDonald's before things got suspenseful, LOL

Glad we're young and sober so we reached the ground and hotel, which is a minute walk from the station, panting but safely. 

It was tremendously an experience - in the truest sense of the word! It was really a big step out of my comfort zone. 

Thank you Georgians! 

At Home With The Georgians..

Or not.

This post has been delayed for almost 2 months. I don't have the appetite to blab. Anyway, just like my prev post, I'll talk about my experience being at home with the Georgians... Or not.

It was at the wee hours of 26th December when we arrived in Tbilisi

• We were given a bottle of dry red wine at the Immigration. I can say after being in Dubai for a decade, getting a wine from the Immigration officer right after stamping the entry stamp on your passport is a culture shock. So yeah that was cool. 
• We were picked up by Envoy Tbilisi driver at the airport, that's when I started doing a charade or informal system of sign language.

We had to stay for few hours at Envoy Hostel Tbilisi while waiting for our driver to take us to Yerevan.

• The Envoy staff at the reception that time was very accommodating and helpful so we were happy. 
• We had our first meal and tasted authentic Georgian cuisine at Machakhela-Samikitno, a 24-hour resto in the old town of Tbilisi. You know where the "I❤️TBILISI" is located. Since then we kept coming back to the same resto even if asking the waitresses about the food was a struggle.  

  

  Machakhela-Samikitno resto and yummy Georgian cuisine

On the night of 30th December, we returned to Tbilisi from Armenia. We stayed in a different hotel as there is no available room at Envoy Tbilisi.

• Talking to the hotel receptionist at that time was a struggle, we need to do the whole informal sign language again (Ahhh, I miss Armenia). 

The same night, we went to a small grocery store nearby to buy water, instant noodles and bread because it was a bit late and we still dunno the area/place yet. 

• While we were checking what to buy, one guy who appeared to be drunk made a comment on us "Are you even Christians?" I just ignored what I've heard because for me arguing with a drunk man makes you drunker. LOL

Fast forward to the new year's eve. I have noticed the following:

Fireworks Display at Freedom Square

• It seems okay to drink alcohol in the street when it's new year or maybe only because there's a program for NY countdown at the Freedom Square or because alcoholic beverages are available everywhere. Whatever is the reason, it is obviously okay to get drunk (Of course, what do I expect it's a land of wine, aight?!)
• Most Georgians are very naughty, throwing fire crackers at people regardless of age for fun. I was a victim of it, I still have the bruises behind my leg until now and was painful for a week because someone threw one at me. I'm okay, though.
• Right after the new year's eve program and fireworks, street cleaners are already there at the Freedom Square sweeping the street of  Rustaveli, cleaning everyone's mess. That was really a big WOW.  

After the countdown, we went to the 24-hour resto mentioned above. Then at the bar areas, it started  snow. Which was a plus point for experiencing real snow falling on my head.

first snow of 2016 at the capital

• We entered one bar, we were turned away because we're three (a guest in the same hotel who's also from Dubai joined us). We were just told that they only allowed either 2 persons or 4 persons.  It's hard to ask further explanation of there's a communication barrier.
• Despite the rejection, we still found a bar with friendly staff and customers.
• For a taxi, they don't use meter. We always had to bargain and argue a little with taxi drivers because of communication barrier.

Nevertheless, we still had fun ending 2015 and starting 2016 with a bang and snow..

And the snow becomes thicker

To be continued...