WALKING TOUR - OLD DUBAI

Dubai is known for chic places, luxury spas and restaurants, beautiful beaches and camping sites and of course, skyscrapers. But before civilization, what's Dubai?

Old Dubai, mostly the area of Deira and Bur Dubai is not on everyone's list when visiting Dubai. Even I as a resident wasn't able to visit this part until the Walking Tour was organized. And I am very happy to Couchsurfing as the medium where I found this event.

Couchsurfing Members / Residents of Dubai and Travelers in Dubai

Shall we take a little tour? To begin with, we started with the Fish Market in Deira side since it is the closest one from the place of assembly. It looks as a normal local market with fruit stands and dry goods. We came to the wet side of the market and found a lot of unusual kinds of fish (well for my eyes maybe) which is pretty interesting. This makes me realize that fishing has been once the main industry of Dubai. 

I really don't know what they are called and no one is looking after them so I was not able to ask what is it

The next destination is the Gold Souk where the biggest gold ring (with Guiness' Record can be found). However, I was not able to get a picture of it since everyone wants a picture of the gold ring. But, I was held up by these little cute camels. You can find these in every souvenir shops especially in big malls but you can always find a better price. In the shop where I found them, the big one costs 20 AED and the small one ranges from 10-15 AED (it depends if you will buy more).

Camel stuffed toys

Our third destination is the Al Ahmadiya School which is the most prestigious ancient institution and the first semi-private school in Dubai. It was now turned into a museum. It was an interesting place because it's an interactive museum where you can find mannequins and a small computer where you can read facts about the place.

Intricate and detailed art after the renovation

We go straight to the Heritage House which is the typical house (and lifestyle) of an Emirati way back. From the style of the house, up to the utensils and their source of entertainment, everything can be found in the house. 

"G" giving us a brief introduction of our destination

Spice Souk is the next itinerary on our list. Nuts, dried shrimps, and up to spices being used in cooking are in here. The place is so colorful but of course, it comes with their strong smell as well. There are lots of sales people who aren't fussy to teach you a thing or two about these spices. However, some of them might expect that you will buy at least.

After our short stop in the Spice Souk, we crossed the creek with the famous ride, Abra for 1 dirham. This ride is very popular to regular residents who need to cross the creek and with tourists as well. The creek itself have different stations and you can choose which route to take. The longest route (I believe) is from the stop in Al Ghubaiba to the station near the Deira Twin Towers for 2 dirhams. Sorry I failed to get the names of these stations.

Riding an Abra

Creek

Upon crossing the creek, we are now in the Bur Dubai side of the Old Part of Dubai. We went to a Hindu temple and since it's a sacred place, I didn't took any pictures of it because it might look disrespectful. We head straight to the Bastakiya Quarter where you can find the restaurant who serves Camel Meat and Camel Milk. You can also enjoy the maze-like structure of the place where a lot of tourists take pictures as 'lost in the maze'.

Cliche caption: Lost in the Maze

The final itinerary of the Walking Tour is the Dubai Museum. I cannot remember how much is the entrance fee if it's 2 dirhams or 5 dirhams. I like the museum because the main part of it was underground. The whole history of Dubai was shown in a creative yet artistic way. Lights and sounds were supported as well and it looks very modern from my standards. One of the part of the museum that I really liked is how they set aside one big part of it to showcase the fishing industry of the city before.

Fishing Industry as shown in Dubai Museum

At the last part of the museum, typical souvenirs and free books and pamphlets can be found as well. Everyone agreed that the museum is the best place to end the Walking Tour. It was educational, interesting and fun. Hence, the Old Dubai itself shouldn't be missed by residents and tourists alike.

I am grateful for Ghaith, for organizing the Walking Tour. And as planned, everyone who joined the tour went to dinner at a Lebanese Restaurant before we parted ways. It was a good cool down time to chat with fellow CouchSurfing members. I am not as active as before but this event reminded me of what is the essence of traveling.

Dinner at Heritage Village

For us, traveling isn't to see places alone. It isn't to met locals alone. It's the whole journey and the friends you've met that counts. And true enough, this walking tour counts for me. Happy Traveling!

AROUND THE WORLD IN GLOBAL VILLAGE

When I was in college, I worked once in a theme park in the Philippines as a summer job. It is known as Enchanted Kingdom which is located in Southern part of the metro, in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. I've been there for 2 and a half months and it's one of my happiest part-time job I have (apart from McDonald's). That experience made me love parks. Theme parks to be specific became very close to my heart.

Summer Job 2011

In Dubai, there's one theme park (fully operating) that I've always wanted to visit ever since I arrived here. It is called Global Village which is located in Dubailand. We took the public transportation by bus from Union Metro Station. One way costs 10 AED and the entrance fee costs 15 AED. We went there at exactly 4 pm and the park is open until 12 midnight.

The park consists of pavilions of different countries showcasing products and crafts from the country of origin. Replicas of famous landmarks were built and products were imported to be sold here.

Replicas of Big Ben, Leaning Tower of Pisa and Colosseum or Flavian Ampitheater

Chinese Gazebo

African Pavilion

This pavilion is my favorite and it deserves a special mention. The products are all authentic. Every craft and art and all products were new to my eyes (not that I've never seen anything like that) because you cannot find these in big malls of Dubai. The song playing in the background was an African one (that's one thing for sure) and there are people standing outside the pavilion wearing native costumes of their country.

What I love about it is that I felt their pride of their country. Here in Dubai, a lot of Africans were paid really low. They weren't treated that nice. But here, they are all happy. Their face shows their love to their origin. Being patriotic. Patriotism. Yes. Despite of all their struggles in their country, here they were, full of pride and saying, I CAME FROM AFRICA. I LOVE AFRICA. Salute to these people!

Crafts and stuff from Africans

 The second pavilion I liked is Japan's. Anime is from Japan and I am so happy to see some collection! Yes it is not complete and very limited, but still, it's so hard to find these stuff here in Dubai. I found a small stuffed toy of Chopper and it broke my heart that I didn't bought it. It's too expensive for me! LOL. #byechopper

Collectibles

You can find two Japanese friends in the farthest stall of the pavilion. One guy and one girl. I am not sure if they are a couple but they look good together. Haha. Anyway, they are offering this service where you can try wearing Yukata (Kimono is the elegant one, more expensive and traditional one with the bow at the back where Yukata is more casual) and they will take a picture of you for 10 AED. They will give you a print out of this picture. You can also add a background of Japan for 30 AED if I am not mistaken. And no, this is not the picture they took. I look so silly there.

I am able to try Yukata too! Look at the face! Mission accomplished!

Yukata, the casual style form of Kimono

Each pavilion offers short performances (groups, bands, individual) of any kind of entertainment they have. I remember the band from Iran playing a happy 'bandari' music. I saw dance performance in India's pavilion with a Punjabi group as well. A traditional dance was performed of my 'kabayan' in the pavilion of Philippines.

Syrian Performers on Main Stage

There's a small part of the park with rides for kids and adults. They have a huge Ferris Wheel called Wheel of the World for 30 AED. It doesn't move that fast unlike the others and you won't feel scared up high. The aerial view of the whole park is fantastic.

Wheel of the World

Aerial view of Global Village

It was tiring but fun. I felt like I'm a kid again. And it's a feeling that everyone would like to go back to once in a while. Though I was a little bit sad that I was not able to buy Chopper and I wasn't able to play those games with huge stuffed toys as prizes, but surely, I'm gonna come back.

So long Global Village! I'm gonna come back sooner or later!

NEW YEAR, NEW ME, NEW GOALS

Happy New Year! 

It's the time of the year where everything is fresh and new! Last year might not be one of the best years of my life, but it's over. It's already in the past. So right now, I should focus on planning and claiming to be waaaay moreee HAPPY this year! And for me to maximize my time here in Dubai (Inshallah), I've decided to come up with a list of my own goals (SMART goals).

These smart goals, once achieved and accomplished, will have it's own post here in my blog. And so here it is and let me try my best to fulfill these goals before the year ends!

Travel, Sports & Adventure - UAE
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Global Village
Walking Tour - Old Dubai
Arsekal Avenue
Ferrari World
Ski Dubai
Jebel Jais
Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi
Iceland Waterpark
Motiongate Dubai (still under construction)
Oman Musandam
Practice ice skating in Dubai Ice Rink (Dubai Mall) and in Hyatt Regency
Try paddle board around Burj Al Arab
Attend one Yacht Party

Travel - outside UAE 
Hike one mountain/volcano
Visit one town outside Luzon
Travel to one Asian Country
Try Couchsurfing as a GUEST

Road to Financial Freedom
Be debt free
Create a solid emergency fund
Help our small convenience store in the Philippines to grow bigger
Buy 1 22k carat gold as an investment
Buy the gold arrow ring or a necklace with the arrow pendant
Open an account in mutual funds 

Personal Growth
Land in my dream job/company
Learn how to do make up professionally
Learn how to wear good heels

How about you? What are some of your goals for this year? Let me know and maybe I can add it to my list! Good luck to everyone!

WATCHING TV IS THE NEW THING

People often say that you should reduce the number of hours watching television so you should be productive. Countless of sites and articles and motivational speakers always include that fact. But, I would like to share my opinion which is slightly different from the advice above.

Once in a while, indulge yourself on watching one episode per day of a TV series which you trust would teach you a thing or two. I encourage young professionals especially those whose working on a fast paced city or country to do this.

If you have more time, reading is better (and best). But if you're working (like me) for 10 hours a day, six days a week, and you need a simple break and light activity for your mind.... I guess watching an hour (or an episode) per day is recommended.

For the past few weeks, I've chosen these two TV series which taught me some meaningful lessons:

GAME OF THRONES

Game of Thrones is an American TV series and a novel adaptation from George R.R. Martin.The story evolves when the current Hand of the King dies. Sooner or later, the King Himself dies as well and that's basically the start of the game of thrones (literally).

I liked this TV series because:
1) This series made me realize that greed of power comes in all forms, age, and gender. Greed is considered as one of the seven deadly sin which is known as avaritia/avarice. The story depicts that when you have greed, it will never take you far.
2) Jon Snow's willingness to protect the people by serving from the Night's Watch taught me the significance of 'public service'. He showed what good governance really means. And sadly, at the end, being a good guy is still not enough. People will never understand your good intentions.
3) Arya. Her character for me is really striking. From the old times, there's always a discrimination between men and women especially when it comes to their abilities. At her young age, she already understood that there's no difference, just the anatomy.

I learned:
1) More British English words
2) Men prefers average* type of body
    * average - natural looking/not big and bulky b's
3) Religion exists during Medieval era (some says that Game of Thrones didn't happened during Medieval but on 'Late Medieval Era') but it is slightly different than the religion we have today.
4) Book is still better


SUNGKYUNKWAN SCANDAL

Sungkyunkwan Scandal is a South Korean historical period/romantic/comedy drama about a girl who disguised herself as a guy to enter Sungkyunkwan, Joseon Dynasty's highest educational institute where no women are allowed.

I liked this Korean Drama because: 
1) The combination of our the characters (the main four and the extended cast) gave us a quick glimpse of the personality of the society. There are persons who seek for revenge, justice, truth, power, and wisdom.
2) The issue where woman is not allowed to study and/or be a government official. Kim Yoon Shik (female lead) raised this issue with her professor and the professor doesn't have an answer as to how man differs from woman. (I so love that scene!)

I learned:
1) More formal Korean words
2) Brief idea of Joseon Dynasty
3) Lessons from Confucius


These TV series (and my advice) may not be applicable to everyone thus this is just a mere suggestion only. I found watching these series useful to me since I am not fond of watching series before. Like everyone else, I only knew that reading is the only good habit that one can cultivate. But in my opinion, as long as we found out how to learn on such things, one should not deprive one's self of doing so.

Do you know any TV series worth watching?