Eid Break!

The holidays declared for Eid Al Fitr gave us almost a full week off. We planned that for most of that week, we'd just rest up in Muscat...but not before having a little bit of fun. We went back to Al Nahda, expectations high because we enjoyed our first visit so much.

The place was still great and we still enjoyed our stay a lot...but there were a few hiccups here and there. Had a small argument with the restaurant. The pool got too crowded during the late afternoons. The food was good but not as good as the last time. The pickup during checkout took more time than it should've (considering they kept reminding us to checkout otherwise we might get charged extra). Even thought the list seems long, the stay was still great overall. The little girl was just happy to be in the water with us and rode her bike whenever she could. Seeing the local version of the karitela (horse-drawn carriage) was a wonder for her - should probably try out the horse ride next visit. The wife spent time at the spa...and I got my massage (insert big smile here).

Lessons learned: don't go during Eid break or long holidays, they can't keep up with the volume of guests. Thursday dinner buffets (seafood) are the best... food the rest of the week is not as good. One day is too short, 2 days is too long.

Heely's

Bought the pair for the little girl sometime April (same time we bought the Wii). Few weeks in she'd be scared and quite tentative, since we didn't have much room to practice around the apartment, it took her a lot of time to get rolling. Getting to practice only during the weekends or when we'd be around the malls or hitching herself up to a grocery cart... slowly got confidence and she finally got it. Great job, V!

Going coastal

Spoke too soon. I mistakenly entitled (and implied) the other blog entry as the last summer escapade. I was so wrong.

We'd visited this Shangri-La before, during our first year here, walked around just to see the place. We've longed since to actually try the place out...and so...(hit me).

Shangri-La is Shangri-La. Been to four so far and this Barr Al Jissah is the best we've ever tried. There are actually three different Shang hotels along the beachfront. We'd stayed in the Al Waha one which was on the far right of the strip, nestled and cupped by a mountain ridgeline behind it. The room and view was fantastic. The cove beachfront was wonderfully peaceful and serene. The staff was (more than just) helpful and attentive but never came close to being overly done. We were a bit wary of how it was like around the resort, it being Ramadan and all, but it was still very much relaxed. Drinking water was free albeit one had to be somewhat discreet. Pool bars were open for orders for food as well.

Downside to having three different hotels with various restaurant options was the travel between them. Looking forward to the seafood buffet at Al Tanoor (Al Bandar hotel side) , we decided to walk along the beachfront to the hotel on the far side only to find out it had been changed to an Iftar buffet for Ramadan. Still pining for seafood, we decided to go back to the Samba restaurant and asked the concierge to drive us back. Now driving to Al Waha, even while inside the resort, meant going thru this massive hole in the mountain with a traffic light - one way traffic at any time; I thought it amusing. Needless to say we gorged on Samba's oriental buffet.

The little girl was looking forward to some turtle viewing also but frowned in finding out that the turtle egg hatching season was over. Typically, hotel guests were prompted, even during wee hours of the morning if it came to, when the eggs would start hatching or when mother turtles would come to shore to lay their eggs. In-house Turtle Rangers make sure they are protected all year long. We even found some protected nests along the beachfront.

Upside was that she found one of her best friends from school running around the pool area with her siblings. The girls' eyes lit up when they found each other, gave each other a big big hug, and proceeded to forget their parents and play around as they wanted.

Time came to check-out and head back to the city. The girls' were comforted in knowing they'd see each other back in school soon. We definitely have to go back... if only for the turtles.

Late Blog: Two Front Teeth

In time for Christmas? Our girl lost another one again. The top couple are both with the tooth fairy.

This last one had been loose as a goose for weeks already but stubbornly hung on to the bone. She didn't want anyone to mess with it. So, as always, it came off during a meal. It was the fish fingers this time.

Final Summer Excursion

Yet another Dubai trip for another Cisco training I was fortunately made a part of. Timed two weeks before school starts, two weeks before 'summer' ends, couple of weeks before Ramadan, final days of a Priority Club promo and right smack into the final week of the great Dubai sale. Fortuitous? Probably.

Hence, the same routine. Nexus Class during the day through lunch and (much-needed) coffee breaks while the mag-ina goes off to the mall-of-the-day. While the class was very engaging, I couldn't wait to follow the girls.

One of the highlights of this trip was our very first visit to the Dubai Outlet Mall. As advertised, the mall had great brands and great discounts (the city-wide Dubai sale also upped the %s). Needless to say the wife (and my colleagues wives who went on a different day) put the mall up near the top of list of Dubai-Malls-to-visit-on-every-Dubai-trip. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy sale season as well but the real highlight of that day was the siopao and halo-halo dinner... at Chowking. Good value for money shopping and pinoy-food craving satisfied!!

Another highlight of the trip was the visit to the famous Dubai Fountain beside Dubai Mall. We never had time to see the show(s) during previous visits - timing was off. This time we got to see two of seven programs of various artists. Some things are becoming a routine or ritual for us already... a visit to Festival City's IKEA and its restaurant is mandatory, Friday's at Mall of Emirates for our final meal before driving back to Muscat, among others.

This trip was great as usual with the exception of one weird evening... the little girl suddenly wakes up in the middle of the night crying that her tummy's hurting. She gives it a try in the bathroom several times but it wasn't letting up. So, while trying to keep my panic in check, I dash down to the hotel lobby. No in-house doctor at that time & the doctor on-call is about an hour away. Fearing the worst, I risked finding my own way to the nearest hospital, Jebel Ali hospital... after getting quick directions, I sped off in scabbers with both girls at the back seat - the wife comforting our baby as best she could. While I tried staying true to the directions given, I couldn't totally ignore signage to the hospital. Panic and unfamiliar roads, of course, leads to - getting LOST. With the help of my colleague (Sadiq - who I thank wholeheartedly for waking up at 2 am to help me coordinate directions with the hotel), I am able to finally arrive at the Jebel Ali hospital. Turns out... there are two different hospitals, both located in the Jebel Ali area and having exactly the same name. Go figure. Anyways, after some time in the ER, the little girl felt better - no more aches and cramps or anything so the doctor cleared her. We stayed a bit more just to be sure but we quickly went back to the hotel room as if nothing happened. Was most likely gas or indigestion- a big whopping tummy ache.

Notwithstanding that fluke of a night, it was a great trip all around. While generally, it is thought safer to drive back to Muscat during daylight, I find it easier (more ways than one) to do it at night. Either way, the 5 hour drive is always bearable with live entertainment inside the car.

Movie time: Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince

Last month we watched the latest Harry Potter movie , The Half-Blood Prince. It's a different experience with Vivian as she has not read any Potter books yet. She said " it's not a happy ending, I'm sad". We actually explained to her and promised that we would watch the rest of the HP movies...yes , we started from The Sorcerer's Stone and we had a movie marathon, all the way to Order of the Phoenix. Now we can't wait to watch the final movie/book, to be shown next year and 2011 . We're wondering which part of Deathly Hallows will the first movie end with?

Rest of the Holiday

The not-so-little girl made herself busy with her scrapbook for the remaining weeks of school vacation. She was decorating and organizing pictures of her school activities, events and celebrations and picking art materials to put on every page. This is a nice way of letting her develop her artistic skills. We've been doing this every year since her LEAP school days in Philippines so she will have something to remember, the experience of going to school and how fun it is making a scrapbook.

Dubai Fountain

Dubai Mall's fountain show. Seven different shows accompanied by different music that lasted for about 3 minutes each and with an interval of 20 minutes per show. We were able to watch two shows that night.

Show No. 7: Shik Shak Shok by Hassan Abou El Seoud

The Climb

Vivian sings "The Climb" by Miley Syrus featured in Hannah Montana The Movie. When I got the movie soundtrack, she loved to listen to this song and asked me to get the lyrics. After a few days of learning the lyrics and the song, here she is singing it everytime.. everywhere...

Now, I'm thinking of enrolling her for voice lessons.

Al Nahda Resort and Spa

Suffice to say - this was a great idea.

We'd been hearing of this place since the first summer we've been here. The place is about half an hour or so from Muscat (around 50kms away I guess) so we'd put off going there until now.

We unceremoniously decided to check-in early and was expecting them to ferry us off to the pool until the proper check-in time but... pleasantly surprised... they gave us our room that early in the morning. From the fist buggy drive to the room, we were simply amazed at the size of the grounds - the front gate was indeed deceiving. The resort has a good-sized pool with a kid's area. The little girl couldn't wait to get to it and make the most out of the day. Bikes made available for families roaming around the grounds. Play areas with swing and the like for kids.

After setting up camp by the pool, the wife quickly made her way to the Spa reception (and good thing too!) to arrange for our Spa schedules for that afternoon. Apparently, a big group had also checked-in and we were competing for the slots with them. Fortunately, she met a kabayan who was the supervisor there and arranged for extra schedules just for us. Note to self, lesson learned - arrange for Spa schedules well in advance. I can't say enough good things for that massage - that alone is enticing enough to go back with the family for another round.

Good thing we got our massages at the right time of the day - it made our evening just perfect. Our dinner at Al Khalab Restaurant was the perfect way to the end the evening. It was a glorious (!!) seafood buffet with lobsters, crabs, prawns and a bunch of other delicious... stuff with an equally amazing desert collection - we shamelessly took out half of the crème brulée tray.

As with all things, it came to an end but it was a sign of things to come... we now have a place to run to now for a quick weekend getaway.