Ski Dubai

Last weekend, I went out to meet my friend, Dhon, though we meet in Burjuman, we decided to hop in another mall in Skaikh Zayed, the Mall of the Emirates (MOE). It was out of the plan to enter in Ski Dubai, anyhow we did. Ski Dubai is one major attraction in UAE. It is the first indoor ski resort to established in Middle East. There you can experience a real snowy ground, ice figures, Skiing, Snowboarding, Cable Chair ride plus some adventure rides. And the reward of it all..of course its freezing cold!!! a maintained temperature of 0-1°. The snow perfectly suites the season and the snow itself will fulfill your desire of a White-Christmas.

Entrance for Winter Wonderland where you can roam around and take pictures is AED100 (PHP1300), however if you add AED50 you can enjoy the cable chair ride and if raise to AED200 (PHP2600), all rides will be included. Rates for skiing & snowboarding are different and there are sessions for beginners.

As for the places I have been..there will always be a fun part out of the whole picture. I’d like to call it “crazy-zany-piece” like in Wild Wadi there is this big rock swinging like hell 10metres from the ground, in a prestigious 7-star-hotel of Burj Al Arab there is shop of Damas and as for Ski Dubai, you will find a coffee shop inside (why not) named St. Mortiz Café and (now this is really hilarious) at the mid-station of the cable chair ride almost at the peak you’ll find another coffee shop, the Avalanche Café. I didn’t pay attention to the crew who asked us if we want to have coffee up there didn’t realized he’s serious bout that :P

Lockers for AED20

St. Mortiz Cafe

60yrs and counting

Before this day end let me greet a person whom I admire and respect the most
A devoted and loving woman, a wonderful and strong lady
Who silently keeps her sorrows yet selflessly gives her all
She’s a survivor from an alarming illness and yet she serves as a great inspiration
She is my mentor..she is my best friend..she is my home....my mom.
Happy 60th Birthday mame!!!

7-star Hotel Experience

I never really imagine myself entering in this so called 7 star hotel. My Aunt, Uncle and cousin fr Saudi Arabia spend their Eid Holiday here. For the finale of thier Dubai Tour we booked ourselves for a breakfast at the Burj Al Arab. It was really an experience I must say. The front lobby is plain but getting inside is absolutely not. The carpet, the ceiling and the fountain will reward your eyes with lavishness and when you get at the mezzanine man its Golden! Funny is..there is DAMAS inside, a UAE-based Jewelry Co. We had our breakfast at Jesuis' an Int'l Restaurant. It was buffet and they are coinciding with the richness of the hotel as they offer great carte du jour from breads&cerials to heavy&sweets. Ask about the ambiance?..Perfect! Great view of the open sea..We had the chance to enjoy the lobby and mezzanine area but honestly, my photographic memory of the atrium (which is it is famous for) didn't last since i was busy taking pictures in every corner..LOL!!!

Its famous atrium

having fun w/ the chand

Told yah there is DAMAS (that's my pretty aunt)


Chillin' area of Jensui restau
yummy dessert not for diets!

Open Letter No.1

I got the idea of an open letter from Bianca Gonzalez and since I really want to send my appreciation to the person behind one of my favorite blog i decided to addressed one to her. Here it goes..

product of a reverie

I am me, just me
So are you, yes so you
I am here, you are high
Reachable maybe, but how to fly?

You are elegant and sophisticated
Make me feel want, yet so complicated
How will I bring words of emotion
If every one longs for your affection?

How can I be with someone like you
Despair I get I become so blue
At night I wish you’d be my star
At days I see how far you are

So tell me now and tell me quick
Should I stay, should I pick
If all you get and I as well
Is a piece of haven we cannot dwell

save

The Videographer and the Top Cager

As I was browsing on some pinoy related site I stumble on Jason Magbanua's site. He is a well-known wedding videographer in the Philippines and is running his business for six years now. I got interested on browsing his site since I enjoy wedding celebrations. I was just so surprised that one of his recent coverage was the wedding of RJ Rizada. RJ, is one of the top cagers of FEU Tamaraws ( alongside 2- time MVP, Arwind Santos) winning straight in UAAP season’s 67th&68th. I once became his classmate in law subject way back my FEU days and his one of the reason why I love to watch UAAP so much! Yiiy..he’s now married!

Pic of Mae and RJ Rizada by Jason Magbanua

The Emirates Palace

Since I came to Abu Dhabi I was dying to enter to the The Emirates Palace. At long last my simple wish had come true last Saturday as we roam around the Palace for a couple of minutes. The Emirates Palace is another Luxury Hotel which is owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi. It was built in a cost of astounding $3BILLION (whew!) enough to be reputed as the most expensive hotel ever built. With that kind of amount to have been put up of course you would not expect plainness in here. It is a huge palace with a wide landscape so its not an ordinary hotel building structure What I like are the effects on the frontage. Those are the playful fountains and the long lining fall from the Lobby descending to the ground.

The Emirates Palace (Front)

Going up to the Lobby

That's us! (really sunny afternoon)

wild wadi

"Come alive @ Wild Wadi"
as its tagline says. Wild Wadi is one of the famous waterpark resort here in UAE.
We went there last May. The weather is hot and sun is scorching so the best way to cool yourself is to go to a resort. Wild wadi as obviously is our choice. It's 12 acres waterpark resort with 30 adrenalin-pumping rides situated between Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

Wild wadi is a kind of resort which offers fun water rides. Rather than concentrating on swimming alone you can enjoy and expirience surfing, slides, waves, water jets and a lot more. The vast majority of the rides at Wild Wadi are a first for this region. It include the Jumeirah Sceirah, the tallest and fastest slide outside the United States (freefall tlga!); the aptly titled Tunnel of Doom, which takes you on a spine-tingling underground journey of twists and turns; the Summit Surge, which uses high-powered water jets to propel up to four people uphill; and the Wipeout FlowRider where the adventurous can surf a tube wave nearly three metres high.

Just to share..we are all 16 who entered and we got 12 tickets (in a form of water resistant swipable watch) free! I guess that is the best part of the deal!

Song Hye Kyo

I enjoy TV dramas and films a lot. I’m not a fanatic one but it wasn’t until I watch the Korean Drama “Fullhouse”. I became an avid fan of Song Hye Kyo. I like her since “Endless Love/Autumn in my heart” drama. One english site provide me lots of information like her profile, pictures and projects from past and current ones. I have also activated a google alert for her on my gmail account. Thanks to google they offer this kind of alert so I am updated with what’s the latest buzz on my favorite actress.

Song Hye Kyo on her early days
Screencap from "Autum Tale"

from "Fullhouse"

Laneige Cosmetics (CF)

I was thrilled when I learned that she will star in John Woo’s next project “1949”. John Woo as we all know is the man behind the highly anticipated films Face off and Mission Impossible II. The screenplay will be written by Wang Hui-ling, the writer of one of the best movie I saw, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Song will star opposite Chang Chen, the actor who played Lo/Dark Cloud opposite Zhang Ziyi in Crouching Tiger. A highly $40million-budget film, with release date (December 2009) coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and working with Asia and Hollywood’s big names..this is Grand!

@ Cannes Festival with Director John Woo and Co-star Chang Chen

1949 movie doesn’t mark Song’s entry to Hollywood since she did a Hollywood Independent Film “Fetish”(2008) succeeding her first period movie, Hwang Jin Yi which according to her is a turning point of her career shedding off cute image portraying to a strong assertive independent character.

I have watch 3 of her drama, Autumn Tale, All In and Full House and her two movies, My girl and I and Hwang Jin Yi. I would understand why her first movie My girl and I opposite Cha Tae Eun (My sassy Girl) critically panned by audience since fans (including me) expect her on a greater project after making Fullhouse a hit. The story is pointless. But I did enjoy her Hwang Jin Yi. I actually watch it on the plane hehe. The movie was full of art and I think she gave justice to the role. It fared poorly in Korea mainly because a TV version aired prior to the release of the movie. Her current project now is a drama “The world they live in” opposite Hyun bin (My Lovely Sam Soon). The title is not appealing but I think they make a cute couple.

I’m having an impression that Song hye kyo will be the next Zhang Ziyi and as a fan, I hope she can make a name in Hollywood. Nevertheless, she’s the beauty you can never be tired of. She is really beautiful.

Hangul

안녕하세요 - annyeong haseyo! - hi!
어떠세요? - Eod deoseyo? - how are you?

learning hangul

Since Fullhouse I became an avid fan not only of Korean dramas but of Korean culture. I became interested learning their language and I didn’t expect I can learn it easily. From internet I found a lot of site offering free on line Korean language lessons. From everyday visit, reading and practicing I know now of Korean though it kills me to understand their meaning.

It was fun and interesting to learn other culture's ethnicity esp. language with distinctive and self-sufficient characters such as Korean alphabet.

Annyeonghee kaseyo!
감사합니다 – kamsahamnida