Rumicah after the chemotheraphy

It has been awhile since my last post because  I am struggling to cope up with my family’s recent predicament.

Our family is going through a very difficult time now as my 7 years old niece was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer known as “Acute Myelegenous Leukemia (AML)”.

It really breaks my heart because my niece, Rumicah, is still very young and a very vibrant little girl. 

The best available medical treatment for her is the bone marrow transplant and it will cost us 2 million to proceed with this treatment. This amount is not joke and we are working hard to raise this money.

Any assistance and support you can offer is highly appreciated. To read more of her medical condition, please click here.

Thank you and God bless.

So lately I am surprise that it takes me only 5-7 minutes to drive from my home to the office which on normal days takes at least 15 minutes.

Then I realized that it is summer now in UAE. School classes are over. The weather is extremely hot and becomes intolerable. So normally expat families go for vacation during this period of the year.

I believe that this is one of the reasons that the roads are less congested nowadays because Abu Dhabi is half empty as expats and their families fly out of the country.

And I can’t wait for my vacation too!

The past few months have been all about my grinding corporate job. I am new to the role so I have been working for 12 – 15 hours everyday. So you can imagine how exhausted I am and when the weekend comes, all I could think is rest and unwind.

I barely have time to write and I am actually feeling bad about it.

Sometimes in my solitude I realized how silly I am now working so hard at my present corporate role when I never dreamed of stepping up to the next corporate level. I keep reminding myself that the only bridge between me and my dream career is an ironclad determination.

Anyway, enough for ranting about corporate life and slavery.. LOL!

Well, I just wanted to share about my weekend trips as I had been so busy driving to other Emirates almost every weekend for a well deserved relaxation.

Fujairah – It was a great weekend because I spent it with my brother catching up for the news back home. He recently came back from vacation. We stayed in Hilton Fujairah. The property was beautiful unfortunately we were not very happy with the food.

They have a nice bar by the beach. We enjoyed it but didn’t stay long because there was a forecasted storm that day. In fact, the sea waves were getting higher and bigger that it started to splash inside the bar.

Driving to Fujairah

Hilton Fujairah

Hotel Lobby

Hilton Fujairah - Hotel Room

*****

Abu Dhabi – My best friend’s hubby is here in UAE for a visit. They came here for a weekend in Abu Dhabi last month. Hence, it kept me busy as I took the role of “tour guide”.. LOL! They stayed in Al Maha Rotana. Honestly, we always like the soft beds of Beach Rotana. As they are the same brand, we were hoping also to have the kind of bed. Unfortunately, we were disappointed because we didn’t have this soft bed in Al Maha.

Anyway, we toured them in Emirates Palace hoping that its grandeur would awe them.. LOL!
  

My bestfriend "Jeje" with hubby "Mikoy" with Emirates Palace as their backdrop

Jeje & Mikoy in the Majilis of Emirates Palace

*****

Dubai – It was another great weekend in Dubai. I and my girl friends met in The Monarch Hotel in Sheikh Zayed Road. That property left me a very big WOW. The hotel is really striking and I admired most their interior design and the decors. It depicts the traditional Arabic ambience yet complemented by sophisticated technology and chic decors.

The view from our room

Our hotel room (quite messy already) at The Monarch Dubai

The obviously stormed living room.. LOL!

But what made our stay more memorable was our dinner at Okku Restaurant. Hmmm… I am drooling already while trying to describe their dishes. It is actually a contemporary Japanese restaurant and their dishes have really distinct flavour. Hmm… really yummy and irresistible.. There was one dish – a maki roll topped with salmon – unfortunately I can’t remember the exact name except for the last word “volcano”. It really tasted so good (and heavenly…LOL!).

Sad that there is no Okku restaurant here in Abu Dhabi.

My fave dish in Okku Restaurant

Another yummy dish in Okku Restuarant

A mouthwatering dessert

*****

Ras Al Khaimah – I didn’t really enjoy our trip because we arrived very late and I had an appointment to go. I spent the entire morning in my appointment and never had the opportunity to explore the hotel.

Anyway, hopefully soon..

You may think I spent lavishly for these weekend trips. Honestly, I didn’t except for the car petrol. Those stays were courtesy of my kind and generous friends..

So while on the process of getting acquainted with my new role, I decided to rent a car for the next few months. The average range for monthly car rental price here in Abu Dhabi is between AED 2,200 (USD 600) to AED 2,500 (USD 685). In fact, established car rental companies are more expensive.

Before renting my car, I called up many car rental companies to scour a cheaper deal. The price and insurance coverage are my primary deciding factors. Although there are cheaper price for auto rent in Abu Dhabi, I am not comfortable with their insurance coverage.

I am a new driver and considering the driving etiquette and parking issues here, comprehensive car insurance is the most favorable option for me. It means that if ever accident happens, insurance will cover it as long as I provide the car rental company with police report.

After calling numerous car rental companies in Abu Dhabi, I eventually found a better deal. It is the Auto Rent Company. The monthly price is AED 1750 for a 2010 model of Renault Logan with comprehensive car insurance.

The only hitch is they will charge AED 0.75 per kilometer after reaching a total mileage of 4500 km per month. Honestly, I am fine with it. I just drive within the city and occasional drive on weekends to Dubai or other Emirates.

The required documents for renting a car in Abu Dhabi are copies of your passport, credit card and driving license. If you are new in Abu Dhabi and don’t have credit card, you can always negotiate it with them.

As for their service, so far I am happy with it. If you want to get in touch with this car rental company in Abu Dhabi, here are the details.

Phone  : +971   2 6350250
Mobile  : +971 50 5542860
Fax      :+971    2 6350822
Email   : anandw@autorent-me.com
Website: www.autorent-me.com

Just to let you know, this is not a paid blog post or review. I am simply recommending this auto rental company because I am satisfied with their service and it is the best deal I found in the city. If you have any other recommendations, please let me know and I’ll be delighted to try it as I plan to continue renting a car until end of the year.

Honestly, I haven’t visited Dubai for some time now. If I do, the visits are just confined to the shopping malls, hotels or my friends’ places. So, I was quite disappointment to see that Dubai Health Care City is not yet completely finished.

When I left Dubai almost 3 years ago, they were constructing already that area. Although most of the buildings now in Dubai Health Care City are already inhabited and majority is offices, construction is still ongoing in some areas.

We crossed from one building into the other amid the hot day because there were areas where parking spaces were very scarce. Walking through the paved pathways, unfortunately I could not ignore the unusual view in front of me.

In between the pathways made of concrete and bricks are small sized landscapes. Then in these small landscapes, there were people resting. They are the construction workers who are taking a nap during their lunch break and perhaps trying to soothe the scorching summer heat by sleeping on the grass field.

Construction workers sleeping on the grass during their lunch break

Anyway, here are few shameless shout-outs. LOL!

Expat Arrivals (local info for global expats)

The employment contracts here in Abu Dhabi cover the basic terms and conditions which are set by the UAE Labour Law regardless of your profession but it is the entitlement in your employment package that makes the difference.

Continue reading >>>>>>>>>

Your Basic Checklist When Accepting Job Offer in Abu Dhabi

Are you expecting a job offer soon from companies based in Abu Dhabi? Or planning to explore new career opportunities in this part of the globe? Indeed evaluating and accepting an overseas employment offer is a challenging task specially if you have never visited or lived in that particular country.

Continue reading>>>>>

Happy reading.. I hope you find the articles informative…

Cheers

One of IKEA’s mock-up living room and kitchen area

I bet..  ;-)  You can track pieces of IKEA products in most of the households here in Abu Dhabi. Either you are renting only a room or being accommodated in a villa, some IKEA items are definitely visible everywhere from bathroom, kitchen, kids’ rooms, living room and even to car compartments.  

So, you may wonder why people here have such fondness to IKEA products. I’ll answer that with few questions.   

1. Do you want to organize your cluttered room?
2. Do you need more space in your kitchen area?
3. Are you looking for reasonable and quality duvets or pillows?
4. Are you scouting innovative ideas on how to maximize your small bedroom?

These are only few reasons that people flock in IKEA. Also, the prices of most of the items are reasonable. No wonder that people from all walks of life just simply storm IKEA for any household concerns.  

One of my closest friends is an IKEA girl too. She visited me here in Abu Dhabi last week after working for more than a year in Qatar. And guest what? She only asked me for one thing – to take here to IKEA in Marina Mall because she missed it as there is no IKEA shop in Qatar.  

So we walked around and she shopped for some items for her new room. Then as we headed to the counter, I couldn’t help but really admire the creativity and innovation of IKEA products. It seems that they invented solutions to whatever household concerns you may have.  

I would say also that the product displays are strategically planned and marketed.  You can spend time also in a corner where items are priced for AED 10 (USD 3) or less.    

Anyway, my friend was indeed very happy when we parted ways that night.  

If you are planning to move here in UAE, IKEA is worth a visit for your household needs.

Photo Credit: www.redcofoods.com

Typically summer is one of the awaited seasons of the year in most countries. Summer always entails tons of fun. It is time to enjoy various outdoor activities like summer camps, hiking, fishing, hunting, kayaking, rock climbing, and so on.

If such exciting activities are waiting for you, then you can’t definitely wait for summer season to come, right? But here in UAE, it is another story, a completely different scenario.

For us living in this part of the globe, summer season implies the end of outdoor activities. It is goodbye to the beautiful weekend mornings by the beach or picnics at the parks. Summer means it is time to hide in the malls, at home, or anywhere as long as there is an air-conditioning facility.

Summer season is not really a pleasant time of the year. The scorching heat of the sun feels like a hot laser beam that penetrates up to your skin’s inner layer.  Temperature reaches up to 40 degree Celsius or even higher on some occasions.

So what to expect in UAE during summer season?

• Business demand in tourism industry is low.
• It is vacation time for expats for numerous reasons – school classes are over, weather is just difficult to bear so they travel to escape it, employees are asked to go for vacation because it is not busy.
• High humidity at night
• It is common to see people in sweat soaked shirts.
• Buckets of water are kept overnight. For accommodation without cold water system, it is the best option when taking shower during midday. Tap water tends to be very hot. Don’t dare. You may end up with falling hair or scalded skin.
• Buckle up the basic summer stuff in your bag and do not leave your home without it – bottle of water, sunscreen, hat, umbrella, and anything to cover your skin from the sun’s madness.

So far, that’s all I can think of now but for sure, I can have a longer list of what to expect during summer season in UAE in the next few weeks as summer is just really kisses away.

The beautiful park on Friday afternoon

It was a great sunny and windy Friday yesterday. So my friends and I decided to have a late BBQ lunch at the park.   

Close to my home is an open park which is generally packed with kids and families on weekends. To our delight, the park this time was not crowded as there was only handful of “park dwellers” who were mostly couples.   

Anyway, we simply bought this instant disposable grill pack because we are only an occasional “park dweller”. Also, it is very reasonable as it costs approximately US$3 only for the small pack and there is no cleaning required.   

Instant disposable BBQ grill

Twenty minutes later my friend started to grill the pork bellies which she marinated in her special BBQ sauce concoction. All of us were hungry so we drooled for every piece of cooked barbeque meat. Half way to our BBQ cooking process, our attention (and hunger) was distracted by the police car’s siren. Then I realized that the people on the other side of the park were actually staring on our area. There were us and two other couples only on our side.   

Yummy pork BBQ

 So I turned around to see what they were staring at. Then I saw one policeman in a luminous green vest approaching the second couple while the first couple started taking their steps already to leave.   

Well, at that point of time, I just thought that perhaps the policeman sensed that the second couple was into some inappropriate intimate behaviour hence they were approached. Then maybe the first couple left too because it terrified them.   

Before I even found the answer to my curiosity, I saw this young handsome policeman walking towards us also.   

At that instant, my mind was already soaring with thoughts of possible offense which perhaps we committed.   

Maybe barbequing was not allowed in park (though impossible because we saw people grilling and roasting meats in the park on many occasions).   

Or maybe because we were grilling a pork meat.   

Eventually the young policeman came closer and informed us to leave. He said “not allowed”. We asked for any reasons but he didn’t replied.   

After he left, I saw the other handful of “park dwellers” packing their things too. And so we did.   

Then minutes later the park was empty.   

We could not fathom any other reasons for being kicked out from the park except that on that day, it was still the mourning period. The government declared a 3-days mourning due to the tragic loss of Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president’s younger brother. (Click here for details).   

As we walked past the park, we saw the UAE flags still at half-mask.     

So our BBQ lunch ended a lunch at home. We finished grilling the remaining pork belly meat in our George Foreman indoor grilling stove (luckily we had this!)   

Our George Foreman indoor grilling stove

My Mum in The Grand Palace - Bangkok

As a birthday treat for my Mum last year, we travelled to Bangkok in April and I had written some practical frugal trips which hopefully help you also plan your sightseeing trips in Bangkok.

To read the “Bangkok Sightseeing Vacation – Frugal Tips”, click it here