the Windows....

I have mention a lot of times that looking at the window or staying at the balcony is some sort of relaxation for me..

I could stay a full day at the balcony just observing people, looking over the views below absorbing  the activities of the world. I think I got it from my "Nanay" (that's how we call our grandmothers in Batangas, we call our grandfather "Mamay"), of whom, after returning home from the US, stayed with us in Antipolo.

I remember one time when I went for vacation 2 years ago, come 6pm in the afternoon, you will find her sitting at the balcony watching the planes flying over . I usually join her there and tell her what particular airline is flying base from their logos.. it is our bonding moment.

Here are some of my  " View Pics" , taken from almost anywhere.

Taken from the Taxi Window in Cairo, on the way to the airport..

Sienne River, Paris France

taken from the balcony while making "SAMPAY" the clothes at 3am, doing the laundry after work ...#buhayOFWlang

the best view.. from the kitchen sink while washing the dishes! 6am #buhayOFWulit!!

Behind our Building in Salahuddin, Deira Dubai.. view from the kitchen

 

MANILA, PHILIPPINES... view from the Hospital Ward..

Can you spot the Pasig River...? Reminds me of Raymart Santiago(when he was still hot!) and Geneva Cruz (when  her nose was still... REAL!)  (Anak ng Pasig! hahah) #classic!

Andoks, Botikang Pinoy

Got fascinated with the PROUD RED COLOR of the Building. then I realized.. Di pala sya Wholesome!

PROBINSYA

 

THE PASAWAY!

No Loading and Unloading Zone... deadma si Kuya!

BAWAL TUMAWID!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen.. the WAPAKELS....

ehehehehehe.... ala lang!

the Quickie.. Part 1.

 After two years I haven't been home, I have finally went home on an emergency leave..

My mom is ill.. and only my relatives and closest friends knows that I have flown home to see my Inay.

It's too painful to discuss it here.. but I have a strong faith that by God's will Inay will be OK. I have already claimed her healing and I am holding on to that.

Anyway, on a lighter note, I have managed to take some random pictures of just about anything that hits my attention. Since have stayed in the hospital 90% of the time, the places that I have been to are limited to the views from the hospital windows and on places on the way to home from hospital and vice versa. Here it is..

THE AIRPORT

touch base at 4pm Manila Time...

THIRD WORLD...

The same path I am always so excited to take...

Immigration..Welcome Balikbayans!

Long Lines for OFW lane in Immigration.. few on TOURIST.. haaayy..

If you would visit Bangkok, Thailand... you  would notice that there are very few Thai in que to the THAI NATIONAL Lane.. Whereas for the TOURIST lane 10 out of 10 slots are always full of people in que. In our case, OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) lane is always full..meaning a lot of people are coming in from different parts of the Globe. Although I am also an OFW, and a proud one at that, I wish that time will come that, like Thai people, may we have few reasons to leave our own land. May the government find ways to help us sustain our needs without leaving the country and make us stay in the Philippines to be with our loved ones and be happy being just us... Filipinos!

 THE QUICK MEAL...

My brother Joi and cousins fetched me from the airport! First time it happened, so sad , it is always Inay and Tatay that I always first to see as I touch down Manila. Given the situation, I have been fetched by my BIG body guards... and when I say BIG.. I'm not exactly exaggerating.. here they are (minus my bro), this is my favorite photo of the GOONS! 

hahaha.. hey Guys! woot woot! Thanks for the trouble of fetching from and sending me to the airport as well. 'Til next time. (I treated them to Jollibee.. hehehee.. sorry guys no budget eh.. and I hope they enjoyed the meal though as much as I did.. )

As for myself i had a cravings for Tapsilog. On my way home one day, I dropped by TAPSI ni MOMSI point point (turo-turo). I had ordered these...

 

 At first I seriously thought that there was a dirt in my plate, when I saw it closely I was surprised it was the Tapa na pala! hahahaha... the servings of Food in Pinas is so small.. makes me feel like Gulliver eating in the world of Lilliputians! It was a great contrast in Arabic food servings, where a regular meal of rice and viand is enough to feed 3 people!

  

Anyways, since i paid only P38.00 for the Tapsi and P12.00 for the drinks.. that is roughly 5AED only..so it's not really that bad, I don't have the right to complain anymore. Never mind that it doesn't include water... the soup taste more like water ..with salt anyways! ewww... hahahahah

So ever wondered the first thing I did after I visited Inay at the hospital?  I ate green mangoes with lotsa lotsa bagoong at 2:00 am in the morning.!!

I had an immediate meeting with George Flush and Elizabeth Toilet right after! hahahahah

the hand baggage...

you cannot imagine how ridiculous some passengers' demands are in the airport..

just this morning I had a rough time telling one passenger that the baggage he is carrying can NOT, by any way, be allowed to be taken on board as a hand baggage...

he give me with one ugly look and one hell of a migraine before he left my counter... because he "cannot imagine why i cannot carry this as a hand baggage..this is too fragile to be checked in.."

and this ladies and gentlemen is his famous HAND BAGGAGE to be...  (if I allowed it. obviously.. I DIDN'T!)

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there is no way on earth that I can allow a baggage this big to be carried on board for obvious reason that even a 3 yr old could understand, except of course MY passenger.


-unless the passenger can squeeze himself in the overhead locker and let this big box take his seat instead, i might be tempted to consider, just to let him be miserable in the entire journey time...

who ever invented the saying  that "CUSTOMER is ALWAYS RIGHT " ..

need to seriously have his head be examined!

the old souk..one more time!

i love old stuff...

everything that reminds me of the bygone era fascinates me beyond measure...

i don't know.. but somehow i believe that i had once lived in old old days.. all of us did, if re-incarnation is really true.

the old souk in Bur Dubai is one of my favorite place here in UAE..

i would trade a few hours in there than going to some of Dubai's towering malls and world class establishments..

here are some of the pictures i took during my "day tour"  across the creek.. 

i love running my hands through these textured walls...reminds me of my childhood days when we are playing taguan pung  (hide and seek game).. i'm the "TAYA" all the time. since i have always been the ..err.. healthiest among the rest...haahhaha... they could easily see me as i can't hide properly and can't run very fast.

so that would make me facing the wall counting one to ten... 95% of the whole freakin game!

 i like these lanterns... and these whole wood-work.. 

Photo credit: Reuters

my favorite stop-over is the candy stores that lined up in the souk. they sell chocolates per kilo. they will give you free taste if you like. and when naughtiness hits me.. i'm gonna run-away after the free taste.

don't worry Karma is digital nowadays.. I always go home with toothache and half a pound heavier at the end of the day.

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So... how 'bout you my friend, what kind of old stuff makes you happy?

the Abra

I went to Bur Dubai last week to sort out some things on the "the other side" of the city. Since I don't want to be stuck in a traffic I decided to take the "Abra" instead.

Abra is the oldest form of transport in the UAE..the creek that divides the Deira and BurDubai is being crossed with this ferry boat.

During our crazy night outs with friends, we normally take the old one like this:

We pay 1.50 AED for each trip. It is open air.. so you can smell the mold-crude oil combined scent of the creek.Oddly enough it has a calming effect on me.

But RTA got a better options for the commuters. For 2 dirhams you can ride this air-conditioned ferry boat. Since I am particularly lazy today... as always.. I wanna share with you these photos I have taken.. no need for caption, I guess, let the photo speaks for itself:

Here is the RTA modern version of an Abra:

credit for the Photo goes to the RTA portal

 The PORT

The BOAT

a 36 seater, air-conditioned ferry boat

the configuration

 glass doors..

mahogany ..?? and plasma screen... whoah.. seriously?.. for a 2 minute ride??

life jackets under your seats...

glass windows.. and walls .. 360 degrees of awesomeness!

 

 this is my one and only co-passenger. the ferry left with only the two of us. it means for that particular ride they only got 4 dirham revenue! haaah.. seems ridiculous right?

anyways, we are both busy taking pictures...

 

let's go navigate!

and to complete the day I saw this Water-Bus.... 

 

This bus functions both  in water and in land..

the driver said, they also have Water Taxi, if in case you want to tour the city  and want to escape the traffic!

kyoooot!

Pardon the bad photo. It was taken behind the glass window using my mobile phone.. :-)

So how about you? where have you been navigating lately...?