Dubai Archives - Undefined Declarations

UD Review: SRT Basic Course at Illuminations Dubai

Introduction:

In keeping with the topic of this post and aiming to live at a lighter level, I will try to keep this post light, simple, short and sweet 🙂

I’ve always been a fan of spirituality and well-being, so I was delighted to hear about Illuminations from a friend who shared a competition from their Facebook Page with me. The competition was for a Basic SRT Workshop held at the center’s location in JLT. As if getting the chance to attend this insightful course wasn’t enough, I even got the opportunity to meet some lovely individuals who shared my life situations (past and present), experiences and obviously interests!

About Illuminations:

Illuminations is a well-being center which offers a great variety of holistic-based self-development workshops and seminars, meditation sessions, holistic training programs, private consultations and even a collection of holistic products.

They are located in JLT, Fortune Executive Towers, just outside the Dubai Marina Metro Station.

What is SRT?

SRT is a spiritual healing process that has its roots from the Spiritual Response Association in the US. SRT was founded by Robert E. Detzler.

What is SRT Used for?

SRT can be described as a fast and simple form of meditation. It gives similar results achieved by meditation, only in a much shorter span of time. So you end up feeling lighter, with more inner peace and clarity within a very short period of time.

By practicing SRT, you are clearing blocks to mental, emotional and physical healing. The benefits to using this spiritual healing practice are endless, and they cover almost all aspects of a person’s past, present and future life.

I personally believe that this type of therapy which gives immediate positive results is essential for our fast-paced lifestyles.

My Testimonial on the SRT Basic Course:

Since I plan to keep this a light post, let me share with you my honest opinion about the course:

“I was delighted to find out about Illuminations through a Facebook competition that a friend has shared with me. Even more so since the well-being center is located only a few minutes from where I live. The two and a half-day course added a great wealth of knowledge about a new form of spiritual healing that I wasn’t even aware of. The spiritual response therapy course is a shortcut to meditation and its results can be achieved almost immediately. In today’s fast-paced and modern lifestyle, SRT can give you fast and effective results in no time. The healing and clearing process takes place during the days of the course, even with beginners who have no previous experience with meditation or spiritual healing practices.

I was surprised yet pleased to find myself getting intense dreams at night after practicing the methods of SRT throughout the day of the course. Those dreams were directly related to the topics that I wished to resolve with my SRT practice. On the last day of the course, a friend from my building who saw me as I was heading out to the center greatly complimented me on how my face looked glowing. She could see a radical change in my complexion to the better. My emotional well-being has also drastically improved after only two days of taking the course. I found myself getting things done in a timely manner and was feeling more positive and upbeat overall.

Lastly, the course allowed me to meet great new people and make new friends including the instructor. It’s always lovely to meet a group of people who share your interests and life experiences, and possibly tribulations and struggles. My weekend spent taking the basic SRT course was one of the best weekends that I have had in Dubai. It’s one that I will always remember. I honestly look forward to the next workshop with Lukas Putz and to sharing lunch and good times in my area with a genuine and interesting group of people.”

Talk by Lukas Putz on Health on Tuesday 11th of February:

Lukas, the instructor of our SRT Basic course is giving a talk on health tomorrow evening. I strongly recommend this talk for anyone who is even slightly concerned with healthy eating habits and a new way of living. Lukas covered a bit of health during our SRT course, and I can honestly say that what he said was greatly insightful to say the least.

Here are the details for tomorrow’s health talk at More Cafe:

Talk: How to Change Your Life – Tuesday 11th Feb

This is a 2-2.5 hour talk by me on how to improve your life simply by making the right food choices. I will be revealing the reasons why we should not be eating certain foods and how these foods affect our bodies both physically and emotionally.

Venue: More Cafe, Al Marooj Rotana (opposite Dubai Mall)

Date: Tuesday 11th Feb

Time: 6.30pm-9pm

Cost: AED50 (includes a welcome drink)

This talk will be the first of a series of talks each focusing on a particular health related subject. They will include such topics as Acid vs Alkaline, Nutrition workshop, How to cleanse your body and more.

An SRT Advanced Course is coming up soon…

February 14 – 16th – SRT advanced course.

The venue takes place at illuminations and the timings are:
Friday: 10am – 7pm
Saturday: 10am – 7pm
Sunday: 6pm – 10pm
Price: 1895,- Dhs
Kindly contact illuminations on info@illuminationsworld.com

Illuminations Web Site: http://www.illuminationsworld.com/

Illuminations Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/illuminationsworld

For further Information, check out: www.spiritualresponse.us

All the best and Happy Healing!

Dubai Beach Club Review: Fairmont The Palm

I wanted to squeeze in a beach club review before the month of Ramadan begins. Since I’ll be fasting and there is absolutely no way anyone can visit a Dubai beach in the summer without having anything to drink or eat! I also wanted to check out Fairmont The Palm‘s beach and pool club while they have their summer promotion rates going on.

Summer Promotion Rates

Validity of the promotion: Until the end of August

Adult day pass fee: 195 AED (without the food and beverage voucher) and 265 AED (inclusive of a 100 AED F&B voucher)

Kids (ages 5 to 13): 99 AED (without the F&B voucher) and 130 AED (inclusive of a 50 AED F&B voucher)

Pool and Beach Facts

The hotel has four pools; two adult-only pools and two family pools.

A resident DJ plays by the pool bar on Friday evenings from 5 to 10 pm.

I was informed by the hotel’s Operations Director – Frederic Bellone that the beach was partially closed due to construction work “to expand the private beach area and to make the bottom of the ocean more gradient.”

Mr. Bellone also mentioned that the expansion work should be completed within a few days. So you can still head down to the beach club and enjoy their summer promotion. I would suggest that you ask about the construction work when calling to book your day pass. As booking in advance is required for the Fairmont’s beach club.

Is free Wi-Fi Available at the Beach?

Unlike Madinat Jumeirah properties, Wi-Fi is only available for in-house guests and club members. Outside guests need to pay 100 AED for a day’s use of the hotel’s Wi-Fi.

Pros

Relaxed and laid-back ambiance with chill-out Arabian fusion tracks playing in the pool area.
The adult-only pool is a good spot for contemplation and meditation. With a couple of fountains pouring water into the pool, the sound creates a calming effect that can be used for meditation. The pool is also surrounded by palm trees, so looking up to the sky does feel like you’re on vacation. Especially when combined with a beautiful bird flying by the water and the fountain’s peaceful water sounds.
A complimentary bottle of still water is provided for all pool and beach guests.
Complimentary locker access. Inside the locker is a coat hanger, a bath towel, a small towel, and a plastic bag for storing your wet swim suit.
The beach and pool day pass also includes access to the spa’s modern and state of the art gym, steam room and sauna.
The facilities are super-clean and well-maintained to high standards.

Cons

I wasn’t informed about the partial closing of the beach when I called to book the day pass and ask about the beach/pool access. I only found out about it when I got to the hotel. This meant that I had to lounge by the pool for a few hours until the construction work was over at the beach and I could go into the water. But that wasn’t a problem, as I could always use some meditation at the pool’s relaxing fountains 🙂
The staff at the beach area seemed to be in a rush to close down the sun umbrellas and fold back the lounger cushions when it wasn’t time for sunset yet. Maybe it’s a routine practice and part of their job description, but it gave me the feeling that they were rushing to end their work day chores as soon as they could! The beach area wasn’t busy anyway, and so it didn’t seem like they would have a lot of wrapping up to do at the end of the day.
The food quality at the pool bar could use some enhancement. More so since the Fairmont on Sheikh Zayed Road is associated with great brunch and food options. I will be talking more about the food in a while.
The front section of the ocean’s ground has rocks and is not smooth for walking. I believe that the management should consider making the ground surface smooth for walking. Especially for kids.

What to Eat and Drink?

To quench my thirst, I ordered an orange ginger tea cooler. Which was basically orange juice with a hint of ginger. It was a refreshing drink for a hot summer day.

For lunch, I had a chicken breast burger on wheat bread. I was delighted to see a healthy option for a sandwich on the menu. But I was disappointed as the chicken was a bit tough and didn’t look like it was cooked up to good quality levels. The taste of the food was average, and could use some improvement.

A few hours after lunch, it was time for my coffee break. And for that, I ordered a banana soy latte at the beach. It’s a blend of bananas, soy milk and a shot of espresso. The first time my drink was prepared, it had a lot of ice blended in it. And so the taste of the latte was somewhat non-existent from the excess of ice that was used. But when I asked for less ice to be used in preparing my latte, it tasted much better and was such a revitalizing and cooling summer drink.

Will I go back?

I would love to go back to the Fairmont’s beach club for three reasons:

To take advantage of the summer promotion rate while it lasts.
To check out the pool atmosphere on a Friday evening when the resident DJ is playing. I went on a Saturday and so I missed it. (Please take note that this will continue after Ramadan only).
To see if I can meet a potential husband at the pool or beach (note: most guys at this beach club are very fit with buffed-up masculine bodies and wash board abs) 😀

Link:

http://www.fairmont.com/palm-dubai/

I will leave you with some random images from my day at the Fairmont The Palm’s beach club. You can also check my Facebook page for more images and other cool posts.

Dubai Beach Club Review: Habtoor Grand Beach Resort & Spa

Last Friday, I decided to check out The Habtoor Grand Beach Resort and Spa. Although the beach was flagged on that day, I still managed to go for a nice swim at two different times, with each lasting for around an hour. Yes, I’m a cancerian and we just love to be in the water 🙂

Facts About the Beach Area

For anyone who has never been to the beach in Dubai Marina (I honestly haven’t until this time!), you will notice that the loungers are located at a far distance from the water. I was told by a staff member that it is a government rule and that all of the beach clubs on that strip have a similar setup. It was a bit of a disappointment to me as I had previously gone to the Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa where the loungers are situated close to the sea shore. You can read that review here.

Resort Facilities

The resort has a wide number of facilities including:

Tennis and squash courts
Spa and state of the art gym
Fitness studio and classes
Junior Jungle Club for kids
Private beach with various beach activities
Water slides, outdoor Jacuzzi and pool bar
Main pool and a kids pool

Where to have Lunch

There are many options for lunch at the Habtoor Grand.

If you are alone or want to have a light lunch at the beach or pool area, then you could order a shawerma, burger or hot dog and other snacks from the “Al Manarah Beach Bar” or the pool bar.
If you want to try the famous Dubai brunch with barbeque and all, then you could have a nice outdoor brunch at XL Beach Club. That will cost you 260 AED per person. The brunch timings are from 1 to 4 pm.
If like me, you want to have a healthier meal at and sample one of the restaurants at the hotel…there are a number of cuisines to choose from. “Villa Romana”, “Al Basha”, “Fish Bazaar” and “Luciano’s” are some of the restaurants surrounding the beach and pool area at the resort.

Upon reading Pinay Flying High‘s tempting review on Luciano’s, I decided to go there for lunch and a break from the Dubai day in the sun! I’m glad that I did because the food was so delicious that I found myself looking for more tomato sauce on my plate when I finished eating 🙂

View from my table at Luciano's — View from my table at Luciano’s

My Must-try Tip

After my second hour in the water, I felt like I needed to have an energizing drink to keep my body hydrated. While standing at the beach bar, my eyes couldn’t stop staring at the tall glasses the couple standing next to me had. When I asked the lady what it was, she explained that it’s an iced-coffee with ice-cream and that it’s really good. So, that was what I decided to order to quench my thirst. And another couple who saw the bar tender make my drink ordered it as well! It was the perfect ending for my long day at the beach. As the coffee wasn’t too sweet (vanilla ice-cream only was used to sweeten it), and it was so refreshing after a day out in the sun.

Pool and Beach Entrance Rates

On Week Days: Adults – 150 AED, Children – 100 AED

Children ages: 4 – 15 years old, below 3 are free of charge.

On Weekends: Adults – 250 AED, Children – 125 AED

Weekends are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Club Memberships are available and special membership rates apply.

Link

http://grandjumeirah.habtoorhotels.com/site/general/

My Dubai Beach Recommendation: Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa

I had previously written a review on the Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa UAE residents weekend package. You can read all about it here. Today, I was delighted to visit the lovely beach property again (yes, I rarely go to the beach) and spend the day at this relaxed and revitalizing beach.

I arrived to the beach at around 11:30…the weather was a bit windy today, but it was great for swimming and lounging by the sea.

It’s always a great feeling when you sink your toes into the warm grains of sand…

At around two o’clock, I decided to have lunch at La Fontana restaurant. You have the option of taking a cold or a hot buffet. I went for the cold buffet which includes a selection of salads. It’s unlimited so you are allowed to refill your plate 🙂

The salad selection includes a variety of Arabic mezzas such as hummos, mtabbal, and baba ghanouj, in addition to other Western salad dishes. This is what I had in my first round of salad 🙂

And finally, no trip to the Jebel Ali Beach Resort and Spa is complete without seeing our friends; the magnificent and outstanding peacocks!

Even if it’s on our way out; after a long day spent unwinding and relaxing at the beautiful pristine beach.

The resort offers a number of outdoor sport activities, such as horse riding, tennis, golf and various water sports. You can find all the information on their web site:

http://www.jaresortshotels.com/Hotels/Home.aspx

The day pass for the pool and beach access is AED 220 for adults. And AED 325 including an extensive lunch buffet with live cooking stations and an outdoor barbecue station.

Whether you are someone who is looking for a quiet day to relax by the beach and read a book, or if you are more adventurous and would like to try a new water sport or outdoor hobby, or are simply looking to chill by the pool on your day off of work, I assure you that Jebel Ali Beach Hotel will do its best to meet your leisurely needs.

Destination Unknown

The Arabian Travel Market is a travel focused exhibition that is held annually at the Dubai World Trade Centre exhibition hall. This year, the organizers focused the content from the show into five main areas:

Industry updates, trends and social media.
Air travel.
Accommodation and hospitality.
Inbound and outbound travel.
Travel agents and technology.

I found the layout of the stands at the travel show very creative and innovative. Most stands that took up a relatively big space had two story built stands with counters and seating areas where clients can sit and have something to eat or drink while discussing their business or personal inquiries. This made for a more relaxed and casual trade experience, and an unconventional way of networking with the exhibitors.

Honestly speaking, it was my first time to attend the Arabian Travel Market. I think. At least it was my first time since I moved to Dubai a little over three years ago. But walking in the busy exhibition hall – and getting annoyed at people pushing and brushing at me – took me down memory lane to the mid-90’s when I used to visit Dubai with my family. My mom being a highly active business woman in those days used to drag me and my sisters along to every single exhibition that was of interest to her and her beauty salon business. Of course, I didn’t always enjoy attending those shows since I had no personal or business interest back then. I was only a high school student at the time! Now though, I’m a lifestyle blogger who is covering main and interesting events in the city. So attending an exhibition wasn’t such a bad idea.

Back to our topic, the stands at the show represent different countries across all the continents. So you won’t be disappointed no matter what country you have on your hot list of places to see before you die 🙂 There were even some talks held at the Google stands on various technology related topics.

On my list (which is the same list that I’ve had since I was living with my parents and dreaming about traveling alone or with friends) were these three countries:

Turkey
Cyprus
Greece

They are not far away places from the Middle East region. But, I haven’t been to any of them yet. My main concern when approaching the exhibitors at the stands was the visa requirements. I’m a Saudi passport holder and therefore I require a visit visa for most countries. I was told that I would need a European visa for both Greece and Cyprus. But luckily, I know that an advance visa is not required for me to enter Turkey 🙂

Since I have great friends in Turkey, I didn’t bother going to their stand at the show. I did however have a nice chat with the lady at the Cyprus stand who later gifted me a lovely key chain and beaded souvenir (we call it mesbah in Arabic). Please correct me if I’m wrong.

As a last thought, I can confidently say that anywhere you go in this world depends in a great part on the company that you have with you and the times and moments shared with other loving people and friends. So as I walked down the exhibition hall alone today surrounded by a crowd of strangers, I couldn’t help but remember my Hong Kong trip and the loneliness some of its days brought to me. That’s why, the next time I plan on traveling, I will make sure to share that trip or at least most of it with a friend. I think the majority of you would agree that traveling alone for leisure can be an interesting experience, while a lonely one at the same time.

Where do I plan to travel to next? I think the answer is simple: to where the opportunity takes me. But essentially somewhere with a relaxed pace of life, a white sandy beach, where good friends reside (or live close by), and preferably where a prearranged visit visa is not required 🙂

The Arabian Travel Market is open until the 9th of May this year. Happy travel shopping and happy holidays!

Taking a Short Break.

Dear blog readers and followers,

As you may have noticed, I haven’t written any new posts for a while. It’s not that I haven’t done anything interesting in the past week or so, or am suffering from writer’s mind blockage or apathy or anything like that. Mainly, I haven’t been feeling too well for the past few weeks. That was due to the weather change and to me doing too many things and not getting enough rest. That’s why I decided to take a short break from blogging and the whole rat race (as people call it). Mind you, I still managed to check out a newly opened cafe in my area (to maybe write a review about it), and I had to keep checking and responding to my e-mails, and of course my Facebook page. I also continued to post stuff on that page in an effort to keep things going. Even when I wasn’t feeling too good myself.

But I believe that something good comes out from everything that happens to us in our lives…Taking a short break helped me reflect on my priorities in life and maybe add some balance into other areas of my life. For the past couple of years, due to personal circumstances, I have been focusing mostly on my career. And since that hasn’t been going too well for me, I think it’s time to re-arrange my priorities in life. I’m not saying that I will write less blog posts or put in less effort into my career path (because I’m not even sure I can do that after all this time and effort that I’ve invested in that area), I just plan to put in more effort into other places that I might have neglected all those years in my search for financial and personal freedom and independence.

What are those other areas you might ask? well, I will leave that for you to figure out. I think it’s easy to know what they are once you read my about page and find out some simple facts about me and my personal life.

One main positive thing that came out from this short break and the connection with other blogger friends was to realize that we should not loose ourselves in our chase for material or success-related goals. We should always be reminded that life is a game and we should have fun while playing it. We should stay grounded and stay true to our selves. We should keep our sense of self-integrity and keep our standards high no matter how bad the going gets tough.

Most importantly, we should try to always help others along the way when we can.

Finally, I would like to mention that a few things need to be revised in my blog. Mostly concerning the topics that I write about. I have driven myself into extreme stress and exhaustion by trying to cover as many interesting topics as I could. And the time has come for that to end.

That’s why I need your thoughts and ideas on what you would like to read more about in this blog?

Here are some options to get you thinking, but any other ideas or views are welcome too.

About me and my perspective on life and things from a Saudi woman’s point of view (note: I live in Dubai, UAE)
A review of various events taking place in Dubai (you can specify the types of events you like to know about most)
A review of restaurants or cafes that I go to
Topics/events related to my job search and trying to make it in Dubai (mainly publishing/blogging/journalism)
Would you like to learn more about Saudi/Middle Eastern culture (as that’s where I’m from and where I grew up and lived most of my life)
Daily life stories and rants
Simple stories or deep thoughts and ideas

Or would you like me to keep the blog as it is and keep doing what I was doing earlier, which was basically a combination of all the above points?

Do let me know by commenting on this post what you would find most entertaining to read about in this blog. I will keep this discussion open, so please feel free to comment any time you read this. There is no deadline for your thoughts and ideas.

Thanks a lot for passing by and following my blog, and I hope that I will continue to offer interesting and helpful posts to my readers and followers. If you think otherwise, do let me know as well!

Love,

Nada (The Rebellious Saudi Diva)

And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?

You may have noticed that I have been covering a lot of music shows in my recent posts. You may have also taken a look at my about page where I mention some facts about myself and how I am 30-something. So you might be wondering why I am living a 20-something lifestyle in my early thirties?

While most people my age could be settling down by getting engaged or married, or possibly already have a bunch of kids at school age, I’m still celebrating my spontaneous twenty-something- like days! I like to contribute this to the fact that I grew up and have lived in Saudi for most of my life. And must add; to somewhat over-protective and controlling parents. Who seemed to give a good amount of importance to people’s opinions and judgmental views. You can’t completely blame them though. Saudi society is quite fierce and tough when it comes to conservativeness and liberality. It’s a very complicated topic that I would need to dedicate a whole post to explain it, and it still wouldn’t be enough!

For now, I just felt like I could use some justification for my sometimes immature and crazy behavior 🙂 Like making sure that I don’t miss out on any cool concerts in town and dragging my “more responsible” and mature friends to them.

So I basically didn’t get to do many things that people in their twenties would do. Although I did argue my way around to some cool concerts in Bahrain when I was a teenager (yes, I was rebellious since then!).

Sometimes, I wonder if my late-lived twenties phase will ever end. Because I enjoy it so much that I would never want to live a different lifestyle!

Moving on to Train’s concert, I used to listen to the amazingly talented American pop rock band as a teenager growing up in Saudi. Yes, my parents were not that strict :p So to me, their show was more of a trip down memory lane to my 90’s in Saudi. When life was much more simpler and easier. When all I cared about was which magazines I wanted to get with me from Bahrain when I went there in the weekend. Yeah I was a weird teenager too! But doesn’t everyone love and long for the 90’s? I personally would go back to those years at any given time.

Arriving to the concert venue, me and my friend were surprised at how quiet it was! there wasn’t even any music playing at some point. And while I expected to see other 30-something Train nostalgic fans at the concert, all I seemed to see were teenagers and a generally younger crowd of people who didn’t look like they were old enough to sing along to “Drops of Jupiter”! My friend had also pointed out that it was her first time to see a five year-old girl at a concert 🙂

Nevertheless, Train put on a great show and sang many of their new and old hit songs. Such as “Hey Soul Sister” and “Meet Virginia”.

They also got the crowd engaged in some songs by asking random people to come up on stage and sing or dance along with the band.

At the end of the show, the band left the stage before coming back to sing my all-time favorite hit for the band: “Drops of Jupiter”. I was glad that I didn’t leave when my friend decided to leave after they left the stage the first time, as I would have missed them perform the ever popular and great track “Drops of Jupiter”. I think I was going to break down and cry when I saw them leave the stage before singing my song!

You must have guessed that I was the only person in that young crowd who was super excited and singing along to “Meet Virgina” and “Drops of Jupiter”! Yes, Dubai makes me feel old. But I stand my ground and continue to act and behave like a twenty-something 🙂

I must confess that I did manage to record some good video clips at the show. But since I am still not familiar with posting videos on this blog (more like, don’t feel like uploading them on you tube as I found out that this needs to be done), I will not be sharing my priceless Train videos for now. Who knows, I might get the motivation required to actually upload videos one day 🙂

So, was my one hour and 15 minutes or so of 90’s music nostalgia worth it? I’d say hell yeah! It was worth every second of the warmth and simplicity and joy it brought to my forever 90’s soul.

Since I’m having issues with my photos, I will only post the links for my favorite Train songs. And I will try to upload more images once I sort out the technical glitch.

Enjoy and long live the undying 90’s spirit!

I’m on the Cover of Weekend Tabloid!

I had done the photo shoot for this article and had answered some questions about myself and my blog a few weeks ago. And for the past three weeks or so I had been getting Gulf News newspaper every Saturday to check “The Weekend Tabloid!” supplement for the article that I would be featured in. Today, I had a follow-up appointment with the doctor for my cold and general fatigue minor illness. My plan was to later head to the nearby grocery store to get some stuff and the paper where my article might be published, since it was Saturday.

I was sitting at Starbucks having a grande mint tea (in an effort to prevent further developments of my sudden weakness). I was actually feeling tired, and disappointed that the mint tea bags used for my tea were the type that you could get at your local supermarket and not the same one I had tried the last time I ordered a mint tea at Starbucks. So there I sat, contemplating the inconsistency of service in restaurants and other service providers in general in this country. But I can’t complain much, as I am from Saudi where the service is even worse and the consistency almost non existent. I was just not feeling too well and upset that the tea I had been looking forward to all day turned out to be just a commercial brand off the shelf. I was also thinking to myself that I should go up and speak to the barrister and voice out my concern about the tea bag used in my tea. But I just couldn’t be bothered. Then I was sitting there talking to a friend on the phone, who wanted to meet up. I explained to him how I had pending work to do. More specifically, blog posts that I need to write. I told him how I still have posts about my two last days in Hong Kong that I still didn’t get the time to write about. Yes, my Hong Kong trip was last Christmas and I still haven’t finished writing about it!

His answer was a simple: “well, you don’t have to write everything in detail. It’s not like you’re making money out of it.”

That statement brings us to the core of this post. As you can see in the above image that the headline of the article that I was featured in reads: “Blogging pays”. And although I have not reached the point in my blogging journey that started last September, where I can say that I have generated income from my blog, I must admit that as long as I enjoy doing what I’m doing, and that I have the luxury to practice my passion and do something that I genuinely love for a living, then I’m sure that the material gain will follow at some point in my journey.

Right now, I am exploring my new found love of blogging and enjoying every minute of it. So as long as I feel rewarded in a spiritual way, then I will continue doing what I love doing best. Because I believe that the knowledge and life experiences and lessons learned from my journey are much more valuable than any monetary income or revenue.

So after that phone conversation, I get up to check today’s paper for the article that I would be featured in – one of those Saturdays – and to my surprise, I see my picture on the cover of the paper! later on, I see it on the cover of the issue of the weekend supplement as well! I quickly snap some photos before running back to my place to post them on my blog’s Facebook page. Which I highly recommend that you “like” if you still haven’t done so. I do post various stuff on that page, apart from my blog posts. So you must check it out and see for yourself.

You can read the full story by following this link:

http://gulfnews.com/1.1166208#.UWAgErZ5zDw.email

Here are two other images from today’s paper:

Strike a Pose at the World’s Richest Horse Race ;)

I wasn’t feeling at my best on the day of the world’s richest horse race – The Dubai World Cup. Mainly because I had started to experience all sorts of symptoms of a cold and have been taking echinacea supplements for a week or so to help prevent further developments of my sickness. But since I was running around all weekend getting ready for the concerts and the Dubai World Cup and dancing the night away at the various indoor and outdoor venues of Dubai, I barely had any time to rest and let my body regain the energy it needed to go on.

But as I have completed three years living in Dubai on this very day (April 1), and have not been to the Dubai World Cup ever since I moved to this city, I knew that I couldn’t afford to miss out on this highly acclaimed and significant event.

So there I went dragging my extremely exhausted and dehydrated body to the lush green race courses at Meydan hotel in Dubai. Where I had been for my social dinner with Jack Canfield. Only this time, I got to spend a whole day outside at the apron views section of the event doing one of the following things:

Trying helplessly to snap good pictures of the speeding horses that passed (flew) by at the course, while standing in a front row next to all the photographers and who knows, maybe there was a blogger or two in the crowd!
Watching the people in the surrounding area and studying their outfits, hats/hair pieces, shoes, hair styles, and everything else that caught my attention. While at the same time making mental notes of what I should be wearing next year at the World Cup!
Pretending to be high society (which I believe has nothing to do with material wealth) and not really enjoying it that much 🙂 Yes, I’m a simple girl who likes to do fun things and random activities. But a change is good every once in a while!

After the final race, the champion was announced: American-based Animal Kingdom won the race. You can read all about it here. A number of acrobats and performers made an appearance after the race was over. Then there was an extravagant display of fireworks ending the ceremony, before everyone headed over to the stage area where Seal would be performing for the after-race party. Unfortunately, my friends had to leave and I was also too tired to stay, so I wasn’t able to see Seal perform.

I will leave you with some random pictures from the event, in addition to some thoughts and tips in case you planned on attending the Dubai World Cup next year. First, I would try to get VIP tickets, or any other type of tickets. As they would offer a better view of the race course and a more enjoyable experience. Especially if you don’t like busy crowds like me. Another tip would be to invest in a unique outfit and hat for the event and enter the Jaguar Style Stakes competition where you can win amazing prizes such as a Jaguar for a year!

Check out the competition details on this link:

http://www.dubaiworldcup.com/jaguarstylestakes

My Electronic Dance Weekend!

Honestly speaking, I’m not a huge fan of dance or techno music. I grew up listening to all different genres of music, and dance was an occasional thing on my play list. Maybe mostly when I was working out. Another reason is the fact that I’m a 90’s girl. So if I wasn’t listening to Michael or Janet Jackson or Madonna, then I would be singing along to Boyz II Men or Lenny Kravitz! Yes, It was a wild mix of tastes and music types.

But since the world-renowned Dutch musician, DJ and record producer Tiesto was coming to town, I had to reconsider my music taste preferences. The show was being held at an indoor venue. Which doesn’t really suit me much. As the weather in Dubai is at its best at this time of the year, so it would be great to attend an outdoor concert. Plus, the place was packed with crazy dance music fans, who were jumping vigorously the whole time. This only meant one thing: you couldn’t keep track of the number of times that your toes got stepped on, or you were hit by someone’s arms or body while they were dancing and jumping around. Not the best concert experience, I tell you.

I must admit that my second dance music concert for the weekend was more fun and enjoyable. It was the EDMX concert part of the “My Music X” festival at Nasimi Beach, Atlantis. The stage was set outdoors at a spacious area, the ground was covered with sand as it was at the beach, and the visual effects and graphics were simply outstanding. The EDMX night featured famous artists including: Example, Sander Kleinenberg, ATB, Marco V, Miss Nine, Judge Jules and many others.

Hearing Example perform took me back in time to their new year’s eve concert in 2009 when I was living in London. I truly enjoyed singing along to their hits and reminiscing on my glorious London days. ATB is another great dance artist that I used to listen to when I was younger. So many of his tracks were famous hits that everyone could sing along to.

Aside from the stunning graphics and visual effects at the stage, there was blazing fire as well! it was an impressive show that got the crowd pumped up. And the venue wasn’t packed, so there was plenty of space for everyone to dance around and practice their moves.

So I would say that I enjoy listening to dance music with vocals as opposed to just repetitive beats with no vocals. And of course, famous hit songs that I am familiar with and can sing along to, would definitely make for an amazing night at the sands of Nasimi Beach, Atlantis.

the crowd at Tiesto's show — the crowd at Tiesto’s show