Vacationing

The United Arab Emirates is a wonderful place to explore. With having more free time on my hands - explanation to come in a following blog post, I went on a mini-vacation to get out of the hustle and bustle of Dubai. We stopped in Fujairah for one night and stopped in Ras Al Khaimah for a few more nights. We focused on beach resorts and relaxation, and really didnt do anything touristy - the entire experience was magnificent.

FUJAIRAH

Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort
http://www.lemeridien-alaqah.com/

To get to Fujairah, we had to drive through the desert and beautiful mountains. The desert here is quite unique and boring - sand, sand and more sand. It does have a bit of shrubbery, and sometimes camels or goats can be spotted. It's certainly different than driving through lush greenery with deers and bunnies in the fields, or desolate icy roads in the winter. The drive was about 2 hours - and went by smoothly... Drivers in the UAE have no road manners and common courtesy is often forgotten so it can be nerve wracking for back seat drivers! haha.

We stayed in a Royal Club Room which had a separate checkin level, a great view, a beautiful room, free massages, a complimentary afternoon tea buffet, a four hour unlimited drinks happy hour, free nonalcoholic beverages whenever we were thirsty, a complimentary breakfast, and excellent customer service. I would really recommend this hotel - the ocean was beautiful and you could enjoy the beach in a cabana; the pool was huge - and even had a swim up bar; and, the food we ate was delicious. The hotel offers activities and has a lot to do; however, we werent there long enough to enjoy everything.

Funny story: during the happy hour, we met an older German couple - very nice people. And, as we were leaving, we all decided to get the dancefloor going and so the four of us danced to some ridiculous tunes playing, and we were all laughing. There was no one else in the club, and the staff thought it was hilarious...

In Canada, some people decide to heat their pools - but here it is the complete opposite. Pools need to be cooled or else they get too hot to swim in ! The pool at this hotel was still a bit too warm to be a refreshing cool off from the hot sun. And the ocean is hot, like bath water. I never really believed people when they told me this, but it's true. Nonetheless, it is still refreshing to swim in.

For those who are traveling to the Fujairah area, I would absolutely recommend this hotel - and the upgrade to a Royal Club room.

RAS AL KHAIMAH

The Hilton Resort & Spa
http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/RKTRSHI-Hilton-Ras-Al-Khaimah-Resort-Spa/index.do

After Fujairah, we drove about an hour to get to the Hilton Resort & Spa in Ras Al Khaimah. Here we stayed in a villa suite located by the chilled pool and the ocean. We had booked a regular room; however, upon arrival we were offered the upgrade at a great price so we took it. Since we were traveling during the week, both hotels were not that busy so it made our getaway extra relaxing. The grounds at this Hilton were huge - we had to be driven in golf carts to get from one end to the other end. Everything was so well manicured and beautiful. We were rather spoiled with having the chilled pool, the salt water pool, the ocean and a bar all within a few feet of our back patio door.

I especially liked the little discoveries that I made during our stay at this resort. We were pleasantly surprised to have found the only inland duty free in the UAE right in our resort !!! Naturally, we stocked up on great wines and alcohol at really affordable rates ! During one of our nightly beach walks, we noticed things scurrying on the beach ... while at first I was a tad scared - thinking it could be snakes lol - it turned out that they were crabs and fish coming out at night. There were many different crab varieties - some large, some small, and some hermit crabs as well. This reminded me of the times during family vacations when we used to hunt little crabs in the sand & keep them hostage in a bucket all day... as a young girl, this kept me entertained for hours ! This was no different - Aaron and I hunted the crabs in the sand, and caught a few but quickly let them go back. It was also nice to see the school of fish swimming and jumping in the shallow water. There is something about seeing wildlife that just pleases me !

Considering we stayed for a few days, we were able to try a few of their restaurants. I had one of the best steaks we have ever had at the Brazilian restaurant there called Pura Vida - the restaurant had a relaxed atmosphere with really helpful and attentive staff, and the food was purely extraordinary, so we had a great night. We also tried the Japanese/Thai restaurant called Passage to Asia; again, the food here was amazing, and the Chef was friendly as were the staff. The food was a bit pricey in both restaurants, but considering we had 2 for 1 coupons from the Entertainer book, it didnt dent our budget too much. I would definitely recommend both these restaurants if you are staying in this Hilton!!

The one thing I would mention is that as it got closer to the weekend more families started to arrive at the resort. While I have nothing against families with children, it makes it hard to relax by the pool when there are misbehaved little children running around and screaming. Considering there was an entire resort section devoted for children, I would have expected the lifeguards to not allow them in the adult area or at least monitor their behavior a bit more.

The drive home took about 1.5 hours – and again, pure desert. Camels, goats and shrubbery were seen as we drove along, but nothing else too exciting. And before we knew it, we were back in the metropolitan of Dubai.  What's great is that you can truly get away from it all in just a short drive. Overall the getaway was much needed and very relaxing. I very much look forward to going back to these locations, and checking out more areas of this country – and the surrounding countries.

xox <3 xox

Holiday to Ottawa v2

Week 2 of the Ottawa holiday:

* On Friday June 3rd, it was the Rick Goodfellow Invitational golf tournament in support of the Olympic Primary school in Kibera Kenya.  This was one of the main reasons I had come home - to support my parents' project and to defend my title of ladies longest drive. Seeing as it was best ball format, I played with Aaron, whom had never played golf before - and had only really gotten practice the night before at the driving range. And might I add, Aaron was quite good for a beginner golfer considering I was being "quite bossy" on the course. It was a great afternoon spent with Aaron, my aunt and a good family friend. We played well but didnt come close to winning the trophy; and sadly, I didnt win ladie's longest drive this year. I guess I had to let someone else win it for once :P haha. The evening was followed by drinks, dinner, a silent auction & some magic. It was great that Aaron wowwed the guests with his magic; everyone simply loved him & couldnt get enough. Overall, it was a beautiful event with family and friends in support of a deserving cause. The golf tourney finished at around 10 pm, but Aaron and mine's evening was just getting started... As a side note, Im thrilled to report that the tournament raised $16, 559 !!!

* STEREO: After the golf tournament, Aaron and I ventured to Montreal so I could show him what Stereo was all about it. Aaron is not as familiar as I am with house music, but he can dance & appreciate a good party. When we got there, Maher Daniel was on the decks - but funny enough, we had met Maher's cousin in Dubai. Small world eh? Anyways, Maher Daniel & Nic Fanciulli both had great sets !!! I definitely enjoyed this music journey better this time. It was also nice to see Dubfire and Richie Hawtin up in the VIP enjoying the beats as well. It's funny because I was excited by this, but Aaron didnt really understand the background of these DJs, and so he smiled and tried to understand my excitment. There were not too many people there, and I would say the crowd is getting a bit younger, but it made for some good hyped up energy. Unfortunately, since we had both been out and about all day at the golf tourney, we accidentally fell asleep in the VIP section. HAHA. We sat down, leaned against each other, and poof that was it - we were sleeping. Aaron and I were there long enough to enjoy the party, but left fairly enough to catch the zzzs. Aw Stereo - I will miss that dance floor until the Christmas holidays.

* When we got back from Montreal, we had yet another snooze since there was a BBQ being had at my house - family and friends alike to enjoy a summer bbq of hamburgers and hotdogs. The turnout was fantastic with about 20 to 30 people showing up. We chatted, ate, drank, played Dance Dance Revolution, drank, the men grilled Aaron about his intentions with me, laughed and drank some more. Brilliant night :)

* The following morning, Aaron & I departed for our 6 hour drive to Niagara Falls. Since Aaron had never been to Canada, I wanted to show him a bit more of what Canada had to offer. For me, Niagara Falls was a city I visited quite often to visit my grandma so at first it was hard for me to understand Aaron's excitment. But then I put my tourist hat on, and pretended like it was my first time seeing the falls. I must admit - they are Amazing! Once we had checked into the Sheraton (with a fallsview room must I add haha), we walked along the Falls. We then went for drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe & then to dinner in our hotel. I cant remember the name of the restaurant but it had a beautiful view of the falls lit up at night, very romantic - and, our food was delicious. Aaron had a steak, and claims it is the best steak he has ever had; and I had the shrimp vegetable stir-fry, to which I finished every last bite - yum! Following dinner, we stood out on the balcony and watched the fireworks over the Falls. To say it was magical would be pure cheese, but hey - what can I say, it was one of those moments you hope to never forget. We then finished the night by walking down Clifton Hill & visiting the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. The next morning, we simply looked at he Falls some more - and had an epic breakfast at Denny's. Aaron had never eaten at a Denny's before, and heard about it, so it was our last stop of the trip. He had the Grand Slam, and I had the Grand Slamwich - both meals were greasy huge portions that left us feeling satisfied then nauseous. HAHA. The trip was short and sweet, but it was a great experience.

* Journey home: Aaron left two days before me - and he truly enjoyed his time in Canada! I then maximized my time running errands, shopping, visiting with friends & family, and packing. I had looked into staying in Canada an extra few days, but there was only availability two days later at an added cost of $500 CDN... forget that ! It was an emotional good bye as I said bye to the pets at home, and then to my parents as I was embarking on the bus to Montreal. While I looked forward to getting back to my Dubai life, nothing quite compares to home. Luckily, I slept most of the way back to Dubai so it went by fairly quickly. Arrived safe & sound, on time, with luggage and a bit jetlagged back to Aaron & Dubai.
The two week holiday back to Ottawa was GREAT to say the least, but two weeks was just so short. Looking back, I wanted to do more, see more people & take more pictures, but it didnt happen this time. I look forward to seeing everyone again during the Christmas holidays :)

xox <3 xox