jeddah, a view from the top

Jeddah is not all desert as seen here. It has a beautiful coastline, right here is the red sea. in the bible, moses led the israelites out of egypt to the promised land. to get to the promised land theyll need to cross the red sea. when the israelites got to the red sea, moses raised his staff and parted the sea so the israelites can cross. the egyptians were pursuing them however when they got to the red sea, yahweh put the sea back and drowned the soldiers. this story seemed amazing to me and i felt glad and lucky to have seen and even bathe in the red sea.

downtown area

i live in a place were there is very short distance from the land to the sea and the land to the mountains. the first time i saw jeddah from above (when i first arrived here a year and a half ago) my first thought was "this place is so flat". i have never seen something like this before, it looked like a road map laid on a very big table from above. in cebu, the flat lands or plains dont stretch out as large as here.

the three crazy algerians

it never snows in my country. this photo was taken in february when the mountains of algeria were covered with so much snow. it looked so beautiful from above. youd think that if you jumped off the plane and land on those mountains, you would still be alive, as if youre just jumping unto a soft white blanket.

these three hajjis called themselves the three crazy algerians. one of them, talked all the way from jeddah until we got to algeria. he just had so many things to say to his friend. one had bought a thawb from jeddah and changed into it in the middle of the flight.

at the end of the flight, one of the three crazy algerians gave me an orange. it's a big one, i couldnt grab most of it with one hand. it was so nice of him. i appreciate such gestures. may God bless the three of you wherever you are now. ^^

adobo and monggos

two of my favorite dishes. i think that these two dishes should always go together. the best part is these two are very simple to make and one could hardly make a mistake. and ill tell you how to make this. adobo: what youll need - chicken/pork; pineapple chunks in a can; soy sauce; vinegar; garlic; onions; peppercorns; bay leaves and boiled eggs (optional) *directions* get some chicken(or pork if its available in your country) and let it sit in pineapple juice for at least 15 minutes. sautee garlic and onions in a pot then add the chicken with the juice and the pineapple chunks. put some soy sauce, mix and cover for a few minutes (you may also put the hardboiled eggs at this point) then add the vinegar, peppercorns and bay leaves. let simmer for a few minutes. monggos: what youll need - mung beans, garlic, onions, tomato, salt, chili *directions* cook the mung beans in water in a pan sautee garlic, onions, tomato, and chili and add it to the pot of mung beans continue cooking and add salt to taste. let simmer for a few minutes and then it's done!

DIY shoe rack

I finally got the willpower to get up and do something about the piles of shoes that we have in one of the rooms that we have in the house. This room was supposed to be the library but ironically doesn’t have any books in it. So we’ve changed the name and started to call it the junk room since all types of junk can be found in there.
On youtube, I got my inspiration for a shoe organizer that I can use to neatly keep shoes. After a few videos, I dragged my ass up to make my own shoe rack with the help of my uncle. First off, my uncle and myself went to the hardware to buy some small nails, a small can of orange paint, brush, sandpaper and a bottle of paint thinner. We went home and got started right away by taking apart the wood of one of the old bed frames that has been sitting in the terrace for months. I had my uncle cut the wood into different pieces and lengths which we would then assemble to form the shoe rack. After cutting the wood into sizes, I used the sandpaper to smooth the wood and then covered it with a mixture of orange paint and paint thinner and left to dry. Then after they dried my uncle took three pieces of wood to form one level and attached it to just one piece of wood on either side (we ran out of wood). The pieces formed 6 levels that would fit 5 pairs of shoes on each level. All of this work took just half a day and more than half the cost.
And I must say, I’m proud of my amateur wood construction home improvement job.

at Ivy's

At Ivy’s house in Tung Chung, Hongkong with Ivy and my mother, Nancy.
Thanks for everythingg Ivy :) God bless you.

the rose and other quotes

I went to the restaurant (Sakura) just across the hotel Ruposhi Bangla to get something to eat for dinner. When I came back to the hotel, a lady, an employee of the hotel handed me this rose and before I could tell her that I am not a delegate or someone who is attending a seminar in the hotel, she gestured that this was for everyone and that she has no intention of taking it back from me.
I suddenly remember Shakespeare’s words, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name, smells just as sweet“. With this, I also remember one of my college professors who used to say those Shakespearean words and another quote came to mind, from the mouth of Mr. Dinopol...”I will give you wings so you can fly” in reference to his role as teacher who gives his students the knowledge and guidance they need and for the couples in class and those who have special friends, he’d say, “Tie your heart”. As if it was a kite that’ll get blown away by the wind of emotions. It was good advice at that time.

the godfather

This is a very tasty pizza (nicknamed the Godfather on the menu) at an Italian restaurant called Gotti’s in Megamall. I had the whole pizza for myself so I wasn’t able to finish it even though it was so delicious. I decided to bring it back to Jeddah. I heated the pizza when I arrived in the compound and although I thought it was a bit dodgy, I ate it. I had a terrible stomach infection a day later because of the pizza that had gone bad. It was my fault and will never ever, ever be that merciless to my body again. Sure it satisfied my craving, but the pain in my gut was all too much to do the same mistake again no matter how good and safe it might look.
I will however, go back to Gotti’s when I get a Manila layover enshallah in December this year.

beef bhoona in bangla

I’ve been to Dhaka for quite a few times now and I would have to say my ultimate favorite Bangladeshi dish is this beef dish called bhoona. I first tasted this soft meet goodness at a “carenderia” in the market where my cc friend took me for dinner. It was the right mixture of tastes for me. The hotness/spiciness, salty, sweet flavor took me by surprise the first time I had it.
I ordered this beef bhoona in the photo above from a restaurant with a really poor lighted interior (it felt like a nightclub inside with all the cigarette smoke and the men and the sofas and the darkness) called Sakura. It is just across the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel, formerly Sheraton Hotel. I think it costs around 300 takas which includes the rice. Oh the rice, oh my God. There’s too much rice put in the green box and I like it. I have taken a photo of the beef bhoona many times because I didn’t want to make it look like shit on top of the rice but somehow it always manages to do that. This is the best picture that I’ve taken; I’ve given up on trying so hard. It might not look very appealing in the photo, but trust me when I say, it is really good. It never fails to satisfy my taste buds.

a birthday wish come true

I’ve just arrived in Dhaka on the eve of my birthday. My bestfriend Leah who works in Singapore has told me that she was gonna buy a cake for me on my birthday. And she did..around 12 in the midnight, Singapore time, I skyped with her and she sang a birthday song for me and presented this sweet cake that I had wished for. I was so happy and proud and very grateful for friends like herself who never forgets and who, even though they’re far, make a constant (maybe even unconscious) effort of making me feel loved.
The next day, on my birthday…we flew back to Jeddah. I was so busy that I forgot that it was my day. I thought the world was unfair but got over it quickly enough preventing a possible depressed mood. On that day, I thanked God for my health and for the love of my family and friends. I have never felt so blessed.

expats

With Gail, at Jollibee Balad, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We finally met.