Dubai Desert Safari Lovin'

My love and lust for traveling is one of the most bizarre things I definitely would not need rehab with. And now and then, I would receive itinerary requests from friends, friend of a friend even, whenever they are concocting travel plans to cities I have been to. It is essentially something I have always considered as a lovely task.

Recently though, a very spontaneous pal who is heading to Middle East has asked me to come up with one thing that she should never miss once she gets there. I have not even set foot in UAE, but Dubai being situated right within the Arab Desert, it was a no brainer. Some tap and click on Google after, up came Dubai Desert Safari!

These luxurious vehicles will pick you up from your hotel and will send you directly to the spectacular sand dunes!

FACT: Do you know that these beautiful desert sands came from crushed shells and corals? Who would think that these fine grains are once chunky and rough shaped? Gotta love the wonders of nature. 🤓

Knowing that my friend has this lazy feat of jumping into the first package tour she encounters for convenience's sake, I went ahead and searched for a good deal and a legit touring company that could take her to her lifetime dream of dune bashing in Dubai.

And if ever your bucketlist includes Desert Safari in Dubai (mine obviously has this on the top 3), here's what I have booked for my friend which I'm sure will save you the trouble of researching as well:

Check out their website and embark on a once in a lifetime experience of being a desert nomad for a day!

EMIRATES YOO is one of the largest and most trusted travel agency based in Dubai that offers a wide range of top-notch, affluent and fuss-free package deals that will surely take care of all your Mediterranean necessities! 

Currently, their best seller is Desert Safari Dubai with BBQ Dinner and Transfer which highlights camel riding in the middle of the desert for an hour as you watch a marvelous sunset. Wow. That is sooo Sex in the City! I can absolutely imagine me and my husband experiencing this very soon!

The tour will then take you to a lavish bbq dinner with a wide array of veg and non-veg dishes. And just when you think the fun is over, gear yourself for more as dining will be made especially delectable by the type of entertainment included in the tour. Locally talented belly dancers will perform as well as other fascinating acts to further spice up your already phenomenal evening. 

Somewhere in the camp, there is a corner where you can avail of some gorgeous henna body art, something you can show off your friends when you go back home. I'll totally have one! 😁

Entertainment is its BEST! Authentic Arabian feels await you!

If you and your family are taking a holiday trip to Dubai soon, an on-going promotion is being offered by Emirates Yoo as of this writing. For every 2 adult tickets booked for Desert safari, 1 KID will be FREE. That's an amazing deal! 

Package tour cost: $40.91 –– This already includes 2-way transfer from and to your hotel, camel riding plus dinner. Easy on the budget and definitely worth your time. 

I cannot wait for my friend's shrieking voice over the phone when she calls me and relate what she has experienced in this tour! Who knows, being on our honeymoon year and all, me and my husband might check this thing out, too. ❤️

Blogger's Note:

For more details about Desert Safari in Dubai, cost and activities included, swing by emiratesyoo.com. They also offer a variety of Dubai Tours which you can avail with convenience and ease. Have fun!

Emirates Yoo

Brought to you by Kuoni Group
Al Barsha Boutique Building Al Barsha 1 – 3rd FloorP O Box 25488 Dubai, United Arab Emirates

International Number : +971 44502209

email: info@emiratesyoo.com

YOO YOO TOURISM LLC

Licence number 684755 / Inbound Tour Operator

INCUBUS in Our LIVES and LOVE

Proven to be true, the binding element that fortified my relationship with my fiance is all things INCUBUS! We share this profound love and admiration to this 5-man alternative rock band since the beginning of our relationship. I would always remember listening to their music during one of our road trips or watching Morning View in our car pod while stuck in Manila traffic.

But this is not about me and him.

On March 13, 2015 at the MOA Arena, Brandon Boyd and the boys had their 4th Manila concert as part of their World Tour for their newest 4-track EP, TRUST FALL (Side A).

Originally, I was set to come home to Manila from Singapore by mid-April. But what the hell! No harm in re-booking my flight earlier just to catch them live, right? It was our 3rd time to watch them perform before a very loud audience, 2 of us included, and it is always, always an adrenaline-packed, necromantic moment! Woohoo!

They opened the show with "Wish You Were Here", imagine the scream I made when I heard the bassist strung up those chords. Holy freaking beast! I think I have completey lost it.

Somewhere in the middle, they performed "Absolution Calling", their new song released worldwide on February 5th. I never actually expected that it sounds far better live with Brandon doing what he does best: enchant listeners! I was like a retard enraptured for almost 4 minutes. And then  there's "DIG". I almost passed out. No kidding. No exaggerations. You know sometimes, there is this exceptional song that slam bangs the life you live, and this is it for me and my love. Verbatim.

I said this isn't about me and my fiance. But talking about Incubus, Brandon Boyd or their wonderful music is the same as talking about our love story. Pretty gooey, but I'm ecstatic professing it to the universe. It will be somewhat formidable separating the two, so why make it onerous then? 

This concert is so bodacious for the two of us who are in the midst of embarking a new chapter in our lives. 2015 will be our wedding, they released new music, they included Manila in their tour after Australia, Japan, Singapore and Bangkok. Our wedding coordinator even contacted Ovation Productions because we really wanted to do an engagement photo shoot during sound check. We were not successful. But it never made us LOVE them boys any lesser. 

And this is an OATH for our undying love to INCUBUS: Our kids will listen to their music, no matter how long and painstaking it takes to convince them so. 

Salud to LOVE, LIFE and a more wonderful world with INCUBUS music in it. Rock on! 

Photo credits: 

Some of the awesome pictures featured on this blogpost were grabbed from incubusofficial@tumblr.com from the magical lenses of Julian Schratter. Thank you! 

Cake Spot

Aren't we all fond of eating sweet gems that only don't fancy our eyes but swoop perfectly in the palate? Themed cakes for distinct celebrations have always been the focal point of any long table. We've got to give our guests something to marvel at even after the big day. 

So I'm planning my own wedding -- I foresee the challenge of selecting the details and design of our cake. I would very much love to go overboard.

Before I haphazardly plunge into engaging some bake shop to take charge in creating my wedding cake, I have to carefully outline the budget, type of filling, tiered or not, the toppers, the theme --  whoah, wait up! Culinary-blabs bluntly nauseate me. 

Coming across Honey Glaze Cakes was such a huge relief! I was completely blown away not only by the contemporary cake designs but more importantly on the luscious flavor in every slice.

A friend in Manila hosted a soiree a few months ago and it was there where I had a first bite on an amazingly premium cake done by Honey Glaze. The timing couldn't be more appropriate, I feel compelled to check this one out. 

Located in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, Honey Glaze Cakes is managed and owned by Aileen Torres-Conde. Her training & education abroad combined with her passion and natural talent as a pastry chef were behind every masterpiece that comes out of her kitchen. 


2 Reasons why Honey Glaze will make my wedding cake:

My Cake, My Rule

Since they specialize in creating customized cakes, I wouldn't have problems in choosing the design I dig and the flavor I want. A little chat with the chef and voila -- it's a deal. Sometimes the ideas in our minds are in dire need of some professional suggestions, after all, it is perfection we are seeking for in a significant day like a wedding. Finalize every specification 6 months prior to your desired date, this will provide enough room for adjustments and last minute requests. 

You Get What You Pay For

Budget is one important aspect that should be well thought, and the cake is just one item in the long list of things you have to splurge on. Yes, their cakes are quite pricey, but it wouldn't be wise to settle for something cheap that will compromise the taste. What honestly captivated me in the first place was Honey Glaze's promise of a delectable treat in their cakes. In a reception that holds 200-300 guests, satisfying each attendee's tummy is what me and my fiance aim for. Shouldn't we all? 

PHOTO GALLERY

Wedding cakes that made my decision a little more arduous. Why, it is so hard to choose from all these great designs alright? If only wedding is an annual thing, I would order each one per year! 

Birthday Cakes that would make you want to throw a bash every week. Surprise your loved one with one of these and make their birthday the best they ever had. 

  

Since our wedding cake will play an imperative role in transforming our big day into extra special, I have chosen a simple design that embodies elegance but still nothing short of a spectacle. It would probably be something like this, but maybe a little more glittery and the additional of some symbolic knick-knacks that signify our union. I am getting more stoked each day!

Contact HONEY GLAZE CAKES through the following:

Telephone: +632 7032414 / +632 3467336

Mobile: +63 922 8279848 / +63 920 9525166 / +63 917 5214883

Email: honeyglazecakes@yahoo.com

Adress: 114 Ocampo St. Don Jose Heights Commonwealth Ave. Quezon City Philippines

Bio Of A 30-Something

20 miles worth of thoughts to sort through. I couldn't ostensibly run that long without suffering from the complications of pulmonary collapse, otherwise this post will become an obituary or an epitaph to my poor grave and no one has the time to read. 3 decades++ (coz I stopped counting at 30) of self-deprecating, hostile annotations. Not sure of what I'm trying to prove, I just know that the profanity-spewing guttersnipe, optimistic despite the odds in life ME was the result of all these ironies. 

As you process the plethora of words i have summed up, I give you this video, Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve (courtesy of YouTube) to make your reading experience a little bit disparate from the usual yawn-inducing blogs. Not that I call this my life-song, that sentiment would be too mainstream. Whatever, just hit the play button & read, you silly. 

COMPREHENSION 101

That your first day at pre-school only means signing up to another 15 years or so first days of your sheer academic life, not to include summer classes or any educational course your parents will coerce you to attend. It pains me to grasp that after all the studying you have done at school, all the lessons you must learn you will experience once you step out of it. Not every strategy in life is found in textbooks. Not every important decision you will make will be taught by your teacher. 

That not taking afternoon nap even if you were being scolded by your mom will definitely be one of the biggest regrets in your life. As you grow, it will dawn you how many hours of uninterrupted sleep you have wasted, sleeping is the ultimate gratification you will ever need.

That learning your English ABC does not exempt you from learning the Mandarin Ling-Yi-Er-San because knowledge not only for a second but also a third or hell, fourth language signifies wit and being well-off. 

That even after 18,250 11:11 wishes you made starting at the tender age of 6, none of it will come true in a snap of a finger. No tooth fairy, no aging Santa Claus nor a generous fairy godmother will reward you with imperative relief to any emotional sap.

That the dream of your parents for you to become a medical doctor or a big shot lawyer does not necessarily have to be your own dream, when all that really interests you is  as simple as to satiate on a cup of coffee, read a book, your gorgeous man sitting next to you and just having some sense of peace that you do not owe anybody any thing, and because you believe that if there's any more to life than those 4 simple things, you really have to know because you're quite ambitious for it, too. 

That falling in love the first time and just being cheated on after is the least agonizing thing a normal human being could ever go through. Who would know that a juvenile heartache is the most subtle form of pain? I wouldn't have guessed that. 

That your first love is not only your first lethal dose of bitter pill but also the first among the many fucktards you will spend voluminous time with in this sea of X & Y chromosomes.  

That falling in love AGAIN after a mortifying first relationship doesn't guarantee you'll find a far better prince nor a knight in his shining armor of bullshit. 

That the supreme way to know that you have a heart is to experience poignant shredding heartaches first hand as if it's a necessity for survival. 

That you really have to use every falling star and ASK for your ONE GREAT LOVE to finally find you  & save you from being the shabby slave to love that you are. 

That even at 30-something you cannot connect the reason why you had to irrationally find the value of a god-damned X in an algebra class. With all the advancement in technology, how come these geniuses cannot establish the reality that numbers and alphabets do not go well together. I could just stifle a laugh.

That you owe your English teachers big time in Junior high for forcing into you the importance of good grammar, right punctuation and parallelism aside from the list of mass nouns that do not really need an "S" at the end just to know they are plural.  

That being a prodigy is the single most effective trait you need to make you stand out in class because having an average mind not only makes you a commoner but also a mute and invisible in the eye of everyone.

That your university  is the only ticket you need to land the most coveted job in the metropolis. The expensive the tuition fee, the better the chances of being shortlisted in a company. An advantageous but discriminatory speck of the society right in the face of the masses.

That your first job will make up the professional person that you will become, not only it will serve as your training ground, but also every thing you will need to get you ahead in the race of sky-high remuneration will truthfully be taught to you on your first work experience.

That your loyalty to your first ever paying job does not really matter. When you resign, they may appear remorseful for letting you go because you have spent almost a decade burning yourself for their business, but you are just another common employee, asset or not, that they could easily shove-off and be forgotten in just a month or shorter. No one in real life will commend you for sharing your expertise and for using up all your intelligence not unless you found a cure for Cancer or discovered a gadget that will trump the beauty of an Apple product. 

That working from 8 in the morning til 5, for 6 days a week in almost 2/3 of your life as an employee will never buy you an early retirement, unless somewhere along those 15 years you made a smart move of investing to a business that has the staying power. 

That a relative working overseas will automatically elevate the status of your family in the society from being Class C to Class B or A- because of the commiserable notion that being abroad smells of monthly dollar remittances or quarterly supply of imported stuff delivered right through your doorstep.

That racism is not a thing of the past in some parts of the world. There will always be people who will think so low of you when they do not even have a clue when you mindlessly used the word "procrastinating" or "imbecile" in one of your conversations. 

That there will always be an asshole in your workplace that is a walking whino who has nothing on his mind but to slack, ask for an increase in salary but always report to work late, as in 10 am late. Or even a know-all scoundrel who has the nerve to ask you if you know how to use a damn effing pipettor. Really, dude? That's peanut butter & jelly in my CV. 

That earning a monthly salary that is 10x over what you usually get will never ever suffice your growing need for survival because "horcruxes" were inserted in your entire biography to make things harder for you. 

That belonging to a 3rd world country deprived of all the conveniences in living is merely an advantage when you sail overseas because adjusting will never be your problem.

That having a social life means creating multiple social network accounts, updating once in a while, carefully filtering all the information you spill so as not to be hailed as a social climber nor a bandwagoner. 

That the true measure of popularity on this digital age depends on the number of followers and friends you have, even a huge portion of them you haven't even met in person or haven't really talked to during freshmen years. And when this is your social media life, you are essentially the polar opposite of popular. 

That a status update on Facebook or a 140-character tweet done by a douchebag could ruin your already obliterated day. Who would think that self-control and anger management is best honed when checking your timeline and news feed? 

That you are RUNNING SHORT of falling stars to wish on so you could DEMAND for your ONE GREAT LOVE to find you & save you from being the shabby slave, growing impatient, desperate to love that you are. 

That the height of immature teenage girlishness these days is FAME, surpassing the old cliche of happily ever after fantasy in some cocky European castle. 

That the fastest way to stardom is uploading a video on YouTube hoping one day a stroke of luck will cross your way and your clip will become viral all over the net, regardless if that 2 minute airtime is a display of your talent, random weirdness or your most hidden physical form. Sex video, as we may know became the igniting fortune to some of today's celebs like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. Not that they actually both need it, their wealth itself is an easy ladder to fame.

That plastic surgery is a badge you wear on your face, an easy claim that you have hefty money in your resume. More than the expensive arm candies or wardrobes screaming of the millions you could easily ditch, looking as if you indeed found the elixir of life should rightfully land you on Forbes list.

That even you were born organized and neat-freak, there will always be massive loose ends you need to tie-up because life bitching on you is only one of the signs that you are alive and still not rotting six-feet under.

That one fateful day, you will meet that ONE GREAT LOVE. Someone you will love to hate, love to live with and love to die for. Someone you will SOON say "I do" wearing your dream wedding dress, someone worth all the pain, malevolence and deceit you've been through. Thank you babe! 

That living this LIFE doesn't have to be in proper sequence. Being an iconoclast can give more self satisfaction than sticking to the idealism of some overrated prophet. Who sets the standards anyway? I have seen so many people went through life in reverse but they remain biologically capable like any eukaryotic organism.

That even after 30 or 40 years, a lot of people still don't know what they want to be or what they want to do. Not only souls get sucked up in the LOST alleyway, living people actually are worst. 

That there are actually NO RULES or default programs on how you should handle your timed existence on earth. I believe that for as long as you respect that there's a Supreme Being much much powerful than any of us, the one controlling our lives, every goodness follows and all you need is your mind and your heart to design the rest of it.

I am feeling a tad bit defeated. Conveying how a 30-something have lived her life seems to be a little outside everyone else's sphere of comprehension. I could be flayed alive and stitched back together over and over again and still no one can fully understand how one came to perceive all of these. Be guileless, to settle my heart to the things and people that make me shine brighter: these I know for sure. 

If you are a young blood on your way making tiny steps, no annihilation intended from my end. 

Traipse Around in Style with Ingga Sandals

We've dusted off our summer closets and started dishing out flamboyant outfits for a quick mix & match, oh yes, summer fun has officially dawned us! Whether you're milling a stay-cation, a red-letter-day outside the city or  extra trips to the mall to have a crack on the sweltering heat wave, why not let the season fuel your fashion dexterity and spare your tootsies from the malady of stilts & knee-high boots?

Let Ingga Sandals jazz up your stereotypical summer ensembles and transform them into a-thousand-bucks aura.

You can never find yourself hovering on the edge of disaster when you strut your way to a fun-filled adventure or on a time-kill escapade inside a fabulous mall when you are wearing these.

 

Ingga is unequivocally successful in creating a fashion masterpiece that incorporates comfort and style. The sole is lightweight, sporting a color that is universal and could easily blend to any wardrobe you wish to wear. 

The possibilities of design on your ties are astoundingly endless. Believe me, for someone like me who has no fashion sense at all since birth, I was able to come up with my own DIY style. Easy breezy! 

 

Experiment on the adorable ties, style 'em your way and have a day-off from those skyscraper heels. 

Each purchase comes with 3 different designs of ties. Go bold, be colorful and most importantly, spend some bucks on a made-to-order dream that will solve all your worries during an unexpected fashion crisis. 

Can't wait to grab your very own pair? These you should know. . .

Ingga Sandals - Managed and owned by Kirstine Dela Rosa

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InggaSandals

Instagram: @inggasandals

Website: inggasandals.webs.com

SMS / Viber:  +63 915 249 1014

Email: inggasandals@gmail.com

Have you decided yet? Contact Kirstine, drop my name (Ecel Ang), savor on a VIP privilege & get that Ingga-licious look! 

They say that what you wear on those feet is the hindmost indicator of how you feel, so what story does your tie preference on your pair of Ingga tells us today? 

P.S. You're welcome =)

Photos by: JANINE MANIEGO

Stylist: MAYI MANIEGO