Dubai Desert Safari and Happy Birthday Bryan

I'm going to start my Dubai travel diaries with one of the best experiences the hubs and I have ever had on a holiday - the desert safari.

We'd heard a lot about it and I had been stressing out about how to get on one because I had done lots of research, and emailed tons of tour agencies prior to getting to Dubai, and didn't get a single response. In the end, we booked our tour when we arrived, and based on the recommendation of our friend in Dubai, decided to go for the package that was sold at the counters of the Big Bus Tours, which are located at almost every major shopping centre in Dubai.

 

The package costs 275 uae dirhams (60 euros) per person, and included hotel pick-up and drop-off, desert sand bashing on a 4x4, camel riding, followed by dinner at a desert campsite, as well as traditional and belly dancing shows at dinner.

Our driver was an Indian national, Rashid, who's lived in Dubai for 17 years, and I must say we were very very very lucky to have gotten him. He was calm, sweet, and egged-on by our screams of thrills and exhilaration, proceeded to give us a whole lot of extra treatment during the sand bashing session. We saw so many other cars cutting corners, but our guy went the extra mile (literally) to give us the ride of our life. I personally love roller coasters and thrilling joy rides, so this was super duper (x10000000) cool for me. For the queasy ones, urmmm... you might prefer a calmer driver.

And being in the desert at sunset is something else. I felt like the boy in the Alchemist. Awe-inspired. Blessed. Filled with wonderment. Bliss. Bliss. Bliss.

And as always, some tips:
1. Wear boots or sneakers or flip flops. Or like me, you'll end up barefooted because the sand just jumps into your pretty little flats. And you'll spend the next few days dealing with sandy shoes.
2. It is COLDDDD in the desert. Depends on how you look at, we were lucky/unlucky with the weather in Dubai this time. Average night temperatures in the city were around 19 degrees celcius (66° fahrenheit). Temperatures in the desert go down many, many, many more celcius at nights. Imagine that, coupled with the wind! Felt like 10°. Now imagine me in my light summer clothing. FREEZING! I looked at some very prepared Japanese tourists in their down feather jackets and really wanted to cuddle up to them.
3. Wear white. It photographs beautifully in the dessert. I wish I wore white pants too.

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Today, I also wanna wish my darling Bryan, a very happy birthday. I love you so much littlest brother! You're so handsome and adorable and wonderful and caring and loving and understanding!!!! I think of you all the time, and love the moments when I get to hug you, dance with you, drink with you, and just hang with you. Here's a quote that I loved best from the Alchemist, which I've bought for you as one of your birthday presents to get you to read and inspire you to find your bliss :)) 

 

“What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one “dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.”

The 33 year dance

 

Dear Mummy and Daddy,

Thank you for your love. Thank you for your patience. 

Thank you for encouraging me to dream, and then for letting me fly. 

Thank you for being there when I fell, and then for letting me try again.

Thank you for saying what you needed, and then for letting me be me.

Thank you for giving me stronger wings, and then for letting me know that I always have a place called home.  

I love you with every inch of my soul. 

And if I ever had a choice, I'd do anything to have you be my parents again in another life. 

Yours forever,

Heather

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Super Daddy and Mummy celebrate their 33rd Wedding Anniversary today. 

The poem below is dedicated to them, my heroes. To me, this is how I've seen them living their lives together. Inspiring me by their quiet actions, simple joys, crazy humor, unwavering love, and heartwarming efforts be better partners, parents and human beings every single day.

The Dance 

by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I have sent you my invitation,
the note inscribed on the palm of my hand by the fire of living.
Don't jump up and shout, "Yes, this is what I want! Let's do it!"
Just stand up quietly and dance with me.

Show me how you follow your deepest desires,
spiralling down into the ache within the ache.
And I will show you how I reach inward and open outward
to feel the kiss of the Mystery, sweet lips on my own, everyday.

Don't tell me you want to hold the whole world in your heart.
Show me how you turn away from making another wrong
without abandoning yourself when you are hurt and afraid of being unloved.

Tell me a story of who you are,
And see who I am in the stories I am living.
And together we will remember that each of us always has a choice.

Don't tell me how wonderful things will be . . . some day.
Show me you can risk being completely at peace,
truly OK with the way things are right now in this moment,
and again in the next and the next and the next. . .

I have heard enough warrior stories of heroic daring.
Tell me how you crumble when you hit the wall,
the place you cannot go beyond by the strength of your own will.
What carries you to the other side of that wall,
to the fragile beauty of your own humanness?

And after we have shown each other how we have set and kept the clear, healthy boundaries that help us live side by side with each other, let us risk remembering that we never stop silently loving those we once loved out loud.

Take me to the places on the earth that teach you how to dance, 
the places where you can risk letting the world break your heart.
And I will take you to the places where the earth beneath my feet and the stars overhead make my heart whole again and again.

Show me how you take care of business
without letting business determine who you are.
When the children are fed but still the voices within and around us shout that soul's desires have too high a price,
let us remind each other that it is never about the money.

Show me how you offer to your people and the world
the stories and the songs you want our children's children to remember, 
and I will show you how I struggle
not to change the world, but to love it.

Sit beside me in long moments of shared solitude,
knowing both our absolute aloneness and our undeniable belonging. 
Dance with me in the silence and in the sound of small daily words, holding neither against me at the end of the day.

And when the sound of all the declarations of our sincerest
intentions has died away on the wind, dance with me in the infinite pause before the next great inhale of the breath that is breathing us all into being, not filling the emptiness from the outside or from within.

Don't say, "Yes!"
Just take my hand and dance with me.

365 #32 Hubby turns 30

It's that time of the year again.

And today, the hubby turns 30. He's been so excited about 'catching up with me' and being in the same age range that I think he's forgotten I will ALWAYS be older. ALWAYS! I love ribbing him about the fact that he's my little boy, and watch him puff up his feathers and say that at least he's bigger and taller. Sigh. The things we argue about. :))

To my mostest bestest friend in the world, my strongest rock, my funniest clown, my gentle giant, my silliest joker, my fellow adventurer, my kindest adviser, my partner in crime, my strongest protector and my biggest admirer: I love you, love you, love you, love you. With every atom of my being. With all the light of my soul. Today, and forever, may all your dearest wishes come true. The way they did for me when I met you. Happy birthday biboobiboo.

365 #21 My Daddy's Birthday

When I was young, EVERYONE said I looked exactly like my dad. Their words would be: 'like a chop!'.

But since I am all grown up and know how to put on make-up properly and have long air and removed my facial hair (joking!!!), and no one seems to think so anymore.

How about this?

Love you so much my dear daddy. May this year bring you even more peace, love, health, wealth and all the most wonderful things that a daddy as wonderful as you deserves. My wish stays the same year after year: that we'll be able to hang-out together even more this year.

A big kiss and the biggest hug ever from your first-born, and the one who's loved you longest (after mummy :p)

Teenage Dreams

My little pouts turns 13 today. It's such an exciting time in her life - first few days in high school, new friends, new dreams, new boys :p I wish so much I could be near her, and hear all about her adventures as she navigates this crazily fun time of her life.

You may be a teenager now darling girl, but you'll still be my little baby sister - forever and ever. Love you so much pao-de-pei. And you know if you need long rambling talks and advice on bad girls and boys, I'm only a call and a plane ride away. We can kick off our shoes, put our legs up in the air, and talk (or cry) the nights (and days) away.

Here's a song to fuel your teenage dreams (or maybe nightmares more like it) :p 

And here's to a year full of laughter and fun and great grades and holidays and presents! Love you so so so so so so much!!!

J'aime mon papa

 

Happy Father's Day to the most wonderful daddy in the whole wide world.

Biggest bear hug when I see you SOON! :)

Happy Birthday Star-rio :)

It's my sister-in-law's birthday today! 

(yikes, sounds so old like that. Got sister-in-law all). 

Everyone give a big shout out (or in the heart one also can) to the crazy funny and (sometimes silly-ly lovely) wife of my brother Don!

Love you loads sweetie! 

Mip's Super Funny Birthday

A few weeks ago, we celebrated the "don't ask" birthday of my mostest dearest friend in Luxembourg.

She's an amazing character, with the biggest heart and kindest spirit. I love her tremendously, and it's not just me - everyone who knows her does. She's truly awesome. And happy. And nice. And adorable. And funny.

In fact, in our everyday conversations, no matter what our moods are like or what has happened, she always asks me to tell her a 'funny story', and then she tells me one. So while we're wracking our brains to think of something 'funny', the previous woes or complains we had are pushed away by funny stuff.

It's funny. :p

Her birthdays are legendary. In this past one year, I've heard so many tales about previous parties, and all of them include very funny incidents, involving a whole lotta super awesome people, finger licking good food, copious amounts of great wine, litres of champagne and non-stop hard hitting shots of vodka. Seems the birthday girl is the only one standing at the end. And this year I got to witness it for myself.

The theme was 'funny colors'. And from here on, I'll let the pictures do the talking. It was a crazy, crazy, funny party. You'll wish you could have been here.

Love you mi

Roses are red, 

Violets are blue,

I am most lucky,

My mummy is you.

*a big hug that lifts you off your feet*

Happy Mother's Day, Mi. 

Today, and everyday of my life.

Love,

A grateful daughter.

Sayang Sayang, Sayang sayang Sayang

This is a story about a boy and a girl.

They first met about 5 years ago, and were incredibly shy with each other. He was intimidated by her big hair and flamboyance, and she was just amazed at how colorful and friendly he was. At their first meeting, they hit it off immediately, but decided to take things slow, because they were both cautious of how fast moving relationships could also burst into thin air.

Even then, they knew they wanted things to last. So, they kept off being too close until about 6 months into getting to know each other.

As fate would have it, their lives then became incredibly intertwined. And soon, having now known each other for more than a few months, they could declare their adoration for each other, and hang out every free minute they had.

He became her bestest guy friend in the world. They shopped (till this day he remains her bestest shopping buddy ever - well, except for Super Mummy, that is), went on holidays, ate, gossipped, cried over loves found and lost and lost and found, started a business, and even started living together.

They were inseparable. And the times they shared with each other and their wonderful friends were magical. Some of the best times of her life.

Then she decided she had dreams that she wanted, and that those dreams would take her far far away from where she was. And in the midst of saying goodbye and leaving the house they shared, she felt that this was the end. Because distance does not bear well for many. And she knew in her heart that when she left, she'd also be leaving so many that she loved. And that so many would forget her and that her place would be easily replaced.

And so it was. But not for him. He was different. And in him, she found she had a special place. She knew he loved her, faults and all, and he knew that he'd always have a home wherever she was. Even with the distance, they saw each other continuously through career moves, love mishaps, good times, bad times, all times.

And, as far she went, he followed, in calls, messages, visits. And for that, she is eternally grateful, because in him she sees her past and her future, all rolled up in one cuddly, lovable teddy bear.

And so they lived happily ever after. A trillion miles away from each other.

Happy Birthday my Sayang Super Megs. You know I love you, and always will.

p.s. I'm still upset that at the wedding you stuck so close to William and took your job as his best man so seriously that we didn't even get a picture together! :p

p.p.s. FINGERS CROSSED AND SEE YOU SOON SO WE CAN PAINT LUXEMBOURG RED!!!


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