This is a very long overdue post. How long had it been since my last decent post? Two months? Three months? I believe now is the ripe time, at 40 minutes past one in the morning, with my husband snoring in the bedroom, and my eyes half distracted by the film showing on the television. Anyways, I need to put an end to this never ending procrastination. Big problem is–how? 🙂
P. S. This blog entry is two weeks in the making. Hahah!!! Did that really surprise me? No thanks, partly to my internet connection that kept on refusing my blog inputs and mostly to my disease called procrastination a.k.a. PanAm tv series. I have to have this blue vintage PanAm travel bag. I am very high on PanAm fever right now!
DECEMBER 18, 2012
My bag was ready for adventure. Recently, I have this obsession with traincases. Anything vintage just makes me feel like a rich, posh lady from the 80s. A girl can dream anytime of the day.
Mother and Buyugix had landed.
Met up with mother and baby at the airport for our Jordan trip. Caught my ever restless baby marching up and down the airport while mother did what she does best—pray.
Petra-bound on board Emirates flight to Amman.
TV games kept him busy.
Crew doing manual safety demo due to IFE failure before takeoff.
Landing at Jordan
Poor Buyugix. He was knocked out after hours on the flight. So proud of you, baby.
Finally in Dubai. Starting the day right by waking up early.
…and staying fresh with a bath.
What’s Christmas without gifts to open, right? Buyugix opening some of his pre-Christmas day gifts.
- Spongebob electric toothbrush and matching toothpaste
And the shoes that he loves “so very, very” much. Glow-in-the-dark Dr. Seuss chucks by Converse.
SECOND DAY IN DUBAI–to the world’s biggest mall, Mall of Emirates.
- Bad-ass car for a bad-ass baby
Contrary to popular belief, we do get to have our Christmas decorations in the mall in this Muslim country.
- The giant Christmas tree with giant polar bears.
- Mommy Lalang and Baby Yugz
- Buyugix learning the glory of sensor technology by himself.
- His favorite cakes–blueberry cheesecake and applepie. He was ecstatic to learn that it was applepie because he said he finally found the way to bake one. 🙂
- Mama Connie enjoying her slice of cake or two, but still preferred her cheap cup of Nescafe over the barista-brewed coffee.
TIME TO SKATE ON ICE.
This was probably one of the best moments I had with Buyugix. It was a rewarding feeling to have shared my son’s first ice skating experience with me. I thought he would be having a very hard time with balancing because he has a fear of falling, but he aced it. He definitely did so much better than his mommy a year ago.
- Mama Connie was documenting from behind the glass while praying the rosary on the side too.
- Yugix and his training penguin.
- Buyugix took this photo of his mommy.
- …he wanted to sit on the snow.
Visiting the house of Santa Claus…
- After taking two photos of me, Buyog said, “Mommy, I want to go skating. If you want more photos take them yourself.”
- Ouch!
- Fooling around before going home.
- Mommy and Lola’s adorable baby dinosaur.
- Baby Buyugix and his Mama Connie.
- Baby Buyugix and his Mommy Lalang.
These are the two lovely keepsakes of Buyug’s first time to ice skate. It was everything that is memorable.
- our snow globe with Mr. Penguin
A DAY FOR SWIMMING
It was winter in Dubai and the water was naturally freezing. But Buyog loved the water so much that nothing else could ever matter.
- My little hotstuff was so excited.
- All the photo credits go to my very cute photographer.
- If only I could upload that video of Buyugix shaking his butt cheeks. 🙂
DESERT SAFARI
A trip to the Middle East will not be complete without doing the desert safari. Nothing like a crazy welcome of your car hanging on a 180 degrees angle of the sand wall and plunging down the sand dunes without warning.
The fun continues into a traditional Arabian welcome in a Bedouin campsite where guests can have a chance to ride a camel, savor delicious sips of Arabic brew, enjoy a shisha smoking facility, try a henna tattoo, feast on a splendid buffet Arabic dinner and be entertained with a graceful belly dancer. All of that at a price of only 100-125 United Arab Emirates dirhams, approximately 1, 300 Php per head.
But before all of that, I need to give my mother a makeover first. 🙂
- My mother’s usual get up.
- My mother was reborn aft receiving the blessing of my mad skills. 🙂
Our pickup had arrived.
- My adorable baby with his sun-kissed skin.
- Mother was saying hello to the desert sun.
- sleeping on post
The entire dune bashing experience were on photo, thus, the absence of any photos. Let us just say that Mother was praying for her dear life for every minute and every second that we were in the car. 🙂
Photo Opportunity
It was one cold day out there in the desert.
- Missing daddy…
- One step closer to our camel ride. 🙂
AND HERE WE GO…
- The Russian family that rode together with us in the car.
- the camel’s tail
- Baby was scared to ride the camel so Mommy Lalang had to ride with him.
- This was the closest that Mama Cons had with the camel ride. Hahhah!
- Our kind friend, Rashid.
- This has got to be one of my most favorite photos.
- Mama Connie was not scared. Nah. ;P
- our appetiser
- He looked so cute especially with those aviator hat by Gap.
- our Arabic tent
It’s time for some Arabic entertainment. Too bad it was too cold in the desert that we left before the belly dancing show. I have seen it before and indeed, it would have been worth shivering out there in the cold.
Time to say goodbye…
But not without Mama Connie having her photo taken with our Russian buddies…
That is one adventure down, more to go…
A DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS.
Morning. This was baby’s first trip to the gym and his energy level was up to the roof. I wish I could post here the video of him roughing it up with the treadmill then making a couple or more situps in the yoga mat. He told Mama Connie and I that we should go back the next day so he could grow abs in his tummy. 🙂
- Ready for some workout in the morning.
- Someone was really passionate about losing weight…
Afternoon. A long day trip to the salon. I am so proud of my baby for behaving impeccably for six hours at the salon while waiting for Mommy Lalang and Mama Connie do their hair. He got his training early in how to be a perfect boyfriend. 🙂
- That is my mother’s favorite hobby–praying.
- Thank God for iPad he found a way to amuse himself for six hours.
CHRISTMAS DAY.
This was only the second Christmas that we spent together so this means a lot to me. The third time if I count the time he was in my tummy. I am a horrible mother and I miss my baby a lot.
Preparation. Grocery shopping together. He was very excited, like usual. I did not even have to carry him around the very huge mall. 🙂
- Starting shopping right with an elevator photo.
- roar!!! I feel safe with my cute bodyguard.
- Buyugix and the world’s tallest building.
Looking for the perfect Christmas Eve cake. We found one at Baskin Robin’s.
- Our ice cream cake with Santa Town miniatures fresh from the store.
- When we opened the cake box at home, we found this–courtesy of Buyog’s bum that was sitting comfortably on top of it.
- Mama Connie’s little helper…
- …and food tester.
- MERRY CHRISTMAS 2011, WORLD.
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- All eyes on the cake!
- Christmas Tree photo with Lola.
- Mommy’s shoes were really pretty.
MY CHRISTMAS EVE HAIR that cost Mama Connie 10K pesos and seven hours of my waking time.
- One of the reasons why I always ran out of battery too early.
OPENING OF GIFTS. Nothing for me to open on the eve of Christmas Day. Getting a Gucci bag a week earlier should cover it. 🙂
Baby and Mommy tandem
OPENING OF GIFTS. No gift for me to open. Receiving a Gucci bag a week before Christmas should suffice, I guess.
- A gift for mama–the most comfortable walking shoes in the world, available only at Virgin Megastores. They feel like walking on padded socks.They came with pretty, shiny bags too. I have mine in gold color.
THE NIGHT BEFORE OUR FLIGHT BACK TO PHILIPPINES.
- Time to mark my territory on Mommy’s bed and wet her brand new bed sheets.
- Sleeping with Claire, mommy’s rag doll.
DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
- This was only the start of our waiting game.
Manila flight was full as expected so we took the flight to Hongkong.
- Ang maglola, onboard AIrbus 380 Emirates flight Dubai-HKG.
- Traveling on the day after Christmas sucked. Fortunately we had wonderful cabin crew on our A380 flight, which was a surprise, to be honest. She even took a polaroid photo of Buyog wearing Santa’s red hat.
- At the Hongkong International Airport with a gross guy in front of me with his hands inside his pants and newspaper pages with women in bikini on the floor. D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G.
- Buyug loving his first gingerbread man cookie from Starbuck’s.
- Camping at the airport was no laughing matter at all, but coming home was all worth it.
- Airport camping was not easy at all, but coming home was all worth it.
TraveLing sets me FRee!!! 