Dubai – soloflighted.com

soloflightEd Dubai Blog Update

My, my. It’s been a very long while since I updated this blog. Not sure if it has reached a year already or more. I haven’t kept track. Please pardon the absence as my life outside my day job has been swamped with a lot of projects. To the point that I haven’t done anything … Read more

Dubai Dining Spots for Special Occasions

Home to some of the best hotels in the world, it’s no surprise that Dubai is famous for its world-leading restaurants, so let’s take a look at just five that you have to visit. Whether you’re a resident or visitor to the city, you should try at least one of these choices if you want … Read more

My Dubai Desert Safari Adventure

The desert safari adventure is a common tourist experience in Dubai. The city is built on the desert that’s why this is one of the major things you can experience while exploring this part of the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai Desert Safari Adventure
March 17, 2013

Desert Safari in Dubai

We had an Entertainer Book (which is book with coupons and discounts) and we used one of the pages for this adventure. We got two tickets for the price of one (AED 200) which was already a great deal.

Basically, the desert safari experience in Dubai includes sand dune bashing, camel riding, and a barbecue dinner where you can watch a belly dancing show.

sunset in Dubai

One of the surprising adventures I’ve experienced in Dubai is the Hatta Mountain Safari tour. We kept postponing this trip due to the (un)availability of our schedules. I was still new at the office and given that I only have one day off, it’s a challenge to find a perfect day to pursue this trip. Still I’m glad that it pushed through.

Hatta Tour in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
April 30, 2013

Dubai Hatta Tour

Passing through Oman borders to reach Hatta where you will see the rocky mountains

Call time was 8:30am and I felt sleepy as I was in the closing shift the previous day. We went to our meeting point near Al Fahidi Metro Station so we could begin our Hatta Mountain Safari tour. The first activity was seeing the desert sand dunes of Lahbab, Sharjah City.

I was informed that the location of our previous desert safari tour wasn’t as grand as the place we were to visit. I wasn’t expecting much, else I would regret it if they are not met later on.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Driving a Buggy Lahbab, Sharjah
April 30, 2013

ATV on the sand

looks fake eh?

I had the opportunity to try Indonesian food in Dubai when Jana and I visited Betawi Restaurant in Karama. We were there for a meet-up with some Pinoy bloggers in the city. It was nice that we didn’t have to go far since the café is just located near my place. Betawi Restaurant in Karama … Read more

Dubai, UAE: Swimming in Wadi Al Qahfi

After driving a desert buggy at the sand dunes of Sharjah, we got back inside the vehicle to proceed to Hatta. We were to get wet in a natural swimming pool in Wadi Al Qahfi (Khaffi). I didn’t expect much of the place as all I knew about the Middle East was it being a desert, but the natural pool intrigued me.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Swimming in Wadi (Valley) Al Qahfi
April 30, 2013

Wadi Qaffi in the Hatta Mountains

The drive took awhile, but I was busy staring at the view of the landscape changing. From soft and sandy desert dunes to rough and mountainous rocks. I’m glad that we had the car all to ourselves as it felt like a private tour. Plus there’s lots of leg space! 🙂

driving in the mountain

We finished the Hatta Mountain Tour and we were planning to head back to the city when our guide asked us if we wanted to visit the Hatta Heritage Village. I’m not a history geek and I wasn’t really feeling the walking tour, but we decided to check it out for 15 minutes.

Hatta Heritage Walking Tour
April 30, 2013

Dubai-Hatta-Oman Safari Tour

Hatta Tour

I boarded an Emirates Airlines Boeing 777 plane on my way to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was my first time to ride a plane of that size. I became excited at the thought of riding a huge aircraft even if it meant spending 8 hours in the flight.

My Emirates Boeing 777 Experience

Emirates Aircraft Boeing 777 from HK to DXB

During my backpacking adventure, an A320 or an ATR would suffice. But since the plane from Hong Kong to Dubai took longer than 4 hours, a bigger aircraft is truly necessary.

I didn’t know what to expect; so I was wide awake despite not getting much sleep the day before. At the boarding area, I was already taking photos of the Hong Kong airport. I recall the last time I visited this region of China, and the first time I felt when I landed on a foreign country.

at the HK International Airport

Whoa, never thought I wouldn’t be blogging for this long. It’s been awhile since I last updated this blogsite. I also haven’t been able to go online as much. My normal day to day Facebook activity has been totally lessened. This is a good thing because it made me realize that I don’t need to spend as much time on social media just looking at status messages when I’m on my laptop. I can actually do more productive tasks such as working on my other sites that need more attention.

I apologize for the absence, but I’ve been busy.
So what have I been doing lately? I am currently based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Burj Khalifa, The Tallest Building in the World

I transferred due to personal reasons and I’m starting over by establishing new roots here. The past months haven’t been a walk in the park. I became one of the many thousands of Filipinos who are finding better opportunities in this desert city.

I can’t recall how many resumes I’ve sent and how few the responses were. Maybe I didn’t target the right employers. Still, I can say that I’ve done what the average Pinoy has in order to get a good start-up job; and it wasn’t easy at all.

arriving in DXB

soloflightEd Dubai Blog Update

Dubai Dining Spots for Special Occasions

My Dubai Desert Safari Adventure

Dubai, UAE: Hatta Mountain Safari Tour Highlights

Dubai, UAE: Driving a Desert Buggy in Lahbab, Sharjah

Betawi Restaurant: Affordable Indonesian Food in Dubai

Dubai, UAE: Swimming in Wadi Al Qahfi

Dubai, UAE: Hatta Heritage Walking Tour

First Time in an Emirates Airlines Boeing 777

Blogging in Dubai, United Arab Emirates