On Your Mark: READY, GET fit , for FREE!

Cruel summer in Dubai is almost over, the  intense  heat (which can reach up to 48C, drops a little less 36C at night) is a curse. When I arrived in May, summer is just warming up  and instantly my first FB weather impression status was "Summer in Dubai is a bitch". The good thing is, apartments, malls, restaurants, transportation (train,taxi,bus) has a very reliable  A/C system. It's like stepping out from your air conditioned apartment to air conditioned taxi to air conditioned mall to air conditioned gym! People swarm to malls to 'cool things up' while others work on their tans and hit the beaches. For me, I just stay indoors and confined to the gym for a little exercise. Oh how I miss running outdoor back in Manila, specifically in Ultra where a lot of runners with different goals hit the rubber track between 6-10pm. My bf then (now my husband) used to run after work to get our daily dose of fitness. I  developed the love for running when I joined my first 5k Milo marathon,soaked up in rain, I  finished it in 45 minutes, without much effort just run-walk-run thing.
I have made a huge excuse of not doing the same here, cause it's really hot, you will feel like as if there is a huge oven hovering all over your body when you're out on the street. But since, summer is waving goodbye we should be back on TRACK and enjoy outdoor running! What is exciting , we can enjoy being fit for FREE. Here are my modest suggestions  to getting FIT, for FREE.

• Amenities at your door step - Never miss the most obvious which you obviously paid for - the gym! In our building, Desert Group I make use of the gym almost 80% of the week.Since I am not working yet, I spend time in the morning and always walked in an empty gym. The pool is of good use too at night to try my swimming strokes which my husband taught me. Being a poor swimmer makes me work my ass really hard. These two are good combination, gym then swim after. Another option in your building is exercising in the stairs, which my husband is fond of doing. He was a more experienced mountaineer, back in the Philippines this is one of his personal training to be fit and ready for a major climb. Here, he taught  me to carry some weights , about 3kg each in my hand and take the stairs from rooftop(9F) to 3rd floor. The only downside it's dark down there specially at night, better get a friend to join you so you can take turns in switching on the light( light only goes on a minute) in each level..
• Jogging at Parks - This is one of the things I appreciate in Dubai. The government spend millions to make this emirate greener and attractive by building family friendly theme parks. There are several places where you can spend time with friends and family over picnic bbq or playing your favorite sports. I have tried Safa Park for jogging, it is a 3.5km jogging track just outside the park so that means you can run all you want. This is so far the best I've tried. It is not boring, the side track is adorned by huge trees and the other side by the parks green ornaments where the sound of crickets simply is  music to my ears.  You get to join frequent runners as well and the sense of competition to keep running  ticks you. Inside the park is a 64 hectare land where 80% is covered with grassy lawns. There is a little forest and some hills, lakes and recreational facilities including wooden kiosks and BBQ area for family picnics.
  Another area is The Walk - Jumeirah Beach Residence.This is the only and the first outdoor retail by the sea and located along  the last remaining natural beaches in Dubai. The Walk, swarmed with over a hundred retail outlets, cafes, restaurants is a very suitable place to jog.
• Join Mall Walking - The program is called Mall Walkers, a fitness community program launched by Mall of the Emirates in 2006.This is a  free fitness program in collaboration with Stride for Life happening five mornings a week (Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) at 8:30 a.m. The only thing to do is to register at the customer service desk on the ground floor of MOE, parking area A-F next to the East food court. Just get up early and make sure you have proper running/walking shoes. The only thing to avoid is the creamy cappuccino and  sweet buns  which you will be tempted to gobble down in the cafe after the walk.:)
• Window Shopping - It will not be called window shopping if you ended up buying (aha!).Moving here in Dubai,  I find out I am really a bad shopper, the longer I stay in the mall the worse my spending habit has become. Case in point, I bought five pairs of shoes in just 3 hours! I will not stop 'going around' until my body and legs hurt. So, my advice is to just leave behind you cards and cash, well just bring a few cash to cover  for your transportation.Make sure you have eaten at home to avoid dining out. A bottle of water and a comfortable shoe is all you need! 

 So, what about you,where do you go for your dose of fitness?

   

 

Vacationing to Pinas? - Visit Just Like Mom's COUNTRY KITCHEN

If you are working abroad and only get to visit Philippines once a year or once every two years you better make the most of  it - going to places worth of your every dime and time! So the first stop should be dining at Just Like Mom's Country Kitchen. The name may be long but just remember these 3 letters , "JLM". Price-inexpensive, ambiance - homey and warm , menu - uncomplicated yet surprisingly yummy! I've tried almost 80% on what is on their menu - here's my best fave-  five...maybe more!

Appetizer:  Cheese Quesadilla and Breaded Cheese Sticks - sounds plain? it is matched with garlic mayo dip and salsa puree, we went crazy (we kicked elbows to get the last piece) and more hungry. As a warning,  one order would not just be enough for oneself  so make sure everyone get's covered! 1 order is to 1 person!  :) No fights.

    
Main course:  Where do i begin? On my first visit I tried pasta ,Cajun Chicken Penne, this is a little bit spicy but just right (im bicolana so I'm used to it).Cooked in cream with lots of good stuff like black olives,tomatoes and mushroom and of course the cajun chicken. Other pasta and must try is Beef Stroganoff Penne.On my next visit (s)! I tried Beef Salpicao with garlic mushroom, Fillet of fish over a bed of Laing- the fish is pan fried,  laing (taro leaves) is creamy with coconut milk , a truly signature dish from Bicol . Somehow I managed to dip my fork and spoon over my friend's plate and tried char grilled Chicken BBQ strips - if not for us being late back to work I could have ordered another plate. My officemates went for Kare-Kare, Lechon Kawali with hearty monggo and Beef Sirloin Tapa. - as a sign of real friendship everyone shared their food.:) Cute!

Desserts: Don't miss this,  my officemates, we all agreed (well screamed) CHOCO Lava and Brazo de Mercedes, all time classic faves! Or Sansrival , that nutty-soft texture in every bite will make you forget your cruel boss.:) There are new additions as well so enjoy discovering.

Im curious with the Grilled  Pesto, Tomato & Cheesefinger Sandwiches, I learned  its the fave of Noynoy's Team.

So itching to find this place? JLM is located at 3F, 9 East capitol Drive Kapitolyo, Pasig City (just across Charlie's Burger).For ladies who love to wear killer heels, careful though the stairs are quite steep but with your date on your back nothing to worry about. :) They also accept private parties, just like what our team did for a send off party - myself(resigned), my boss and a colleague (new posts). Prominent client they have catered with is  Noynoy-Aquino campaign team. 

So, will you let me know your faves once you tried it? I can't wait to be back there!

First Four Months in Dubai

May 6, 2010, 11:30 pm( 5:30am Philippines) I set foot in the  Persian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates  when our plane landed in Dubai International Aiport. The 8 hour flight was no ordeal, the Emirates Airline entertainment  was sleek, chic and modern.The Emirates is the biggest airline hub in the Middle East processing 60% of all passenger traffic.The Dubai Aiport opened its operation in 2008 and was built exclusively for the use of  Emirates Airline.It has several "IEST" titles as well such as the 15th busiest airport in the world , the 4th busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic and  the 7th busiest cargo airport in world. As soon as I got off the plane I was met with this hot arid climate, not surprised at all until I realized it was too damn hot at this time- almost midnight! Well indeed it is summer, it's a very warm welcome afterall. I lined up for the next shuttle that will take us to the main building  and all I can think of is my husband waiting for me in the lounge area.It's been 4 months since the last time we've been together, only once we've managed to talk via Skype because of my hectic job travels. He left the Philippines last December 27, 2010, only 10 days after our wedding.It was all unplanned I never thought we will decide to marry soon all because he got an offer from this broadcasting company (government) and they need him soon!  A few days after Christmas he received the invitation letter,visa and tickets and i thought - this is it!  I felt so emotional -mixed feeling I know that means I have to leave my job (i love that company the most vs the other  2)and follow soon. Being in Dubai was never our work abroad plan. A year before we've made some trips in other Southeast Asian countries to get a feel  of potentially moving and working. He has some prospects for job already but refused to go because we've only been together as bf/gf for a  couple of months. We  said to each other, if we will work abroad we' ll make it a point to stay within Southeast Asia. Or so we thought!

Fast forward...now I turned 4 months (yeah, it should be 5 but I'll get into that later why) in this largest populated emirate (out of 7) that has the second largest land territory by area next to Abu Dhabi.  This city is boasting to a lot of extremes - tallest, largest, biggest- Dubai has been famous for that. There were a few sights I've been to and it all looked remarkable, often greeted with sighs and "omg"! I must say I'm just getting started as there are a lot to do and must see in this beautiful city. Many people , including myself raise doubts when a thought of someone leaving for UAE or Middle East is spoken for. It is normally perceived as dry, deserted, lonely place on earth. While the first may be true , this emirate is the most liberal in the Gulf.While Muslim is the official religion other practices are tolerated except Judaism. Weather is very hot and  humid in summer (begins in May) at 40 degrees celsius but turns 45 degrees in June to September. but during winter (November - March) it falls to 10 degrees celsuis. Deserted is not in anyway applicable as this city was oozing with tall buildings, biggest malls and  real estates not to mention the lively tourism sites that many foreigners look forward to. Who would thought, in this dry land , an indoor ski course was built! How about the Palm Atlantis?:)

Souk Madinat

So, how was it like living in this whole new place for the past four months? Bittersweet. I thought of this right away as an answer. Before, I thought I am referring to this word as sort of being sad to leaving my well loved company, my family and friends and my entrepreneurial venture to be with my loving husband. That's the way it should be I know, I am very happy though - I've met new wonderful friends and almost every week we gather up at our place, enjoyed karaoke and home cooked food sort of potluck.It's crazy because we will meet up Friday a little after lunch(weekend starts Friday, it is a holy day for Muslims and is devoted for their prayer)   and  ends up until early morning of Saturday chatting and singing. My first out of town weekend  trip was in Abu Dhabi (AUH),just a 45 minute drive from Dubai. It is very exciting to mark all your first activities in this new city:First movie,Toy Story 3 ( halfway I fell asleep, my body clock is not yet adjusted!);first lunch out - Mexican resto Chili's in Mall of the Emirates;first dinner out - Meat Co. in Al Madinat (perfect sun setting and The Burj Al Arab background);first monthsary dinner date- The Saffron @ the Palm Atlantis and the 'least' of firsts goes on.

The Meat Co.- garden salad in orange vinaigrette and medium cooked steak in garlic sauce

7 Star Hotel , Burj Al Arab (Tower of the Arabs)

But shortly after two months everything changed. I was shocked by a terrifying news from home that my father is in a hospital (July 19) and the next morning 9:30am he passed away. And soon, my husband and I packed our bags and headed home on July 21 to be with my grieving family. It is so hard to talk about it  because I never imagined  it will happen so soon, he is very young at 60 and in an instant he is gone.In August 16, we returned to Dubai and it feels really weird. I am not that excited compared when I first laid my eyes on this progressive city. Everything feels flat, in hues of gray and black..I am an emotional wreck yet I know I must remain strong because I still have the rest of my family specially my Mama and youngest sister to take care of. With my new friends around  and a very loving husband I am getting back on track. Someday I know I will be able to talk  and write freely about him.

So there goes my bittersweet four months, full of love, tears and parties.:) Praying that the next four months, four years, and decades will be just love and happiness - and more parties.