Happy birthday to me!

This is my third consecutive birthday that I am celebrating in Oman.

Two years ago to date, I spent an exorbitant amount of money to buy imported pork and cook and eat dishes of this all day long (more like all week long, to be honest).

As for last year’s birthday, Peter and I had dinner at Chilli’s in Muscat City Centre and went on to Markaz Al Bahja to catch the midnight screening of Inglorious Basterds.

This year, we did lots more of things together because we both had a day off work, thankfully, on the day before my birthday!

Taken during the eve of my birthday, 23 September 2010, on our way to Markaz Al Bahja for a late afternoon snack.

Again, we went to Markaz Al Bahja in Seeb to browse through the shops, spending quite some time in Muscat Sports having a look through their winter collection. Nothing of note, especially for ladies, since I was actually looking for some leggings and tops that could double up as casual and gym wear.

We then had a late afternoon snack, with sumptuous, affordable Chinese food from the Chinese Palace booth at the food court. I love, love, love Chinese Palace – it is my favorite restaurant in Oman, in fact. Not only are the prices wallet-friendly, the selection and dishes are fabulous as well. The Chinese people running the place are also very friendly and accommodating.

Corn soup from Chinese Palace, with carrot and chicken bits. Really smooth and hearty.

Chicken and vegetable combo from Chinese Palace, which has deep-fried chicken fillet strips, veggie balls in savory-hot sauce and oodles and oodles of stir-fried noodles!

After eating, we went downstairs to check out the movies running at Al Bahja Cinema. Sadly, all the tickets for Tekken and The Expendables were sold out for that evening. We decided to catch a show at City Cinema in Shatti Al Qurum on the following day.

We decided to make the trip across town to Rock Bottom Cafe, Ramee Guestline Hotel, Qurum. It was long drive, with the streets full of Thursday night weekend-revelry traffic.

At Rock Bottom, we didn’t pay any entrance fees, reward for arriving before midnight. The host led us to spacious booth at the dining area, which had huge LCD screens displaying UFC fights. We both ordered the steak-and-wine combo, just in time to have our dinner with the band’s first set.

After eating, we danced the night away until the end of the band’s third and final set, which was around 2:30 AM. We had a really great time, needless to say.

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Eid Mubarak to all my friends and readers in the Muslim world!

In celebration of the Eid-al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan, Peter and I went on a short trip to Qantab beach and village outside Muscat, Oman, yesterday.

Qantab is where a lot of expatriates and Omanis alike go during the holidays for boat rides, barbecues and picnics if they want something different from the usual Azaiba or Qurum beach sights in the city. There are also quite a number of local settlers in the village nearby, where a lot of residents source their livelihood from the small yet steady tourism industry.

The drive from the city took less than half an hour before we reach the hilly Qantab road, from which the famous Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa could also be reached.

The road to Qantab beach and village. Uphill all the way!

After a short spin through the village, where people were getting ready for the evening’s Eid festivities, we finally reached the popular Qantab beach.

The beach of Qantab, lined with small tour boats ferried by skilled Omani boatmen for touring visitors around the cove.

The golden, sandy hills surrounding Qantab beach.

Shi in Beach Mode! Tank top by Harley Davidson, pants by Nike, shoes by Speedo and sunglasses by M&S. Scarf a gift from a friend, all the way from Turkey.

After a short walk through the beach, we decided to go for a quick cove tour in one of the smaller boats ferried by the Omani boatmen. A quick deal with a gent named Abdullah cost six Omani Riyals for half an hour’s ride.

A very interesting small, cave-like opening has formed in the middle of the giant rock formation.

Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa, viewed from the open sea.

Our boat went past the private beach of Shangri-La and circled to the other end of the cove, where there were some more unique rock formations.

Rock formations looking gold and magnificent against the rolling blue-green waters.

Smaller cave-like openings have also formed in other rock formations.

A long, plateau-like rock structure, spread out for nearly a hundred meters.

When we reached the shore at the end of our boat ride, it was already high noon and the sun was quite painful on the skin. Even this did not deter me from taking more fun photos!

Shi on the beach, all smiles after the boat ride.

Shi and Peter pose for another picture against the sparkling shores of Qantab.

We spent another hour or two sitting under the big umbrella shades on the shore, going through an assortment of fruits, light junk-food snacks and cold drinks. Our Omani boatman had his generous share of choco-chunk cookies, Coca-Cola and grapes!

During the drive back to Muscat, we had another quick stop at one of the cliffside gazebo structures overlooking the coast.

View of a big wadi, or dry river, from the hilltop.

Shi and Peter perched like muscle-bound eagles on the cliffside railings overlooking the desert and the sea.

Shi and Peter by the hilltop highway.

After another quick but productive photo-op, we headed for Muscat and back home.

We both had reddish tans and loads of pictures from the trip, the latter I have uploaded to my Flickr account earlier today. Lots of cooling lotions would take care of the sunburnt skin, but I can definitely say that it was all worth the wonderful experience.

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Although I Tweeted about this a few days ago, I wasn’t able to blog right away about meeting Oman’s football hero, Ali Abdullah Harib Al Habsi.

Because of his stellar performance as the Oman National Team’s goalkeeper in last year’s Gulf Cup, he has since then earned the nickname “The Great Wall of Oman.” Professionally, he is currently playing in the Premier League for the Bolton Wanderers as a goalie.

I personally got to “meet and greet” the football superstar last Tuesday, 22 June 2010. I had my photo taken with him, of course, and was able to get an autographed picture of him as well. I was also able to get a candid photo of the Omani hero, who came clad in a simple white dishdasha.

Football Royalty! Me with Ali Al Habsi. He was such a gentleman.

An autographed picture of the Omani football hero. He signed this in person, right in front of yours truly.

A candid photo of Ali Al Habsi, seated, side view.

My impression of Ali Al Habsi? He is down-to-earth, humble and soft-spoken. He didn’t have a slew of bodyguards and personal assistants floating around him, unlike other famous people, although paparazzi couldn’t be kept away.

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Try saying the title of this post really fast, at least five times. Yes, witness the birth of a Muscat tongue twister.

Cyclone Phet was first announced to be heading towards Oman last Wednesday, 2nd June, early in the day. There were whispers all around that this was going to be another Gonu. Fear was palpable in the air.

On Thursday, strong winds and significantly lower temperatures could be felt in Muscat. The skies were cloudy. A few drizzles here and there took place all over the capital city. Winds picked up speed early in the evening.

People started panicking around sundown, when practically everyone ran off to the nearest grocery store or foodstuff shop to stock up on essential provisions. Bread was on top of the list, it seems, as Muscat Bakery in my neighborhood had to produce their loaves and rotis triple time and seal these up in jumbo plastic packages for mass consumption.

Oman’s National Disaster Committee sent out advisories to residents via SMS, through the various telecommunication providers. The messages, in Arabic and English, advised people to exercise extreme caution and stay away from wadis (dry river beds) and the sea coast. Contact information of search and rescue services was likewise given.

Rainfall finally came at 11:00 PM, first in trickling drops, then steadily streaming showers. Heavier and thicker rains came at 1:00 AM Friday, 4th June, which lasted throughout the early morning hours.

Flood waters started rising then, quickly filling up the local wadis and spilling onto residential/commercial districts and access roads. Qurum, Ruwi and Azaiba were among the major districts to get flooded over.

Here are pictures of the Darsait and Ruwi areas around noontime Friday, taken by Oman-based blogger and journalist Kishor Cariappa. These roads are major thoroughfares, now overflowing with water.

Noora Al Meer has also shared two pictures of large streams of water rushing down the mountains surrounding Al Khuwair district. Since Muscat has very poor drainage systems, the water will simply spread itself over the cityscape and await for merciful evaporation once the sun comes up.

Here is a photo and a video of rain water completely filling up the wadi beside Qurum CCC and Sabco Center. The overflow will go directly into the surrounding business establishments, which have just recovered construction and profit-wise from Gonu.

Phet has already caused several fatalities in the Sultanate. As of today, 12 lives are reported to have been taken in the fury of the cyclone, consisting of nine Omanis and three expatriates. A few people have also gone missing in the wadis.

I woke up to a comparatively dry and sunny Saturday, a far cry from yesterday’s dark and wet weather. The only obvious sign of yesterday’s natural debacle was the floodwater spread out all over Muscat. The government has declared June 5th as a public holiday, saving most of us the trouble of fighting our way through the post-cyclone muck.

There are rumors circulating in the Internet that Phet is poised to deliver a second blow to the Sultanate. However, the cyclone seems to be headed towards Pakistan and is predicted to hit the Karachi area.

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After my month-and-a-half vacation in my native country, Philippines, earlier this year, I returned to Oman on 25th March. I left a humid, sweltering country, rife with brown-outs, and returned to a hot and dry Middle East, smack dab in the beginning of the summer season.

No complaints there, though – sacrifice comes with the territory of being an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW). I was back in circulation on 27th March and have been at work since then.

The Philippine National Elections took place last May 10th. I take no shame in saying that I did not register for Overseas Absentee Voting at the Philippine Embassy here in Oman. Thus, I was not able to cast my vote.

I do not regret my decision to boycott the elections. I honestly like none of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. A few of the senatoriables I found massively amusing and entertaining, but none of them really deserved my vote. In the local arena, in my native city, I found the candidates to be either traditional politicians (trapos, a local term for dish rags) or severely elitist.

In the end, I could not find the energy to haul my arse to the crumbling villa that housed our embassy, even though it is literally across the street from my office.

Honestly, the only person who deserved my vote of late was Rica Paras of Pinoy Big Brother: Double Up. I diligently cast my save votes for her a few times when she was in danger of being evicted from the Big Brother House.

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A very, very Happy New Year to everyone!

Let us all welcome 2010, the start of the new decade and the year of The Metal Tiger. Rawr!

I spent New Year’s Eve and the wee morning hours of 1st January 2010 at Jetz Grill in Qurum, where I won lots of prizes from various fun games. In fact, I still say that my partner and I are the undisputed champions of the Apple Dance Competition, hands down!

Before having the masarap buffet dinner of classic Filipino fiesta treats, I dropped by Ruwi for a bit of shopping. There were a lot of stores with year-end sales and I got excellent bargains, particularly with (fake) Lacoste sports shirts.

I found this colorful and cute Pokemon Pikachu watch in one of the timepiece shops near Al Fair Ruwi. I got a discounted price for this when I bought a pink Snoopy watch along with it. Of course, I now wear my Pika-watch everywhere. Be very envious!

Pika! Pika! Pika! My first ever Pokemon watch, can you believe it?

All together now: Pika! Pika!

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The Holy Month of Ramadan officially began last Saturday, 22nd August. Albeit a little belatedly, allow me to greet all my Muslim friends and readers: Ramadan Kareem!

Being a conservative Islamic country, Oman observes Ramadan pretty strictly. That is, no eating and drinking in public during the daylight hours. All restaurants and coffee shops are closed as well, and will only open during Iftar (the break-fast meal during sundown) and operate until the early morning hours. Even Christians and people of other non-Islam faiths are expected to respect and follow this “fasting” practice, at least publicly.

Dress code is also a bit stricter during the Holy Month. For both genders, the upper arm and the knees must be covered by clothing while in public places. No tank tops, minis and shorts. Of course, no plunging necklines.

Ramadan lasts for around 30 Gregorian calendar days and culminates with a few days of rejoicing, called Eid-al-Fitr. These days are normally declared non-working holidays for both the public and private sectors in Islamic countries.

Have a blessed Holy Month, everyone.

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I first encountered a unique shade of faux snakeskin back in April 2008 while I was shopping for clothes for a trip to Bahrain. It was light, brownish peach, with black patterns.

The fake snakeskin pattern was on a handbag, shiny-new back then on the shelves of Muscat City Centre’s Mango shop. I found the color scheme, design and overall look of the bag so gorgeous and unique that I shelled out 15 Omani Riyals (around 40 US Dollars) for the item. Naturally, it was my staple accessory during the said Bahrain trip.

Late last May, more than a year after I made my purchase of love at Mango, I found a wallet on display at Muscat City Centre Centrepoint‘s Splash store. It was in exactly the same pattern as my handbag, which surprised and delighted me to no end.

The wallet was not from Mango, but Paprika (a bit lower on the fashionista‘s fabulousness scale than the former). However, both the bag and wallet looked so irresistibly coordinated.

Thus, a shopping expedition was in order as soon as I received my paycheck. My acquisition mission was set for Thursday, 4th June 2009.

Shi with Mango snakeskin handbag, posing in Mark’s & Spencer after watching Push at Markaz Al Bahja. The top is a gift from my friend Grace’s UK holiday, while the leggings are Adidas. The princessy golden sandals are from Muscat Fashions in Ruwi!

Mango snakeskin bag, purchased in April 2009

Paprika snakeskin wallet with golden buckle lock, purchased 4th June 2009 for 5 Omani Riyals (around 14 US Dollars)

Exterior of the Paprika snakeskin wallet

Interior of the Paprika snakeskin wallet, a matching peach-toned faux leather

The snakeskin bag and wallet – together at last!

What can I say, even in the ever-changing world of fashion, there are matches made in heaven, by different brands.

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I just heard over the news that the Filipino nurse reported to have carried swine flu into Saudi Arabia has fully recovered from the illness and has even gone back to work at the King Faisal hospital in Riyadh.

However, reports on TFC have also confirmed that A (H1N1) has reached my hometown, Iloilo City. The initial case involved only one person verified to be carrying the virus. I hope the spread will not be rapid and rampant.

I am praying it will not infect any of my family or friends. With times being hard economically as it is, getting sick is out of the question, especially with the strain it will put not only on our bodies but also on our meager budgets. Not to mention the social stigma it will carry at work and with other people!

On the Gulf front, swine flu has reached Oman as well. I got this piece of news from two sources – (1) local news and (2) word of mouth (no pun intended).

From the first source, it was reported that there were three Omani students who have been infected by the virus. It is a good thing they were identified and subsequently medicated, but no other details were given as to who and where they were.

These people arrived from the United States, where they caught the illness. In addition to the summer vacation and the corollary influx of students coming home, lots of people have been going out of and coming into Oman for holidays.

The second and more intriguing news source relayed to yours truly that a Philippine national working at a popular American fastfood chain in Al Khuwair caught A (H1N1) while out of the country and only discovered he or she (gender not disclosed) was a carrier while already back at work in Muscat.

What’s more, the fastfood’s aforementioned branch was closed for half a day earlier this week as a precaution, presumably for some quick-fix disinfecting and to make sure all their other staff have not caught the virus.

However, I must emphasize that the second case remains unconfirmed by local authorities and media as of this writing.

Given the pandemic levels that swine flu has already reached, it would be better to err on the side of caution.

On a lighter note, Diana Vilibert shared this swine flu shirt at Nerve Blogs: The Modern Materialist:

And, no, I will not mention anything about its medical and factual veracity.

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A visit to the Al Falaj Hotel in Ruwi was in order today for business reasons. I was there for a few hours in the early afternoon.

I was able to get neither a decent breakfast nor lunch, so I decided to have a late brunch in the hotel’s Coffee Shop, which has a regular breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet.

However, since it was a bit late, the lunch buffet was finished and a la carte was the only option left. I went through the menu and selected an iced fruit juice for my drink.

For my main course, I asked what kinds of spaghetti they had available, because I was actually craving for some Spaghetti Bolognaise. The waiter responded that they only had Spaghetti Napolitaine.

I had spaghetti with plain tomato sauce back in the Philippines from the Sbarro restaurant chain, so I assumed this would be more or less the same thing. Besides, having something vegetarian for a change would be healthful.

The service in Al Falaj’s Coffee Shop was efficient and professional. A short while after I placed my order, I received my drink and this hearty bread basket:

There were various types of bread: sticks, garlic, whole wheat, white, Arabic. A generous amount of butter was also provided. I enjoyed eating these as appetizers along with my cold fruit juice.

After only a short wait, my main dish was served:

It was tasty and different from the usual flavors of spaghetti I am accustomed to. Overall, I had a very nice meal. I definitely plan on coming back another time, for their buffet selections.

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The whole world has been running scared of the Novel influenza A (H1N1) virus, more commonly known as “Swine Flu“, for several weeks now. What reportedly started in Mexico has spread all over the globe.

Probably the biggest swine-flu related news in my home country right now is that De La Salle University, based in the Philippine capital Metro Manila, has declared that classes are suspended until June 14th at the Taft campus. One of their students, a 21-year-old Japanese man who came into the country for a foreign exchange program, was found to have been infected by the virus.

The student did not exhibit the symptoms until at least a week after classes began at DLSU. The university’s school year started early, on Monday, 25th May 2009.

This foreign exchange student, apparently, was able to pass through the thermal scanners at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal during arrival. He had attended four classes during his first week at school, interacting with at least a hundred students, not counting DLSU faculty and staff.

As of this writing, the student’s roommate has already checked into a hospital to self-quarantine, as a precautionary measure. The Department of Health has already begun a trace on all the people the infected girl had somehow been in contact with.

DLSU is currently at Alert Level 3, hence the suspension of classes. All other educational institutions in Metro Manila are at Alert Level 2, with classes still ongoing.

As for the Middle East, I picked up from ABS-CBN‘s The Filipino Channel (TFC) news that a Filipino nurse working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has been found positive of carrying the A (H1N1) virus. This person has just come back into Saudi after a trip home to the Philippines.

So far, Oman’s Ministry of Health has been reporting through various media (newspapers, SMS, television, etc.) that the Sultanate remains free of Swine Flu.

I hope this will not change until the epidemic scare abates.

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Thank you to Costa Coffee in the Madinat Qaboos area for the WiFi access, through which I am currently accessing the Internet.

This facility comes free, the number of hours corresponding to the amount of coffee and/or snacks one has purchased. Basically, one Omani Riyal (OMR) is equivalent to an hour of WiFi access. Costa MQ’s connection is, so far, fast and reliable. It does not hurt that their Mocha Frescato is sumptuous, as well.

May I also take this opportunity to greet His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and the people of Oman: Happy, happy, happy Renaissance Day!

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Today, November the 18th, marks two very special celebrations.

First is my mother‘s birthday. She is in the Philippines right now.

Given my current situation here in Oman, I still could not afford to get her an obscenely expensive gift for the occasion. Hee hee. Even so:

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAMA!

Your posse here in Oman extends its love, hugs, kisses, good wishes, prayers and virtual gifts such as cards, roses, gourmet steak dinners and melt-in-your-mouth cheesecakes.

The second event is that it is Oman National Day, which is celebrated in congruence with the birthday of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Today, His Majesty the Sultan turns 67. It is the 37th National Day of the Sultanate, marking the same number of years of His Majesty’s benevolent rule, which brought renaissance and great development to Oman.

Happy Birthday, Your Majesty. May you be blessed with good health and a prosperous reign this year and all the years to come.

And, of course, Happy National Day to the people of Oman!

Wow. There is something to be said about people born on November the 18th – rulers all!

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As most of you may probably already know, I have been in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman since October 2nd this year. My primary reason is, understandably, to seek my fortune.

I have not been actively online since then and for some time before that, but I have been lurking here and there and religiously checking my e-mail.

Now that I am more settled physically, psychologically and emotionally, my blogging may most likely take on a more active turn.

I am proud to plug my first Oman-based blogroll link and Twitter friend, Kishor Cariappa. He blogs on everything Oman, in a nutshell.

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