Jordan

Remains of the columns of the Roman Theater, Amman

During Eid Mubarak last 3days ago, I went to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Thru Royal Jordanian airlines, it is 3hours away from Abu Dhabi and with an hour time variance. Airport immigration is typical as in any arab country, there is just a little incident when my friend travelling with me was questioned more longer because her passport photo looks healthier than her in person ^_^.

150AD Roman Amphitheatre, 6000seats capacity

We stayed at the charming Pasha hotel in downtown. The capital of Jordan is divided into two regions, (1) old and (2) new. Old Amman looks old, smells old and feels old. But the new Amman looks normal, same as Abu Dhabi city.

We had traditional food for lunch & dinner, Mansaf is a delicious tenderly cooked chicken or lamb on top of flavored rice served with yogurt. 

Like all busy cities, the streets are filled with cars, windows open driving in free lanes, vendors are selling various goods like clothes, souvenir items, local perfumes, etc..., some tourists like us wandering around, and many people just strolling and enjoying the holiday.

Remains of the Temple of Roman god Hercules

We met an eager local tour-guide  his name is Steve. We found him sitting at the entrance of the Roman Theater ruins. He said he always guards the coliseum waiting for tourists to serve because it is his territory.

Steve: the best and happiest Tour Guide in Amman

He offered to ride in his car, straight up to see the Citadel on top of the hill.  So, up we go and reached just in time before sunset. At 5pm the entrance was already officially close but he wasta our way in. The citadel is famous for the temple ruins of the greek god Hercules. From the hilltop 360 degrees you can see the capital of Jordan.

Steve's Colliseum

 On Friday morning we hired a taxi to drive us to the very ancient city Petra. For 3long hours in the car we watched the stony, hilly, red dessert of the country. Petra is arabic word for stone. Maybe because the ancient buildings are carved from the huge red stone mountain, history said it existed from 300BC. To see the famous rock-carved architecture, we have to walk more than 1hour in between the very big mountains, the passage is narrow so only horses can be hired as a transport. The horse owners look and talk like pirates so we did not hire any, we just walk happily along with many other tourists. Going back is disaster, we feel very very exhausted, phew! But its really worth it, to get a glimpse of how the early humans live.

The Treasury, 'Al Khazna' Petra

Amazing Ancient City of Petra

Many travellers. from all over the world comes here to visit

sandwiched between mysterious giant red rocks

Israel on the West, Jordan in the East (Jordan River Boundary)

On Saturday morning we hired the same Jordanian driver from the hotel and visited the Jordan River where Jesus Christ was baptized and the Dead Sea.

Dead Sea Mud covered

Blogging at the shores of Dead Sea

The road kept going down-down-down. It  is more than 1000feet below sea level. It is a boundary line of Jordan with Israel on the west side. Mohammad, our local driver said the dead sea is dead because there are no fishes that can survive its very salty water. But it is very rich in phosporous and other dead sea minerals used for skincare. We bought facial and body muds, it is very black.

Happy to travel with great friends!

We left Jordan feeling refreshed by 8PM on the 3rd day.

Working vs Living

SK PISA staffs hehehe

Today morning I arrived at the office and saw my bosses still working. They did not sleep for 48 hours and  kept on working till this evening. I didn't know how to feel when I looked at them, I was more angry than worried. I feel like asking...."Bujangnim, are you committing suicide?!" 

Then I realized that Koreans work to death.

That's their work culture. Arabs have culture, Indians have culture, Filipinos have culture.

Accept it or get angry and worried everyday. 

But I believe living is all about making the most of the lifetime given to us and living it to the fullest. Like spending time with the people we love, doing things that makes us joyful and happy, exploring   things that pleases our soul, and just enjoying every minute, thankful for being alive.

Work is supposed to be fun. I love my work, I love our project and the multi-cultural global staff and every daeri-nims and bujang-nims. It is our one united goal to complete successfully this amazing future Twin Towers and gorgeous Villas soon to be proudly standing beside the beautiful sea of Abu Dhabi overlooking the famous Grand Mosque.

PISA

But these over-over-times are exhausting everyone to the extent of draining all of our energy. I believe that we need to sometimes pause also, stand back and ponder and admire our work. After all, it's not easy to reach what we have already accomplished, we deserve to pat our backs as well and celebrate even just the smallest task well done. 

I prefer working because of living than living because of working.

It's not fair

Today I watched in silent fascination the most captivating, refreshing sight ever. 

I never realized that something so simple could have the power to take your breath and skip at least 2 heartbeats. 

I wished to hold that moment and to safely keep it inside my bag, so I can look at it again and again. 

Oh Life! How come you never play fair?

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“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind.” 

~by  William Shakespeare

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LISTEN to understand (not to reply)

I thought it is easy. To master the art of listening is soooo tough! Actually, it is very difficult to listen to others always with understanding. Sometimes we think we fully understand what they are telling us. But I found out that sometimes:

• We hear a 'yes' but it means 'no', and hear a 'no' but often it means 'yes'. 
• People say 'it is ok' but really want to say 'It is terrible!'
• A person can speak a word softly while his mind shouts loudly.
• Words are not able to express some things we think and feel.
• Our lips speaks logically but our eyes speaks mysteriously.
• We understand people close to us even without words spoken.
• No matter how hard we try to listen, we still struggle to comprehend.
• It seems better not to understand and remain happy than to comprehend and become angry.
• Some words are better not be said, and sometimes talking is not necessary.
• When people just like to talk and do not like to listen, it really gets very unbalanced.
• Listening takes more and more practice, more and more patience, more and more understanding.

Nevertheless, the reward is satisfying so I will keep on trying to learn how to listen from the heart and not from the mind. Only this I know is the easiest way to practice listening with understanding.

Au Revoir!

***

“The most basic of all human needs

 is the need to understand 

and be understood. 

The best way to understand people

 is to listen to them.” 

~by Ralph G. Nichols

***

Lesson Today: Humble Gratefulness

Doxology
(Romans 11)

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! 

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?”

35 “Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay them?”

36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.

90 Days Challenge

It's just less than 3 months and the year is again going to end. 

One evening, in our bus home from work, one of my colleagues casually asked me, "What is the thing that you are most afraid of?" 

I immediately and instinctively answer, "Dying without the chance of achieving my dreams!" 

Sometimes we forget that life is really very short, and we take for granted every passing day. We miss doing the most important things and keep on the habit of doing unimportant things. 

I am scared to die without experiencing the best things that life has to offer. So, I decided to do things that will wake up my soul. One way is to face new challenges. I made a bucket list and set to achieve at least 10 items towards the end of this year. I dare myself to accomplish all of it by 01 January 2013.

To Do List during 3 months (October to December 2012):

1. Visit another amazing country, and learn new cultures and customs different from ours.
2. Everyday, make someone smile (at least one person each day); and smile to every child I meet.
3. Learn a new language (let's try Korean), be fluent by the end of 3 months.
4. Experience outdoor skydiving, scuba diving, mountain climbing.
5. Say 'I love you' from the heart to the most important people in my life (nanang, parents, brother....)
6. Learn to play the guitar chords of at least three christian songs by heart (without notes).
7. Sleep on the grass, under the moonlight.
8. Old friends reunion (if not possible, write 'thank you' letters to all of them and send via postmail)
9. Wake up 30 minutes earlier each morning and meditate.
10. Face at least one fear each day...and master it.

Still have a lot of ideas in mind, will add them as the days go by.

(photo borrowed from sir internet google)

Finally, it is fun to set goals and plans ahead, it is like a map for us to focus on things that matter to us and it guides us so we don't get lost. It also help us to improve more and keep moving towards becoming a better son or daughter, better employee, better friend....a better human being. God bless to your bucket lists!

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It's Friday! Time to Eat. (Soul Food)

It’s Friday!

Here in the gulf region, Friday’s our time to rest from work.

I was walking in the courtyard toward our church’s entrance. The early service have just ended and the people were slowly going out to empty the hall to make way for the second service.

There were many people from different countries. I could hear them speaking various languages at the same time- all of cheerful greetings. I saw smiles from faces of different skin colors -white and black, brown more.

For me, here, during Fridays, there’s no feeling more peaceful, more comforting and more refreshing than sitting along with our brothers and sisters in the church.

Hmmnn…  I just love the songs of worship to greet the Lord. As we sing I hear a blend of diverse voices praising God. I love to sing loudly. I never mind if my tune is high or low, knowing confidently that all our voices will rise up to heaven.

We listened to our pastor’s prayer….all our heads bowed in union with one another. We silently thanked God, asked forgiveness, seek His blessing and asked for protection for all the hard times. 

Here we are one with one another and our heart opens willingly. Our minds clear the week’s troubles and lighten up, at peace and ready to understand and take in the sermon, like bread fed to our starving souls.

For me, the church is the best place to be in the whole UAE during a Friday morning. No shopping mall in Abu Dhabi or Dubai can equally satisfy my soul’s hunger. Like being starved for 6days at work!

Au Revoir!

The Ghost in the 5th Floor

Her eyes are so dark. It reminds me of our old black cat back home. Darkly scary. 

Its Tuesday morning. Woke up, bathroom, clothes on, shoes on, keys-cellphone-notebook, get out of room, get in the lift, go down and wait for Baskar. Normal day. 

'Ting!' the lift stopped in the 5th floor.

My brain temporary woke up. The door opened and she stood there. A strange woman in black dress. She stared at me and I looked at her. The door closed and she came nearer. Then suddenly she reached out to touch my hair. 'Whoa!' I shout, I think I just shout. Then I noticed her eyes...it's so dark and very black. I  started to feel afraid. 

She said...''Hmmm, you're a good lady...'' .....to be continued.

True Wealth (short story)

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the purpose of showing his son how the poor people live so he could be thankful for his wealth.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. 

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?” “It was great, Dad.” “Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Oh yeah” said the son. “So what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.

The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.” “We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.” “Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.” “We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.” “We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.” “We buy our food, but they grow theirs.” “We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”

With this the boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks dad for showing me how poor we are.”

(story and photo borrowed from sir internet)

Spices of Life

Oh life! How come you never give us some clues how to learn your lessons faster.

A wise author had said that life will hand us lessons. And these lessons will continue to be presented to us until we learn it by heart. 

Well, I got another repeated lesson today. I think it is about controlling my emotions, especially my anger. Today I wanted to punch a man's nose. Out of anger. 

By the end of the day, I realized that this is just one of the spices of life. Once in a while we need to experience a little bit out of the ordinary in order to enjoy living. It is the same like food, spices are added to make it taste good.

Alright then, I think when life will present me with this same 'anger' lesson next time, I shall pass the test, insha'allah!

Au Revoir.

One of the Best Books Ever...

(from professor Randy Pausch's website):

On September 18, 2007, computer science professor Randy Pausch stepped in front of an audience of 400 people at Carnegie Mellon University to deliver a last lecture called “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” With slides of his CT scans beaming out to the audience, Randy told his audience about the cancer that is devouring his pancreas and that will claim his life in a matter of months. On the stage that day, Randy was youthful, energetic, handsome, often cheerfully, darkly funny. He seemed invincible. But this was a brief moment, as he himself acknowledged.Randy’s lecture has become a phenomenon, as has the book he wrote based on the same principles, celebrating the dreams we all strive to make realities. Sadly, Randy lost his battle to pancreatic cancer on July 25th, 2008, but his legacy will continue to inspire us all, for generations to come.

Hongkong

Hongkong is like the entrance gate of the China continent if you enter from the south, actually it is part of China but under a different judiciary system same like Macau.

OCT East (ecological resort - Shenzhen)

poor insects... tsk tsk...converted to ornaments 

houses for the rich (Stream Valley)

pleasant tram ride

dreamy- colorful 'Tea Show'

chinese souvenir shop

overlooking 'windows of the world theme park'

Macau -view from the tower observatory deck

so, this is Hongkong...

at night...many, many lights and people 

busy street of kowloon

view of Hongkong Kowloon side from the hotel window

hellow disneyland!

water parade by Mickey and friends...

awesome, magical fireworks display every night at Disney 

Repulse Bay Hongkong 

So what? Age doesn't really matter!

So there are only 31days max in one month.

And people starts getting really curious (all of them: our family, friends, colleagues, even bosses) when you reach the age of 31 years and still remains single...especially if you're a girl.

Every time they remember, one of them will always ask, with extra drama also....

"Still not married? What?! ...Why? ...When!?"... I say, so what? It doesn't really matter.

Allow me to share some great news about staying single....

Reasons to Stay Single

1. No anniversaries, valentines day or extra birthdays to remember to buy gifts.

2. You decide almost everything like what to eat, when to cut your hair, what to do on weekends and until what time you go home late at night.

3. You can go out with friends, family, colleagues, or even have dates, etc. whenever you want.

4. No complains about the way you dress, the way you walk, talk, comb your hair, wear your lipstick (or not).

5. Enjoy your privacy, no one else shares your room, opens your bags, reads your emails or browse your i-phone.

6. You have only your own issues to deal with- your own way, your own mess, your own diet, your own debts, your own bed.

7. No kids, no educational plans, no worries.

8. Less concerns about your body weight, you can be thin, fat, in between and still be happy about it.

9. Freedom

10. No love problems, heartache nor heartbreak.

Yep, in the end we are the master of our own life. We got to live it as we wish, however we wish, whatever we wish...Enjoy it to the fullest!

Hot Air Ballooning - Abu Dhabi

Make it Happen!

Everyone have dreams.
Become a millionaire,… get a flat in Burj Khalifa,…write a bestseller… travel around the world, or…ride in a hot air balloon!

big canvas

Finally!
3:30AM my alarm rings noisily and my room mate is pulling my blanket calling my name, both of them trying to wake up my brain. Ah time to get ready, we will fly today via Balloon Adventures Emirates! The service van arrived exactly on time to pick us up at Carrefour open parking lot at 5:15am. IT's a long 1 hour journey to Sweihan's coooold desert site. The balloon crew is waiting for us. Rushing out the car excitedly, everyone looked where the big hot air balloon is parked. It is very cold and dark outside, our eyes needed to adjust to the dim surroundings.

Sir Pilot Peter's team filling the canvas with gas

Where is it...where is it? Aha! There are two big balloon linen clothes stretched out in the ground waiting to be pumped up.

We heard a man shouting like Hitler from a distance. We could barely see a group of people coming from another four wheel vehicle, and their leader is Hitler they came from Dubai too. Hitler wears a red coverall uniform like the rest of the crew. We learned later that he’s our pilot and boss of the crew. Hitler shouts a lot but we enjoyed listening to him most of the time! He shouts instructions to us fiercely, sometimes we are wondering if he’s just joking or is ready to hit us! His name is Peter by the way.  We liked Pilot Peter instantly!

up-up-the basket float

The red uniformed crews began to force air into the balloon via two powerful fans! We watched in wonder as Mr. Pilot/ Peter/ Hitler started to release the hot gas into the middle of the balloon. It took him around 10-15 minutes to get it up.  He fought with the wind to inflate it. Finally he yelled at us with his terrifying voice:  “ GET IN THE BASKET!!!” we fearfully run towards him in a hurry,  one by one, we clambered nervously into the small basket tied to the balloon. The basket violently swayed, really, I was scared. The crew fought to steady it.  After like forever, it started to float. And we went up and up more. I looked down when I mustered my fear. The people on the ground already looked so tiny just like small robots.
We are finally flying and floating in the middle of the dessert.

peacefully enjoying the floating view

witnessing the middle eastern sunrise in the desert

Sir pilot Peter planned to go up till 6000 feet, but fortunately the radio signals isn’t working perfectly (when it’s windy, the desert sand is disrupting the radio waves) so he decided to maintain a height of max 4000 feet only. It is already scary floating in that altitude but the view is breathtaking.

It’s so quiet up there, listening to the whispers of our fellow passengers, a few clicks of cameras, and the occasional burst of fire that Hitler-err Peter is discharging from the gas tanks to supply hot air to the balloon to keep it floating.  

mr. sun coming up the horizon

All around and below us is a magnificent view of the browny-wavy -sandy dessert.  We witnessed the beautiful red dessert sunrise from above. And we saw the shadow of Jebel Hafeet in the background.  The city of Dubai is also visible at a distance, Burj Khaleefa’s landmark tower is glistening from the sun’s reflection.  Because of the wind direction, we are moving west. While cruising, we saw down many fields and plantations too with fenced goats and camels. I and most of our fellow passengers are still afraid to remove our hands from the basket’s rope handles. Some are busy taking photos.

fields around Sweihan

We hardly noticed the time. 45 minutes was immediately spent! I don’t want to go down. It felt very pleasant and relaxing just to stay up and just float like the clouds, watching life move below you.

fields-fields-fields

We have to go down. (SIGH!) Landing position is in slightly bend knees and facing opposite the wind direction. We started to land after few attempts of Peter maneuvering the big balloon to land in a flat area. It is difficult because the wind direction keeps on changing every few minutes. We can’t risk landing over one of the fields or hitting one of the new electrical towers in that plantation area. To our horror, we hit the ground lying down, there is no warning, and Peter happily took his photo of us - horrified passengers lying down and grasping the basket for our dear life.  

more lectures from sir Pilot Peter

We went out the basket gratefully and wait for our rescuers err vehicles to find us, as we don’t have a fix landing site. After around 10 minutes, help arrived and we had refreshments of juices and water.

reserved gas tanks

peacefully spent

We left Sweihan around 8:30am and had another long drive back to Abu Dhabi. Great Adventure! 

actually i need to go to washroom but all sand and desert all around us :)

(08-Jan-10)