TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Especially during the summer months! I arrived in Dubai in the middle of the night and the weather was a very warm 36C -- Yes, this is the temperature at midnight. I was already worried what the temperature will be like during the day. Obviously in the soaring 40's! The record I think that I experienced was 45C, and I can tell you, Dubai in the summer months is like hell. It is a sweltering infierno and insanely humid. Water in the form of fog hangs in the air. It is futile to capture a clear sykline of Dubai because of this. Moreover, it is impossible to stand or walk outside for 5 minutes. Not even for 2 minutes! Walking under a covered walkway will make you sweat buckets. You need a chauffeur to bring you around otherwise you will melt! Above picture is my chauffeur from my hotel. He's got a brand new Lexus, some parts of the car are still covered in plastic even. I have also used the normal taxi service from the streets but I have used him (the hotel chauffeur)...

Bags have been packed and all ready to go! As a tradition in this blog, I always post the picture of the flag of the country that I am going to visit, and in this case, flags of the countries. So here they are ladies and gents: United Arab Emirates (Dubai night and a whole day layover) Singapore (2 trips) Philippines (Cebu) Hong Kong SAR Macau SAR Malaysia (Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands) I mentioned this trip earlier. Read here: Smorgasbord of upcoming trips to the Middle and Far East Naturally I will continue to blog if there is internet, so do follow me. See you at the other side of the world! Tot zo! Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)

The concept of ‘Restaurant Day’: ‘It is a worldwide food carnival when anyone can set up a restaurant, a café or a bar for a day. It can happen anywhere: at your home, at the office, on a street corner, in your garden or inner courtyard, at a park, or on the beach – only your imagination is the limit.’         –  Excerpt from Restaurant Day website. Students from this French Chef also joined in the worldwide food event. So far there are 5,300+ pop-up one-day restaurants in over 45 countries and counting! The event is held 4 times a year. The next Restaurant Day is August 18, that is 3 weeks from now! Hurry and check the Restaurant Day link above for the dates and find out if your city is joining. Maybe you can pop-up a restaurant of your own as well? The perfect opportunity to release those creative and entrepreneurial skills of wannabe foodies who love to cook! Well, I am a wannabe foodie as well but who loves to eat =) Unfortunately the countries ...

Recently I went out with Blondine for lunch at a really nice chic place in Amsterdam but will post more about this another time soon. So I picked her up in Amstelveen and when we went back to the car, we had a little surprise. Look who's waiting for us! Awww, isn't she just soooo cute? I want to squeeze and pinch her. This very relaxed cat was lying there like there is going to be no tomorrow. Seriously, the cat looked like she was having the best time in her life, lying on her back leisurely, no cares in this world, wriggling and rubbing her back. Even with our presence she was not moving away, she was just not budging! And she continues to wriggle and rub her back against the car, her head upside down and her eyes looking straight at me. If those teardrop green eyes could talk, she must have said, 'I haven't had lunch yet... can I come with you ladies please?' Sorry Miss Cat but we cannot bring you with us to our lunch, so we need to get you down! Miss Ca...

In preparation for my Asian trip, I revisited my old pictures. I saw this and had a good laugh! This one was taken in Singapore 6 years ago. A restaurant looking for staff and brutally advertising the qualities they do not want. Just a few more nights before my Dubai layover and Asian trip... Travel Period: July 2007 Destination: Singapore Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)

On my wish list in my visit to Tallinn was to watch a ballet show. Eastern Europe is the gateway to the ballet world and I wanted to have a taste of this in Estonia. I was lucky enough because when I was there the ‘Bajadeer’  (also spelled as Bayadère) was premiered at the Estonian National Opera House ! I could not have been more happier! So here I am in the lift of Meriton Old Town Garden Hotel ready to go to the show. I was lazy to wear something else, so I improvised and put on my black heels (and not the stilettos because the cobbled streets in Tallin are a pain to walk on) and my dependable black shawl. Done! Would have loved to do something with my hair but did not have the time. This is the Estonian National Opera Theater and this picture was taken from this trendy café called Kohvik Komeet located in the shopping mall across it. A very nice place to spend a break especially with this view. The lobby of the theatre taken during the afternoon I bought the tic...