Jalan-Jalan Pusing Dubai - Part 1

Got an email from friend in KL “Tini, kau letak la gambar tempat best in Dubai banyak sikit”. So untuk tidak menghampakan permintaan kawan-kawan, i’ll try to tell more stories and show more interesting places in Dubai and UAE.


heritage village in Deira creekside, masa winter nice place to lepak but masa summer, nobody wants to go there. opposite sana Bur Dubai


heritage village

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diving village in Heritage Village. emmm there's nothing much there sebab Dubai ni bukannya banyak historical things and places pun..


rumah primitif Dubai


shopping for souvenirs

hartini hanafi

Dubai ladies get-together

- my house waiting for guests to arrive

At last, after the controversial Nasi Lemak discussion by kaum lelaki in Dubai which i think is nonsense, it's Friday and today is the day..

Pagi-pagi dah bangun but since gathering is in the evening at 4.30, i have ample time to do everything. I took my time to prepare for foods and kemas rumah. Nervous la jugak nak jumpa all ladies yang tak dikenali.

Zoe is the first person to arrive tapi kesiannya dia, have to go out again to pick Zaida & kids up as Zaida's earlier arrangement can't make it. Jangan marahh nooo.. Zaida, sabar-sabar..

Overall it's a good event, foods are great (my bihun goreng failed sikit but some suka..*confuse* but my gulai tulang + daging is really a success, habis licin and semua suka).

- foods penuh meja. semua sedap esp puding ziela and cucur udang shiela

I told Ketua Pergerakan Wanita Umno (haha) cum Mrs organizer - Putri, now kita tak payah hard-up kawan pompuan dah, ramai dah kenal ni..

Nak Masak Apa ye.. part 2

So, lepas cracking my head for 2 days i have decided to serve:-

1. Meehoon goreng + Ayam Masak Merah (ini since my darling cakap i masak sedap..hehehe)
2. Gulai Daging/tulang cicah roti (ini Kelantan special nih..dah lama tak makan)

And 16 people had confirmed their attendance and i hope to see more numbers. Malaysian ladies in Dubai ni tak berapa ramai jika nak dibandingkan dengan lelaki. So macam kata Putri "kami ni hard-up nak kawan perempuan" ;-)

Pagi tadi i'm so stress as there's many issues with the vendor not able to provide hevay equipments as promised. Tension nye.. By lunch time, go lunching at Nurul restaurant at least can borak2 nonsense with her to release my stress.

Now, i tengah meng"check" to do list kat rumah nanti:-

1. basuh toilet - checked

2. kemas kitchen - checked

3. beli air minuman - checked

4. kemas hall and bedroom - malam ni and pagi esok

5. beli wet2 thingy for cooking tomorrow - after office ni

rasa-rasanya that's it. Looking forward for the event tomorrow and hopefully my cooking menjadi la, yelah dah 9 bulan tak cook rasa macam dah hilang skill..

Nak Masak Apa ye...

My house had been assigned for Malaysian ladies in Dubai teabreak gathering this Friday. OK, it's decent and tidy enough to receive visitors. But alamak.. what should i cook ?? Eventhough it's potluck, but it's only proper that the host to prepare something special.

So since last nite, i've been cracking my head thinking what to cook, going through all the recipes that i have in my laptop but till today i have yet to make up my mind.. Anyway, nothing strange here, i always have problem in what to serve whenever i entertain friends and family. It's always last minute decision and sometimes, i change my menu even after i've bought all the ingredients..

I told Putri i'll cook meehoon goreng, cucur udang and bubur kacang. but that's too simple right ? That's not special... *sigh* Anyway, i think instead of preparing reports for my coming board meeting i'll spend my time to browse through recipes.. hahahaha.. makan gaji buta ka ???

Get together in Beachcombers - part 2

Photos from Faridz camera




The whole gang except for cameraman and fren from Riyadh



Jumeirah Beach Hotel Inside Beachcombers







Nana and me infront of Burj Al Arab.. talking to my darling husband on the phone.




Yarlee and me at the restaurant deck Ali and me.. tak dapat ambik real camel ini pun OK


deck chairs.. sejauh mata memandang..

He's in love

Saturday noon while shopping for carpet in Abu Dhabi, my handphone ring:

“Tini, macam mana?”

“Macam mana apa?” i asked back

“U kan hantar N balik semalam, so apa cerita?” he asked back.

“Alahh..aku busy tengah beli carpet ni, nanti i call u back..” that’s my answer and thereafter i forgot to call him back.

Sunday morning my mobile rang and i saw his name. Alamak, just remember i suppose to call him back yesterday.

“Tini, i need your help”

“Apahal ?” i ask him

“Can u ask N out for dinner tonite”

“Cannnn.. memang kita dah planned pun kan last Friday” i said.. So, eventhough i was quite busy today and a bit tired after full scheduled weekend, i decided to go ahead with the dinner as per our plan earlier.

After confirming the dinner with N, sent email to both of my friends

”Malam ni dinner kat Burjuman pukul 8.45 malam.. i ambik N pukul 8 kat mirdif so sampai sana lebih kurang gitu2 la.. makan kat mana nanti decide la yekkk. Ali, ko kena datang sekali kalu tak nanti aku jadi lamp post kangggg.. so aku dating dengan ko biar abang sohaimi kita dating ngan gadis idaman... bye bye”

So we had dinner tonite, 4 of us. It’s amazing to see how falling in love can transform people. My friend is still acting like himself but at the same time he seems different. Love is blind but yet, is love really blinded people. I always remember what my friend Pris used to say ”i like the feeling when I just started to fall in love, it’s so refreshing”. Yes, it’s true, it’s a refreshing feeling.

And tonite i saw it in my friend eyes. I saw happiness, I saw hope, I saw a person in love....

Jalan-jalan cari carpet in Abu Dhabi

Today, Putri, Syela, Anita and myself went to Abu Dhabi for our carpet shopping exploration. As per planned, i bought 1 carpet for my living room as i've started to treat that place as my own place. Before this, despite have been in Dubai for 8 months, i always treat it as my temporary shelter. So, i think i had started to adjust and accept the fact that i’m here now and better make the most out of it.

Syela is right, the carpets are cheap if compared to the price in Malaysia.
- Syela bought it earlier at 500Dhs, but the shop charge me 520Dhs..that's why long face. (Photo courtesy of Syela)



After carpet shopping, we went to Emirates Palace to see Picasso exhibition. Spent only 1.5 hours there. I guess we are not really art’s lover except for Anita but she’d been there 3 times already.

By the time we finish our art exploration, our tummy were screaming for foods. We had agreed earlier to have lunch at Suria in Eclipse Hotel, the one and only Malaysian restaurant in Abu Dhabi. So after checking with few friends for direction and after many-many u-turns, we manage to find the place.

The luxurious Emirate Palace and see how small Anita look on that enormous sofa

All of us are so hungry that everything on the menu looks good (not that it has so many choices). We decided to go with Lunch Set. Popia as a starter, Nasi Ayam as main course and Pengat Pisang as dessert. Yummy, foods are good. It really taste like foods back home, taste of typical Malay foods sell at warung or gerai at the road side. But unfortunately service is really-really bad. At 1 point of time, Anita had to storm into the kitchen as there’s no waiting staff outside.

We reach Dubai at 5pm and i complained that the day is not productive but Putri abruptly said what’s not productive ?? we breakfasting in Emarat, go carpet shopping, we see Picasso, we tour Abu Dhabi (since we getting lost while looking for Suria), we makan in Suria. So it’s 5 things we manage to do today. Yes Putri, you are right.. as always :-)

Next trip, jalan-jalan cari carpet in Fujairah.

Get Together in Beach Combers, Jumeirah Beach Hotel

“Eh, you all pernah makan dekat Jumeirah Beach Hotel tak ?” Ali asked last weekend when we had lunch at Yo! Sushi in Burjuman.

“Tak.. apa ada ? best ke ?”

“Best la.. Ada Chef Malaysia kat sana, banyak makanan Malaysia tau.. sedappp.. lepas tu kita boleh ambik gambar Burj Al Arab. Cantik.. jom la. Chef dia tu kawan i, i boleh book kan” Ali explained eagerly.

“OK la.. best jugak.. kita plan next week la, so can celebrate my brother’s birthday kat situ” said Nazirah

There lots of email exchange in the following days, confirming attendance and writing nonsense but 1 thing for sure, everyone is really looking forward for the dinner.

So here it is.. 14 Malaysian in Dubai/Abu Dhabi altogether and 1 person in transit from Riyadh.

VERDICT: Definitely the best Dhs 150 that i everspent. The foods are great, ambiance are cosy and everybody really enjoyed the night.. highly recommended. The Dubaian had agreed to make a point to go there once a month to savour Malaysian foods..





Me posing in front of Burj AL Arab. Not so clear as weather is a bit dusty that day.

Beach Combers restaurant.. it's like a hut at the beach. very nice, cosy, romantic and foods are delicious.

Jejaka Idaman Malaya - Redza, Sohaimi and Ali



Sohaimi and Nana. Yours truly in the middle posing in front of the restaurant with my new Chloe Kerala bag.. Alamak, if my husband tengok mesti kena marah.. Sorrryyy darling, i just can't resist.





Who says can't find good Malaysian foods in Dubai ?? Mee goreng mamak, nasi goreng, butter prawn, kurma daging and sweet n sour fish.. sedappp





Dubaians - Sohaimi, Faridz, Nana and Ali in front of the restaurant




Complimentary from the Head Chef.. a fellow Malaysian.. it's the best sushi i had so far in Dubai.

Posing.. jangan tak posing.. Ms organizer - Nazirah (2nd from right).. thanks for the lovely evening.

Exercise..exercise

My darling husband wrote me an email today and i quote his starting line here"Muga hari ini Ayang bertambah sihat dan ceria juga berfikir yang bagaimana untuk membaiki kesihatan selain dari memikirkan nak beli dan Shopping saja"..hahahaha how well my dear husband understand me.

That made me thinking, actually if i'm as committed to my exercise as i always committed to my shopping activities, i definitely will be fit as i always "visualize" myself.

So that's my new pledge.. whenever i shops for things, i need to exercise for 1 hour. Wish me luck...

Japanese Dinner in Ramada

Last nite went for Japanese Buffet Dinner in Ramada Hotel. For Dhs 160/pax, the dinner is OK la. Sushi and sashimi are fresh, tempura and teppanyaki are quite delicious and we were entertained by the chef at the teppanyaki table with his culinary skills.

But of course the companions are great so VERDICT: it's a good nite out with friends.. The price might seems expensive for us Malaysian but that's standard in Dubai.. :-(

Anita, Putri, Shiela and moi.. duduk sebelah orang kecik molek ni rasa macam giant la pulak aku..

Life like that

Ths few days, my day at the office was very hectic. There's so many things need to be done and so many issues need to be resolve, not to mentioned report that need to be submitted.

That's life, sometimes i got nothing to do at the office but sometimes, 9 hours are not enough to finish all the piling works. I think after ths few hectic weeks i urgently need to visit my stress relief place - Burjuman. Who knows, i might find something to cheer me up...hehehe.. another excuse to shop, yes darling..

Missing you

Dua tiga hari ini, diri terasa sentimental. Kerinduan terhadap suami di Malaysia terasa terlalu tebal. Apatah lagi bila malam menjelma, terasa kekosongan di sini. Walaupun ramai teman yang menemani, namun semuanya tidak sama bila berada disisi orang tersayang.

Selalunya, bila terasa miserable, i'll turn to my relief - shopping, tapi kali ini, untuk shopping pun tiada mood rasanya...

Going topless in Jumeirah Beach

It's become an issue recently about nudity display at Jumeirah Beach. There's complaints from resident of Dubai on female beach-goers go topless at the beach. So last 2 weeks ago, when friends from Abu Dhabi invited myself to join them at Jumeirah Beach, without hesitant i accept the invitation. Well, of course my priority is to meet-up with them but at the same time i also want to see for myself whether it's true that Jumeirah Beach had become a topless beach.

After reading all those noises about the topless beach-goers, of course i can't retain myself from getting excited when we reached the beach. To my dissapointment, everything seems normal at the beach. it's full as usual but i can't see any topless ladies. Well of course, there's so many bikini clad women but none go topless.. *sigh*

At the end, eventhough i've enjoyed the companion of friends there but there's no special something of remembrance that i can brought back home except for Sohaimi stories of that 3 ladies that keep on complementing each other bodies.. hahhahaha .. "nice body..nice body"...






Unfortunately not many pictures are taken as there's no camera allowed at the beach.. This pictures are curi-curi taken when the guards are not around..

Beautiful Khasab, Oman

Gone thru all my photos last nite and when come to photos of scenery in Khasab, in Musandam Peninsular, Oman, i've spent almost 1 hours looking at all of it. It was so so beautiful, the scenic view, the calm sea, the blue sky, it was just perfect.

So now, i would like to share the view with you. If you have the opportunity, try to make a trip there with your love one..it's worth it..

with Janelle, my good friend since we were in Malaysia.

Check out the view.. how fantastic is that ???

Sunset in Khasab.. the air is chill, the view is superb

The sea is so blue......

Cultural Clash

Adoii geramnya aku hari ini. Today, i was a little bit unhappy in the office. There's few issues need to be resolve, customers complaining that our 100mt crane driver buat hal at the site, a vendor who'd been calling for his payment (which is not ready yet) and a disagreement in term of reporting system with our partner rep here. Adoiii pening aku. When i first came here, i am surprise on how well develop Dubai is, but instead of feeling like in Arab country, i thought i'm in India..hahaha remind me of lost in translation..

I'm also surprise that there's so many things are still lack in Dubai like procedure, system, HSEQ etc.. And i remember that i thought all of staff here are so hardworking and efficient. But that's my first impression. Some of the first impression will last but some not.

It's always amaze me on how different things are done here compare to in Malaysia. rules can change everyday depend on who you meet-up with. And now, i realize that our staff here are not so hardworking and efficient as i first thought they are. And our partner rep (which in position is higher than me but since i'm reporting directly to Malaysia, so we are at same level, luckily) which i dislike earlier and still dislike now, but i'm surprise that we manage to complement each other at the office. Despite our frequent arguments and disagreement, we still have respect for each other (i think la.. unless secretly he think i'm a nutcase)..

And now i realize, even we still disagree on the reporting system, we will find a way to make this joint venture work. It's not only because it's our responsbility but at the same time both of us are so kiasu and proud person, reputation does matter.

Something strange

Lately, my husband is acting strangely. Since the first day i'm in Dubai, he make a point to call me every morning. Only when we had some interesting issues to discuss or when i'm lonely, he will called few times..

But ths few days, he had called me almost every hour, with nothing important to say just to chat only.. despite my reminder of our telephone bill (of course la.. i dont want him to waste money on telephone bills), he keep on calling..

very strange huh.. i wonder why ....

Massage in Dubai

I went for Ayurvedic Massage yesterday evening. The place was recommended by a friend, it's in Karama Center, Karama .. yes, the heaviest traffic-jam area in Dubai. This is my first experience with Ayurvedic Massage. I've tried all type of massage, thai, java, malay traditional, swedish, shiatsu etc but i was never interested to try avurvedic (imagine, to let yourself soak in warm oil.. how yuckky is that ??? )... But surprisingly, i have REALLY enjoyed the experience. For Dirham 150, they gave 1 hour massage, 10 - 15 mins steam bath (i love it as the room eventhough small but got a nice orangey and fresh flower smell) and follow by a hot shower.

The massage was fantastic, it's was soo relax and most importantly not painfull at all. I doze off almost immediately once it started.. Now, I think i even like it better than Thai massage which is my favourite all this time. Definitely a place worth a visit again..

To buy or not to buy ???

Finally... after few weeks consideration.. to buy or not to buy.. i succumb to the devil screaming inside my brain..hehehe

I bought ths LV Galliera last 3 weeks ago. What a beauty. I'm not really a LV fan as i dont really fancy most of their design, but this Galliera is really a fantastic creation. When i first saw it in a mag, i've straight away decided that i must own this bag.. But of course after my last shopping spree in Istanbul, i'm quite scared that my husband will start his "motivational speech about the importance of saving money" ... Alas, darling i'm sorry, this will be my last splash this season.. (i hope hmmmmm)

Sunset in Kuala Linggi

A friend of mine fwd me this photo during one of his road trip jalan-jalan pusing Malaysia. I always love sunset. It's sort of giving me a sense of sadness. Whenever i have the chance to see a sunset, i always have a flashback of my life.. i started to think about the people that i love, people that i lost and all the sweet memories, sad memories...

Macam-macam

I've told a friend after last Malaysian election "Last time, our politic is so boring, you heard same things everytime. But now, it's become very interesting to follow our political situation. There's changes on almost daily basis" So.. now i'm asking whether is it good or bad thing ?? Our country used to be a safe and stable country but it's not anymore. But at the same time, before this, ruling party had done whatever they want to do without thinking about the people, now they are more cautious.

So it's up to us to decide what we want for our beloved country. As for myself, i want a safe and stable country but at the same time i want changes in a ruling government... so how ??? can get both or not ??

The start of my blogger's life

Everyone have experience with their first time, doesnt matter what it is, first love, first kiss, first born, first job.. and people always remember their first time.

I will always remember my first time typing this entry, my first entry in my blog..hmmm i hope i would be able to continue ths spirit. I was never a good writer. My letter to my lover before are all short and precise, never lovey-dovey as some other friends and when people asked me why i dont have blog my answer is always the same, i'm not a writer and i'm not good at it. Until a friend told me "you dont have to be good in writing to have blog. people dont judge yr grammar, but the point that you want to convey, the story that you wanted to tell" ... that's make me thinking.. yeahh that's true.. i always have something "smart" to say .. i think :-) that's when i started to think to start my blog.. and after few research (yeah.. i did research OK), voila.. here it is.. my first entry..yahooo finally i manage to tick something from my wish list (which is a lot anyway..)