Fresh from four international trips

Just arrived from Istanbul (Turkey), Manila (Ph), Macau, and Hongkong. That's 3 countries in a week. Whew! Hours after arrival from my personal trip with my family, off I flew again to complete my 3-day schedule. Getting cray-cray with all this flying but what can I do, this is the life I chose. :)  

I'm happy with all these and I never thought come a day I'll have a day like this! :) 

That's it for now, photos shall be uploaded soon. :)

Beating the Red Lights in Hyderabad, India

This is my third time in one of the progressive cities in India. I love it here especially the hotel - Taj Krishna Hotel - as it's near to two high-end, modern malls with all the brands I love: Mango, Levi's, Benetton, etc. As for the hotel  itself, it looks so elegant, more of a palace, as one Malaysian crew said. 

We arrived around 9 in the morning which gave me ample time to take a breakfast, have a good rest, and get ready for another fun-filled day. OR so I thought. What I expected turned out to be a disappointment. I ended up paying a lot to the tuktuk driver for nothing. We just went round and round but he couldn't get me to places I want to see, or at least to any architectural places. He speaks a little English and obviously is not good at handling tourists. Boo-hoo. Here's a round up of how my day had been:

Selfie at the tuktuk :P #camwhore

I wore a Kurta. :D A traditional Indian blouse. My last Hyderabad mall experience gave me goosebumps. I was wearing "normal" clothes then several men started chasing after me at mall. Call it flattering, but it's not! I'm not saying that I'm sooo beautiful that men lurk after me, I just look different, exotic actually. Lol.

Alright so while doing some shopping, one DOM approached me and said, "Are you a Filipina?" Obviously he's trying to "buy" me. Another group (!!!) of black men sent feelers. Then the scariest of them all, an Indian man probably in his 30's started chasing me at all sections of the mall! He was where I was no matter which floor and it started to terrify me. I couldn't concentrate on shopping then all of a sudden he went across my way and whispered something to my ear. I got so scaaared! It's his country, if I'm going to scream he can tell all lies at their own language. The safest thing I did was to stand beside a mall guard, and off he left. Good riddance! So from then on, I decided that each time I go malling in Hyderabad, or in any Indian destination for that matter, I definitely have to wear their traditional clothes for safety reasons. Surprisingly it worked. 

  

Hotel lobby

Lobby

Hallway

the bar

Another part of the lobby

It's a nice park but you need to remove your shoes to step inside. So i ditched it on my list.

Here's how crazy it was on their road!

1st - 5 people on a motorcycle! I was not able to capture the total headcount but there were really 5ive of them!

2nd - it's like a sea of motorists

3rd - see how close we are to each to other!? My goodness. 

The last point of my so-called tour: The Charminar - built in 1591, a monument and a mosque. All I thought it's really a majestic place since it's the main tourist attraction here.  

But the crowd is just shocking! There were vendors of all sorts and the people were so close with the vehicles, so crazily close! I did not even dare to step down the tuktuk I was riding at. OMG. I can't believe my sissy dared to step here, even thrice! OMGEEEE!!!

Sarees of all colors. Seeing all these now made me realize that I should have bought one, too. 

So since I'm running out of options of tourist places I should go, I just decided to hit the malls, those I mentioned near the hotel. 

Everything's on sale!!! Yeay!!! :D  

McDo for snacks - haven't eaten since I boarded the aircraft till I finished my tour!

After several rounds of shopping, I bumped accidentally with my Malaysian co-worker. She was also looking for me so we decided to have some dinner together. We opted for Chinese cuisine. Yummm!

The Aroma of China - they have a very cozy and awesome ambiance.

And I need to commend their delicious selection of dishes. :)

Plus my loot of course! A Puma bag, two dresses for me and sissy, a blouse for madear, some scarves, socks, cosmetics, and lots of BB cream (sorry forgot to include in the pic). I got them all at a bargain!!! :D

Thanks for the crazy but fun experience, Hyderabad. Till next time. :)

Back to the grind

After taking almost a week off to recuperate, I'm now back on spreading wings. I'm currently blogging in Hyderabad, India. I love spending layovers here. The hotel is cozy and accessible to two huge and modern malls. Right now I'm still here lounging in my room with my bathrobe, so let me share first what took place last night.

Sissy and I had a fabulous dinner at PF Chang's. 

We ordered for prawn dimsum, fried noodles, sweet and sour chicken, and banana spring roll with ice cream

Food is really good but considering it's not a 5-star hotel, I find them expensive. I could just toss them in my own kitchen - if so to speak. Well I guess it's really different if the dishes were cooked a chef.

Then off we went for some shopping. She was fitting shoes for her then she told me to buy a pair, too! We got to take advantage of the sale so surprisingly here's what I brought home. :D

my second pair of awesome-ness. lol

Sissy said I should collect Lacoste as well, just like her. O.o But I want to collect different brands and the next one I'm planning to buy is a pair of Armani, if they are on sale of course. Heee!

Thanks to heaven for such an awesome night. :)

Happy But Not

Here I am on my bed rest. I have already reached my limits. I've been neglecting my body for the longest time. Been flying like crazy for so long without taking time to unwind and regain strength. Rome flight was so tiring, one of the most tiring I did in my entire flying career. After Rome we had a 20-hour layover in Riyadh. It's not even enough to recover from stress and extreme exhaustion. I could not even get up from my bed. I slept for about 15 hours but it's not really enough. I just forced myself to walk upon knowing 'twas already 30 minutes before our wake up call. I could not even go to the bathroom and pee. 

It doesn't end there. After the Riyadh layover we have yet three domestic flights to operate with changing of aircraft and 2 hours ground time. It's tiring as h-e-l-l! I felt like my arms were already falling apart, my legs were shaking, my feet were throbbing, and I had a very terrible headache. Imagine that. I could not even stand during boarding, I was already sitting on  a passenger's arm rest (empty seats of course). But that's not enough, the worse that could happen to me was doing a violation against safety! OMG. I could have lost my job if the purser and captain had been so strict. I got the shock of my life! Unbelievable. I'm very careful each time I fly but all of a sudden a big no-no happened. 

On my jumpseat I was shaking, my entire body was, like how our feet throb due to over-walking, that's how my entire body was. I never felt so exhausted until that very moment. So realization took place. I could no longer fly the following days. My whole body is wrecked. I was there sitting, wanting to cry, wanting to vomit out of extreme exhaustion. I just fly and fly, trying to hit the highest flying time I could so I would of course receive a higher salary in return, compromising my wellness. After several months of doing so, here I am, lamenting over my mistakes. 

While on my jumpseat, it's like the whole world was on my shoulders. I was screaming to myself, "I deserrrve an LV every year! I deserrrve the best things in life! I deserrrve a grand personal vacation! I deserrrve all those shopping, heck, I even deserrrve more shopping! I deserrrve them all!"

My sister said I deprive myself of the good stuff. I don't buy gadgets or anything pricey. My reason was, "I'm saving." She said, "No. You're hoarding your money!" Stupid me, she's right. I want to save a lot of money for my family's vacation come July-August in Hongkong-Macau. It's just a week but I don't know what's driving me crazy to fly a lot to earn a lot. Ah yes, I know - Moolah.

Realizing what my sister said was true, off we went shopping for gadgets. Finally, at long last, I already bought an Ipad Mini 2 and a new camera: Canon SX510 HS Power Shot with wi-fi. I love how classy it looks like, like a posh DSLR but so cute and small! She's been nagging me about those for sooo long but the bummer me was just ignoring her. Plus one more item that will add to my footwear collection, a pair of blue Grendha sandals. :) Yey! I already have 2 pais in nude and a pair in green, so time for a new color! 

 So now, here I am, finally feeding my gusto. Thank You, God, for all the blessings. Though I'm in a bad shape right now, I could still say flying is the best job in the world. :)

Roma, Italia

I am at my happiest that finally I have visited Roma and of course the Vatican.

The flight from Jeddah was only over four hours with only (-)1 hour difference from KSA time. Not bad. I had only a day here so I took the hop on-hop off bus for a more convenient tour. I didn't alight at most of the stops, just the most important one: Vatican. Seeing the Vatican is way beyond amazing. Twas heart-pounding, heart-blasting, and the last time I experienced this was seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time.

And now here are my photos:

Our official residence: Boscolo Exedra Luxury Hotel. Paris Hilton and Leo diCaprio once stayed here. Dang, why wasn't during my stay?!

my room = lalalove

my hairdo. half-braided. half twisted

The Vatican

Rome is like a huge museum.

The Coloseo. I wanted to come here after dinner but I was already too tired.

Venetia

a sculpture on a door. freaky but cool.

souvenirs galore

The Vatican. I just had goosebumps. Such a heart-pounding experience!

My delicioso dinner. I know I should dine in an Italian resto but I opted for, well more of craved for, Chinese dishes. I'm always eating pasta and pizza in my domestic layovers so now I'm heading on to Chinese restos. :D

 But of course a cup of gelato is a must!

The hotel at night.

I'm fascinated with huge, intricate doors. :)

My loot. :) That lighter is for my BFF.

Sad to say the famous Fontana de Trevi was under construction. 

Here's a funny story:

Suddenly woke up after a deep sleep and I don't know where I am! Asked myself repeatedly, "Where am I?! What time is it?! Did I miss the wake up call?! Why didn't I wake up through my own alarm?! Where am I?!!" I got so scared - like really, really scared - and I almost had a mini heart attack. It took me a couple of minutes before realizing my location. Lol. Old FA stories are true. Come a day you couldn't anymore remember where you are neither where you had been. Looool. 

That's it for now. I'm still in my bed rest mode. I am sooo over super duper extremely exhausted. My whole body is shaking due to exhaustion and stress. I ignore my body calling for a time out so now I'm paying the price. 

Exciting Events

Tomorrow morning KSA time I'm flying to Rome. :D It's my first time in Italy and I'm undeniably excited. I haven't yet packed because I'm still indecisive on what to wear especially in Vatican. Weather forecast says it's going to be hot, around 28'C. Wow. That is hot. For sure I will wear something nice but conservative. It's just I couldn't decide which among those dresses I own I should wear. This is always the case in my every layover. Ho-hmm... Of course, I need to bring extra dresses for dinner and breakfast, plus another extra in case of something unplanned. For a 26-hour layover, yes, bringing of multiple clothes is a must! Teeheehee. 

There are always three things that excite me each time I go for an international layover, even if it's my nth time in that place: 1) explore 2) wearing nice clothes and 3) fine dining. :D 

Aside from Rome, I'm also looking forward for our July's rosters. This is the suspense we get each end of the month - knowing what's our next month's schedule. I'm really, really hoping I will get last week off for July because I'm planning to connect it with August's first week off. Dear God, I know nothing is impossible with your power. Amen.

That's it for now. Hopefully next time I can already write something with my own pictures. :)

Welcome Back to Me!

Last time I blogged was my 5th month of flying. Now, lo and behold, it's already my 24th month! Unbelievable. I have just completed my 2 years in this wonderful field - flying. My heart is about to burst. I want to write so many things. All my ups and downs, all those moments that crushed my heart, and those million of times my soul was in total nostalgia. 

Everything is still surreal. I can't believe I am seeing three countries in a month, plus count my homeland as the 4th. Navigating the world in a spin is one crazy thing, and I do this crazy thing all the time, just days apart. Incredibly unbelievable! Of course, how can I not mention shopping. It's our favorite past time, hobby, stress  buster, and routine - a tedious one. Once a steward said, "Sometimes you don't want to go shopping, but you have to." True. Preach to that brother! If it's that hard for him, then how much more us, ladies?

Recently I'm all the more hooked to shopping (since when was I not???!). Alright undoubtedly I'm engrossed to it to the nth level, but at the moment it has been a different thing. It's like an addiction, a serious case of shopaho-lism. Just like alcoholism, an alcoholic increases its dosage of drinking day by day regardless of how much he has consumed. Same as for a shopaholic like me. I shop till I drop, tagging with me my medium (?!) size trolley. I get home, excitedly opening each purchase but after seeing them all lying before me, I want more. I want to "increase my dosage." To shop "more." To head back to the mall right away the following day to buy "more." After coming from a long flight, regardless if I already did some serious shopping in the layover, I want to head to the mall right away and shop again for more. Waaa! I'm getting worse, seriously worse. But of course I'm controlling myself. I'm financially conscious and I know my limits. Seriously I do though my FB friends think I don't. Lol. 

On another note, this time I will do my best to stay committed to blogging, whenever, wherever, of whatever. Especially my travels and daily randoms, much like before during my Multiply days. God, I missed to write and I'm surprised everything just flows out of my fingertips. I'm typing like crazy, typing spontaneously. :)

Soon I will post my travel photos and will relive all those epic memories, or shall I say epic fail. Haha. :D

That's it for now. Will try get some more sleep after sleeping for 7 hours. :D Haha.

World, you are the world to me!