Wadi Adventure in Oman

Here in Abu Dhabi most of the teachers communicate through Facebook.  Upcoming events and opportunities are posted among multiple groups to keep people aware and/or active within their respective areas of Abu Dhabi.  One group in particular that I took interest in was Al Ain Weekends.  This group organizes short weekend or day trips around the UAE.  The trips can be a hike, a day cruise, a weekend in another emirate, etc.  Because I don't frequent Facebook to often, every time I did check it out I would have just missed an Al Ain Weekend event.  I told myself, before I leave I had to do at least one event with them.  Finally I checked Facebook at the right time and I was able to sign up for a hike in Oman.  

Al Ain neighbors Oman, so it was only a short drive across the border to the location of our hike.  On our hike we had about fifteen people in attendance and we had no problem getting across the Omani border.  The problem was getting up some of the rocky slopes we had to cross over to reach the wadi area.  Good thing we had experienced adventure seekers who came prepared for such a situation.  For some of the challenging slippery slopes, the larger truck had to pull the smaller trucks that were getting stuck up the to the top of the slope while the rest of us walked to the top (that was not supposed to be where we started hiking).  Once we safely made it to our destination, we were able to hike, climb, and wade through small wadis while exploring beautiful oasis.  It was pretty awesome that these really do exist in the desert.  This wasn't a mirage.  I have proof.  Take a look at my video and see for yourself.

**If you are currently living in the Abu Dhabi area, check out Al Ain Weekends on Facebook.  It's a great way to meet new people from all over the world and explore The UAE or Oman at the same time!

Maldives

Before I moved to Abu Dhabi I had a list of places I wanted to visit.  When I arrived, I made a few adjustments to my list.  When I heard how close the Maldives were to the UAE I told myself I had to make that trip happen.  So I did!  I told my boyfriend, Jason I was planning a trip to the Maldives for the both of us.  He didn't really know what I was talking about, but once he arrived he was so happy he went along with the plan.

The Maldives (aka paradise) wasn't a place where I could just get up and go.  I had to save a few coins in my piggy bank and do some research to make it all happen.  During the time it took me to plan my trip I picked up a few tips to share with the general public.

For those of you who would like to experience paradise here are some suggestions:

• Plan a trip within in a trip:  If you are coming from the states, make the Maldives the second stop of your trip.  Jason flew from America to Dubai.  Then we spent the weekend in the Maldives (round trip Dubai - Maldives).  A flight to the Maldives from Dubai is a lot cheaper then what he would've paid flying from America.
• Do your hotel research:  I had no idea where we would stay.  I used hotels.com and researched hotels for a few months to see what the best options were within our budget.  I eventually found a great deal with the Sheraton property.  I booked the hotel during the weekend and when I went back to show a friend during the week the price had gone up.  My suggestion is to set up alerts for certain hotels you are interested in and when the price drops you can be notified.
• When looking for hotels try to find all inclusive deals:  I didn't come across deals that included everything but I did find a deal that included all of our meals.  I'm happy we went along with this deal because it was one less thing we had to think about while relaxing on the beach.  Each property is it's own island, so you have limited options in where and what you will eat.  So make sure you book a resort that has plenty to choose from.  Once you get to your island, you stay on that island unless you book a tour.
• Sign up for rewards plans:  Anytime I book a flight or hotel, I sign up for the rewards plan.  I don't know if I will ever get enough points through these programs but you never know what the future holds.  With Hotels.com, once you have booked ten nights through their site you earn a free night on them.  The free night is based on the average amount you have spent on the ten previous nights you have booked through them.  So it might not necessarily be a "free night" based off of where you staying for your trip, but you will get a discount either way.  I was able to get a discount for one of our nights during our stay at the Sheraton.

All in all, I was so happy that I was able to make this trip happen.  Through my research I was able to book the trip I wanted without any compromises.  Take a look at my video from the Maldives.  Warning:  The pictures are going to make you want to start planning your trip right now.

Things you will see in this video:

• Our bungalow on the Sheraton Resort.
• Our awesome view from our deck of the ocean.
• Bats!  Yes, I said bats!  Fruit bats!  But still, they were bats!
• Fish in the water.  Unfortunately, it's not an underwater shot of all the awesome fish we saw while snorkeling.  I'm currently looking on Amazon for a waterproof GoPro camera.
• Fish we could choose to eat for dinner. 
• The beautiful sunsets.
• A Maldivian themed dinner on the beach.
• Jason and I being extremely happy because we were in paradise.

Mom and Dad Come To Visit The UAE

Unlike last year I didn't have as many visitors this year because there was not a major deal on discounted tickets to Abu Dhabi.  But luckily, there were still some pretty good deals out there and my parents were able to make there way to the sandbox.  When I first moved to Abu Dhabi, my dad said he was going to come and visit.  My mom on the other hand wasn't so eager to visit my new residence and needed a little motivation.  As a family we came together and gave her the motivation she needed.  After all isn't that what family is for?

I found a great deal for a companion flight on Emirates in November around Thanksgiving.  I immediately forwarded the deal to my sister, Asani.  I told her to speak with my dad who was in town for the holiday to see what they could work out. That's where the plan was created.  Asani would tell my mom to make sure her passport was in order because they would be taking a trip in April.  We would then tell my mom closer to April that she would actually be going on a trip with my dad to The UAE. We weren't sure how my mom would take this surprising news, but when we all got together via Google Hangouts to tell her, after her initial shock she was...nervous.  But there wasn't much she could do but go along with it, the tickets were already booked!

In April, my parents landed in Dubai and we immediately hit the streets.  I took them to all the main attractions - a desert safari, The Grand Mosque, The Burj Khalifa, the beach, Dubai Mall, and the souq.  I then brought them to Al Ain so they could get a glimpse of my every day life.  They were able to see where I lived, visit my school, meet the people I work with, and meet the friends they had heard so much about.  Needless to say my mom and dad had a great visit.  My dad was amazed by the unique architecture and my mom actually wished she would have come sooner so she could have visited more than once.

Take a look at some of the moments captured from my parents visit.