Turkish Delight…How I gained 6 pounds in 5 days..

Yup, you heard me!

I gained 6 pounds in only 5 days during a recent trip to Istanbul, Turkey.

In an impulse, I decided to go with my daughter to Istanbul for a long weekend. Although I just started my new job and have no leave time yet, I just had to escape even for a couple of days. Luckily, my new boss is cool and flexible. I was also a cool mom and  responsible   coordinated for my daughter’s education so I talked to her school to excuse her for 3 days.

All worked out and we were ready to make the best of it.

I figured in five days I would prepare a busy schedule for sight seeing since it’s our first visit. It took only one bite of a juicy grilled Kebab to make me forget about all the grilled meat I ever tasted in my life! I also changed my purpose from sight seeing to food tasting.

Seriously , I could never get enough!

And then I indulged in their delicious sweets, which are very common in Saudi Arabia. However, somehow they taste more delicious in it’s native country.

I grew up with Turkish delights. We eat them every year during Eid holidas (end of the Holy month of Ramadhan) . Every year I look forward to them and now I’m not that excited to try them this year. Unless I go to Turkey to purchase them.

I also acquired a new addiction during the five day stay. Turkish Coffee.

I never drank it at home and rarely drank it when people offered it to me, until I came to it’s original country. I would have one in the morning, after every meal, and end of the day……I was hyper all day.

For five days I dived into a sea of grilled meat and Turkish sweets and swam back up for Turkish coffee. On my last day I bought lots of sweets and Turkish coffee for my relatives, neighbors, and friends. I wanted to share with them the  experience .It finished in three days…I think I need to go back and buy more.

My Corner in The Sky

On the 17th floor of the Marriot Hotel in Shanghai, I have arranged a sitting area in the glass corner of the room (using the cushions from the couch) as it makes me feel that I’m sitting on a cloud. I look down and all I see are the roofs of the houses and so many people walking the streets. I wake up early every morning and I love to sit here, sip my coffee and read my book (about Shanghai in the early 1920s) before starting the day in this busy city.

Contrasting architecture in Shanghai; modern at the top, traditional at the bottom.

Weird looking building with a combination of natural and man-made walls

Mystic and majestic  – traditional buildings at the Tea Garden

 

Namaste: A Photo Tour of Mumbai

Recently I went on a business trip to Mumbai for three weeks.
I find it ironic that in KSA, my Indian colleagues are always complaining about everything…..the water, the streets, the people, the weather , well I guess the weather could be annoying sometimes. Anyway, I never defended anything cause I thought maybe its better from where they come from. However, once I arrived in Mumbai I thought “seriously?!” Do Indians realy think Mumbai is much better than Riyadh?” The streets are dirty and crowded, the water is recycled, can’t even shower. Of course it was all driven by poverty so we can’t blame the people. I guess they were just trying to make a good impression about their country. Which comes naturally even to me, sometimes. Regardless, I enjoyed my time while working, enjoyed most of all the freedom of just walking in the streets, which is all the Indians had to say to make me like their country.

I stayed for 3 days at ITC Hotel then moved to the Marriott. On my first day in India I became ill so I asked for soup and a glass of lemon juice. No one knew what I meant by lemon juice. After so many explanations to different people, they finally gave me some lemon, concentrate. and some slices just in case I needed more.

   Unlike any other franchise in the world, you can tell it belongs to TATA by the security check at the entrance.

We took the day off to celebrate Holi day with the people of Mumbai . Holi day is a Spring festival also known as the festival of colors or love, I guess depending on your status and mood. Although it’s a religious festival, we enjoyed the dancing and coloring activities. Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children and elders.

Taxi drivers are very protective of their Gods.

The view from my hotel window, Renaissance Marriot at Powai Lake. I like to wake up to this view every morning.

A mosque on top of a building.

hhmmm. Honestly not sure if this is a real hospital or the site of a horror movie.

Dinner with colleagues at BBQ Nation Restaurant. Amazing place . loved the food. With so much food variety, I gained so much  weight during my stay.

Just so ordinary to see a cow cross the street in Mumbai. I hope he didn’t get a ticket for running a red light.

The Taj Mahal Palace, another TATA alliance.

 Gateway of India, the place where governors landed when arriving in India.

To Spain or Bust!

Spain!

After 6 years from now I want to live the rest of my life in Spain.

Why 6 years?

My kids will all be in college. (empty nest).

Why Spain?

– Easy language to learn.

– In the middle between west and east, and almost near middle east.

– A mixed culture of westerners and arabs.

– Islamic background yet moderate lifestyles.

The thing is, I want to live comfortably when in Spain. I don’t want to look for a job or start a business. No working! Except maybe around the house. So my plan is to start saving  for my trip around the world and then buy a home in Spain and settle there.

I’m depending on my business in Saudi Arabia to support my expenses for the trip and house and then put aside an income for daily expenses.

Am I dreaming? Could this come true? I hope so.

To be honest here, the real reason why I DON”T want to live the rest of my life in Saudi Arabia is because there are so many things I wish I could accomplish. Not because I never got around to it, but because I was forbidden to do so! There will always be something to prevent me from the simplest pleasures of life; either the culture, religion, family, kids, friends, or even co-workers.

I will make a list of things to do in another post.  For now I could only plan my destination, but when it comes to implementing my plan, would the reasons mentioned above allow me to go ahead with it?

Probably not. So keep dreaming Moon until one day AFTER 6 years it will come true.

From hot spring to cool waters

On one of my visits to Jeddah my cousins decided to visit a spring in the mountains where the water was known to have therapeutic effects.
We all imagined a waterfall or a small lake. We packed our bags with swim suits. When we reached there, we found exactly the opposite. The weather was really hot and a very small spring was running from one point under the ground. The origins of the spring was covered forming what feels like a sauna once inside. The water was running through a man-made stream. Of course the water contained sulfate making it impossible to touch. I was surprised to hear and see that people were actually washing their bodies with this water. I tried to soak my feet but was unable to touch the surface.
My cousin had the courage to use the mud from the stream as a face mask. Yes her face felt smooth afterwards but why suffer so much from the burning sensation of the sulfate not to mention the smell. The area around the spring was very dirty with plastics everywhere. Although the government tried to make a tourist destination for the spring, visitors didn’t respect the rules.

Well everyone in the family still wanted to swim. We took a drive around the area and found some places that would be excellent for a picnic but we weren’t prepared and we were all hungry. We finally decided to go home.
On our way home, we were searching for a place to eat and we ended up at a resort on the Red Sea. We booked some rooms and went straight to the beach. This was the first time for me to swim in open waters. I spent the rest of the day swimming with Aziz and Jude until I could no longer move my arms.
At least I could cross that off my list of things to do before I die.