The Original Juice

Fri, 24th Dec 2010

We woke up extremely late!! we had a lil under an hour to get ready and eat BF! AIYOOO!!!

No meat =( but CocoPops my FAVOURITE!!




Daylight!

Hotel Entrance. See my shadow haha

We can SEE the airport but its about 5-10min drive away.

It wasn't cold at all the night we reached there. In the morning it was slightly crispy but nothing like Amman or Damascus.

I was a bit nervous at the prospect of an 8hour flight. But Alhamdulillah we had 3 seats together by the window and not the front row. Plane food was great, we ate Mum's as usual. Tufeil was entertained by Cars the movie, he slept twice for 2 hours each. I wanted to watch something as well while T was asleep, but couldn't stay interested in any of the listed movies!! I started to watch The Killers (Ashton Kutcher) but I kept nodding off I gave him after an hour. What a shame! What a shame!!

Nonetheless, I'm very grateful that T was very well behaved in the plane. It helped that we had Hannah sitting in front of us and Banana in the fruit trolley.

Reached Singapore 9pm. Syifaa' and family came to pick us up. We had dinner at Burger King first as we were famished. Thank God all 3 luggages managed to fit into the trunk. Just before moving off, discovered T pooped and got some stains! LOL the last time we came back from Perth, his pee overflowed all over my clothes! So me and Mum went to wash and change him. It was very difficult with no jet spray in the cubicle, we had to wash him in the sink. Made us quickly realise how much better the toilet experience the past 10 days had been.

Felt great to be home! But browsing through the photos, and writing the blog entries made me feel wistfully sentimental. Although most of the time there, I was super tired of the travelling in the bus for hours and scared of the next surprise coming, fearful of T's tantrum / comfort level, and generally being out of my comfort zone, in restrospect, it was a truly nice experience seeing NEW places and getting to know NEW people. Truly a Breath of FRESH air.

Thurs, 23rd Dec 2010.

We were told the night before that there was some confusion in the itinerary. The group that came from Singapore (others were direct from Haj) had an overnight connecting flight from Dubai back to Singapore. This is an oversight from the agency and so... they rewarded us with a night's stay at Holiday Inn Express DUBAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were reminded to pack a sleepwear and the next day's clothes in our hand carries as the other checked-in luggages will NOT be with us in DUBAI!

I WAS LIKE JUMPING FOR JOY!!! A blessing in disguise. What a damn shame that he told us VERY LATE in the Day!!! we could have made arrangements to see friends and/or relatives or even to extend on more day there since it's the weekend and go sightseeing or something!

ANYWAYs, we had to leave our luggages outside our rooms at 7am for the porter to bring them down! And BF was to start at 8am, leave at 9am. That made no sense. If Bfast was to start at 8am, I would only shower at 7am then how to pack my dirty laundry?? GRRR In the end, we did manage to wake up 6.30am and was down for bfast at 7.30am. BTW, Ayah did not come with us as he had some tummy problem! Oopsie. Fortunately, its already at the tail end of the vacation and someone brought along the charcoal pills.

As our flight wasn't until 3pm, we had 1.5hr to kill at the bazaar! Mummy and I carefully watched where we went, lest we got lost since Ayah didn't come with us and opted to rest at the mosque instead. We basically bought more of the socks (finally got the correct one i like!), chocolates, sandbottles, etc... But most importantly...

We FINALLY got that shawarma!! Weeee!!

Inside, very spacious.

Packing the last minute shopping into the luggages.

In the meantime, T played w the balloon and ran ard w the boys.

I notice that at most airports, we had to pass the gates before we can actually check in our luggages. Once inside, we had to wait quite long for the group's luggages to clear. I had the opportunity to sit with Kak Siti - mother of the boys and a girl - and marvelled at how she discplined her children, mentally keeping notes.

Funny, a chinese looking young mother with an infant in her arms approached me looking exasperated and asked something in Arabic. ALAMAK! Fumbled! My spoken Arabic is sketchy at best! But we managed to figure out that she's trying to locate her counter. I didn't know so I tried to get someone to help her. But nobody came and she walked away. I felt so guilty. But can't be helped. I mean I'm a resident there, how could I know. But I certainly can imagine being in her shoes and I'd hate to be in that kinda situation.

It was quite crowded immediately inside after the check-in counters. We went further in to the prayer room. The toilets are very clean and ablution area very nice. Unfortunately the prayer room is quite small - the Ladies' side anyways.

Then we hung around for the next hour or so till our flight was called for boarding.

Abang Harris

Abang Ammar

Queueing up to the gate now.

T had been great all day. But after the gate, he got real cranky kept asking for his milk. I think because it was quite crowded and there wasn't much to distract him with and we had to wait for quite a bit. He was screaming again but I kept my stance that I will only give him the milk ON the plane.

He also smelt like he pooped again. When I checked, eh nothing. Turned out his inner pants got a bit of stain from the last round! so i removed and washed it. That was supposed to be his pyjama for tonight! Luckily he wore a bodysuit so He slept it just that. SORRY!

We didn't get the first row seat where the bassinet usually is, and a 2-person window seat. ALHAMDULILLAH!!! T was more comfortable this way because we could watch the tv easily even during take off and landing (without having to stow it away) and he can sit on the armrest nearest the window when we were having dinner. and 45min to landing, he fell asleep.

It took 2hours to reach Dubai at 10pm.

Luckily he didnt wake when we transferred him to the stroller.

Ayah resting after a turbulent tummy ride.

OMG DUBAI AIRPORT IS HUGE!!

If I remember correctly, I transitted in Dubai like... 13-14yrs ago otw to London. And the airport was very small, had NOTHING and now it blossomed sooooooo beauuuutifully.

Where's everybody at?

Waiting for the shuttle to Holiday Inn Express

The room!!

Ayah bunk in with us since his rommate already gone to catch the earlier flight. The sofa is folded out to make a bed.

Toilet is sooooo modern.

The shower got some complicate knobs that took a while to figure out. HAHA

Unfortunately, we only settled in at midnight and we had to wake at 6am to do get bf at 7 and die die MUST leave by 7.45am! What a real damn shame we couldn't go sightseeing!!! BOOHOOHOOOO

Wed, 22nd Dec 2010

Good morning! T's inner outfit for the day w double socks too!

We reached the mosque of Khalid Ibnul Walid - the guy with the brain for war tactics the KhandaQ (trench) - as well as Abdurrahman ibnu Umar ibnul Khattab.

T LOVESSSS running trying to catch the pigeon.

Just before entering the mosque

At 11.30am, we were just in time for Zohr! Isnt that REAL EARLY? *jakun* The female prayer area is super duper small but we managed.

Thanks to this picture of the sign, I remember the name of this place! haha

We reached the lunch location which is minutes away from the Castle!

The surrounding

APPETIZERS! hahaa

There are certainly LOTS more to choose here!

SIDETRACK: I've only just discovered yesterday that the Moutabal i've been enjoying there is actually made of aubergine / eggplants!! and I dont normally vegetables!! I thought its just another version of Hummus which is made of chickpea just with added garlic or something. While I was googling for the name of that cheese puff snack, which is actually called BORAK / BOREK, I stumbled upon SYRIAN FOODIE blog complete with recipes! And when I clicked on Moutabal SURPRISE SURPRISE it's made of CHAR GRILLED EGGPLANTS only!! MY MY!

Ok end of side track.

Lunch was a merry affair with a gay (happy / hilarious) gay serving us. It was some kind of chicken rice but sad thing it was breast meat and not thigh meat that i only eat. But we sure packed all the fries leftover some other people's portions for T.

Luckily o runluckily, T made a deposit there. Toilet was crampy and I wet myself trying to wash him mid struggles. I also decided to put on another layer of jacket on him cos its super cold up there.

When we reached the castle, we were told that we had to pay extra SYP 150 about USD 3 for the tour of the castle that would last for 45min. I really wanted to go but didn't think T nor mum would appreciate the hundreds of steps going upwards. In the end, my parents sacrificed for me. I think this is some sort of a birthday present and I went in alone sans the kid and parents while they explored the exterior and took pictures from outside. I tried not to feel guilty about it.

The entrance - Large limestones.

The alley leading INSIDE the castle. Horses used to be ridden along here.

This used to be the base for the Crusades in whichever year

And this used to be a church complete with the Baptism well.

When the Muslim took over, they turned it into a mosque and built a mimbar.

The ceiling architecture of the "Conference Room" of the Knights.

The centre where two lines meet were supposed to resemble a cross. My angle doesn't capture that, I'm afraid.

We explored the dining area, the kitchen with a BIG ASS OVEN probably the size of my ROOM! no DOUBLE that; the sleeping quarters blah di blah di blah. It was too dark for iPhone. I expected myself to feel magically transformed back into medieval times like in the movies, alas, everything was so empty I just couldn't see it. I'm never good at pretend plays anyways.

UPWARDS, we reached the second floor and heading up another level to the Princess Room.

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See the small squares with holes on the floor? Well that's the place where, in the event of a successful intrusion by the enemy, they would pour hot oil back down to the alley we were at just now before they could manage to get upstairs.

From the Princess Room looking back down to where I stood in the picture above.

Princess' window overlooking the city.

WINDY TO THE MAX!!!!!

Note I only had 1 glove on. Stupid iPhone can't read when you touch with your glove.

Onwards and upwards to the Command Tower - Highest point of castle.

A short clip capturing 360deg view from the Command Tower

I rushed back down and found Tufeil happily playing with the iPod with Dad in the bus. Ok if he's not cranky then I don't feel guilty leaving him for 45min.

We travelled back to Damascus City for dinner where we paid extra USD10 to watch a Sufi dance.

Atmosphere's something like Boat Quay minus the river?

Christmas decoration with lotsa pubs/clubs.

It was probably 8pm by the time we reached Othman Bek Restaurant is the name. It was dark so I couldn't take picture. The dining area looked somewhat like the Beit Siti from yesterday only a tad smaller and the buffet spread is in a room.

Appetisers

Desserts which again, i touched none of.

It was quite impossible to get T to eat. Thank god there was button mushroom to tempt T with. But he won't take much carbo. Just a couple of mouthfuls of rice and noodle. I don't know why Mum kept saying he has a good appetite. Well actually I know, and its because she ate even lesser than T so it seemed to her that T ate a MOUNTAIN.

I hope my dad filmed the Sufi Dance cause while being the commercialised kind of performance and not the real Zikr trance, it was beautiful and colourful and the ending was touching. Tufeil even got into the spotlight for a bit when he spinned his detachable skirt on top of our heads. LOL. T was mesmerized i think cos he stood quite still (on his chair) for a second!

Reached back to hotel at 10pm. All in all a good day.

Tomorrow, we would be heading back to the airport. SOB SOB SOB... but I sort of couldn't wait to get home too. Too tired of moving around.

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Dec Holiday - Day Seven

1/06/2011 11:35:00 AM | Labels: holiday, Middle East, pictures, travel, video

Tues, 21st Dec 10

After a late night reading, woke up bleary eyed in Damascus, Syria.

Errr.... the Breakfast spread?

It was sooo shockingly simply. Now i realise why. NO MEAT WHATSOEVER. And it'd be the same thing every morning for the next 3 days. My mum who got tired of Hummus and hates cheese, lagi kesian only eat egg. We kept telling each other we'd go and buy shawarma when we got out but always no opportunity to!

So I had to settle for HUmmus and cheese on their lovely thin pocket pita kinda bread.

The dining area.

His outfit for today includes a Cap!

In Singapore, he wouldn't have kept that cap for even a second! But after the past few days, Dad made it exciting and cool to pull up the hood like the adults were and he would follow suit. And so he called this cap a Hood too and i let him thought so to get him to wear it. Even then, he did take off the cap a couple of times.

I forgot what he put on under there but at least a long sleeve and that jumper with leggings and the overall.

The Boss shifted the itinerary a bit and I'm so glad he did. After a lot of travelling the past 2 days, we were not up for another 2hours drive to see this one Maqam or we did tomorrow's itinery which is to go to just one place:

Entrance of The Bazaar - 15min drive away

There was only 1 escalator serving up so we had to carry him down in the stroller like a prince. haha

Stopped by a women's bridal shop to exchange money. I found this a bit hilarious. The money changer is not like a proper registered one but its the guide's friend and we got a somewhat good rate. 1 USD = 45 Syrian pounds.

And then we passed through the market.

Most were not opened yet as it was still early. Some of us kept making pitstops looking into the shop including me. But mine is totally excusable because we HAD to buy a glove for T. We lost or didn't bring the one we had and it was cold for T. I mean he wouldn't know how to keep his hands in the pocket would he?

Look at those cute cute cute traditional dresses!

I'm glad to say I didn't succumb to the cuteness. When would it be appropriate for him to wear? In HOT singapore? And he would prolly only wear it once.

Because the mosque or the palace is not opened yet, Mustafa the guide gave us some time to peruse the Spice market.

So colourful!

People were buying soap and saffron and by the 100s... But us with small kids bought chocolates and sweets, also as souvenirs for our colleagues.

Tufeil fell asleep from being pushed in the stroller by his Atok. It was such a shame it wasn't shopping time yet. It would be a breeze to shop when T's asleep!

That's the entrance of Azem Palace

It was so... back alley and didn't show the splendour like a Palace normally does. The reason for this is because centuries ago, women were blatantly raped and abused, so they built the palace this way in the hopes of protecting the women. Something like that.

Unfortunately, the palace is closed on a Tuesday and we didn't get to go in.

Next, Omayyad Mosque

Ok the blue socks totally didn't match but I was running out of options.

The stones were cold and Yusof, the father of the boys told me no need to take off baby's shoes but I felt guilty if I dont. Guilty if T got cold. Either way I couldn't win. Bah.

Majestic.


Just a 14 sec clip of T running around with the other kids.



Getting ready for Zohr and Asr.

I'm actually nervous to perform my first prayer in this VAST mosque with nobody else to look after him. So I stood in the front row and asked Hannah to help watch Tufeil hoping against hope that he would stay put. He probably sat for about 1 rakaat before he stood up and came to me. Luckily, there was a gap in front and beside me so everytime T tried to crawl to over to the men's section, I dragged him back w minimal move as possible. And then at the 4th rakaat, He was getting SUPER restless and rolled around all over me and the floor saying, "Nak Susu nak Susu!" Alamak so embarrassing but I was grateful the prayer was almost over and i nursed him right after. Until I almost forgot I hadn't prayed my 'Asr! HAHA.

This was also the churce of John the Baptist aka Propher Yahya A.S



The Baptism well?


Maqam Rain Sayyidina Al Hussein r.a



Simply had to take picture with the tomb of Tufeil's namesake.

The building of the Tomb of Salahuddin Al-Ayubi.

I'm sure i'd learnt who he was in school but can't recall but he is a conqueror of sort.

Tomb of Sayidatina Ruqaiyyah.

Here I went in alone with T. Lured him around with the heavenly chocolate we just bought at the market. and didn't carry him at all! A lady with a baby girl who was feeding her apple gave one slice to T when he peered at the baby. Alas, he didn't want it and I had to eat it.

I hafta admit I didn't remember who this saint is. But guessing by the flocks of women clad in black, some crying, I reckon it is one of Say Ali's family members.

YAYYY LUNCHTIME!!! After turning this way and that way in a series of alleys, we reached..

Beit Siti Restaurant - Grand mother's House!

Entrance! Mat'am Beit Siti.

Inside

This is a classic example of "Luar setinggan, dalam kondo!" The exterior was crummy and all that, but the inside was just BEAUTIFUL in a admittedly rustic way, i think. I looks bright because the ceiling has a sliding mechanism just like Medina. COOL or what!?

I dont know why I kept taking pictures of Appetisers even though it's ALWAYS the same around here.

I guess its to show how nice the table is set and also because it's the only time i'm free to snap one. Once we started our meal, there's no clean hand and always a danger of T falling of the chair or smashing the glass or something, you know?

SURPRISE SURPRISE!!! FRIES!!! WEEEEE

Tufeil was immediately appeased.

He found a girlfriend! hahaha

Right after lunch, we were given 3 hours to shop to our hearts content!!! The good thing was we were free to roam on our own instead of you know having to wait for other people. There were just a few things on our shopping list:

1. Sand Bottles souvenirs we bought 12-14 pcs.




2. Abaya / jalabiah - SYP 2,100 - 2,500 = USD 24




3. My Shoes - SYP 250 = USD 4.5 = SGD 5.5




4. A Mickey Mouse overall for T - SYP 300 = USD 6!!




5. Sleeves (sarung tangan) - USD 2. We bought like 5pcs




6. And socks (IMPORTANT!!!) Only Syria has the right quality we like!

We bought a dozen worth of this Al Samah brand at SYP 440 + 1 free.

That equates to slightly under S$1 per piece! Dirt cheap right? In geylang, it's like 3 for $10 sey!! Luckily when we reached the hotel, we took out one to see (why didn't we do it at the shop?!?!?!) and it was totally WRONG!! It has the shape of the heel which was sooo funny and not as thick as I would have liked!! Thankfully, we had a few hours at the bazaar again on our last day and we finally found the RIGHT one. slightly more expensive 10pcs for SYP 750 about SGD 2 each. We didn't know what to do with the wrong socks! But Kak Ly seemed to like it so we gave her all 13 pieces!

Oh! I hafta write how we totally got ripped off by some kids selling this flying balloon toy. I didn't care if it was made in China or not but the kid was totally cheating us. Firstly he sold us 2pcs for SYP 100. When later, other boys were willing to give us 5 pcs at the same price! Not that I needed so many anyway. Ok that's fine. My mum didn't have small change for gave him SYP 200, and he gave my mum 2 coins in return explaining that each is SYP50. I was standing in the shade a few steps away and later when Mum showed me the coins.. and I inspected them, they are actually SYP 25 each!! The Scoundrel purposely went to look for coins because there are no English numbers on it! And hoped that my mum couldn't tell or see the difference! I know its such a small amount but a cheater is a cheater and I find it very hard to forgive him! ERGH!

OK back to the niceties... DINNER TIME! It was back at the same Beit Siti. We were there right on the dot of 6pm and wondered where everyone was. Turned out we were supposed to meet there only at 6.30pm! Aiyooo.. In the meantime, we entertained T with drawings on a real pen (asyik pakai magnetic board jer BORING)

Atok draw apa , Atok?

Wahhh Train, Airplane, bus..

A short clip of Ayah drawing a Lion and Tufeil colouring.

Dinner was DELISH!!! I enjoyed my meals here very much! Apart from the fries again, the entree briyani, the chicken in a mashed potato gravy w lotsa mushrooms. I totally cleaned up my plate! Oh yes and the Cheese in a fried puff. HEAVEN OR WHAT!!!!

Tufeil was great today... sleeping twice in the stroller without having to nurse him. The second time was during the shopping slot. Only towards the end on the way back to the hotel did he get cranky from sitting all day I guess. We were waiting for the bus, see, and he absolutely hates being stationary IN the stroller. I really had to block out his screams till Ayah carried him.

Anyway, we reached our rooms 9.15pm. BLISS

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