My Little Iran Adventure Part 2

Kish Island is known to almost 90% of Filipino expats here in UAE. You see, one does not need to get a visa to enter their country. It has a very close proximity (30-45 mins plane ride) to Dubai which makes it more convenient for expats to exit for change of visas. Other nationalities though which countries are also near UAE tend to exit to their own as they don't have a strict immigration.

When I learned that I have to exit, I was really anxious and terrified because of the horrible stories I read online about Filipino expats in Kish. My sister who also went there for her exit had her fair share of tips and what-to-do's and what-not-to-do's in the place. I had a lot of things in my head that it seemed like I was being punished to be sent there. I nearly entertained the thought of going back to the Philippines for good. In hindsight, being able to experience Kish was something I had to go through so I can have the full UAE expat experience.

Here are some share-worthy things I discover to be true in Kish:

ENTRY and VISA CONCERNS

As mentioned earlier, you don't need to get a visa prior to visiting Kish. However, if you stay longer than 14 days in the island (which happens a lot), you have to get an Iranian Visa. It looks easy when I saw some folks get it. They just fill out a form, give 2 copies of their 2x2 pictures and pay about 150 dhs if I'm not mistaken.

There has been a lot of talks in the airport though that if your passport has an Iranian Visa to it, you cannot travel to the US or to some EU countries. This is something I have to validate though because I cannot find any information pertaining to this in the internet.

DRESS CODE FOR WOMEN

Kish is very strict in terms of dress code for women. Women have to wear shela and floor length dresses or skirts. If you opt to wear pants or leggings, the blouse/shirt you pair it with should be long enough to cover the butt. This has to be followed every time, a woman goes out of the house or in our case, the hotel. So even if the beach looked sooo inviting, hardly can you see women/girls out swimming. For guys, there is really no problem, they can dress up the same way as they do from their home countries.

By the way, if you're a woman and you happen to go there unprepared, they let you borrow a long blouse and shela at the airport just before you line up in the immigration.

SECURITY FOR WOMEN and IN GENERAL

Women, especially expats are to go out in groups. I'm not really sure when this rule came about but my sister was firm when she told me not to go out alone even if it's day time. So that's basically what we do there. In the airport, you get to find Filipinos who are in the same situation as you, so you talk, you share your sentiments, and you get to befriend them. These are the same people you will ask to go with you while you are in the island.

Remember in my previous post when I said I only have the Samsung S4 with me? That's because the hotel we stay in is sharing. And some expats who have been staying in the island for more than a month already waiting for their employees to process their visas are desperate to have cash to survive so they resort to stealing. It's sad and I don't like to think that they can do it to fellow Filipinos but it's what they do to survive. Better be safe than sorry. This explains the lack of photos and good photos.

FOOD

Every morning the hotel I stayed in gives free breakfast which consists of flat bread (it's so hard we coined a term for it: tsinelas), cream cheese (unbelievably good), butter and jam, and tea. The rest of the day, it's up to us to buy our own. During lunch, I usually buy rice and chicken from the nearby cafeteria. Their rice is long-grain and it has a certain smell which I detest. I'm usually a rice eater but I couldn't finish one serving because of that different smell. Evenings make me happy because shawarma is available. It's delicious, almost perfect. Aaaand it's cheap, 10 dhs for a really big helping. Also, their ice cream is creamy and rich in flavor. It's unbelievable. And you know how much is it? 3 dhs for one bowl with 3 flavors altogether. I can't stress this enough and I regret not having to take pictures but the shawarma and ice cream in Kish made my little adventure worth it.

SHOPPING

Kish is a free trade zone. Shopping comes out really cheap. Their mall hours are weird though. They open as early as 8AM and close at 1PM. Business will resume after 5PM till 10-11PM. Perfumes are everywhere in Kish. They have scents from different famous brands which is exactly like the original and sold in 10 or 20 ml bottles at 10 dhs each. What could go cheaper than that? They have everything from Chanel No. 5, Burberry, Eclat, Chanel Bleu, and a whole lot more.

Kish also offers a variety of make-up. Iranian girls take their make up seriously. Most brands are from Europe and I sampled some of their products too. I have to say that their foundation powder has really good coverage and can last longer than 12 hrs. It's the best 25 dhs I spent in my entire life.

IN CONCLUSION

Overall, it wasn't really a bad experience. I'm glad that I was given the worst expectations which made my reality so much better. I think that Kish has a really big potential in terms of tourism. They have wonderful beaches. They have good food (except for their rice). The people are surprisingly friendly especially the kids. They look at you with amazement and try their best to communicate just to say hi or how are you or where are you from.

I think the dress code for women is just a little inconvenient and if they can't change that then tourists from not-so-strict countries wouldn't be able to enjoy what their beaches has to offer. I mean seriously, how can you go swimming in clothes so heavy?

Here are some more of the less than 20 photos I took the entire time:

Someday, I wish to go back to Iran in a different circumstance. I want to fly out with the feeling of excitement rather than fear. I want to discover the places they're proud of. I want to interact with the locals with unyielding enthusiasm to learn their culture. I want to bath in the Iranian sun and laze the whole day. I want to go back and write beautiful stories rather than sad ones.

xo,

jas

My Little Iran Adventure Part 1

A month and a half ago, I left my comfortable life in Cebu in exchange for an expat life here in UAE. By far, it is the biggest risk I have ever done in my entire life. You see, there was no job waiting for me here, I was yet to go around, hand my CV to potential employers and wait to be called for an interview. It sounded pretty simple but the truth is, it isn't. I came here when the weather was a scorching 38-40 C every day. Also, it's easy to impress the employers when you score an interview especially that we, Filipinos speak better English but to get the interview is way too challenging.

To be honest, I stayed most of the time at home facing the laptop and scouting the internet for more job openings. To make the story longer, I got lucky to score an interview with a bank (I can't name the bank yet) and got the post. I was given the good news a week before my 1 month visit visa expires and they told me that they will process the employment visa and that I shouldn't have to worry. So I didn't worry was what I did. 

3 days into not worrying, I started to panic not having heard from the HR so I called and tried talking to the manager who interviewed me and to a Filipino I met in the bank. They told me that the bank hired a third party agency to process everything for them. A day before my visa expires, an agent called me from the agency verifying my email address because the first email she sent out bounced. SHE SPELLED MY EMAIL WRONG. There were so many other mistakes she made which I won't narrate but eventually, I had to exit since with all the errors and miscommunication, I end up overstaying for 3 days. 

I had 2 options:

a. Exit, send the exit stamp to the agency (PRO for the bank) and wait (in the country where you exited) for the employment visa to arrive so that when you enter UAE again, you are on employment visa already.

b. Exit, send the exit stamp to a local travel agency, get another visit visa, send the visit visa to agency (PRO for the bank), wait for the employment visa to arrive, do an airport to airport exit to have your passport stamped. 

A lot of expats choose option A but for me and in my situation, it cannot be an option. You see, for Filipinos, we cannot exit in our own country due to some POEA rules, our only exit option is Iran or Oman. At that time, EID holiday was coming so the PRO told me that I might have to wait for 15-20 days for my employment visa to arrive. I don't want to be stuck in Iran for that long so I choose option B where I only have to stay in Iran for 2-3 days and wait for my employment visa in UAE. 

There are 2 exit places in Iran, Kish and Queshm. 

Kish  is a 91.5-square-kilometre (35.3 sq mi) resort island in the Persian Gulf. It is part of the Hormozgān Province of Iran. Due to its free trade zone status it is touted as a consumer's paradise, with numerous malls, shopping centres, tourist attractions, and resort hotels.^[1] It has an estimated population of 26,000 residents and about 1 million people visit the island annually.^[2][3] Kish Island was ranked among the world’s 10 most beautiful islands by The New York Times in 2010, and is the fourth most visited vacation destination in Southwest Asia after Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Sharm el-Sheikh.^{[4][clarification needed]} Foreign nationals wishing to enter Kish Free Zone from legal ports are not required to obtain visas prior to travel. Valid travel permits are stamped for 14 days by airport and Kish port police officials. (Source: Wikipedia)

So to Kish I went. Here are some beautiful pictures I took from my Samsung S4. I did not bring my camera and iPhone for reasons I will tell you in the next post.

This reminded me of Shangri La Mactan and Boracay but theirs is cleaner and not yet commercialized. Anyone can just take a dip and swim away.

They said this little house is not yet done. No one seemed to know what this is for.

Another beach photo.

No one can't have too much beach photo

That's not a sand castle, it's made of brick-like material.

Please stay tuned for Part 2! Iran is not just a beautiful place, it has beautiful stories as well. I'll share mine on the next post. (:


xo,

jas

Walk With Dinosaurs at WTC Abu Dhabi

I've been here in UAE for more than a month already. Although I found work before my first 1 month visa expired, I had to renew for another month as I'm waiting for my employment visa to come out. You see, my employment visa was processed during EID which was a long holiday so the processing time was extended. 

Anyway, just to pass time, I walk around our block everyday or do what most Emiratis do- go to the mall. One of my favorite malls here in Abu Dhabi so far is the World Trade Center. I like it cos it's only 3 bus stops away. Also, the interiors of the mall is made of wood. It's soo different from all the other malls one has ever been to. I swear, the ambiance and the feel of the WTC is just like that of a coffee shop. (Well, that's just me).

To give you a hint of what I'm talking about, here is one photo. It's hard to get lots of pictures though because Emiratis have this privacy rule wherein it's not cool for them to be in any of public photos. So just bear with less visuals for now. 

Anyway, whilst I was going through each of the shops today, I chanced upon the dinosaur display in the mall's lobby.

Apparently, as part of the mall's celebration for EID, these display of prehistoric animals were a number one hit for children and adults alike. It took a while for me to get a decent photo of the display as a lot of locals and expats were trying to get a picture just the same. 

To give you a little bit more of the same experience, here are 2 videos of the dinosaurs which gave some kids either a scare or amusement. 

So if you are in the area, drop by the World Trade Center Mall because these dinos will only be until October 8. Enjoy! :)

xo,

jas

baon idea 101

lately i have been really conscious of what goes inside my body (calorie counting that is) for the reason that i badly badly need to shed off some weight. i may still be in the normal range for my BMI but i feel that losing weight would give me more confidence and will make wakeboarding easier for me. teheeee!

i read somewhere that losing weight is really 80% diet and 20% exercise. consciousness is the key. i know it may sound paranoid to some but yes, i have established the habit of reading labels when i am in the supermarket or checking google the possible calories i take every single time i eat.

during weekdays, my diet consists mostly of crackers, banana, tuna, pork and beans, avocado, cheese, and more crackers. so today, i am sharing to you an easy variation of the tuna with egg. this is really easy even grade schoolers can make it (:

i am really picky when it comes to tuna so i recommend century tuna

just use the vegetable oil inside the can (p.s. be careful though, there is water content so there might be oil splashes)

sautee onion in low fire to caramelize

add a tsp of black pepper and a pinch of salt

jp and i prefer it dry so i just have to wait for the oil and water to soak before getting it out of the pan

there you go busy folks,  it is really easy to do and easy to pack as well for your baon. i always pair this with crackers and banana.

(1 can lasts for 2 meals because i pair it with fruits and crackers)

Stay Healthy! xx

day 2: favorite quote/quotes

hi guys! so here we go to day 2! (yay that rhymed! haaha) today i will be sharing 2 of the quotes i live by. these are the quotes that would uplift me and get me through a hard day.

this quote comes from a song which i always get to hear when i was a kid. the song starts with a message prompting us not to feel discourage and not to let those days get the better of us. it talks about Jesus being a constant friend so we just have to be happy and free because just as he watches over a sparrow, for sure he watches and takes care of me. and that works the same lot for you too.

so what's the significance of the sparrow being in comparison to human beings in this song? well, i learned that sparrows come from a family of small birds. some of their species or genus (or whatever you call their subclass) had already been announced distinct. these little birds are wild and mostly feed on seeds and just virtually anything in small quantities. 

*thanks wikipedia for the help**

having said that, the song writer wants to point out that even insignificant little creatures such as the sparrows are being watched over and taken care of, how much more an important human being like you, me, and the rest of humanity. it is such an inspiration to hear and read about this quote especially when you are feeling unimportant and insignificant. or you may be facing a life crisis and you think that no one is helping you see a way out. this is really a message of hope to those in despair. so if you have time and or you know someone who needs some uplifting of the soul you can share this.

we are all a work in progress and if there is one thing that i have to double time my efforts with, it is my patience. yes i am very impatient. i get easily pissed when jp does not pick me up on time. i get angry when my food at the restaurant comes in a little too late. i blabber when a friend shows up 30 minutes past the said meeting time (in all fairness to me, i always show up on time haahaha). i get hot-headed when someone is a slow learner. and, this is the worst, i always question God if i requested for something and he is not quick to response. i know, i am such a horrible daughter.

a few months back i asked God of his plans for me. you see, i felt like the path i am heading goes nowhere. so, i am a registered nurse and i quit my office job to be able to volunteer at a hospital. apparently, after a few months, i feel like an idiot going back and forth the hospital without pay. i feel guilty that i could not bring 'pasalubong' when i go home. i could not even pay for my own meals or buy that forever21 dress i've been longing to have. i come to doubt whether this change in my career was actually right. so i asked God if what i am doing will account to anything in the future.

i was expecting a yes or a no answer but to my annoyance, God was really silent. and then on that morning when i opened my we heart it application in my phone, i saw that quote: two things define you, your patience when you have nothing and your attitude when you have everything. clearly God is still trying to help me develop my patience and hopefully when i will be able to see through this, then i will be ready to develop my attitude.

i know you guys also got quotes as your inspiration or happy thoughts so share them with me and the rest of the world so you can brighten someone else's day! Xx

the 31-day blog challenge

while trying to think of what to share to you guys. i came across this photo from tumblr and decided to join in the fun. i always have this bad habit of postponing things which i can just do now, so i hope that this challenge will help me become a better version of myself.

this is watermarked so due credit has already been cited (:

so let's go ahead and start with day 1, shall we? i am not really fond of #selfie so it took me a while to choose what photo to share. i sorted that the photo i will share best desribes me. here we go, no judging!

taken at shangri-la a summer ago (2012)

i love summers!

Fact #1

I AM A CRY-BABY! normally, at first glance people would see me as strong, manipulative, happy-go-lucky, and a lil strict but spare me your judgment because i am a confessed cry-baby. yes! even a needle prick can make me cry (which by the way is ironic cos i am a nurse) or sappy chick flicks. i remembered being teased by my sibs as 'kapayason' whenever we quarrel cos i am always the first one to cry!

Fact #2

I CAN COOK! yeyy. i am officially announcing that i can do tricks in the kitchen. haaha! so what's the big deal? well, i grew up very boyish and whenever mama and papa ask me to do chores like cooking i would easily find excuses not to do it. so what happened? well, life happened! tadahh and i just learn to love the smell of food and the satisfaction you get after making one yummy meal ^_^

Fact #3

COLD IS MY KRYPTONITE. i easily get sick during the cold season. boooo! and i usually get cramps when the temperature gets too cold. so whenever i am on the same room with my boyfriend (who gets sick when it's hot) i gotta have to wear socks or have my own blanket. my brain also slows down causing reflexes to have their downtime. haaha yeah, i'm just weird like that.

Fact #4

MY FAVORITE FRUIT IS BANANA. for a while i thought i was a minion but this just proves that i am a real pinay. there is no other fruit that i will exchange for banana. not even those fancy ones like grapes or kiwi or apple. haaha. i eat bananas raw, cooked, or sweetened.

Fact #5

I WANT TO CHANGE MY HAIR. if there is one thing i want to change in my body, it's my hair. i really have bad, unhealthy hair with very fine grains and i hate it. i would've wanted strong, healthy, wavy and naturally blonde locks but hey i'm pinay so achieving that might need a month's salary plus the maintenance thereafter. but, who knows, i might be able to have that provision in the future *dreamy eyes**

so there you go guys, that's day 1 of the 31-day challenge! let me know if you also want to do this challenge by sending me links of your work! happy day! Xx

thanks salonpas!

a few days back i was more than ecstatic to share about my recent wakeboarding experience but i failed to mention the pain i have to endure after. yes, you heard it right, P A I N! wakeboarding was not just all about enjoyment and that adrenaline rush you feel. it is all about pain. pain because you forget to stretch before jumping in. pain because it's your first time. pain because you had too much of it.

well that being said, i have to say that i'm pretty much guilty of all those three. so the pain i have to endure. j

just before we ended our wakeboarding session, divine came up to me and asked, 'is this your first time?' 'yeah' 'you gotta watch out for muscle aches and body fatigues. the first time i did it, i could not raise my hands way past my shoulders'

true to her word, i was feeling downright sick of the body pain and i even had a hard time holding my phone. i am not exaggerating when i say that the pain i was feeling is close to being electrified (and yes i know how it feels cos i had been electrified about 2x when i was a kid)

good thing i have a caring and patient boyfriend who bought me a box of these amazing, miracle patches!

from not being able to raise my hands to being able to perform ADLs, i must say

 SALONPAS IS MY NEW BESTFRIEND

P.S: today i feel a whole lot better and i'm ready to jump into that craaaazy board again! Xx