Are you ready to go to the beach?  The fascinating thing about Davao City , Philippines is its proximity to a small island paradise that is not tourist-y. Isla Reta is a beach resort with a good stretch of white sand beach with a great shade of trees situated in Talicud Island part of Samal Island. No need for beach umbrellas, feel free to lie down and sleep under the the canopy of lush greens. It's as tranquil as this even during weekends.

Photo Credit:  Zepy of Travel Explore Beyond

There is so much to be thankful for this year. 

Family, friends, food, shelter, good health, new beginnings and love.

Take a moment, smile, inhaling every good and challenging blessings. 

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! 

XOXO,

Arni 

P.S.  I was captivated by the golden silhouette of the trees before sunset during a walk in the woods in La Vendee, France.

 Hello everyone! I've missed you all.  The last few days felt surreal. A reunion with siblings and spending as much time as I could with them, I'm glad to be back. After a 1 hour and 45 minute flight from Manila to Davao, Zepy of Travel Explore Beyond and I found ourselves, staring at the Durian fruit monument at Davao International Airport.  This impressive sculpture was done by Kublai P. Millan, a Filipino contemporary artist known for larger than life pieces who was born in Mindanao. Some of his works were featured in the Vatican Nativity in Rome, Italy.  He returned to his  homeland to dedicate his life sculpting with great emphasis on culture.   Davao City, the largest city in the island of Mindanao, Philippines, is the Durian capital of the country. Durian is well known for its extraordinary odor. Some say, "it tastes like heaven but it smells like hell."  I look forward to discovering how this intriguing fruit is really like.  I was impressed by the greenery surrounding the urban landscape. From the plane, the hilly landscape was breathtaking with lots of agricultural land and beautiful beaches. It is home to the highest mountain in the Philippines, Mt. Apo (which I dream to climb one day). It is a 2,954 meter high potentially active strato volcano that can be reached by a 2-3-day tough hike in the leech infested forest. It also served as a training ground for Philippine mountaineers who climbed Mount Everest. The weather in Davao is slightly cooler than the humid December climate in Manila, the air more fresh and a lot of adventurous activities to choose from.   The mountain backdrop and beaches on the horizon around this emerging city makes me want to stay a lot longer.

Hello everyone! Today, I'm  taking a plane on my way to a city called Davao.  

I've never been there before.  I'm traveling with my college best friend 

to explore this gem of a city in the South.

XOXO,

Arni

This is it.  Plane tickets- check. Luggage-check.  I'm on my way to the airport.  I haven't spent Christmas there for the last 10 years.  You see , I have been away for almost a decade.  I can count the number of times I've been there in one hand.  I'm heading home to go back to my roots and see family.

 I'm happy to have started this sojourn last year when I visited  the islands of Coron, Palawan.  This time I'm heading  Southeast traveling with my college best friend.

They say that " True friends are the ones who never leave your heart, even if they leave your life for awhile.  Even after years apart, you pick up with them right where you left off."   ---I think that's absolutely true!  Zepy of Travel Explore Beyond and I are of kindred spirits.  She has been my high school and college classmate, maid of honor when I got married, and one of my best best friends who  has always been there for me like  a sister.  After graduation, we started working together on a beach house re-design project.  At that time we were oblivious to our passion for adventure.Two years later, we reunited to go backpacking in the rice terraces of Banaue and caves of Sagada - just the two of us with no hotel bookings and no idea what the itinerary was.  This was during my first home visit alone as a Dubai expat.  This life changing trip  triggered our love for travel.  It opened doors to more adventures in both of our immediate futures. Over the years, she has explored every corner of the archipelago and the surrounding countries many times over.

I am so thrilled to have a blogger friend, Helen here today, author of Eat.Enjoy.Live as she shares with us today what gives her utmost joy..

Please don't ask me what my favourite book/author is because I just couldn't answer. I do have the top 5 books I think you should read though.

1. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
2. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.
3. The 5 people you meet in heaven by Mitch Albom.
4. The crimson petal and the white by Michael Faber.
5. The end of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas.

What is your favourite book?

Thanks Arni for letting me indulge my passion for books.

Don't forget to head over and say hello; Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Bloglovin', Pinterest.

The past decade, I spent all my life looking for that perfect feeling of home. This quest motivated me to start traveling. At a tender age of 4 when I grew fascinated by a book that my Mom gave me, the fire in my heart to leave my country burned so bright.  Somehow, I felt I didn't belong there.  It is a beautiful country to see as a tourist, but at a young age I felt like an alien. I  remember looking up at the night sky wondering if  before we were born,we were given a choice, maybe there was a mistake. There was something missing. So this search for home and peace, wherever that may be, became a distant goal.   

Happy thoughts for the weekend!

XOXO,

Arni

It's a late Halloween post.  We've decided to celebrate our costume theme party last Friday night so we could extend it till the wee hours of the weekend.  It was hilarious and I had great fun.  This was my first ever costume party.  I don't know what happened the past several years but I never really had any opportunity to celebrate this fun tradition. The only costume I've ever worn when I was a kid that I remember was a pirate costume but it wasn't for Halloween. 

Making up for those years, the Anime Girl is a costume I've always fantasized wearing.  I thought of seizing the day, because in a few years, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to wear such a costume anymore.  So while I still can, then why not?  

Have a great weekend to you all!

XOXO,

Arni

Last weekend,  we had a visitor from Lebanon who's here on business.  He had 5 hours  in the morning to spare, before his 5 PM afternoon flight back home.  Since he's staying not very far from the airport, we -( my husband and I) think it's sad to spend the remaining hours within the confines of a hotel room. He was already done with his shopping and has already been to all the malls in the city, so we picked him up for a different scenery.

What to Do in 5 hours?   Head off to the Big Red!

The Big Red is a 300ft high sand dune along Hatta Road. There are tourist stops on the right side opposite the gigantic dune.  Drive: 40 Minutes - 1 hour  from the Dubai Airport