Taste Of Canada - Where To Get Fresh Canadian Beef and Goodies In Dubai

A portion of this juicy Canadian beef went to my tummy right after that hot air balloon experience from Landrover. An invite to attend Taste of Canada to experience different Canadian delights at The Ritz Carlton JBR came in and who am I to say no?

Morelli's Gelato At The Beach JBR

Before hopping on a photo shoot for a magazine, I kidnapped my blogger friend Kenneth Surat for some gelato treats at The Beach JBR. It's winter here in Dubai and you are probably asking why are we having ice cream?

Fly With The Falcons Of Dubai...On A Hot Air Balloon!

Finally gotten over my El Nido, Palawan trip with occasional separation anxiety on my island living in the Philippines because the little miss is an island lady by heart. As soon as I arrived in Dubai last Nov. 28, hustling and grinding continued and you will surely be excited on a few upcoming Dubai posts because the events I went to for the past weeks are waaaay over the top and even ticked of a few of my bucket lists - one of them is riding a hot air balloon.

Budget Friendly Hotel In El Nido: Dormitels

Have you enjoyed my previous post about Eco Hotels? After a few hours of posting it, I had several messages that came in via Instagram asking me for other hotel options in Palawan that are budget friendly and does not require thousands of pesos to spend with. 

Like I mentioned on my travel tips in going to El Nido, it's fairly easy to look for a budget friendly hotel - all you have to do is book it ahead of time and don't travel without any reservations. Agoda and Booking.com has a lot to offer but majority of them are located at the city proper which in my own opinion is not really advisable because it gets really noisy at night. 

The good news is Eco Hotels has a sister hotel that caters to backpackers, transient travellers and practical vacationers - and that is Dormitels!

Where To Stay In El Nido: Eco Hotel

Reception area of Eco Hotel in El Nido, Palawan

As promised on my post 'The Essentials - A First Timer's Guide To El Nido Palawan' , I'd briefly take you inside Eco Hotel, the chic eco-friendly hotel where I have stayed during my 4-day catching-up-with-myself vacay in El Nido, Palawan. This hotel is located in Brgy. Corong-corong, a few kilometers away from the busy and very congested town proper.

The Essentials - A First Timer's Guide To El Nido Palawan

It has been more than a week now since I set foot to the beautiful island of Palawan from my home country. I just posted a teaser photo of the 30+ Photos That Will Make You Want To Book A Flight To El Nido, Palawan and believe it or not, it got a whopping 2k page views in 3 hours all viewers from the Middle East Region alone!

You won't believe it but living in the Philippines for more than 20 years, I wasn't able to fully explore our country. That is because we have more than 7,100 islands surrounded by big bodies of water, going places isn't that easy. So as a first time visitor, I'm sharing with you guys a few travel tips that might be of help if you are planning to visit El Nido.

30+ Photos That Will Make You Want To Book A Flight To El Nido, Palawan

FINALLY! Hello everyone! I know I've been idle for a few weeks and if you have been following my Instagram account, you might have seen a couple of travel photos from my recent trip to my home country, I went  to El Nido Palawan! This is where I celebrated my 30th, catching up with myself and reflected on sooo many things, thus the 30+ title.

Dolled Up By Beverly Hills Polo Club On ADCB Pink Polo Match

Hello from the Philippines! I'm blogging today from my home country and geez, it feels so good to be home and be surrounded with lots of love from  my very close friends and family! You'll know more about who I am actually spending all my time with if you do follow me on Instagram through my instatories, so please do check it out. For now, let me quickly share what happened last November 4 at Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club for the ADCB Pink Polo Match.

#LocalGuidesChallenge October Results Are Out!

Hello hello! Finally, the results of the Google Local Guides Challenge is already out! You will see the top 6 above (yes, a sixth city was able to make it to the top list), without our home city Dubai sadly.But actually, that's ok! I haven't really shared the awesome experience I had with 70 plus people who attended the meet, have I not? So here it is!

October Round Up - Events That Happened In Dubai [Unpublished]

Ohai ohai! The previous month has been extremely busy, you can tell that on my IG stories! Whatever I haven't published on my monthly archives, you will definitely find it here as I have decided to do a monthly round -up of events I have attended. So here you go!

Off The Runway - Fashion Forward DXB SS '17

I did a little sneaky stunt at Fashion Forward DXB ;) . Apart from my *secret dream* to walk on the runway (if I wasn't 5'1 tall and had the perfect teeth, I swear I'll do it!), it has been my long dream to be standing in the Media Pit capturing runway photos. Winning the Best Use Of Photography on Cosmo Awards got me a special pass and connections like, you know *winkwink*.

Even so, I'd do anything to get a pass but many thanks to Samsung Gulf for organizing this and the super friendly people of Fashion Forward Dubai, it is my honour to present to you a 360 photo of the event place:



I had the most hectic week to be completely honest (with side by side events and parties) and only made it to the Media Pit on the last day for Varoin Marwah's collection. The #LocalGuidesDubai Instameet was a huge success and it went pretty well but I will share that with you guys later.

Early Morning Cravings (All Because Of Chef B's Recipes)

I woke up at 5:45am early today with a sudden craving for waffles. It seems like my mind is restless these days (lots of things happening in Dubai!), ideas and tummy cravings come in late at night or super early in the morning.

But I guess what really triggered this is too much of my Instagram browsing, especially I'm following an Emirati food expert, Chef B ,  and his consecutive posts about the waffle recipes he is creating in partnership with Hilton Garden Inn for their first birthday!

Just look at what he have prepared which suits the pancakes I made earlier: Arabic Coffee  Meringues with Strawberries and Nutella!

A video posted by Bader Najeeb بدر نجيب (@chef.b) on Oct 14, 2016 at 3:26am PDT

HELP NEEDED - Participate On The #LocalGuidesChallenge For Dubai!

You have seen me post this photo on Instagram and in case you have missed it, the Instagram Community in Dubai will be having an Instameet on Oct. 22 (Saturday) for #LocalGuidesDubai!

I have closed the registration in less than 48 hours as we have received a lot of responses BUT you too can still participate on the challenge in case you weren't able to sign-up  AND WE NEED YOU TO DO IT FOR DUBAI, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!

Up Close With #TeamCanon at Xposure Sharjah

Earlier last week, Jason and I paid Canon Middle East's stand a visit at Xposure Sharjah. For those of you who have been asking, my main tools of trade for any of my photography gigs are Canon 70D or 700D. I actually did a little 360 stunt at the Expo Center  and just in case you missed it, I have placed them on Google Maps (it already has 2k views since last Thursday)!

What I Wore At Cosmo Awards 2016

I'm not used to dressing up like this. If not for the Cosmo Awards, I would've been in my usual jeans and loose top on weekdays and comfy denim shorts on weekends. But I'm getting a lot of messages lately asking me where I got the full ensemble so I guess it is just reasonable to share it here, yes?

Dear Friends, I Won!

I'm wearing a full wardrobe from River Island ME (thanks to Style Choreo for styling), make-up by one of my roommates

Quick and short, THANK YOU FOR ALL THOSE WHO VOTED! <3 It's been almost a week and I still can't get over that magical night! I sure got the support of the Filipino community, no doubt. They worked so hard in sharing this to their friends and family so I'm offering this award to you guys! Salamat po ng maraming marami!

I'm not really sure what's in store for me next, but here's what I can promise: I will do EVERYTHING to give you guys the best photos I can ever produce from now until forever. 

And do one thing for yourself too: continue dreaming and make those dreams come true! DO NOT WAIT FOR THINGS TO HAPPEN. Make them happen! Because I, for one, am a dreamer. And it takes a whole lot of effort and hard work for you to get there. Study your field, fail, and improve. Reach out to publications, if you can, even reach out to companies that share the same wisdom as you have.  

Paulo Coelho once said, if you really want something, the whole world will conspire with you for you to achieve it. :) 

Thanks again Cosmopolitan Magazine for the wonderful opportunity, this by far is the best I ever had!

Wait, somebody wake me up and tell me I'm not dreaming! 😭 Thank you again for those who voted and to @cosmomiddleeast for this life changing opportunity! *cries in one corner* #CosmoAwards #livingthedream #ShowYourCosmo #riverislandme

A photo posted by Joy Caasi (@joycaasi) on Sep 28, 2016 at 11:59pm PDT

Behind The Scenes - Instagram's 14th Worldwide Instameet in Dubai

My nth Instameet this year. Since I have missed #WWIM13 , I made sure I reserved the whole weekend to meet and interact with the community. We were up as early as six in the morning of the 17th, ready and all geared up so we can take as much creative photos as we can.

Jebel Jais Mountain, Ras Al Khaimah

Shot on iPhone 6, VSCO processed

Eid Al Adha Mubarak everyone! A few weeks back, I have listed a few short trip ideas from Dubai for the long weekend. As flights got a little bit pricey 4 weeks before the holiday, my roomies and I decided to 'stay-cation' instead. I have much to explore in the UAE anyways so I think now is the best time to do a little exploring.

Last Exit Dubai Preview

The new food truck park in the UAE is now on full swing! I've been itching to go here because it's the kind of hangout place I'd like to be. The name's Last Exit by the way mainly because it lies between the boundary of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

I'm A Cosmo Awards Finalist For Best Use Of Photography!

Yes, you've heard that right! I've been nominated for Cosmopolitan Magazine Middle East for Best Use Of Photography category, YAY!

After receiving my certification for Google Street View Trusted, this blessing came in and I'm still on cloud 9 since last month. It's something unexpected really, as there are millions of very talented women here in the region who deserve it more than I do. But perhaps they (the judges) saw something in this blog that makes me unique and I'm humbled for the nomination.

I'm trying not to make this post long and I hope you guys can support me on this journey. I know it's cliche but like I said on my IG post, I even doubted my capabilities when I saw the list on the magazine. I'm not worthy of note, I don't have any numbers to show, and even my IG feed is a mudge pudge of things from my daily life. Never have I imagined that I will receive such nomination and be one of the finalists.

I offer this nomination to my readers who believed in my craft and to my friends and family who are also campaigning for the votes in PH. This is also for the Filipino community - even people abroad appreciate the simple things we do and it only goes to show that our photography is undeniably great. We are all breeds of creative people and be proud of where you came from despite the criticisms. Use them to improve your artwork, continue dreaming, and just create.

I can write a few more hundred words to thank Cosmopolitan Middle East for the opportunity but then again, the space won't be enough. I hope you can support me along with the other amazing ladies who you think are worth your votes for the prestigious awards dedicated for the amazing women shaping the region. You can cast your votes on Cosmopolitan ME and click the tab for Cosmo Awards. Do share them with your friends and follow Cosmopolitan Magazine on their Instagram and Facebook!

Short Trips for Eid Break: Holiday Ideas For Dubai Residents

The month of September is fast approaching and I can’t get any excited myself! Why? There’s gonna be long weekend starting Sept. 9, hooray! While many have already planned their holidays ahead, here I am doing a last minute search for get-aways within my 1000 km radius. It will only be a few days after all so there really isn’t a need to spend a lot to enjoy a short holiday.

I have always been a budgetarian and I travel cheap all the time so here are some holiday ideas that I’d like to share with you.

If you are already tight on schedule for a 4-day short trip, book a flight to Qatar and take a tour of Doha

Qatar is one of the closest countries near the UAE where you can easily book a return flight on Emirates Airlines or Saudi Airlines for as little as AED 700. I’ve been here last year and I pretty much liked the neighbourhood near the corniche and marina area. Aside from historical sites, there are places that you can see in Doha like Souq Waqif, the Museum of Islamic Art, Corniche, Kingdom of Aladdin amusement park, The Pearl, Al Bidda Park, and many others.

Dining At Intersect By Lexus

If you think this post is about cars, no it is not. This is a food review and here in Dubai, you can easily connect cars with food because there's always a common ground for everything. Wait... what?

Finding The Best Eggs (For Breakfast) That Will Never Break Your Heart

I confess: aside from my thing for walls, doors, windows and food, I have a thing for eggs. Not the kind of egg that breaks your heart into pieces but eggs that actually make somebody else's morning - the breakfast eggs.

And Downtown Dubai is a great spot for an early egg hunting.  Come search for best breakfasts in Dubai and you will easily come across several restaurants located at the Centre of Now. This means, a handful of eggs, of different recipes and flavours, from different countries, is waiting to be discovered.

Along with a few blogger friends (Lady, Doc Gelo, Myla, and Kriska), we crawled the stretch of Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard to search for the best breakfast eggs being offered in Downtown Dubai. What we found is more than just a plate.

Celebrating International Friendship Day at Zen The Spa

Happy International Friendship Day everyone! Who did you celebrate your friendship day with?

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it at all but I love bringing my roommies with me whenever I attend events. They are always one of my guests or 'plus one' - we are a package and I make sure that they enjoy what I get too. And if I can actually bring all four of them, I would!

#RSATravelTales: I Was UNLUCKY In Georgia... And Here's Why

So there you go, a bucket list ticked off. I was given the opportunity to get an article published on Read Magazine Issue No. 266, page 14. Tons of emails and heart warming messages came in this week, I couldn't thank everyone enough for all the wishes. Everyone thought that the photos I took were awesome but I think, I could've shown more of the country IF everything went according to plan.

Yasalam Restaurant - A Bahraini Cuisine in JLT

Amongst all communities here in Dubai, JLT is my favourite. Not only that I get to spend 5 days in a week in this area (I've been working here since October 2014) watching yet another man-made lake lake sitting nicely under the sun but this part of the city has turned into a culinary melting pot with over a hundred flavours to choose from. Bahraini cuisine is just one of them.

Back to Short Hair, And I Don't Care

Okay okay! This was supposed to go live for the weekend but I'm way too happy with my hair cut and I can't help but press the keyboard right away! If you've been following this blog, you know how I love sharing personal experience not because it's mandatory (an invite or paid post) but I think most of my readers find the things I share online helpful.

DIY - Yema Balls Dessert

Eid Mubarak everyone! The long weekend gave me a lot of time to bond with my room mates and one of the things we love to do is to cook at home. I was also a little inspired to activate the DIY section on my blog and moving forward, you will see more of the things I create with the stuffs I buy from several art shops in Dubai.

Calligraphy & Brush Lettering Materials In And Out Of Dubai

Many of my readers have been asking for more posts about my calligraphy and brush lettering stash - a hobby that I do on weekends or whenever creativity knocks on my door. You might have seen my post last year but just to follow up as I have already collected items, I found a few cheaper options (yet again) where you can buy stuffs for word art in and out of Dubai.

Iftar At Lemon Pepper Radisson Blu Downtown

Just one more week before the Eid Holidays here in Dubai and I'm still getting invites for Iftar. It seems like I haven't really left the travel and tourism industry after all, the only difference is that I get these invites for the love of something - food and blogging.

The Netherlands - 96 Hours In Amsterdam Part 2

I have updated the design of my blog once again, hi everyone! How do you like the sleek white clean look?

Part 2 of my 96-hour stay in Amsterdam, the remaining 3 days were mainly going around and exploring the city even more. If you have missed it on this blog, you can check the photo diary here and the first timer's guide here.

The Netherlands - 96 Hours In Amsterdam Part 1

Following my intro post of Amsterdam a few days back, I will be taking you to a journey of the city through pictures. No more lengthy post but instead, I will be giving you a snippet of the walk tour and tram adventures I had!

The Essentials - A First Timer's Guide To Visiting Amsterdam

And here I am once again, creating another list post of travel essentials from Dubai to Amsterdam. This is the second time I flew out of the UAE and hopefully travel again soon - for work. :) 

Trying Out Iraqi Cuisines At Kabab Erbil Al Rigga

You know what I like about Dubai? You get to explore options for food and trying out cuisines from other parts of the world is one of my game. Good thing I'm surrounded with friends who also fancy dining out and hunting hole-in-the-wall restaurants, we found ourselves lost in the streets of Al Rigga.

Ramadan 2016 - Must Visit Restaurants For Iftar

Ramadan Kareem everyone! It's the Holy Month of Ramadan, a month to reflect and pay respect to our Muslim brothers and sisters' religion. Most residents and locals observe this through fasting on certain times of the day and when the sun goes down, we gather together as a family over food which they call Iftar.  For almost 3 years of living in Dubai, I've tried the best Iftar menus there are in this city and I'm sharing you the ones I loved and tested for 2016.

50 Shades Of Flamingos

3:00 am and experiencing jet-lag. I just arrived from Amsterland, Netherlands - a trip that has been kept a secret for awhile. From there I experienced another off the charts solo trip where I got to meet different people from different places. I think I missed my deadline, but hopefully this post can still count.

Beat My Summer

Hola friends and lovers and readers and what-nots! I know you missed me, and I do too! It has been a crazy month for all of us here in the sandy pit -  some enjoying the heat (already) and some are not.

Shayan Relaunched Their Outlet With A Special Lebanese Menu

Our dear friends at Shayan Specialty Outlet  have just recently launched  a new menu featuring Lebanese cuisines. Of course, we were once again invited by Al Ghurair Rayhaan and Arjaan Rotana to sample the dishes.

Georgia - Saving The Best For Last (Ananuri and Gudauri)

Heyhey! Been a while on this blog and I hope everyone's enjoying my #georgiatravelmoments. If the long weekend here in Dubai didn't happen this week, I might have missed updating this page once again. There are lots of things going on lately and guess what, God willing and hopefully I'm travelling again this end of month to go somewhere! Travel is on my side this year and what's more exciting is that when I attended this year's Arabian Travel Market, a few other opportunities came up - I'm hyped!

Georgia - How I Fell In Love With Sighnaghi

Hello world! I just finished sorting out my photos from my second day in beautiful Georgia, this time I travelled and paid a quick visit to the Kakheti Region. Locals call this region 'The Motherland Of Wine' simply because the economy in this part of Georgia is dominated by the production of wine. Being a lover of red wine, I was stoked when I found out that this is part of my tour itineraries.

Feels Like Spring

Quick break again from my #georgiatravelmoments , I am so loving and enjoying the spring feels here in sunny Dubai before it summer hits,  hello world!

Georgia - Mtskheta Historical Monuments, Monasteries and Cathedrals

And back to the next half of my day1 in beautiful Georgia the country! If you have been following my blog, I previously posted tips about travelling to Georgia if you are coming to Dubai through Holiday Factory and a photo dump of Gori and Uplistsikhe. To be completely honest, I've been getting a lot of great feedback from both and I'm so overwhelmed with the amount of love I've been receiving from the readers, so thank you! This is still part of the tour I have paid which is the travel to Mtskheta, Gori and Uplictsikhe that I booked through David from Holidays Travel Agency.

Georgia - Uphill Hike to Gori Fortress and Uplistsikhe

Then my friends asked: "Of all European countries, why Georgia?". It all started with a sudden obsession of mountain ranges. I have been living in a concrete jungle for more than 2 years now and I suddenly felt the need to breathe.

Piknic Electronik Dubai - Season Ender 2016

Before I flood the blog with several posts of my #georgiatravelmoments, let me quickly dump the photos we took from Piknic Electronik Dubai season ender 2016 that happened yesterday at The Address Montgomorie. This is just one of the many music festivals I have attended here and I'm loving how Dubai is adopting this trend from different countries all over the world.

The Essentials - Georgia Budget Travel Must Haves

My recent trip to Georgia the country turned out to be successful, thanks to the blogs I have skimmed and read way back January I was able to plan it ahead. For now, I will be sharing my own experience and how I was able to survive the trip travelling solo. :)

Georgia, The Country Is REALLY Pretty

Hello world! I'm back in Dubai and I've got loads of things to share about my solo trip to Georgia - not the state but the country which is somewhere near Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Art Dubai 2016 - #Empty

March 16, 2016 7am. The whole city of Dubai is just about to get ready for another busy day and we, the Instagrammers, are already out wandering at Souq Madinat Jumeirah in one of leading international art fairs in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia - Art Dubai 2016.

Will This Be The Last Leg Of Project Quinary in the UAE?

I don't think so. This post has nothing to do with goodbyes or dramas. And if I have a time machine, I would go back to this day/night and tape everything, the exploration and the experience was awesome. Plus, I get to share it with the right people who just activated my inner crazy.

I Just Got Inked Again... In Dubai!

My third ink just healed and I've been raving about it on my Instagram. And where did I get this done? From a licensed tattoo artist in Dubai. :)