holiday is over...

luxury is just a state of mind......well thats if you take away the leg cramps from flying in a class not first, and the fact that your hotel has no spa, and the view from you room is .....well just a view, then you'll agree with me.
from booking for a room at the grand hyatt hotel, to cancelling and preparing to lodge with my aunt at the jumeira beach hotel, to not being able to make the trip with her, to facing some minor challenges thus making a new budget for my trip and staying in a three star hotel. this is the description of my hotel on its website

"Fronting one of the most picturesque port in Dubai, Offering spectacular views of Dubai’s sunsets from its large frame windows as well as breathtaking expanses of Arabian Sea, Highland City Hotel welcomes you to Dubai."

now thats laughable. dont get me wrong, the service was perfect, the standard was definitely higher than a mere 3star hotel. the room was nice and although there was no spa, there was a sauna and a roof top pool *rolling eyes*. The best part was its location, in the heart of town, close to everywhere i cared to visit, thus i had a real holiday as i got time to explore the town and do other things apart from shopping.

the view from my 3rd floor room, i had to tilt the camera to get this view, right in front of me was a brick wall. so much for a spectacular view.

this on the other hand is a view from my 36th floor room in marriot habor hotel.

i had to stand on tip toe to take this from the hotels 7th floor roof top pool.

then i climbed a chair to get this shot of the 'breath taking expanse of the arabian sea". indeed websites will so sell you.

compared to the view from the fifth floor poolside in the dubai marina hotel. i didnt need to stand on tip toe for this shot:)

the dubai mall is so huge i'd be disgusted if it wasnt so beautiful, its the biggest mall in the world, think all the shops in major shopping districts in the world and some unknown holed up in one big building, thats sure to depress. thus rather than get myself depressed i busied myself with the other attractions of the mall,like watching the indoor massive waterfall, walking through the aquarium tunnel which has more than 33,000 living animals, more than 85 species including over 400 sharks and rays combined, and visiting the malls underwater zoo which had loads of facinating sea creatures you could reach out and touch.

a lil sharky right above my head. with the story of the aquarium leak a few weeks back,lets just say i had my Jaw moments doing this walk.

the dancing fountain at the dubai mall.
the fountain was spectacular. Andrea bocelli is one my favorite artist and i totally love 'time to say goodbye' watching the fountains dance to it was so emotional for me. dont have time to upload my videos of it, so heres a clip from youtube. there was a bollywood number too.


the burj Khalifa tower, the worlds tallest building has been closed indefinitely after the lift incident. Now even if it was open, i wouldnt have been on the queue to get to the observation deck. i wouldnt want to be a victim of another failed lift system.
i did the desert safari with blogger tintin, it was scarily exciting, wonder why i never did it before. My heart died a thousand times when we dune bashed, i rode the quad bike, though was too faint hearted ride it daringly....

I even had a charlotte sex and the city moment,you know the episode in either season 2 or 3 where the sales guy in a shoe shop had a shoe fetish and offered her free shoes if she'd just try on a few pairs for him.
it was a fun trip and i'm glad i did it, 5star or 3star who cares?

Village girl

Moments with Mo..."The village experience". I was quite put off with this. Back from church, munching on takeout chicken and watching the show. It focused on some chic who's never been to a village before and her experience bla bla bla.
I was quite irritated/disgusted/whatever. I think she over did it.don't get me wrong she was a sweet chic and I'm sure a nice one too but I think she overdid the tushness of self. She peeled the cassava like she's never peeled potatoes before, haba, there were scenes of fetching water from a well, weeding a farm, her screeching at the sight of chickens and goats...I'm sure there was more, I didn't stay to finish the show.

I've fetched water from a well as a young girl, sneaking out with the househelp for the fun of it and begging to throw the bucket in. You can't say you've never seen a well if you live in Nigeria and you were born not less than 20years ago(We've got a well here in lekki where water is pumped into the treatment tank and then it flows in the house,if you've never seen one I'll be glad to take you on a tour for a tiny fee. I'm not judging o!

In secondary school I have cut grass with hoes and cutlass which thank goodness I didn't have to do for long cos nature was on my side and proved me to be a bonafide ajebo:) my hand would swell after a few minutes of swinging the hoe or sweeping or scrubbing, thus I was exempted from those task.
I've watched eagerly as goats and chickens were slaughtered for grandma beside her house. Not once feeling guilty about the animals or even thinking for a second that I would never eat the meat after watching the kill, but excited about the wonders grandma would cook up with the meat.

I have been chased by masquerades, the fierce type that goes around with wipes. They scared the daylight out of me as I screamed and cried at the top of my voice, bursting into grandpas compound and dashing straight to his room to hide while he came out to deal with the evil things. But it was fun, I think they were called 'aleku'. And when I gained enough courage, I would stand by the gate of the house peeping outside and screaming 'ALEKU' at them when they passed and slamming the gate shut when they came close. Once I wasn't so lucky, my aunt just gave me a bundle of mint 5naira notes for Christmas, what do you know, I wasn't fast enough and the wretched things snatched it from my hands.

Gosh I miss the freedom of childhood. Now I have to behave tush anywhere I go. Maybe if I was used for Mo's show I might have been convincing enough, you'd never believe that I ever saw a life chicken in my life.
I could pass for a village girl and I'm proud of it. Although as an adult I'd rather remain in the comfort of the rooms reading a book or watching tv in the village than let the curiosity of my childhood sneak me out with some distant relative, just so I could go everywhere and see everything.

To some extent the lady was believable, but I think she over played the tushness of self(or the script if there was one, messed her up).....I mean she said she was scared of snakes and alligators on the farm,snakes I understand but common, alligators? Ahh, from where?.
I rest my case.
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Mothers know best.

Granma is a wonderful mother, she cooked the best meals and went the extra mile for her children with the little she had, she made them the strong women that they are today, no wonder we call her Queen(well she really is a princess) Mom took the mantle of motherhood from granma, balancing on her shoulder,and using the wisdom of the old with the elements of the present to become a better mother than her mother was...a woman of substance no doubt, and from her we've learnt, and we balance on her shoulders to stand high taking all she's given us and becoming the best mothers ever. I see my sister and her kids and I know she's securely balanced on moms shoulders and she's spun all she's learnt into something magical, like I will when I eventually have my kids. I'm proud of the mothers in my family.

Mothers are the soothing salves to the sores of lifes daily troubles. who but a mother can understand pain even when they have no idea where It hurts? Who but a mother can stay up all night because they worry about you, and they can't bear to sleep when they could stay awake cooling your fevered heads? Who but a mother would do the stupidest things in the name of love for their children? Who but a mother can hug and melt away our discomfort and fears even for a moment????? Who but a mother knows best.

God bless all the mothers out there. I love you mummy.
Happy mothers day.
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Adieus amigo

Aloaye Trevor Adams,

I remember the first time we met, on finchley road. You were just going to be another guy, a friend of a friend who I'll forget the next minute. But it turned out I was wrong. I enjoyed Your jokes, your 'swag', and your friendly banter with your buddy buddy. I thought you had a baby face....made more obvious by your smile.
I knew I liked you. You didn't try to hard to be friends with me, you were just cool and that got me.

Now, you're one of those loveable guys one meets, and find themselves smiling all the time, you always had something fun to say.

Ohhh, you were the man when it came to downloads. Music, movies, series. Name it and you've got it. I got hooked on entourage through your illegal stash.
I remember the last I saw you, we were at Z's housewarming, we didn't really get to talk, just the usual smiles and banters of plesantries...gosh its hard to believe. I can't believe you're gone.

In the early hours of march 6th, an x6 ran into your car. You died on the spot.
What was your last thought? What was the last thing you joked and smiled about? Did you know that was it? Did you?

This life is fleeting, Can't begin to imagine what your fiancee is going through.
Your deaths got me thinking, Life slips faster than we imagine. We've got to be prepared.
I can't believe you'll be buried tomorrow. I just keep seeing your face and your smile in my head.

Rest in the lord man.
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