2013 in Review!!!

A year in our life if coming to an end in just a few hours. 2013 has been a quite busy year for me both personally and professionally. Many things were thrown my way in this game of life, a combination of laughter and tears, happy days and sad days ... In conclusion all are memories now!!!

It was such an exotic and exciting year, it has started in such a fantastic way that has made me living in a live dream for a few month till I woke up realizing that my dream was just a nightmare.

Moving from Bahrain to Oman was one of the major highlights of 2013, the move was very challenging after the time it took me to settle in Bahrain. 

Despite no much changes in the lifestyle between Bahrain and Oman, I felt myself in the middle of nowhere trying to settle in again in a new place, make new friends and get to know new country. The experience was worth having and after going around exploring a great part of Oman, now I may say that I’m falling in love with it; really fascinated and greatly indulging myself in its beauty.

Another highlight of 2013 was my trip to South Korea … In the beginning I thought it’s going to be an ordinary trip, since I have been to a lot of Asian countries before!!! 

I imagined that going to South Korea will be quite similar to what I have seen in my earlier visits to other Asian destinations; but this perspective has totally changed once I landed there.

As was quoted in Lonely Planet "South Korea is a dream destination for the traveler, an engaging, welcoming place where the dazzling benefits of a fully industrialized, high-tech nation are balanced alongside a reverence for traditions and the ways of old Asia". South Korea is such a beautiful country, with super friendly people, densely forested national parks with picturesque and challenging hiking trails, a lot of festivals that gives anyone a bird's view to the Korean culture, lifestyle and a great opportunity to discover one of Asia's least known, but most delicious cuisines.

2013 was a year of new activities, I loved all of my exploration trips around Oman as well as the salsa dancing classes which I really enjoyed it a lot.  Learning Spanish was one of the major achievements in 2013 that will continue throughout 2014. 

I have also met some of the best people in my life as well as others whom I wish I had never met; but that what makes life interesting. Throughout the course of life we get to know ourselves through the interaction with other people; and no matter of any setbacks we may fall in, we shouldn't give up, we shall move on!!! 

As was said by Dalai Lama "Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck" ... I have been so lucky in 2013.

Through experience, here are some of the lesson's learned during 2013:

• Don’t seek to be loved at any price; love has no price.
• Nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend who is really a friend
• The RIGHT people for you will love all the things about you, that the WRONG people are intimidated by. Don’t change so people will like you. Be patient, keep being your awesome self, and pretty soon the RIGHT people will love the REAL you.
• It's all about expectations ... The less you have, the happier you are!
• The loss is when life dies inside us while we are alive! 
• Only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you
• Don’t seek, don’t search, don’t ask, don’t knock, don’t demand … Just relax.
• Trust your intuition. You don’t need to explain or justify your feelings to anyone, you must trust your own inner guidance.
• Life isn’t meant to be easy, it’s meant to be lived. Sometimes happy, other times rough … but with every up and down you learn lessons that make you strong.
• Stop thinking too much. It’s alright not to know the answers. They will come to you when you least expect it.
• Sometimes what you want isn’t always what you get, but in the end what you get is so much better than what you wanted.
• The best kind of people are the ones that come into your life, and make you see the sun where you once saw the clouds. The people that believe in you so much, that you start to believe in you too. The people that love you, simply for being you. The once in a lifetime kind of people.
• It feels amazing to be touched by the person who understands your mind, the person who acknowledges your flaws and loves your soul.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank everyone I met during the course of 2013, the bad ones before the good ones for their impact on who I’m today. I’m who I’m because of their lessons that will remain in my life forever.

At the end of the day we all have to feel the hope, love and passion for the forthcoming years and for the rest of our lives. We have to have the hope that can encourage us not only to go for our dreams, but to have a great time doing them.

Happy New Year :)

I'm Back!!!

Finally made it through all the depression and frustration I went through over the past few months and finally found my way back to Abdalla whom I know and who was missing his way and at a moment felt as life is coming to an end. It has been a very difficult experience but that’s how we learn and that's how we gain wisdom in life.

Over the past two months I have been planning for my upcoming holidays in October, the first plan was to go to the United States to catch up with friends of mine who are living there, I was very enthusiastic about the trip since it was going to be my first visit to the American continent; but my plans went away as my hosting friend had some family commitments and was not going to make it with me as we planned. The time was running fast before the holidays and I had to start thinking about plan “B” to secure a flight ticket at the earliest with a reasonable price. I was confused between Philippines with its beautiful islands and fascinating nature; and South Korea as a fantastic autumn destination. After checking all the possibilities, the decision was made to visit South Korea since I haven’t to the Korean peninsula before.

I have started preparing myself for the trip, got my travel guide, collected all possible information from the internet on places to visit and things to do and made all the necessary bookings for my accommodations.

In the beginning I thought it’s going to be an ordinary trip, since I have been to a lot of Asian countries, I thought that going to South Korea will be quite similar to what I have seen in my earlier visits to other Asian destinations; but this perspective has totally changed once I landed there.

The people were very friendly, the country is very beautiful and they have got a fantastic cuisine which have been a real surprise for me. I did a lot of hiking, I met some nice friends in one of my hiking trips and we had a memorable time.

All in all, the trip went perfect and it has exceeded my expectations, I came back home happy that I made it to South Korea and wondering when is the next visit is going to be as there is a big part of the country which I need to explore. While I was planning my trip I liked “Korea - Be Inspired” page on Facebook to get some feedback on what to do while I’m in Korea and after coming back I feel really inspired by the people, the way they live their lives and the way they approach life, be self contented and happy; and by the nature and how beautiful and fantastic the sceneries were.

Now I’m back again to reality with super charged batteries of self content, optimism, happiness and high self-esteem; looking forward for my next exploration trip and wondering on what the destination will be, but till then I have got to work for some time and focus on my days here in Muscat which in fact is getting better than it was before, and having some nice friends around me has helped me a lot to feel more attached to the place and enjoy my time; that’s what I was missing before ... Now I think I’m on the right path!

Happy to be back :) 

Wadi Tiwi_20130412

However I have been to this Wadi before, but this time was quite different as I managed to see the part of the Wadi that I haven't seen it in my first visit which was quite pleasing and interesting.

Also before we reach to Wadi Tiwi, we passed by the Sink Hole which was impressive.

Nature keeps impressing us with its beauty.

Wadi Bani Khalid_20130411

Wadi Bani Khalid is one of Oman's most beautiful wadis, however its quite far from Muscat, but its certainly worth visiting.

Trip to Jebel Al Akhdar_April 2013

Last weekend I went with a group of people to a place called “Jebel Al Akhdar” the word Jebel Al Akhdar is an Arabic translation to the Green Mountain. 

Jebel Al Akhdar is one of Oman’s most spectacular areas and is very famous for its traditional rose water extraction and agricultural products like Pomegranate, Apricot, Peach and Walnut.

It was a lovely day and I had a good opportunity to meet some cool people, here below are some of the picture taken during the day trip.