Eleven

E L E V E N  Y E A R S .

Yes, that is eleven years of shooting, blogging and distilling thoughts. As you may already know, I started blogging when I was jobless. Since then, I made sure that at least I have one post per month though the number of posts per year dramatically decreases. I am sorry, I have been saying this every blogsary.

Dubai

Reuniting with friends whom you haven’t seen for a long time is always a great time. When I found out that some of my high school and college friends are in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, I cleared one of my weekends to travel and explore the city with them. But two days were not enough.

Burj Al Arab

Dunes

I really wanted to see the sand dunes up close, so I booked a Desert Safari tour in Abu Dhabi. This is also an exciting way to celebrate my birthday. The tour includes sand bashing, camel riding, sunset watching, belly dancing viewing, and BBQ dinner. The first activity, and my favorite, was the sand bashing. Inside of the 4x4, we braced ourselves for an adventure. I was seated at the front seat, so I can clearly see the slopes, and feel the turns. It felt like I am in a rollercoaster ride.

 

etched by the car tires

winds tamper the evidence

golden sands of time

/totomai

Airshow

Time zooms. Few months ago, I worry a lot being of jobless for almost a year. Soon, I will be two month old in two weeks time in my new company. So far it’s been great. I think I have adjusted well, the relatively cooler temperature helped a lot. Summer will be coming in a few months though and could very well test me and my allergies. I heard the temperature shoots up to 52 deg C and humidity reaches 100%.

the man-made rainbow

vanishes just like my dreams 

with or without rain 

 /totomai

Hired

I went to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in 2015 for a 2-day business meeting. During my spare time, I was able to explore some of its gems such as Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. I thought then that I should come back for a visit as the country has lots to offer. Little did I know that I will be starting a new life here two years later. Yes, I was recently hired by an engineering company in Abu Dhabi after being jobless for 10 months. I have been here for only two weeks but so far so good.

warm dunes welcome me

a lost soul in a parched earth

an ice-cold soda

/totomai

Tokyo

Funny thing is — I worked in Tokyo for 10 years but I have never blogged about it. Well, I made a few Tokyo-related posts such as the Asakusa Samba Festival, Odaiba, and the Lolitas.

Boracay

When a friend asked me if I wanted to go to Boracay Island again, I immediately said yes. It’s been a decade since I first visited the island. The weather wasn’t perfect during our visit, it rained a lot and flooded streets welcomed us. But it did not spoil our quick escapade. Or there were no other options but to enjoy our stay.

photo by Julie

hums of splashing waves 

drown the sounds of the city 

temporary bliss

—
the waves of summer
crash and brush off a kingdom 
golden sandcastles 

/totomai

Bantayan

While waiting for the results of my job applications, I and a friend decided to explore Bantayan Island in Cebu to relax, and of course, to shoot. From my hometown, I had to travel by plane for 45 mins, by car (from the Mactan airport to Hagnaya port) for 3 hrs, and by ferry to the island for an hour. 

photo by Russel

lost in a blue world 

the waves of summer found me

a pearl for mother   

/totomai