FLEW TO JEDDAH ON NAS AIR LAST WEEKEND

My Bebe and I flew to Jeddah over the (May 23-25) weekend. Nothing unusual but for the fact that it was our first time to fly NAS Air, one of two new budget airlines in Saudi Arabia (the other being SAMA).

Since the beginning of public air transport in the Kingdom, the airlanes have been dominated by Saudi Arabian Airlines.

Flying by NAS Air was pleasant enough - meaning, there was not much difference if you were flying the national carrier. The big difference was in the ticket price. The price difference was almost SR200 for the Riyadh-Jeddah-Riyadh round trip. It would have been even cheaper had we booked earlier or if we booked really early flights. Such is the unique pricing scheme of NAS Air: the earlier you book and the ungodly hour your choice of flight time, the lower the ticket price. A colleague at work was once able to fly the same route as ours for only SR19!

The only other glaring difference would be in the check-in paper work. Our boarding passes resembled more the point-of-sale (PoS) receipts at stores than the usual cardboard-type ones. Also, because we booked our flight online, there were no tickets issued. Booking online also necessitated having an email address (so the airline can send me the confirmation number and other flight details) and a credit card (so that I need not go to a NAS Air agent or ticket station to pay).

And as in budget flying, food on board is on sale.

NAS Air is actually operated by a Spanish company (lte; but I have not checked what the acronym stands for) and so the flight crew were Spaniards. My Bebe and I were easily able to practice our "buenas dias" and "gracias".

The existence of NAS Air (and of SAMA), spells the break up of the monopoly of Saudi Arabian of the airline market in the Kingdom. I just hope that the promise of competition will indeed be sustained and bring much-needed value to passengers, citizens and expatriates alike.

THE SINGERS AMONG US

I went to a rehearsal of singers last night (May 21), with my Bebe. You already know my Bebe sings, doncha? And that he's an excellent singer too, doncha agen?

Anyhow, this entry is not about him but the other singers in the group. This group has been rehearsing for a show for OFWs in time for the so-called Migrant Workers Day celebration of the Philippine Embassy here in Riyadh. It was originally scheduled for June 8 but last we heard, it was moved to June 15.

Here was this bunch of OFWs and some dependents. Nurses, hospital and office workers. Ordinary-looking. Seemingly, the OFW-next-door. If you see them, that they can sing, and sing amazingly well, will be the last thing on your mind.

But there they were last night. Singing their hearts out. At performance-levels even while also clowning around a lot. Not your karaoke-singing, mind you. Stop-in-your-tracks kind of singing. Singing like the true-blue world-class Filipino talents that they were.

The hosts were a family of singers too. Dad Jojo, Mom Tintin and pretty young daughter Angel.

I was really pleasantly surprised at the awesome singers in our midst.

And they would be singing for the Filipino community for free. Because you see, embassy-based activities like the Migrant Workers Day celebration only get a minimal budget from the embassy. The rest of whatever expenses there may be, are borne by Filipino community organizations such as the Riyadh Artists Guild International (RAGI) - a close-knit group of OFWs and their dependents who banded together to be able to present singing and dancing performances for the Filipino community. It is a testament to the tenacity and dedication of the group's leaders and members that they have lasted this long, sans a surfeit of funds.

Just goes to show they're not into for the money (there's none) nor fame (very fleeting, I assure you). Specially not even for the intrigues (this is what these groups face a lot of). It's really for the love of singing (and dancing as the case may be). I mean, it's not a joke to be a performer at these events. You spend for your transportation, your make up and costumes. You excuse yourself from work and other usual activities to participate at rehearsals (which more often than not, are held at times when you're supposed to be relaxing from work already such as on the weekends and after-office hours). You stay up late too, a lot of the time. It's a good thing that RAGI "feeds" its artists; it spends on snacks/refreshments and even on meals. The group president once told me that she budgets at least SR400 for food for each day of rehearsals. And it does not include cost of plastics (spoons, plates, forks, tumblers, etc.).

There's really nothing much out of it except to indulge their passions and get to serve the Filipino community in their own way.

REMEMBRANCE OF PHOTOS PAST

Let's go back my memory lane, why don't we?

Me and Pluto at Disney (in Anaheim), in the early 2000's.
I really like my smile here. I feel like the little boy wrapped around Pluto.

Me and the pyramid in Cairo.
I was in Cairo for a telecom exhibition in the late 90's.
Unfortunately, I did not get inside the pyramids; I was a bit scared.
And sadly (and I don't mean to trash Cairo), while the pyramids were awesome, specially if seen in light of the fact that these were built long before modern-day cranes and other machinery were in existence, my Cairo trip was a bit of a let-down due to filth and the pervasive feeling you were in a very third world country and not in the cradle of modern civilization.

Me and my Top Gun RayBans.
One of my earliest purchases was this pair of RayBans, hoping against hope I would look like Tom Cruise. This was taken at my porta-cabin, during my first time/first job in Saudi Arabia.

GOOD DEED

Last May 14 evening, after my Bebe and I had dinner, I dropped by a neighborhood store to check if it sells Em Bee Tin hopia. It didn't so I moved around the cramped store and picked up a big bottle of Vaseline and quarter of a kilo of almonds. But before I could get my almonds, another customer wanted a hundred grams of mixed nuts. His request would not have been unusual or uneventful were it not for the fact that he was very hideous about the whole thing -- hurrying up the store minder, punctuating his comments with a rough "huh", speaking in a really loud voice. He exemplified the stereotype of the haughty and brass Arab. His uncouth behavior did not end there. He cut into the queue at the cashier's without ado. As no one wanted to pick a fight, and perhaps everyone knew how to pick his battles, no one in the queue minded. That included me. He he.

When it was my turn at the cashier, the cashier punched in the amounts of SR13 (for the Vaseline) and SR10 (for the nuts). I gave him SR50 for my purchase and he readily gave me back my change. I was about to go when I had a second thought because I thought I saw SR23 on the price tag of the Vaseline. I checked and indeed, it was so. So I spoke to the cashier in a low voice, informing him that he may have been mistaken in punching SR13, and not SR23 as per the item's price tag. It could have been the language barrier but he initially thought his mistake was in punching a higher price for he immediately took the defensive stance. But when I pointed out that he might end up paying SR10 from his own pocket because his register may not tally, all he did was take out SR10 from my change and proceeded to attend to the next customer in the queue.

So I went out of the store, feeling both happy but perturbed -- pleased with myself that I thought I did a good deed, but perplexed at the cashier's reaction or lack of it.

CHILI'S

Without a doubt, Chili's has become a favorite eating place for us through the years. We first dined at a Chili's back in Makati (at Greenbelt), although I am unsure now if it's still there. Chili's at that time had the ambience of a TexMex resto.

Subsequently, we've had the good fortune of dining at Chili's in Hawaii, in LA, in Manama, in Jeddah, in Al Khobar and in Riyadh. Chili's in Al Khobar is somewhat memorable for we used to drive to Al Khobar just so we can enjoy the "dinosaur" - barbecued ribs of beef, with the apple cinnamon and corn on the side. Our taste gradually expanded through the years that we were going there, to include their other menu offerings.

When Chili's opened in Riyadh, we were among the first to sample its offerings but sadly, we seem to find Chili's Al Khobar to have better-tasting versions of the menu. Now this is purely subjective so please don't crucify me, you Chili's habitues. Memorable too is Chili's LA which served us wonderfully delicious barbecued rack of ribs (of the pork variety). Truly unforgettable.

Chili's Manama was where we first observed a birthday being celebrated by an Arab family. We never thought Arabs celebrated birthdays like we do, but they do, they do, with a birthday cake and all, and at a very public place at that!

With the Manalilis (Jun, Cora, Joaquin, Sirikit and Jen),
plus kapatid Chris and pamangkin Julius.
The Manalilis, all together now infront of the iconic Chili's logo.
Me, my Bebe with Cora.

We trekked back to Chili's Al Khobar over the weekend (May 9) to send off the Manalilis, who were on their way to Abu Dhabi and Dubai by way of Manama. We were supposed to be part of this party were it not for the unfortunate reality that I failed to secure a visa on time. Anyhow, I understand from well-placed sources that the Manalilis enjoyed Wild Water Wadi and everything else, precisely because we weren't around. Joke!

We bonded with the Manalilis over dinner at Chili's. I must say, it was more than enough to be thankful for.

JUST ONE MORE PHOTO - A WEEKEND IN DIRAB

I beg your indulgence. Just one more photo. From R. Formaran's lens.

FAMILY PICTURE - A WEEKEND IN DIRAB

Finally, Papa Randy was able to share with us a copy of the so-called FAMILY PICTURE of the weekend we spent in Dirab [the same one that was "video-grabbed" by J. Manalili]. Randy somehow, seem to have begun a nice tradition, of gathering families who spend activities together, for a group shot. He also makes it a point to share the photo with each family [and all other participants] as a memento.

In addition to the Family Picture, the photo enthusiast in Randy took this picture of the sunset, also at Dirab:

Photographs by Randy Formaran.

THE PHOTOS - A WEEKEND IN DIRAB

The villa had this divider that looked like a studio backdrop.
Andami naming kinunan ng photos against this backdrop including moi, my Bebe,
Papa Randy and Papa Chevy.


Sleeping beauty.

Cora and Jun, side by side.


Jun, Rene and Engel at one villa's wide patio.


A view of the huge pool behind our villa and against the wall of the mountain;
the pool at night.


Ms. Earth Dirab candidates: Tess, Cora and Gigi.


A view of the path as seen from our villa; a view of the villa as seen from the fountain.
Andami naming cars!!!

Mga misis + 1 at the villa's main living room: Rene, Cora and Airene with baby Eileen.
Tess is grinning as well at the back.

A view of the living room with the nice TV.


A view of a bedroom - one of seven at the sprawling villa.


The pater de familias in the kitchen: Engel, Alex, Bel and Jun.


My Bebe and I with colleagues from Poland: Luke, Mariuz and Karol.

The youngest in the group with the, er, este,
the one with the cutest smile - little David with grampa Bel.


Cute bundle of joy Aileen looking quite unsually pensive.
Dad said she has started to grow some teeth, that's why.


Horseback riding mother-and-son: Cora and Joaquin.
White Castle's latest endorser: Rene Segovich.
The family that rides horses together: Gigi and her kids.


Here we are doing what we always do best: eating, nay feasting, and bonding over
traditional get-together fare - shrimps, kare-kare, inihaw na seafood, sinigang na babs, leche flan, etc.


At the side of the villa was this unusual guard's tower
which actually looked awesome at night - thanks to raindrop lights that wrapped it almost entirely.


The family portrait by the pool; it's a video grab actually.
The original photograph coming soon!

Photographs by Jun and Cora Manalili.

A WEEKEND IN DIRAB

Ex-Lucent families once again found a way to spend the weekend in a most lovely way - at Dirab - in particular at the Dirab Polo and Golf Club Resort. The resort is owned and developed by the Ibrahim Abunayyan Sons Company at Dirab, which is about 60 kilometers south west of Riyadh city and nestled in the Tawfiq Valley. The resort is an adjunct of the Dirab Golf Course, "the only grassed 18-holes par 73 championship golf course in Riyadh."

I hope I can compare it to the golfing communities in Arizona (USA) but for our purposes, the Polo and Golf Resort already addressed our needs.

Photos above show the villas in the Resort, as well as the swimming pool behind the main villa which we occupied. This villa has seven bedrooms and an almost equal number of toilets/bathrooms. The pool is very picturesque, located as it were at the foot of a mountain range that seemed to fence in the resort. It was lovely in the evening since the resort somehow managed to put up raindrop lighting at strategic locations around the villa and the pool.

The photographers among us, most notably, Randy, Engel and Jun had a swell time taking our photographs. I hope I can post them next time.