Summer in Bahrain

Life in the desert.

Bahrain has two seasons: extremely hot summer and a relatively mild wet winter. During the summer months, from April to October, afternoon temperatures average 40 °C and can range up to 46 °C during the peak summertime, July and August.

Living here almost all my life, I already got used to the climate including this hot and humid summertime that comes in July and August where you can no longer tolerate the heat outdoors.

But there are still other days in between summer where you can still walk out with a little cool air breeze from the ocean. Yeah, Since BH is an Island surrounded by oceans, you can still find a cold spot in between the areas.

There isn’t much of a recreation/activity during summer aside, of course, to dip in the pool, swim in the ocean, (we have a lot, of public and private beaches all over the Country), take long walks in the parks and walkways (if you can manage the heat), or just walk indoors do some shopping/ window shopping in the malls.

And yeah, you can find a lot of magnificent views that could be the subject of your photography skills! Mine of course is every single view anywhere else, as long as my son is on it!

I always like to walk outside and see the magnificent sunset of Bahrain, it’s really lovely!

I was not feeling well the past days now (since I went to the beach the other weekend and went straight wet to the car after I could no longer bear the heat at 6:30AM), then went for a little grocery shopping the next day, (going in and out of hot and cold temperature, ate ice-cream afterwards, then taraann…! I immediately got the flu the next day following cough the day after, until now, even a week has already passed. But my son always gets bored if he stays the full day at home especially on weekends where he knows somehow we would take him out as always, (he’s at home for the rest of the week), so we decided to take him to THE AVENUES and let him walk and play for a while. This is where I got these amazing photos (I’m beginning to have a talent in photography, I guess, haha!)

The Avenues is a waterfront shopping mall located in Bahrain Bay. It will give you an outdoor feeling while inside the mall (covered with a transparent ceiling allowing the sunlight to come in), or you can also go out and walk at the 1.5km stretch seafront, or just sit in the restaurants facing the sea and see the view. It’s really good to sit outside (but not in summertime), eat or have coffee, listen to the centralized soft instrumental music playing all day, watch the sea, watch the people walking, oh well, actually just by staring at the sea is super relaxing for me.

Here are some of my photographs taken in and out of the mall.

BH Skyline
Indoor

Shopping is also convenient in The AVENUES as it offers a wide range of choices from shoes, bags & apparel, perfumes, children clothing, such as ZARA, H&M, VICTORIA’S SECRET, BBW, Foot Locker, Adidas, Mothercare, among others, and a long line of fine restaurants and fast-food to choose from.

Eid Holiday 2021

Bahrain’s one of the most awaited and longest Holiday is EID break, right after Ramadan. It’s like our very own Christmas season, with gift-giving and the like.

One of our Expatriates privileges here is to be able to get all these holidays- away from work and office! People usually travel out of the country during these days but since it is still pandemic, and it’s really hassle to travel, most of them ought to stay in the city and make the most of the holiday by just doing activities within the Island.

Actually, there are a lot of activities to do here even when you don’t travel at all. There’s a lot of beach resorts, a public beach almost every corner, really nice hotel staycations ranging from 3 to 7 stars, indoor activities, outdoor parks & walkways, malls, long drives, outdoor arcades, and picnic groves among others to choose from.

Since it’s a holiday, My family spent the most out of it taking our little toddler out for fun, and believe me, he really had so much fun, particularly the different beaches we went to. He loves the beach so much!

The first day of Eid was spent walking in the mall, the BCC, and since more than half of the population here is already vaccinated, they started to open the cinemas and arcades again providing the green signal from the beaware app that you have done complete vaccination.

The second day, we went for a long drive from Zallaq to Malkiya to Northern City and as usual, the small toddler couldn’t hold himself to swim.

The third day was a long drive in the morning, quick takeaway lunch from Mc Donald’s and then an afternoon walk in the park of Arad.

The final day, we went early morning for a breakfast and swim at the beach again! We brought fried rice, egg and hotdog and put up our tent near the sea shore and enjoy the early morning crisp weather of BH.

So this is how we spent the 4 days Eid off not away from home 🙂

METRO MANILA

Metropolitan Manila is the seat of government and one of the three defined metropolitan areas of the Philippines. It is officially known as the National Capital Region, and is commonly known as Metro Manila or simply Manila. It is made up of 16 cities namely: the City of Manila (the Philippine capital), Quezon City (the country’s most populous city and former capital, Caloocan, Las Pinas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Paranaque, Pasay, Pasig, San Juan, Taguig and Valenzuela as well as the City of Pateros.

Although Metro Manila is not considered a province, it is included in the 81 provinces of the Philippines.

Since it is very near to my hometown, I guess I have traveled almost everywhere here since as a child. It is just strange that I couldn’t find a nice photo of mine anywhere else in the area or maybe I couldn’t think of snapping one when I’m around Metro Manila, haha.

 

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Science Discovery Center

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White Moon Bar, MOA

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Manila Ocean Park

 

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My very first time in Nueva Vizcaya

 

Places in NV I’ve been on this post;

  1. Sta. Fe

2. Bayombong

Nueva Vizcaya is a province of the Philippines located in Cagayan Valley region in Luzon, though it is geographically and culturally part of the Cordilleras. Its capital is Bayombong. It is bordered by Benguet to the west, Ifugao to the north, Isabela to the northeast, Quirino to the east, Aurora to the southeast, Nueva Ecija to the south, and Pangasinan to the southwest. The province is cultural, linguistically, and geographically part of the Cordilleras, but was put in the Cagayan Valley region by American occupiers in the early 20th century. Quirino province, later on, broke away from the province as it was more related to Isabela province in the north.

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

These breath taking aerial photos were taken in Sta Fe– just as we ended the long Nueva Ecija stretch. We stopped by  for a little warm up early in the morning in seems to be like an eco-park.  You will see the magnificent mountains in front of us. We went up to the park but unfortunately the zip line was still close and will open at 8am. We just stretched and took photos in this amazing view and went back driving going to the City Proper of NV.

Sorrounded by North Luzon’s three large mountain ranges, NV is generally mountainous varying from steep mountains to rolling hills with some valleys and plains.

Finally reached Bayombong.

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Continue reading “My very first time in Nueva Vizcaya”

IFUGAO

RICE TERRACES

Info: Sometimes called by locals as the “Eighth Wonder of the World”, the Ifugao Rice Terraces begin at the base of the mountain range and extend several thousand feet upwards. Two of the terrace clusters in Banaue, namely Bangaan and Batad, are part of the UNESCO World Heritage inscription.

The Banaue Rice Terraces (FilipinoHagdan-hagdang Palayan ng Banawe) are terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by the ancestors of the indigenous people. The terraces are occasionally called the “Eighth Wonder of the World“. It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand. The terraces are located approximately 1,500 metres (4,900 feet) above sea level. These are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. It is said that if the steps were put end to end, it would encircle half of the globe.

It was in 2017 when RJ and I went to Banaue Rice Terraces which is about 3 to 4 hours drive on a steep mountain (in a very nice view along the way) from his place in Nueva Vizcaya.

We left his Town in Bayombong in the morning and reached there before lunch. Along the way, we passed by this beautiful tiny little restaurant to have a brunch, picture uploaded.

 

These amazing photos were taken from my cam phone only.

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Nice view.

And if you are a nature lover, you will definitely love the serenity of the place, the green fields, and the smell of the air.

Cute little restaurant along the way made of bamboo sticks.

BULACAN

Although I have been to Bulacan several times and several places since childhood, since it was our only way to go to the Metro at that time before all the express highways, I have only compiled the recent photos I’ve been in Bulacan, particularly our church visits.

On our trip to the Philippines in 2017, RJ and I went for some errands in Bulacan, and at the same time, he took me to these beautiful Cathedrals within the area.

 Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in San Jose, Bulacan.

Address: Sta.Maria- Tungkong-Mangga Road, San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan, Philippines

Phone: +63 923 844 9247

The Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes is a famous religious and ecological tourist destination and attraction in Graceville, San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan. It is a replica of the Lourdes Grotto in France

And at the National Shrine of  Divine Mercy located in Marilao, Bulacan.

Address: M. Villarica Rd, Marilao, Bulacan, Philippines

 
Phone: +63 44 711 5393
 
 

The Adoration Chapel was the first structure built in the Divine Mercy National Shrine. It is constructed to immortalize the Last Vision of Fatima.
 
Update 2019:
 
We also went again together 2 years later ( August 2019) to Barasoain Church in Malolos Bulacan  (Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish) as we passed before our errand, but since I was pregnant at that time and always feeling hot and tired- I didn’t take many photos.
 
Photo not mine

This Church apart from very beautiful is one of the favorite tourist destinations in the Philippines. Its stunning look has always been the place for special events/celebrations in the Country.

BATANGAS

Taal Volcano and Lake are wholly located in the province of Batangas. The northern half of Volcano Island falls under the jurisdiction of the lakeshore town of Talisay, and the southern half to San Nicolas.
So it was just like we went to spend the night in Tagaytay and we passed by to see the beauty of this lake.
It is a stripline with bars, coffee shops, and restaurants where you could relax, dine, and get the chance to look at this awesome view from the top.
Haven’t got a lot of photos as the others are not for posting material but the actual site of this place is truly remarkable particularly in the late afternoon when the sun is going down.

 

BENGUET


Benguet is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Administrative Region in the island of Luzon. Its capital is La Trinidad. The highland province is known as the Salad Bowl of the Philippines due to its huge production of upland vegetables.
 
Baguio, officially the City of Baguio and popularly referred to as Baguio City, is a mountain resort city located in Northern Luzon, Philippines.
 
I’ve been to Baguio several times, oh well, who else wouldn’t be, and definitely, I will come back, hopefully during my 2019 vacation as it is now on my  2019 travel itinerary.
 
Here are some of our photos in Baguio.
 
The view from our Hotel.
 
Where I did Zipline on Treetop
 
Other places I’ve visited in Baguio:
 
Burnham Park
Mines View Park
Baguio Cathedral
The Mansion
Baguio Botanical Garden
Tree Top Adventure
Session Road
Bell Church
Camp John Hay

ISABELA

Isabela is the second-largest province of the Philippines and the largest on the island of Luzon in the land area. Its capital is the city of Ilagan.
 
I’ve been here just once with a friend a very very long time ago for just a day trip via commute. It was only a back-and-forth trip so we were not able to explore the City that much. 

Update: 06.01.2020

The next time I came to visit was in  2019 when we went to visit my husband hometown in Nueva Vizcaya and the next day, they took us for a little trip in Santiago, Isabela, (I think it is a Robinson Mall) for a lavish lunch and later went to visit some of their relatives in Quirino Province. I’ve had a lot of photos taken along the way as I enjoyed the sight of trees and valleys and rice hills, and for someone like me who was used to a City like Cabanatuan with just a little nature and mostly Commercial districts, this kind of view is definitely good to see.

A few months later after I gave birth to our son, We went two times again in Isabela, the first time was when we applied for our Son’s passport in DFA, Santiago. It was a few days after the NY 2020 and the first available DFA was in Santiago, Isabela. Actually, I went to DFA Tarlac a few weeks ago but we’re not able to get one due to missing requirements.  The second time was going back to my hometown in Cabanatuan City when we decided to take a road trip  via the long- way starting from  Isabela, Quirino province, Dinadiawan, Baler, and some parts of Nueva Ecija as we wanted to see the nearby places. It took us one full day trip that started at 5AM and reached my place at past 7 in the evening along with our side stops at road-side restaurants to freshen up, eat, and walk a little. On this trip, we were able to see some Eco Tourism Parks in Vizcaya, the Landingan Viewpoint in Quirino, and some beach side in Dinadiawan and Baler before reaching our destination.

Picture above: Me with my big preggy tummy in a very stunning view!

RIZAL

Antipolo is a city east of Manila in the Philippines. It’s known as a Catholic pilgrimage site. In the Antipolo Cathedral, the shrine to Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage has a 17th-century statue of the Virgin Mary, and attracts thousands of visitors each year. Southwest, the Pinto Art Museum displays contemporary Filipino paintings and sculpture in tropical gardens and whitewashed, Mediterranean-style villas.
I went there some time ago and visited Hinulugang taktak and some other places including one Cathedral.
Hinulugang Taktak Protected Landscape, also known as Hinulugan Taktak, is a protected area located in Rizal, Philippines. Initially assigned as a recreation area, the waterfall area has been designated as a national park by virtue of Republic Act No. 6964 in 1990
This was also one of the few times we went for a family excursion in my Elementary days!  I’m glad that my great- grand mother (deceased now) loved to join excursions during school vacations and she always takes us (me and my sister)  with her.
I just hope that I can still visit the same places now that I’m already an adult. Most probably, take a lot of pictures!!!