4 months!!! (--and I said I was gonna blog more this year!) 

What has happened... 
- I went home to the Philippines 
- I got back to Qatar (too much for a list, LOL)

Between those moments, I had a lot to blog about, and yet not one single post. Partly because the internet connection in the Philippines is too bad. (nah-just kidding, it's better now, actually, I am just really lazy!)

So February this year, my little sister turned 18 (just in numbers heehee). I felt sorry that I did not get to be there for her, as I had been for my three cousins when they each celebrated theirs. I am really into organizing parties and events, and I had many plans for my sister's debut. Anyway, I was there "in the spirit" ^_^

I decided to come home a month after. Through Etihad which had one stop-over in Abu Dhabi. At first, of course, I was excited, coz I was gonna see one new place. I posted  TripAdvisor review, please disregard the grammar errors I think I did that half-awake, just the same, here's some more info:

At Hamad International Airport, there was a long line at the check-in counters which made me regret why I forgot to do an online check-in the night before (I made a mental note to ALWAYS check-in online at least 4 hours before the flight as I look at the empty bag-drop counter).

I once forfeited a flight because the plane left... and I was busy reading a book at the airport's upper level --well that's a different story. Anyway, I always made sure I find the boarding gates immediately after check-in, and wait there, no matter how long the delay would be. Luckily, this time, I was not left behind :)

The flight from Doha to Abu Dhabi took only an hour. Just enough for a light snack, and I always loved eating in-flight. I love traveling by air planes. Anyway, I'm getting distracted by the thought of dried fruits and nuts. As soon as the plane started its descend, I looked outside the window to see how Abu Dhabi looks like. At first it was all sea and sand. It was a pretty sight, but I hoped to see buildings. I finally saw one, and it had the Ferrari logo on top, and that was it. That's the largest building I saw from the top, and the rest were like houses and small buildings. I was a bit disappointed, especially when the plane landed. I looked around (tried to look around when the plane was heading to the main airport building), and the tallest building I saw was the airport control tower. (Later on, I found out from a friend that the airport was a bit far away from the city.)

At Abu Dhabi airport, I was surprised to find out that we had to take a shuttle to the main building. This is like one of the domestic flights I had back in Manila, so this is not new to me but it came as a surprise because this was an International flight. Most passengers uttered their disbelief-- they were expecting to pass through a tube. We also got through security gates again, which was again, surprising--we just got off a plane, we went no where between the plane and the airport? So after going around, exploring Abu Dhabi Duty Free, I decided to eat. I got tired and so hungry (I couldn't wait for another set of plane food haha!) I chose this cool-looking cafe (Bricco Café) only to get disappointed with the serving. I paid 32 Dirhams for two small cutlets of chicken and a heap of undercooked rice. It was unjust. It was unfair for my hungry tummy.  

So to cut it short, I boarded the plane to Manila, arrived in the early morning, got a Grab (local transport provider) and got welcomed by our dog, Mimi (yep, no one else but her --on their defense, only my mom knew I was going home and it was really waaay too early!)
I'll write again about the Philippines stay.... when I want to. HAHA. Off to lunch!