when the Choc Nut and Christmas islander blogs within the breeze of the Gulf

To answer the questions in the preceding post:

Did I try the sisha?

I had a couple of chances to taste it, during the Dhow Cruise last year and after the Desert Safari few weeks ago. But no, I did not try the sisha. Not because that I do not smoke. Maybe because it is not too appealing for me yet thinking that I have plenty and nearby chances to try it.

Did I belly dance?

That we will find out soon.

(She playfully danced with that sword on her head, chest and side-waist)

We moved to the belly dance area 30 minutes after the buffet dinner. The airing of sort of tribal-Arabian music cued the belly dancer’s entrance. She’s tall, walked gracefully, and looking closely I concluded she’s an Egyptian.

As we probably all know, this type of dancing originated from the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and the Africa. I was never that excited to witness this one as I have seen enough from the movies and photo features. But when the exotic music played, it became different. The dancer’s moves are very polished and hypnotic, which I should not be surprised at all since Egyptians, male or female, are known to be very good belly dancers.

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Continued from dune bashing and sunset camel ride

After riding the camel, we were taken to the (Arabian Knight Tours) camp. It looks purposely primitive to a certain extent because the walls were made of dried trunk and leaves from palm trees. As you approach the entrance, you will be offered fresh dates and Arabic coffee.

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Thank you Mimi, BlueRose and J. Ana!

Shoukran is an Arabic term which means thank you.

Sometimes, it needs one odd event to conclude how you really felt. Excerpt from Lisa Marie Presley’s post after MJ’s death:

Years ago Michael and I were having a deep conversation about life in general.

I can’t recall the exact subject matter but he may have been questioning me about the circumstances of my Fathers Death.

At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty, “I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did.”

A predicted ending by him, by loved ones and by me, but what I didn’t predict was how much it was going to hurt when it finally happened.

I wanted to “save him” I wanted to save him from the inevitable which is what has just happened.

His family and his loved ones also wanted to save him from this as well but didn’t know how and this was 14 years ago. We all worried that this would be the outcome then.

At that time, In trying to save him, I almost lost myself.

He was an incredibly dynamic force and power that was not to be underestimated.

When he used it for something good, It was the best and when he used it for something bad, It was really, REALLY bad.

The hardest decision I have ever had to make, which was to walk away and let his fate have him, even though I desperately loved him and tried to stop or reverse it somehow.

Any ill experience or words I have felt towards him in the past has just died inside of me along with him.

I also hope that anyone else who feels they have failed to help him can be set free because he hopefully finally is.

When one passes away, we choose to remember just the good memories and greatness of that person (no matter how few or many the circumstances are). It would be better to observe this in our day to day interaction, even if the person is still so much alive and kicking.

Full post of Lisa Marie Presley here.

Don’t miss this (tribute) remix of some of MJ songs. Really awesome.

After the dune bashing, we were detoured to an area almost near to the camp hosting the dinner. We were welcomed by sight of excited camel riders and the four lovely camels themselves. I think they looked more wonderful that time because sunset was approaching.

I noticed that not everyone ventured onto trying the ride. But I was decided on this one. After all, I’ve never tried riding a horse yet (bohooo, after three visits to Baguio). I hesitated a little when I saw this particular wriggly camel. But I thought there must be the least mischievous among the four.

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