China version of Ipad - APAD

Yesterday, I was browsing on my ebay to check out new items and I came across these APADs. I thought it was a bogus brand since its ultimately a copycat of Apple's Ipad, I was quite surprise that this product has its own established company that sells this. It is cheaper by $300 and it is run by Android. If you see the photo below it is exactly the same as Ipad from color and sleek design. Here is what I researched about this:

Dimensions(HWD): 190.5*118.5*14.7mm - It varies from 7" to 10"

Weight: 332g - very light

CPU Processor Speed: 600MHz/500 MHz DSP

Memory/ROM: 2gb

Memory/RAM: 128MB+ - could be upgraded to 256MB according to some sites

Memory Slot: Micro SD upto 16gb

Camera: 30W to 130W Pixels digital camera - very good pixel for a portable device

Color Display: 7 inch TFT LCD with Resistance Touch Screen

Resolution: 800*480 - the screen is wide but the sides are quite big

Battery Type: rechargeable Polymer battery.

Battery Capacity: 3000mAh - 3-4 hours

USB: Yes, Mini USB 2.0

Speaker: Yes

G Sensor: Yes

I/O Ports: Mini USB 2.0, T-flash, 3.5mm headphone, In-built microphone.

Wireless Network: WiFi 80211b/g

Software: OS Android 1.5

Browser: Chrome (Google Browser)

Video: MKV(H.264 HP), AVI, RM, RMVB, FLV,MPEG-1, MPEG-2

Music: MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC, AAC, AC3,WAV

Photo: JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, TIFF

E-mail: Yes

GPS: Google Maps

For those, who are interested there are a lot of sites that offer this product but beware because this product has a CLONE..haha!very funny clone to clone imitation. By the way, this product supports a lot of language so there's no need to worry about the Chinese character. Happy browsing!

Get Ready For Your Dubai Trip - Guidelines 101

For those who are planning to come here in Dubai, here are some tidbits and guide for you: (based on my experience)

> Book a hotel room for your visit. There are a lot as in A LOT of hotels that you can choose from . Or book through travel agencies online.
> Always bring with you, your passport and visa copy. Officers will randomly look for it so better be ready.

> If you want to plan in advance, check out TIME OUT Dubai website to know the latest events: http://www.timeoutdubai.com/

> Best time to visit Dubai --- October to March because the weather is cool and you don't need to worry about the sun. You can still enjoy the sun though, for those who want to do sun bathing, in the day and chill at night. July and August are the worst months because the heat is so extreme that you don't really feel going out and enjoy the city.

> If you want to go around Dubai without spending too much on Taxi fare, go ride a metro train. They have the cleanest, fastest and safest train in the world. All metro stations are located in the key areas in Dubai. As low as 20 dirhams you could roam around the city. They have RTA buses as well that travel in different routes around the city. Plus, if you feel lost you can call their help desk and they will definitely guide you on your destination.

> MUST DO: Desert Safari Adventure, Dhow Cruise and Dubai Tour.

> Bring with you a City Map for you to be well guided. People here are very helpful and you could ask for directions.

> Big malls are all over Dubai: Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Mall, IBN Battuta Mall are just the major malls we have here and are accessible through metro! They do different gimmicks to attrack more buyers like discounts, freebies and massive sale. They have Shopping Festival that occurs between middle of Jan to February so all those shoppers out there, go for gold!

> If your planning to visit Burj Khalifa, reserve in advance ---- 100AED for advance booking and for immediate entrance without reservation 400AED, so if I were you better go online. They have their own website where available slot are being shown, credit card details are needed for you to reserve.

> You don't need to worry about the language, though Dubai is an Arabic country, most people here speak ENGLISH very well. 80% of Dubai's population is composed of EXPATS and 20% locals.

> CCTV cameras are around Dubai. So basically its safe here but better be careful as well.

> Try their Arabic Bread and Coffee. Duh! Dates as well! They are very good and you could bring home some to your country. Henna Tattoo artists are very popular here in Dubai.

DO's and DONT's

----- PDA (public display of affection) is prohibited in Dubai.

----- Drinking of Alcohol (not in the resto or hotels) requires a license and they have specific timings as well.

---- Don't take pictures of the locals/ Emiratis.

---- Be careful with your gestures/sign languages cause it might offend other people. Different countries have various interpretations on sign languages so just be conscious.

---- Wear decent clothes. Revealing clothes are not tolerated in the city. I have witnessed an incident where a local woman approach a tourist and told her to cover up her see-through shirt and that she has to show respect. The woman immediately apologized and went directly to the toilet.

---- Respect their religion, Islam. Never do or say anything stupid because it would be your ticket to jail.

---- When Dubai officers ask you some questions, answer nicely! Don't over react. If you are not a TERRORIST then you don't have nothing to worry.

I might have forget some pointers but you are very welcome to suggest and comment as well. Explore and Experience Dubai.

P.S.

air fare from Philippines to Dubai cost roughly 2000 - 3500 AED ( 22000 - 37000 pesos) . It depends on the airline company, promos and season.

NOSEBLEED *******

(photo courtesy google image somewhere in page 1)

I am sorry to make my readers nosebleed, I apologize but I also have international audience as well...hahahahaha! (BAGAG NAWONG!). I am conscious too with my English because you know and for the people who don't know my mom is a teacher and she might correct me here, very embarrassing!hehe..Anyway, lets spread the goodness of English language and lets connect with people all over the world. ^^

Pinay meets Western Food!

She made her promise to cook for us and she really did!! This was the first YUMMY homemade pastry-ala-stuffed-pizza-toppings I had here courtesy of our In House Chef, Allison. The bread itself is really tasty and soft. The stuffings inside made it more delicious and mouth watering. Green bell peppers, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni made my food craving to an intense level (I got 2 and half pieces of this!). She also prepared salted tomatoes with cheese while Susie, our Chinese friend, cooked an Asian beef cuisine that made my tummy super full. I am very proud of Allison since she was able to follow the complicated, mind juggling recipe and cooking instructions. I will never attempt myself to do it. By the way, there as also a tomato dip that we used for the pastry. Western foods are unquestionably good but nothing could beat my taste buds when it comes to Asian Cuisines especially Filipino Foods, the best! ^^

Executive Lounge Team

(Picture taken after 90+ guests ate our breakfast buffet, everyone is multi tasking and helping each other)

Well!well! Well! Let me introduce to you our team members in Executive Lounge ---- that's me on the far left followed by Amir, the tallest guy among all from Bosnia; Seba, peek-a-boo from Syria; Kamrul, our poker face steward from Bangladesh; Crisfelyn our cutie attendant from Philippines; Allison our Guest Relations Officer from USA and last but not the least our Boss Rey from Philippines. This is one of the best team I had since my Manor days. Yet no one will beat the original team players and leaders I had in Manor Iya, Carla, Dayle, Alona, Christine, Crystal, Bryan, Dave, Carlo and Ms. . Anyhow anyway! We really have a good team work with everybody willing to help out the attendants, chef and steward in our lounge from serving the guests until dishing out the used plates plus the ever supportive boss. We have fun at work, we joke around and we share each other stories (dirty flat mates, noisy colleagues, gossips, latest showbiz happenings, FB tag pictures, missing Red Bulls and many more). Hoping everything will turn out very well for everybody and I am looking forward for a brighter tomorrow....(teka script ata sa commercial eto).

Winter in Dubai??????

(foggy dubai)

Winter in Dubai?weh?True?At first, it seems impossible to have a cold weather here duh! remember I'm here in Middle East however when December came I proved myself wrong! The weather is not as cold as Baguio but it does makes me wear jacket. The sun rises here around 6:30 and the temperature is from 24 degrees and drops as low as 14 degrees especially during the early morning. This is the right time to wear the best winter outfit, trench coat with matching mufflers. I hope this would last long so I could enjoy strolling the streets of Dubai not worrying about the heat and sunburns. In our accommodation, we turn off the aircon and open the windows wide open so we could feel the cold breeze of the northern wind haha! Before, when sand storm came we make sure to close the window or this tiny sand will stick on our skin and will want to go deeper into our pores eww! Cross finger that this cold ambiance will last until June so I would not be feeling too homesick for the coming months. This is the time where I miss Baguio a lot! ^^
P.S.
Please pray for my sister to pass her interview!Fighting!Aja!

Desert Safariness!

Yesterday, was full of dune bashing and exciting adventure in our desert safari trip. (courtesy to our sponsor Planet Tours). 14 of us from the hotel mostly in Rooms Division went for this small outing, its so good to have people in this batch who were really outgoing, funny and adventurous; special mention to Pouty Kelvin, Petite Ayessa and Venus Raj Benjie. It took us around 1 hour to reach Planet Tour's camp at I was surprised to see that around 13 white Land Cruisers were waiting for us to join them. All of these vehicles lessen the air in the tires because as per the guide, the weight and density while in the desert is different from other surface. I prayed before the trip started to have an expert and reliable driver that will bring us back safe and sound, God heard it since we had the best driver in this trip! . The first pace of the ride is just bumpy as if we run over road humps but after awhile let the ADVENTURE begin! The driver made it to the trail with some terrifying and heart pumping zigzag route to make our whirlwind ride worth it. We even went to high peaks, zoom our way down and smash the sand. My throat was aching after the ride because of so much shouting imagine I felt like I am putting myself in the death row. The ride ended roughly mga 40 minutes but everything is amazing! We reached the peak of the desert and we witness the glorious sunset. I felt at ease at that time feeling the cool breeze and watch the glowing sun set rest in the desert mountain. After 20 minutes, we went to the camp where we will enjoy th BBQ dinner party, belly dancing and sisha. At the entrance we saw these 3 camels which were really cute ha, they really do have curvy and thick eyelashes. We took some photos with them but I never attempted to ride on them because when it stood its really tall and the camel's back was not even so I was afraid to fall. As we entered the camp, we were received by their staff with arabic breads and arabic coffee, oh they also have dates as well. Drinks are free including softdrinks and water but they charge for alcoholic beverage. We waited for some time before the dinner buffet was served. Their buffet was really abundant with choices of lamb, beef and chicken BBQ

.They also have rice as well so we Pinoys in the trip were very much satisfied, we kept on coming back on the buffet table because they have the best BBQ ever. This was followed by a belly dancer which looked like our very own Vice ganda, white version of him. She was really good in balancing the stick on her chest and head while she do the wavy wavy moves of a belly dancer. Her performance was outstanding and all men in the audience were extremely overwhelmed and even danced with the dancer. After that, the whole group danced with Arabic, 70's and Pop Songs played by our Indian DJ but it didn't last for long since its time for us to go. At least with this experience, we can share with with our guests the true experience of desert safari. Overall, it was the best ever trip I had for 2011 and I am looking forward for more but it would be the most enjoyable if my family and my michael will join me to conquer the desert!