Once there were two soulmates who vowed to travel and explore the world. On their quest for a new adventure, they were lost in an unknown city and were led by their curious minds and feet to an enchanted train which brought them to an experience like no other. They came by to visit the pyramids in Egypt, conquered the mountain ranges in Andalusia, explored the vast lands of Tunisia, had a quick stop at India, then flew to Persia, diverted to India, and finally decided to watch a movie in China....all in just one day!

Alright. Fine. Nope, I'm not crazy. Homesickness has not taken over my sanity, just yet. Haha! But seriously, it's just that there's this mall in Dubai which is so grand and awesome that I can't even find words to describe it.

Chinese Junk in China Court, Ibn Battuta Mall

I've always dreamed of travelling the world, and although I know that it won't be very soon that I'll get to live that dream, Ibn Battuta Mall has somehow made me cross a few destinations out from my list. Haha! :p

Ibn Battuta Mall, the world’s largest themed shopping mall (yet another world record for Dubai), has six different themes based on the travels of the 14th Century Arabic Explorer, Ibn Battuta. Every section was carefully crafted which makes guests feel and relive the travels of the great explorer.

Mark took me out on a dinner date one weekend after we heard an anticipated mass at St. Mary's Church in Oud Metha. And because BurJuman is just a few blocks away from our house, it instantly became the venue of our dinner dates.

Dinner Date ♥

St. Mary's Church in Oud Metha, Dubai

There are a number of restaurants and cafes in BurJuman but Hatam Restaurant was the first one that we got to try. I guess it was also a plus that it was the one nearest to the escalator where we came from. Haha! :p

We concluded my first weekend in Dubai with a dinner date by the Dubai Creek. Mark chose this restaurant because he says that the food here is good. He would usually stop by this restaurant for some gastronomic treat before heading to the camp. It is also just a few walks away from the Al Ghubaiba metro station and near the bus station to Abu Dhabi.


There's an air-conditioned part of the restaurant, where the kitchen is also situated, but we chose to have an al fresco dining experience.

Aside from the rides and shops for souvenirs and refreshments, a number of restaurants are also housed at Ocean Park Hong Kong. One of which is The Bayview Restaurant where we chose to have our lunch as we were waiting for the rain to stop.


The place was packed when we arrived. We were in the waiting queue but not for long. We got to score a table for 3 at the far end of the restaurant. It would have been more fun though if we were seated near the windows so we can indulge with the awe-inspiring view of the sea. But it was a bit foggy as it was still raining, so I didn't mind. :p
The Bayview Restaurant is a self-service type, so we immediately checked out their dishes in the ordering area situated near the entrance once we got our table settled.

After my first dining experience in Dubai, I was very much excited to explore what else Dubai has to offer. But because Mark had to go back to Abu Dhabi for work, I was basically all alone on my first week in Dubai. Mark got back to Dubai on the weekend and made sure that I get to enjoy my first weekend in Dubai. :)


I've been in Dubai for just more than two months, and more than anything else, there's one thing that I've observed. It seems that being ordinary is just not the Emiratis' cup of tea. Everything here seems to be so grand!

Just like the Dubai Metro, which is hailed as the world's longest fully automated metro network.

ADCB Metro Station (Red Line), formerly known as Al Karama Metro Station

We headed next to Ocean Park Hong Kong after our morning city tour. Just like during our Disneyland tour, my excitement got higher and higher as we were nearing Ocean Park, but not until the rain started to pour. :(


Yup, it was raining hard when we arrived at the Ocean Park which is why I only got to take this photo of the welcome arch at the end of our tour.


I even thought that the park's operation was put to a halt because there were barely some guests and most of them were already leaving the park.


With the rain seeming to last for the rest of the afternoon, I already convinced myself that we'd have to call it a day and just get back to our hotel. But Mark, being the ever positive guy that he is, insisted that we still go on with the tour. We bought some disposable raincoats and secured our things in the lockers at the main entrance and then started off with our tour.

Date of visit: April 8, 2014

Read full story HERE :)

I still have a couple of Hong Kong stories up on my plate but I just also don't wanna miss out on sharing with you my most recent adventures, so I thought of going ahead and write about my Dubai adventures and just inject some Hong Kong stories (as throwback posts) every once in a while. Good idea? Well I hope so. And I also hope you guys will bear with me. :D

I arrived in Dubai on a Sunday night, last August 24. Mark picked me up at the airport and we headed straight to our house in Bur Dubai. After having some rest when we had all our things settled, we went out for some late dinner.


And because I'm totally not familiar with the place, I just let Mark decide on where we'll eat. We dined at Ravi Restaurant in Al Karama, which is just a few blocks away from our house.

Living away from home has got to be the most heart-breaking and life-changing decision that I ever made. But please don't get me wrong. I've been living in Dubai a little over two months now, and so far, I'm very much okay with my life here.

Finally! Thank You, Lord, for making this happen! Thank you very much to everyone who also helped to make this happen. Thank God for such loving, supportive, and generous family and friends! 😊🙏 #ldrnomore #goodmorning #dubai

A photo posted by kriska marie (@kriskamarie) on Aug 8, 2014 at 9:12pm PDT

I have a nice house, I still get to buy things that I want, I eat good food, and Mark has been taking very good care of me here.

Our home away from HOME. Posting this for everyone who's asking (well more like worried :p). Don't worry, aside from the little homesickness, I'm okay. Mark is doing a good job in taking care of me here. :) #dontworry #imokay #homeawayfromhome #dubai

A photo posted by kriska marie (@kriskamarie) on Aug 8, 2014 at 8:23pm PDT

And this, my friends, is what he really built those muscles for. Haha! I love you @markeugenesantos! 💪✌️😘❤️ #happy27th #happy10years #10yearstoday #10yearsoflove #10yearsandalifetime

A photo posted by kriska marie (@kriskamarie) on Aug 8, 2014 at 7:58pm PDT

Love is...the little things he does for you. 😊❤️ #helovesme #labandero #boyfriendduties

A photo posted by kriska marie (@kriskamarie) on Aug 8, 2014 at 6:58pm PDT

I also have nice neighbors, it's safe everywhere, there's no traffic, and I get to visit different places.

Went out for a quick walk. The 10-minute walk to and from our house and the grocery seemed endless because of the scorching heat! 😂🙆🔥☀️ #anginit #dubailiving #dubai

A photo posted by kriska marie (@kriskamarie) on Aug 8, 2014 at 11:29pm PDT

Wow. Just, WOW! 👏👍 #DubaiMetro #Dubai #fullyautomated #driverless #GuinnessWorldRecords #longestfullyautomatedmetronetwork

A photo posted by kriska marie (@kriskamarie) on Sep 9, 2014 at 9:52pm PDT

Surely life here may be easier, but as I've said before, it's actually my first time in 28 years to be away from my family, and that for me is the hardest part. Although I'm not the very sociable type, I'm also not used to being alone. Yes, I have Mark with me, I have neighbors around, I've already made friends here, but I'm sure you'll agree with me that nothing really compares to the bond that a close-knit family has.

I get by with a little help from Skype. Hehe...Skype session with my loves. 😘 #missinghome #skype #dubai #dubailiving

A photo posted by kriska marie (@kriskamarie) on Aug 8, 2014 at 10:11pm PDT

If there's one consolation, I just love how I can still communicate with my family and get updated with them through the internet. And because of having been away from them, I now appreciate and miss even the littlest things.

Sunday is family day. 😊 #fambam #skypesessions #missinghome

A photo posted by kriska marie (@kriskamarie) on Oct 10, 2014 at 11:09pm PDT

I miss how my dad would enthusiastically greet me whenever he comes home. I miss how he always checks on me when I'm out. I miss morning chikahans about Zumba stuff over breakfast during weekdays with my mom.

After our breakfast, we went back to our room to gear up for our day activities and then went to the hotel's lobby to wait for our bus and tour guide.


The weather was a little gloomy when we left the hotel and then it started to rain on our way. I was just not sure if it was because of the weather, but we just stayed on the bus while it roamed around Hong Kong.

It was also a bit foggy which is why we weren't able to get a nice view of the surroundings while we were on the bus. Good thing I was able to take note of a few destinations which I thought we can go to on our own. These were the shopping areas in Tsim Sha Tsui and Kowloon, and the night market in Mongkok. Thanks to our tour guide, Kristi, for the info. :D

Kristi, Our Tour Guide

Date of visit: April 8, 2014

Read full story HERE :)

We had our dinner the night before at Cafe de Coral. And because I enjoyed our dinner and I already knew that we'd also be having our breakfast there, I somehow scouted the menu and took note of what I'd be having for breakfast. Haha! Apparently, they serve different sets of dishes for breakfast, just like what most restaurants do. And why haven't I thought of that? Haha!

Bun with Butter, Twisty Macaroni in Oxtail Soup, and Scrambled Egg with Milk - HK$ 22.00
with Freshly-brewed Coffee,  Tea, or Soda - additional HK$ 3.00

Our hotel accommodation in Hong Kong came with free breakfast for each guest...or so we thought. Well yeah, the breakfast wasn't totally for free unlike what usual hotel accommodations offer. We were just given HK$ 20.00 coupons per person per day which we may use in Cafe de Coral for breakfast on each morning of our stay.

We all got tired from our Disneyland adventure so we just had our dinner right after we dozed off at our hotel room.

It was already late and our feet were already begging off for another long walk, so we decided to dine at Cafe de Coral in Rambler Plaza which is just next to our hotel.


It was already nearing closing time when we got to the restaurant, but there were still a number of diners in sight.

We got back to our hotel after a whole day of fun at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Rambler Garden Hotel was where Missy Diva Travels booked a room for three for our stay in Hong Kong. Although our hotel was not located at the heart of the city, it is overlooking the Rambler Channel waterfront and is just a few minutes away from the airport and very near the MTR.


After confirming our reservation, we then went up to our room. Upon seeing the hotel's receiving area, which was just plain-looking, I somehow had an idea on what to expect in our Superior room.

After our breakfast at the airport, we met with our guide who accompanied us to our hotel. But because we were still too early for check-in, we just had our luggage secured and then we went off to enjoy our free time.


And because we got the whole day all to ourselves (our scheduled tours starts on the second day), we decided to make the most out of our free time in Disneyland!

Date of visit: April 7, 2014

Read full story HERE :)

Since Mark came home a few months back for his month-long vacation, he would tell me every now and then about how he wants us to go on an out of the country vacation, to Hong Kong specifically. I of course didn't take that seriously because 1) he has already been to Hong Kong in 2012 and 2) going out of the country entails a lot of planning and preparation and I guess you know by now that we both suck at that. Haha! I know I told you that I always want everything planned but I just don't know how to do the planning haha! Well yeah I'm weird like that! Hahaha! :p

With Mark's Mom at the Hong Kong International Airport

So the days passed and we already got to enjoy different getaways (which were all unplanned) and everything turned out to be so much fun. And although I was also hoping that we'll push through with the Hong Kong trip, we still got no specific plans so I just told myself to not entertain the thought. It was just after our Anilao getaway, barely a week before Mark gets back to UAE, when I finally knew that he was serious with the out of the country vacation.

Mark and I were at our house one Tuesday afternoon when he suddenly felt the urge to hit the beach. Being someone who always wants to plan things, I initially wanted to beg off, but since I also didn't want to get into an argument with Mark (and I was also excited to hit the beach), I just gave in. :p


We were choosing between Subic and Batangas, but because we've been to Subic countless of times already, we both agreed on the latter. After searching the net for some resorts, we booked and paid online and then found ourselves all set to head to Eagle Point Resort in Batangas the day after.

Date of visit: April 2-3, 2014

Read full story HERE :)

After visiting Regina RICA, we went on a 15-minute drive on the main road and about 5 to 10-minute drive into the mountain side until we reached Daranak Falls.


We all were excited as this would be our first time to swim into fresh water.  We pulled in into the parking lot and the lush greens surrounding the place added up to the excitement. After paying for the entrance fee and picnic shed, we walked onto the bridge leading to the falls right after the entrance.