UK now!

With such short notice, I was on a plane heading to Manchester. Never visited Manchester before. I like it now. Got to see a bit of it and it's a lot like London except it's clean, people round here dress up really trendy/funky/punky etc, people are nicer, no bums on the streets, very cosmopolitan like London, lots of shopping and nightlife.

Only downside, Manchester is located up North of England .. so yeah, it's pretty cold up here. The cold of Scotland is blown this way (without the snow) which makes it even worse. I'll try to enjoy this place while it lasts. I love my apartment for starters - all futuristic gadgets (kitchen, toilet, heater, lamps etc) - I love GADGETS! and I love the contemporary furnishing of the apartment. The building itself, from the inside, looks like a mental institution (totally white) but I guess I'll give it some credit for the neon lights on every floor.

101 Barbirolli Square, Manchester, UK

Today, my first working day at the Manchester office. Quite exciting, quite a change and soon I will find out what has been in store for me. I love the mystery of my approaching months and not knowing what to expect. I'm sure it will eventually wear me out but for now, I'll get through it.

Off to UK today!

Never been to Manchester - a new experience waiting for moi

Great Mosque of Al-Haram - Mecca, Saudi

Being a fan of photography, I was not happy with the pics I managed to take in Saudi. Everywhere I turned, I had to be very careful when I take a photo. I tried going up to the top level of the hotel so I can take photos of the mosque and we were stopped by the police because we could supposedly take pics of the royal palaces too.

This is as close as I could get. When I went inside the mosque - most of the times, our bags are inspected and if there's a camera in there, they ask us to go back.

Sneak Preview of the inside of Al Haram Mosque

Of course, I only managed to take a photo of the ceiling because I'm not meant to have a camera in the mosque. Took a pic out of my handbag :-) I absolutely love this mosque. It's so serene and although it's really hot outside, the mosque stays pretty cool.

A grand and beautiful Mosque!

Muna Valley - Saudi Arabia

This site was quite overwhelming. These are hundreds of tents for Hajj Pilgrims.

Off to Saudi Arabia today!

I'm travelling to Saudi today for the first time ever. I'm not sure what to expect but I hope this spiritual tour will be fulfilling. I'll be staying in Medina for 3 days and then I'll spend 4 days in Mecca.See you after a week!