Lost in Hofuf....

Have you ever gone to a road trip that you don’t know exactly what to expect? Adventures of a lifetime which apparently became a reason why we finally realize that we only have one life to live? A different kind of feeling came rushing from within because of the uncertainty of it all? The adrenalin rushes, and numbness while on the road to la-la land, whatsoever?

It had been a while since I went on a trip outside of Riyadh, and it all happen again last Friday. The euphoria of emotions ignited upon learning of the plan in going to Judas cave in Hofuf. The anticipation, the excitement, the fact that it is a new place to visit never gets in the way for me to have reasons not to go. I was never hesitant, instead more than willing, much more than willing in spite of the lack of sleep or no sleep at all the night before.

We reach Hofuf at midday with very little idea where Judas cave was. But we all had the same description of the place though, it’s small and not much of an ideal place for us compared with the bigness of Riyadh that me and my friends have learn to like through the years. We stumbled and asked a few people within the city proper while some gave us a few incorrect directions. Until finally two Saudi natives showed and guided us to the correct place after almost an hour of trying our luck.

We took pictures, lots of them while we explore the inside of the cave. The place is captivating and a bit scary of the danger of falling rocks, huge rocks! But I have never seen such a breath-taking sight ever before in the caves arena. They develop the place so much so people could see such a place like Judas cave. We stayed for 2 hours while discovering the place.

So what brought this weekend trip on? We just needed a change, maybe; a sort of an escape from the pressures of work, and the big city etc. I have learned that it all started with a dream of Obe. To make the story short, the Judas cave was the perfect place to go because of its biblical background, I supposed. I just don’t know what Obe’s dream have to do with the cave.

I’d like to say personally that the rest of the trip was not all fun, it comprises of gruesome endless silent screams from me. Talk about the driving! How fast Rommel could go almost hitting 200 miles per hour! It was too much to convince Rommel to slow down, esp. that I was not the driver, coz obviously he drives and I don’t, while I get an “okay” and “shush” response as he stared out the windshield while he rolled his wide eyes. As if saying, why am I so scared? I mumbled, and tried again. I mumbled yet again, and I tried yet again in convincing him to slowdown and not try to be the queen of clutch or maybe become a clutch manipulator.

It was really hard to convince R, but sometimes he surrenders because of the many excuses I had to cleverly come up with as I settled into my seat more comfortably, but of course I couldn’t think of any more reasons all the time. I felt a sigh of relief every time we would stop for a gas and the calls of nature. In the end I was the one who surrendered, I gave in, I just shook my head to dislodge that train of thought, feeling panicky. But I always paid attention to his driving, murmuring and gasping in horror as called for.

Road trip has become an art to some recently, experiencing and celebrating the open road.

Thanks to friendship allan, he came up with the title of this post. This came up while we were in the midst of finding the Judas Cave. We were discussing and laughing at how lost we are. I was telling them what an adventure this might be, and it could be an interesting topic to my blog.

Movies i liked...

There are movies we watched that made us feel human because it moved us while we immersed ourselves through it. There are movies that we like and dislike. Movies we simply devoured ourselves with the ones that catches our attention. Movies we can relate to, one way or another. Movies that eventually became a love hate relationship in us, we watch them again and again and then we don’t.

I must admit, there are times when I rarely watch any movies, it’s unpredictable.

But one of the things that I am proud of and claim responsibility for is that, over the years I have collected a bunch of movies to my liking, ranging from action, comedy, drama, sci-fiction, suspense-thriller, and love story. It is being well-kept. Like a priceless possession it is something that I could get back to someday.

A friend, who had the same passion as mine or maybe more, once told me that his collection may outlive him. We also have this habit of reading the review of the movie at wikipedia; if it does have a positive review from critics then we watch it. This is how we gauge the movies that I watch.

Recently, I have added a few very interesting movies to my collection with superb stories, plot and twist in the end you wouldn’t expect.

TWILIGHT

Twilight is a 2008 American romantic-fantasy film directed by Catherine Hardwicke and based on the novel of the same name by Stephenie Meyer. The film stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, a teenage girl who falls in love with vampire Edward Cullen, portrayed by Robert Pattinson.

REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Revolutionary Road is a Golden Globe award-winning 2008 British-American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet. The screenplay by Justin Haythe is based ont eh 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates. The film opened on December 26, 2008.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

The curious case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American film, very loosely based on the 1921 short story of the same name written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film was directed by David Fincher, written by Eric Roth, and stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. The film was released on December 25, 2008.

Just Watch The Fireworks...

2009 is finally here, which means I have to say, “Goodbye 2008”. I thank you for the wonderful and not-so-wonderful times we shared last year. Nevertheless, there have been many memories to live-by, memories which made me laugh and cry a bucket-load of tears. Triumphs and desperation. Success and failures. Name it. 2008 has it all for me to remember.

I do not expect too much of 2009 personally, but a lot has been said that this year we expect the worst especially with the economy plummets into piteous low and still unraveling. The very obvious dramatic state of global financial crisis which cause political and economical instability, that even the most developed and most powerful countries had been affected by it.

But I have high hopes that we can survive this, notwithstanding. I just have to think that this year will be the year like no other. Hopefully, my eagerness will last long enough to fulfill all my goals before the year 2009 ends.

P.S

For starters, I and my friends opened the New Year with an intimate celebration of Poch birthday with mouth-watering delectable casual home-cooked chow for us to dine.

I posted some pictures taken during the New Year celebration and Poch bday bash. We had fun at both celebrations!