Christmas in the desert

Well right now I´m back home in Iceland, but let me take you a few days back to the 24th. of December.

The started kinda slow, but around noon me, my mom and my older sister Ásdís went to this indoor street market which was kinda cool, but after roughly 40 minutes of browsing I forgot myself a little bit inside an instrument shop and mom and Ásdís went on without me, which got me lost. And it didn´t help that the market was really confusing, regarding directions and I spent an hour and a half looking for them, practically running around the whole market then eventually I just took a taxi back to the hotel. And then minutes after I got back to the hotel room, my mom and Ásdís walk in.

Then After a few hours of relaxation it was time to go to a desert safari, we were picked up in a jeep and then we had an hour of driving to where the desert began, and also where our safari would begin. When we got there the jeep´s had to release pressure from the tires to get more grip on the sand and then we we´re off. And the ride through th heart of the desert, up and down all the sand dunes, it was really bumpy, but on the way to our final stop in the desert, we made a few drink and photo stops and it was really beautiful, and running around in the sand was amazing.

When we finally got to our final destination in the desert there were a lot of camels and we could ride them, and riding a camel is so much fun, the guy that led our camels took us for a really long ride and it was great. Then we sat down to dinner and there was a buffet and open bar, and since this trip was not really cheap I decided to get the most out of it so it came down to every time I walked towards or past the bar the bartender opened a beer and handed it to me, so let´s just leave it at there. And after dinner me and my sisters got a "henna" tattoo which is still on my hand, however it won´t last for long, maybe a couple of days more.

After the tattooing there came a belly dancer ( not the best looking one in the business) but when she did her thing we went over to this section that had a lot of water pipes where the whole family came together and smoked something with a hint of apples and it was great.


well and that kinda concluded the Claessens Christmas Eve

Right now it´s the 29th. of December and a new year creeping up on people so until next time

Later
Stefán Claessen

Merry Christmas

I just want to wish everyone Merry Christmas

and I will give an intensive blog when I get back to Iceland, because of the United Arab Emirates censorship is so dominant.


That´s all for now,


Later
Stefán

A whole new world

The title is not an understatement, because it applies to two things this week. First thing was going snorkeling, and it was really amazing because I´ve got this huge phobia about the ocean. Don´t get me wrong I can swim fine, it´s just being in the middle of the Indian Ocean and not knowing what could creep up on you when the sight you have is 2-3 meters. We woke up real early to get as much clarity as we could, we went on a boat/yacht to this reef which is a home to a lot of turtles, and the guide´s said that if we were lucky we would see maybe 5-10 turtles. So it was time to take the big plunge, giant leap of fate in to the murky ocean, and then it was finally my turn to jump I did it but as soon as hit the water I started kinda panicking, but still kept my cool ( didn´t show the fear). But then I finally got used to the feeling that this could be my last moment on earth, and that I could end up as food for some vicious creature so I said, What the Heck darn it! and got on with the diving.

And the guide´s took us along the reef and it was amazing, although it was kinda the same as we got further and further, it didn´t change the fact that I was in the middle of the ocean holding on to a turtle 2 meters below in the Indian Ocean. We saw a clown fish, so of course I called it Nemo, and there were so many fishes like the fish "Dora" from "Finding Nemo" and loads more.
And then we spent the rest of the day mostly in our Villa, when night fall came mom and dad had a huge surprise for us, because of the occasion that my sister had her 22 second birthday on this family vacation and they had set up a BBQ dinner on the beach. It was surreal sitting on the beach with tiki torches and servants and it was unbelievable. And it was a night I´ll never forget.

The following day was our last in the Maldives so we had to check out around noon and just hang around all day, because our flight didn´t leave until 2:30 a.m. so we just played some games, hung around on the beach and had some good food. Then it was time to go back to Male ( the airport) and the boat ride over there was pretty smooth, and maybe the reason for that was that I was really exhausted. But then we had to wait two hours at the airport on Male, which was a bore, however I saw one of the most beautiful girl I´ve ever seen, so I managed to waist some time on that. When we finally got to our plane, it was really sweet. A tv screen in every seat and an option of around 300 movies, a lot of games and flight information. And it was just amazing, although I only got an hours sleep on the plane but the main thing is that we got to Dubai, safe and sound. I´ve gotta say it´s unbelievable here, the view, the culture and just everything.


Well that´s it for now... I´m gonna put some photos on the site next time but for now it´s byebye

Stefán

A really long day!

Just when everything was perfect, everything was set, I was ready, packed and very very very very very excited. So excited that I didn´t even fall a sleep until a few hours before the flight, and then I was awoken by some horrible news. My father walks in the room and tells me that our flight to London has been delayed indefinite, at the time it wasen´t such bad news, and two reasons why. The first one being that I had just woke up from a 2 hour sleep and the second one being that I thought there was like an hour or 2 delay.

And after a few more hours of sleep I found out that the delay would be more than a couple of hours, and then I just spent the day in my sweats rolling around in self pity and cursing the weather in Iceland. Meanwhile my mother was calling everyone she knew, trying to get us on flight that would take off, turned out we just had to wait and see. then finally at 5 p.m. we could go to the airport and it was a rough ride on the way to the airport, I just felt lucky getting in the air that day.

The first good thing happened at the airport when me and my parents went to the Saga Class business lounge, because they are gold card members they can ask for an upgrade in the flight, so they asked for an upgrade and then we went in to the lounge and had some drinks. Then the lady who requests the upgrades for guests came to us and told us that we could all have upgrades ( including me) only if we switch to another flight to London, so without even thinking about it we switched and it was a good flight.

Then we finally got to London and walked over to the London Airport Hilton and got a room and then went down to get some dinner and a few drinks, and then went to bed after a long and horrible day. Then we woke up around 11 and packed what we had unpacked, and then checked out of the hotel and started what was going to be a really long and dreadful day. So when we got to the terminal we checked in to the flight and then found out there would be a slight delay on our flight from London to Munich, and this was not very good news for us because the check in for our flight from Munich to Male ( the Maldives). It turned out that the delay was 30 minutes so throughout the flight we were a little bit worried that we would miss the check-in, so when we landed in Munich we almost ran through the airport and to the check-in, despite the very "good" information and "help" we got from airport staff members. The important thing was that we got there just in the nick of time, and the woman who checked us in was so very helpful and very nice which was really comforting after our travel disaster, but that didn´t change the fact that when we finally got to the airplane that was gonna take us to our final destination was more compact than the back seat of a supercar! and we we´re gonna spend the next 9 hours there. And to make bad worse, the only thing they were showing on tv was commercials and a movie from the 1980´s, until the last 4 hours of the flight, then they showed The Simpson´s movie, which came to a shock to me because of the crap this airline was.

Then when we finally arrived, and I had been awake for almost 26 hours a man from our resort welcomed us and took us to the yacht that was taking us to the island the resort was on. And the really bad news he gave us was that is was gonna be another hour before we came to our final destination, and although the yacht was really nice and the service on board even better that didn´t change the fact that I was feeling so weak from the travel that I got sea sick from all the commotion in the waves, however I managed not to throw up. When we arrived on the island I just craved to lie down and take a nap, and the wait just got longer and longer, we had to fill out some forms, then they took us on a ride on a golf cart to our cabin, and although the ride was only 5 minutes it felt like 50. But we finally got to the cabins and we were greeted by my 2 older sisters and we caught up and were just all excited being here and we were ready to start our relaxing vacation.

I didn´t really accomplish much the first day, for the reason I was on my 40.th hour awake at the end of the day but we had a late lunch and then dinner in the evening. And the evening ended with me basically knocking myself out do to being real tired, but that nights sleep was the best I´ve ever slept, I think. Yesterday we started our day with some island breakfast and then went on a golf cart touring the island. It has been almost a tradition for me and my dad to play tennis when we go on holiday, but the crazy thing about it we always seem to do it around noon ( which is the hottest time of the day, no matter where in the world you are). So we went and played and it was like running a marathon in a Finnish sauna, but like the soldier I am I won the 1.st set 6-1 and the second set 6-3, although in the second set I was down 2-1 after 3 sets. After that crazy "fun" me and my sisters had an appointment in the spa, and had a Bali something massage. When I went in to the changing room before the massage, I took a tropical shower and relaxed a little in the pool they had, then I got dressed in this really tiny spandex, fishnet man panties which didn´t cover anything at all because they were see-through. But anyways I just put them on and the robe they gave me and went out to this tent where I waited for the woman who would give me the massage. Then this cute and lovely Indian woman named April and took me to this little cabin, but before we went in she gave me a great foot massage and then we went in and she gave me a superb massage.

After the massage I just went back to our lodge to lay down and enjoy the air condition, then it was pretty much late so we went to dinner and then had a few drinks but then it was time to go back and again I fell a sleep very hard. Today we started the day again with breakfast, then me, dad and my sister went and played some badminton, billiard and table tennis. And I was unbeatable at table tennis( ping pong) until after like 8 rounds of ping pong, my dad was like an animal and won 5 matches in a row. So we were pretty beat after all that playing so we went back to the house and me and Ásdís ( my sister) went swimming in the ocean looking for lagoon sharks.

Well that´s pretty much all for now, tomorrow we´re going snorkeling and I´m gonn put in some photos from the vaca ;)

So I´m out for now.

Stefán

Peace out

National Claessen´s Christmas Vacation

With all my Christmas shopping done, packing for the trip is finished, I´m currently loading my i-pod with 6 movies so all I can really do is go to bed and try to catch some z´s before the flight, however before I go to bed let me tell ya´ll about the vacation of a lifetime.

The Journey begins with a 2 and half hour flight from Keflavík to London, in Heathrow airport we meet up with my two sisters coming from Austria and Denmark. Since the flight from London to the Maldives is not until late in the afternoon, we´re gonna waist some time in downtown London. Then around 9 p.m. we have an eleven hour flight from London to the Maldives which is gonna be "great" especially flying "monkey" class ( as my sister refers to it) with Singapore Airlines, when we land on Saturday in the Maldives a driver is going to pick us up and drive us to the boat that sails us to our island. We are going to spend 5 days in 2 cabins on the beach ( and it´s like 97% sure that it´s going to be great) although my father said the weather forecast being chances of a thunderstorm, but that´s not gonna get our spirits down.

After spending 5 days in the Maldives our Journey takes us through 5 hours of flying ( again with Singapore Airline) to The United Arab Eramites, a little more specific, Dubai. Where we will be staying at a great hotel, and stay another 5 days and over Christmas eve and Christmas day, well I think we fly then from Dubai to London on the eve of boxing day and then from London to Keflavík with the late flight with Icelandair and will be arriving around midnight. Then on the 27th. of December we are gonna celebrate little Christmas by having our usual Christmas eve dinner and exchanging the few gifts we bought ( because the trip was instead of gift giving ) but us "youngsters" in the family will still be giving out loving older folk in the family gifts for just taking us on such a lovely journey ( and we will also be opening presents from our friends ;)


I will give you more details and thoughts on the trip when I arrive in the Maldives,

So for now ... Good bye,

And good bye nasty weather !!!

p.o.
Stefán

Hot dahm it´s cold !

Frrrrrrrrrreezing cold here in Iceland! This morning it was -8°C ( roughly 15°F) But that´s not stopping me because I just got my student visa approved so I can go and pick it up on Monday. However the whole process was not my idea of fun, I went down to the embassy this morning and before I could step a foot into the building I had to show some form of identification and go through the medal detector. And the rental cops, security guys took their jobs real serious and they had a mean look( for rental cops), when I finally got through the security I had a conversation with a woman through a glass wall, and after I gave her all my forms and data, then she asked how I wanted to pay for the 3 minute interview and I handed her my card but then she said " we only take cash". Then I had to run 5 minutes to the next ATM and b.t.w. in -8°c cold! But I am a soldier and just ran through the cold, however when I got back I had to go through security once again! which was kinda pushing my last nerve, but the main thing is that I got my visa!

And with only 3 more days of work until I start my vacation, so between Monday and Friday I´ve got time to sort out my housing situation and also finish my Christmas gift shopping, for the reason that I won´t be home until "boxing day" ( the 26th) But I managed today to buy 2/8 of my Christmas gifts so I haven´t got much left.

Well that´s all for now, I´m gonna squeeze in a nap before work so

Later
Stefán, out

Really exhausted

Well as the title says, I´m really really really really really really tired. And you might ask yourself, what is the reason he is so really really really tired. But to answer the question it could be that my new "diet" and the last 3 consecutive workouts I´ve had over the last 3 days which resulted in me losing 7 pounds, also it could also be that I just came from a 3 hour practice with Robban.

And tomorrow I´ve got another 3 hour practice with Robban so it´s good bowling wise, on the other hand it´s bad for my laziness. But it´s good for me to practice before I go to the states.

Last night me, Maggi an Arna went to the movies and saw the new Steve Carell movie called "Dan in real life" and it´s about a widower father of three daughters and on their yearly vacation to meet the whole family in some out of the blue town in Rhode Island and before he meets his brothers new girlfriend he runs into this girl in a book store and they flirt a little and then get talking and really connect, and to make a long story short it turns out that this girl is his brothers girlfriend. And although the movie got seven stars out of ten on imdb the movie takes forever to start and if Maggi and Arna hadn´t gone with me I would have walked out. But after intermission the movie really picked up and the jokes kept coming and it really saved the movie for me, still it get´s 4 stars out of ten for me.

Next week I´m gonna be working very busy with getting the correct visa I need to get in to the United States of America, and the whole process is a bitch!!! And the people at the American embassy were not at all helpful or reaching out for you so it was like someone F***** you in the a** but I´m setting up an appointment for an interview so I can get that freaking visa.

otherwise I´m out for now...

p.o.

SC