Planning a European Trip

It's still early to decide what to do on my 40th birthday but I am considering a European trip with my family for a week in April. Although my birthday is in March, my daughter's spring break will be in April.

I am thinking of themes to do for my 40th birthday trip. One recurring thought comes to mind - seeing the beautiful tulips in full bloom in Keukenhof, Lisse, Netherlands. I have been imagining the colorful vista in my head already. My decision is leaning towards the trip than a party bash or a birthday Louis Vuitton bag.

My travel bug is biting me again and I have always dreamed of seeing the wonderful Keukenhof, the windmills, the beautiful canals of Amsterdam, the Edam cheese factory and the tiny village of Madurodam. I may throw in a side trip to Belgium since it is close by and is also a part of the Schengen.

I am already looking for budget hotels and transportation available in Netherlands should I decide to take the Belgium side-trip. My husband has a relative in Denmark so we may also squeeze a day or two there before flying back to Dubai.

My 40th birthday will probably be a trip to Europe. I'll narrow down the options before the year ends and once I have my daughter's school time table for 2011-2012.

Europe, here we come!!!

Retirement Plans

"I cannot work forever!" That's what I told my husband recently as we sat side by side and discussed our future plans. We have to admit, we're still at our prime but I want to strike while the iron is hot. I don't want to save when it's too late or when we're too old where most of the money we have will be used for medication and treatment. I definitely want a windfall that will help secure our future.

I don't have any lofty dreams. I just want to build a house on a reasonably sized lot with trees and foliages. I want to have one or two businesses on the side to help bring in income even after my 9-5 day job. I want to be able to still enjoy the luxury of travelling and see the world as what we are doing now. I want to have a simple vehicle to take me here and there. I want to have a comfortable life. But I definitely don't want to work as an employee again. That's all.

I know the time will come when I have to finally leave the corporate bondage. I feel the time is the distant future but not to far from now. I can still see myself working until I'm 45 but that's about it.

So, as early as now, my husband and I are trying our best to invest on properties so we can sell them off later on. So far, we have managed to acquire 3 properties over the course of 2 decades of enslaving ourselves to the corporate bondage. We sold the other property so we could purchase the 3rd one. Our last project will be the house of our dreams.

Another 5 years won't hurt to save more money. But we have to be wise now. Save now and enjoy later. That's our retirement motto!

Sky Bridge Hotel in Abu Dhabi

This is really amazing. What you're about to see is nothing we have seen so far in great infrastructure developments happening in this part of the world - Middle East, specifically in Abu Dhabi which is the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai has been hogging the limelight for a while with its so many firsts like The Palm Village, The World, The Burj al Arab, The Burj Dubai and the now becoming famous Atlantis.

Well, with this new project of Abu Dhabi, Dubai will have to take a back seat for a while. See the pictures below and you're looking at the future of mega-infrastructure. I see it like a big blimp!

This hotel will be built between the Abu Dhabi corniche and Lulu Island. It will have 264 rooms and 40 suites with roof garden, restaurants and commercial areas just like any other hotels.

(photos from: Kaufman Design and Development)