Sheila at 50

Keswick, Lake District, England. 26-28 February 2010.

Dave's sister Sheila turned 50 last week. She organised a walking weekend in the Lake District to celebrate. It was a fantastic weekend! We had a bright sunny day to complement our walk. To my fellow adventure seekers, look out for High Spy; locally brewed Keswick ale; and of course a walk by the lakes!

Where we stayed: Newlands Adventure Centre. 25/pax inc breakfast.

More photos can be viewed on this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=149867&l=29cd3a16e1&id=568127498

2009 in Brief

It has been another exciting year for me.

I started off by getting what would make a Filipino's life in the UK much easier - a permanent UK residence visa (or what we call in the UK as indefinite leave to remain). Mind you, being a keen traveler and having a Philippine passport are not the best of combinations, because half of your life seem to be going to embassies applying for visas so you can travel! So acquiring a permanent UK residency is like saving yourself a quarter of your embassy trips (if not more)!

The first quarter of the year was what I would call a lull in my travels as I had to remain in the UK to wait for my UK visa renewal. After what seemed to be an endless wait due to my exasperation of not being able to travel out of the UK, I finally got my passport back and was over the moon when I saw the stamp on my passport... an indefinite leave to remain! Hurrah!

I celebrated my new residence status by going home to the Philippines in May. It was a splendid visit albeit being short. Had a lovely time with my family in Baguio and a sunny holiday in Boracay with Dave. In this Bora trip, it was Dave who suggested we stay in Diniwid, which is the quiet and very idyllic part of Boracay, away from the loud disco music and screaming videoke bars of the long beach.

Went back to London feeling refreshed and ready to go back to work. But of course, the summer holidays in the UK were just starting, but due to June and July being our peak months at work, I had to be around London. Which wasn't that bad at all, because this year, summer in London was fantastic!

Went to see Wimbledon for the first time and saw Andy Rodick in Court 2 and saw a few exciting matches in the smaller courts. Even got the chance to watch Andy Murray from "the Hill" along with the rest of British spectators cheering for Murray.

With summer at its best and music festivals happening all over the country, Dave and I took the opportunity to spend a camping weekend in Kent for the Hop Farm Music Festival. Saw the Fratellis, Paul Weller, Doves, Editors, etc.

In late July, we went to Belgium to see one of my best friends - Dada! The last time Dave, Dada and I were all together in one country was probably 6 years ago in the Philippines! It was indeed a good time to catch up. And of course spent a great deal of time enjoying Belgian beers and eating mussels! Jan was very sweet to drive us around Brussels and drove us to Bruges. Also met up with my friend Angelo who showed us around Ghent. We even had a taste of the Ghent music festival as it was happening when we went to visit the city.

In September, Dave and I did a local touristy trip by going for a cycling weekend at Shakespeare Country - Stratford-Upon-Avon. Went around the historical houses including Ann Hathaway's House, Shakespeare's birthplace, Nash's house and Hall's Croft. Our second day was spent cycling some 30-mile distance towards the town of Ilmington bordering the Cotswolds where a wide variety of berries along our cycling paths were a constant attraction along with the different cottage houses and tudor houses that were lining the villages we cycled through.

In October, had week long holiday in the beautiful Cyprus. Discovered the most amazing Cypriot food in Kouppas Stone Tavern in Neo Chorio, swam in the Blue Flag awarded beaches of the country, played chess in the most stunning locations, crossed the border in Nicosia towards the Turkish part of the country, enjoyed sipping Cypriot coffee whilst waiting for the sun to come down. Ahhh would go back there!

Finally, in December, I took the Christmas holidays off, first time after having worked the last two Christmases. For the 12-day break I got, I spent two days in Paris (courtesy of my friend Dominique who went through all the lenghty process of sending me an invite to support my tourist visa to France! I told you, being a Filipino who wants to travel is not that easy). Domi lives right next to the Eiffel tower so that after the dinner she cooked for Dave and I, she made us all jump out of our seats, put on our boots and made us run to go see the Eiffel. We got there just in time when the flickering lights covered the tower and then followed by a show of various flashing lights within the tower.

On this Paris visit, I had to make sure I would get inside The Louvre (which I missed the first time I visited) and of course saw Monalisa and the famous Venus de Milo.

On my second day in Paris, woke up to see the city covered in snow! It was then another day for Dave and I to visit museums and we chose to see Musee d' Orsay.

Our trip to Paris had to be extended by another 2 days as we got stranded due to the extreme weather condition. This eventually shortened our week-long holiday in Gran Canarias. As a result, we ran out of flights for Canarias so I booked tickets to fly to Tenerife. With the holiday cut short, it wasn't as enjoyable as I had expected it to be. I also got disappointed to see layers and layers of apartment blocks covering the island. I had immediately thought of the environmental implication of tourism due to the overwhelming hotels and apartments I saw in the island.

Flew in to Manchester on Christmas eve and spent a lovely Christmas with Dave's family. I enjoyed it so much that I almost didn't want to board the train back to London. It didn't help that Dave was staying behind in Manchester for a few more days whilst I headed back to London on my own.

I shall now post this blog before the year is over. 2009 has been another great year indeed and I hope that 2010 will even be better! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Brockwell Park 2009

Dave fondly calls Brockwell Park his back garden... and naturally I have done the same. Brockwell is just round the corner from where we live. Lovely park for so many reasons... for the adrenaline it gives you after running the 3.5 km perimeter, for the comforting full English breakfast at the cafe on top of the hill, for a relaxing moment when you sit on the bench (inside the walled garden) which Dave has dedicated to his brother Mike. I took a few snapshots of our recent visit in our "back garden" as I have enjoyed looking at the dramatic change of colours inside the park...

Guanabana Charity Gig 2009, PG!

On 10 November 2009, a charity gig organised by Philippine Generations (& Malcolm Conlan) to raise funds in support of typhoon victims in the Philippines was successfully had! Great food prepared by Omar Shah and his team, very entertaining live music from Filipino artists in London - Mark Villarosa, Ima Castro, Clencha, etc. Myleene Klass pitched in her support and Mutya Buena (of Sugababes) was there all night in solidarity with the Filipino community. Well done Pinoys in the UK!

So many things...

...have happened since I last wrote an entry.

And here is an attempt to go over what has been happening in the last 8 months! Wow that's a long time for not writing a single entry! Well, what with all these facebook stuff and blogging has become a thing of the past for me! No, i shouldn't say that. I do like blogs, i am not just one of those prolific bloggers.

Right, I think the best way to start writing again is just to share you all an idea where I have been traveling to in the last 8 months.

To...

... Paris (in August 2008) where I fulfilled my dream of seeing and climbing The Eiffel Tower and was loving every moment of walking around the city and saying, "merci", "oui" and "s'il vous plait".

... Amsterdam (in August 2008) where I found myself in awe with the architecture, the canals, and became so enthralled by the works of Rembrandt and Van Gogh and thought it would be fun to live in this city!

... Rome (in September 2008), where I agreed to millions of travelers that Rome has got to be The favourite city in the world. I couldn't get over how beautiful this city is!

... Florence, where I had intensified my love of art and had to trade the time to go on a quick trip to see the leaning tower of Pisa to que to the museum to see 'David', the greatest sculpture of all time.

... Venice, where the moment I saw the gondolas and crossed the Rialto Bridge that I thought, this has got to be the most romantic city I've ever been to.

... Marrakech and Zagora (in November), where gastronomic experience at the Djamaa El Fna and riding a camel to cross the Zagora desert were the highlights of this sub-Saharan Africa holiday.

... Philippines in December!

I will be filling you in with more details on my upcoming blog entries.

Talawa

"If there's a word to describe you, it would be talawa..."

I asked what it meant. It's being feisty.

I like that.

Race for Life 2008

For the people who really know me, they will be surprised and I think happy for me for knowing that I've enlisted to join a run for a cause here in London! They know I couldn't even run a one-kilometer distance without stopping! So how the hell could I even finish a 5K course??? I was telling my friend Dada last week that the closest I've ever got myself to a running activity is an "alay lakad" (walk for a cause) which I've done many times in my country. And those weren't even running!

This coming July, I will be running with thousands of other ladies for the Race for Life of Cancer Research UK. My race will be held in Blackheath. With the invitation of my friend Opalyn, I have joined her and three other ladies to raise funds for our race to support Cancer Research UK. To date, we have already gone beyond our target amount to raise so we are all very thankful to all our friends who donated for this cause.

I've started my jogging last weekend and as expected, my legs were achy for the next couple of days. Sign of an unfit Ava! Not even the everyday running for the bus were enough to keep me fit! The training is doing me really good because the aches in my body are telling me to "run Ava run, be fit and keep exercising!"

If you are reading this blog and want to have a look at my team's website, please visit: http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/1sttimers

Of course you are very welcome to support our cause!

Dasol Mangrove Rehabilitation Project

Here's a more scholarly me =)

Not a travel entry this time but here's a paper I've co-written with Tom Byers (of Washington State University) about our mangrove rehabilitation project in Dasol, Pangasinan, Philippines. This project was one of my highlights during my work in Tanggol Kalikasan in the last three years. This has been made successful with the co-management of the local government unit of Dasol then headed by Mayor Angelita Jimenez and her very reliable municipal agriculture officer Ms Vilma Nifas.

I presented this paper during an international conference of small-scale forest managers last year in Leyte, Philippines. Please follow the link below for the paper:

http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:108321

Maxine By The Sea

When in Alaminos, don't miss the gastronomic experience which is to my knowledge best had at Maxine By The Sea! Try their antipasto (my new favourite!) next to their famous calamares and pinakbet! mmmn yummy!

I must say that my craving for Filipino dishes particularly authentic ones have all been satisfied to my heart's content with the meals i had at Maxine!

I was asked by the lovely Liwy (owner of Maxine) and her equally lovely cousin and my very good friend Bulgee to extend my stay in Alaminos so I can have dinner with them at Maxine. How can i pass such a lovely offer! And to add to their treat to me, we had breakfast the following day again at Maxine and tried for the first time Fr. Uly's favourite - Maxine's pancakes! I must say I have signed up as one of the fans of these lovely pancakes as soon as my first slice of pancake started melting in my mouth. of course, the gastronomic experience is not complete without having Alaminos longganisa, my all-time favourite!

For lunch, I had bangus and sinigang sa miso. Try also Maxine's pancit, as it is one of their best sellers! Ah, but what is not, I think everything in the menu is truly a treat!

For more info on Maxine By The Sea, visit their website on http://www.maxinebythesea.com/. or call them on (075) 5512537 and ask for Liwy (owner and manager) and feel free to name drop me! No, don't ask for any discounts please, you'll find the price to be reasonable for the quality of the food, the freshness (we are talking about fresh catch of local fisherman here!) the way it's presented and not to mention for eating in a place where you have a fantastic view of Hundred Islands!

Of course, you've not been to Alaminos if you've not been to Hundred Islands! So pack those bikinis, goggles, flip flops and sun cream and head out to the beach before the rainy season begins!

Oh yeah, back to me in London, if I don't reply to your text messages or don't pick up my phone, that's probably because i may be at work and can only access my work mobile phone which is: +447826938758, but do keep my other mobile number: 07525720477.

White sand of Cabalitian

a travel tip for those who haven't been to the beach this (Philippine) summer yet, try frolicking in the beach of Cabalitian, Sual, Pangasinan. this is my latest discovery of white-sand and unspoilt beach, courtesy of my very good friend Bulgee and Fr. Ed who invited me to their beach party!

the place is accessible by boat from this small docking area in the mainland Sual to the beach of Cabalitian. the boat ride takes around 20 minutes.

just wear your bikinis underneath and top it with a sundress or pair of shorts and shirt. don't even bother bringing any clothes for changing! you'll see what i mean as soon as you get close to the beach.

when we got to the beach i literally stripped off my top clothing and ran straight to the water. the clear and unspoilt water of Cabalitian was one of the most irresistible things i've encountered in the last 9 months! talk about being deprived of warm beaches when in the UK! hehe

after taking a dip in Cabalitian's pristine waters, grab a bottle of water, wear a hat and perhaps consider putting another layer of sun cream and take a nice stroll towards the cove hidden behind the rocks west-ward of the beach.

the cove is one of Cabalitian's hidden gems waiting for nature lovers out there to sample its relaxing waters and zen-like atmosphere.

Asin Hot Springs!

This entry is not for Baguio and Benguet residents who may well better be the ones writing this blog entry as they know better than I do about Asin hot springs!

The photos speak for themselves... So if you are looking for a nice rest and recreation place within Benguet, Asin hot springs is the place to go!

There are a number of new resorts now in Asin and far so much better from what we used to have when we used to frequent Asin during the old days. (Naks para akong matanda dito a!) My family highly recommends Riverview resort!

It costs Php70-80 per adult for an entrance fee. Our entrance fee included a use of a hut which was situated on the hill, so we had a good view of the swimming pools.

Be sure to take a dip in their hot springs located just near the swimming pools... There's nothing better than a soothing and a relaxing dip on those hot spring tubs.

There's no Place Like Home

I've been stuck in London for a long 9 months, and after a couple of unpleasant incidents that prevented me from traveling out of the UK, the thought of going home to the Philippines for a three-week holiday thrilled me to death!!!


I hadn't felt so happy being in the Philippines until I went home this April and felt at home the moment...


... the airport cab driver asked me for pasalubong! (oh my god)

... i ate rice for breakfast

... i stepped into SM and managed to shop for clothes and shoes less than half of the price of the goods I would've paid when in the UK

... my dad and brothers prepared pinikpikan for dinner!

... i was seeing the sunrise at Hundred Islands!

... i was swimming in the pristine waters of Western Pangasinan

... i was eating fresh seafoods and indulging in Pinoy food such as pinakbet, crispy pata, kare-kare, daing na bangus, longganisa! yummy!

... i was voraciously eating mangoes!


Home is indeed a litany of beautiful things life has to offer and as I write this entry from my desk in London, away from home... it is always nice to say, "there's no place like home..."

New lessons in life :-)

This is really strange... Sleepless Sunday nights is becoming a very bad habit! It's 3 in the morning and I am still awake! Drat! I need to be at work at 9am, but before that, wake up at 7am... that means I should be asleep by now to get at least 4 hours of sleep... but that's the problem, I went to bed at 12midnight and told myself, "hey i will be getting 7 hours of sleep tonight" but now I'm down to four! So now am tapping my laptop writing a boring blog entry in the hope that I will lull myself to sleep.

I just sent an email to my sisters Dada and Grasya and shared them my new lessons in life and they are:

* the test of a perfect pair of high-heeled shoes is when you can run in them
* the test of a working scream alarm is it emits the shrieking sound when you press the button
* the test of someone who likes and truly cares for you is when that someone rings you on your landline phone because your mobile phone was stolen

My New Rule of Thumb on Shoes!

I always used to emphasize that my rule of thumb for a good pair of shoes is comfort. Yes, of course style matters but comfort is the name of the game when buying a new pair of shoes.

Recently, I have added a new rule... my new rule of thumb for a perfect pair of high-heeled shoes is if you can run in them!

Seriously, it's a tough world out there, and because we can't stop ourselves from wearing sexy high-heeled shoes or boots, and the fact that streets are not that safe for anyone anymore... just be sure you can run fast when you are wearing your favourite pumps!

Still a tourist in the Yookay...

September 2007

Been in London for almost two months now. Job-hunting is not in full gear as I was still moving around England in a holiday mode - I think I deserve it after coming straight from serious stuff in the Philippines! And I also thought that I'd bum around a bit as I was hoping that sooner or later I will get a job that may not allow me to have this luxury of time to travel around!

So what have I been up to during my first few weeks since I arrived in July 07?

... to Cambridge for the folk music festival – where unfortunately missed Joan Baez's performance! Nonetheless the festival was superb where I saw excellent performance from the likes of Newton Faulkner, Ruthie Foster, Fiddler's Bid etc....

... to Sussex for a walk at Seven Sisters. It was a great day to get some sun! Seen the white cliffs – an amazing landscape to which the coasts of England are famous for.

... to Liverpool – the home town of the Beatles – of course i visited the Beatles Story museum. Excellent museum! There's a room which is the exact replica of "the white room" – John Lennon's living room where he recorded his song Imagine – i think that was his last song before he got killed. I swear I felt goosebumps crawling on my skin when I entered the room. One of the funny stories featured in the museum is about the Beatles' visit in the Philippines during one of their world tours. Apparently, there was a miscommunication that made the Beatles fail to turn up at the party organized by the Marcoses. The Marcoses, thinking that they were snobbed by the Beatles became very angry! Fearing for their lives, the Beatles left the country as soon as they could!

... to the Lake District to visit friends whose kids have sheeps and ducks for pets... and where I had so much fun jumping on the trampoline of my little girl friends!

... to Manchester to visit more friends!

... to the Nottinghill Carnival – the biggest street party in Europe! This year a total of 1.5 million tourists crowded the weekend carnival. It was amazing! We had to leave early though coz I got frightened by a brief stampede caused by gangsters. The next day I learned that a boy was killed from that scuffle.

... and finally to Plymouth where the breath-taking Plymouth Sound was the view from my window! Plymouth (Southern part of England – 5 hours by bus from London), is a seafaring port and is known historically for its Mayflower steps (where British people have walked to get to the boats which brought them to the U.S.)...

Balut!

Was going over my photos today and couldn't help but smile at the photos of me with guys I met during an international forestry conference I attended in Leyte, Philippines in June 2007.

I thought I'd post it here as a reminder of that fun night when I challenged guys from Germany, Ireland and a fellow Filipino to eat the famous Fear Factor favourite - balut!

On this interesting balut encounter, where I was enjoying (hihi sorry guys) watching the facial expressions of my male contenders decipher the strange egg in front of them, and which I won't go into details here as it will spoil the fun for those who haven't tried balut yet, my fascination switched to the balut vendors who handed to me what I thought was the greatest balut accessory innovation of all time! I just finished gobbling up my balut and was fumbling for something to wipe my hands with when our balut vendor readily offered a bottle of water to sanitise my hands! And it was not just an ordinary water, it was scented water! (how clever is that? never seen that in other parts of the country before!). The water - mixed with fragrant fabric softener, effectively leaves your hands free from the foul smell of the balut!

While it was indeed fun watching some of the guys brave their first encounter with a balut, I'm not sure if my new friends found it as interesting as I did... err I am not even sure if I earned new friends after that challenge... hehe

Budget Traveler in Singapore

January 2007

While Singapore is not known to be a backpacker's place, these days, it can be reasonable and a budget traveler like me can enjoy the scenes and stay in Singapore without worrying if I have to borrow my mum's credit card for my next meal! This is the 5th time I traveled to Singapore and compared to my first trip which was experienced in a fancy way (having stayed in a hotel at Orchard Road, ate at fine-dining restos, used taxis as means of transport, etc. etc.), I tried this time to look at the cheapest alternatives, so, with more time to spare, I rode the MRT, ate at 24-hour eating places, walked a lot, and saw that Singapore can be affordable for the budget traveler!

Booking your flight to Singapore

Some of you may have heard about the budget airlines flying from Clark to various points of South East Asia. And yes friends, you'd be delighted to know that you can now travel to Singapore (from Clark, Philippines) for at least 100$ depending on their promo and depending on the date you purchase your ticket! Just log on to tigerairways (TG should pay me for advertising them!) regularly for their ridiculously cheap airfares and you'll see what I mean. Note: TG flies from Clark. Another budget airlines is JetStar which flies from NAIA (I haven't tried this airline yet but I met a pinoy in Singapore and told me the airline is fine!).

Book your Lodging in Advance
In Singapore, budget accommodations are cheaper when booked on-line than when it's paid on a walk-in basis. Actually, this is the case to almost all bookings made on-line. And if you're thinking that the places may end up dodgy, well, it may be worth noting that my experience in two different backpacker places in Singapore and the description in the website is what you get when you walk in to your guesthouse.

Where to Stay: Budget Travelers
Bugis Backpacker's. This one is a clean, no-frills guesthouse located in the famous shopping district of Bugis. The moment you check in, the guy at the reception gives you your towel and sheet and will show you to your room. You will be told to remember your code, etc. otherwise no one will rescue you when you're locked out especially that they do not offer 24 hour reception service. This backpacker place is a bit stiff compared to the other backpacker places I've been to, but since I was only there for a night, keber ko! Rooms are airconditioned.

Good thing about this backpacker place is it gave me the space I wanted! Well, let me just say that I ended up the only person in the 6-bed female dorm! It is also near the airport so peak-hour taxi rate should only be around 12SGD. Getting there by train should only cost you 2.50 with 1 SGD refundable at the ticket machines!

Farrer Backpacker's Guesthouse. Farrer Park Station. This is a new building located near the Mustafa Center and is one-stop-train-ride away from Little India. The place is definitely great, with its clean rooms, free internet service, free coffee and tea! Other amenites include lift, aircon rooms, BUT it can get very noisy with guests who do not seem to know that you should tone down your voice when in any of the common areas. I also realized that I got exhausted with the train ride going there (from the airport) compared to staying at Bugis.

But the place has very friendly and very accommodating receptionists like David and Fani. They offer free storage. I left a bag with actually some valuable items inside and when we got back in Singapore, my bag was still intact.

Must Sees
Night time: Orchard Road (for electronic items, most of the good shops open late in the day, so best time to go is at night); Bugis (for the night market and they sell everything there! it's like a high-class Divisoria. However I warned my mum not to buy anything from there because I told her that everything will be a lot cheaper when we get to Chiang Mai!); Clark Quay/Riverside (for the lovely experience of eating by the river at any of the wide range of riverside restaurants and a stroll along side the river. Actually it felt like being in London, because Clark Quay is a small version of the River Thames in London with all the famous buildings on either side of the river. And the lights are gorgeous!) You also get to see a lot of attractions, so don't miss this experience!

Day time: Little India, China Town, Sentosa, City Tour and the Historical Route Tour!
I bought our tour ticket from the Hippo Bus Tours that has an office along Orchard Road (near the information center). This tour was a 4-in-one package that included the following: city tour, historical route tour, Sentosa (but you have to pay the entrance fee at Sentosa = 2SGD) and a night tour with a trip to Sentosa to watch the Musical Fountain Show - the highlight of the tour, which my mum and I were very happy about!

Tipid Tips for Budget Travelers

Singapore has a very user-friendly MRT, so it is really advisable to travel by MRT when coming from the airport (and when going around Singapore!) From the budget terminal, take the free shuttle bus to Terminal 2 of Changi airport and follow directions leading to the train station. Be ready with notes of 5SGD or less in purchasing your train ticket (usually between 2.50SGD up) because the ticket machines don't accept 10SGD notes. Taxi rate is at 30SGD, the shared taxi is I think at 10SGD per person.

In Sentosa, because there are loads of places to see but most of the best ones have entrance fees (that are rather expensive for peso earners like me), just pick up which you like the best and spend the time there. My mum chose the Underwater World and I thought that it was better than the one I saw in Sydney.

What Else...

Singapore is famous for their satays. For great food (and cheap too), go to their 24 hour restaurants (we call it karinderia in the Philippines) but their karinderia version in Singapore is clean and has a wide selection of food!

Traveling with Mum

January 2007

I thought I'd digress a little on my travel tips and write a little about the interesting experience of traveling with mum. My mum and I traveled to Singapore and Thailand together recently and it was such great fun because aside from the bonding and experience of traveling together, I got to see other sides of her which I never thought existed. So I thought I should list some of them down to remind me how fun it is to travel with my mother!

I know that mum is such a friendly person but I never thought she can stay up all night talking to a stranger!

Our adventure started in Singapore where we stayed at a backpacker's place. A new experience for mum which I thought she wouldn't like (you know staying in a room with other people, etc.) but to my surprise, she enjoyed the place so much that she asked for me to book the same accommodation (on our return from Chiang Mai). Mum even made more friends than I did! In fact, she was the one introducing me to the people who were staying at the guesthouse. There was one night when I had to hush her because she was talking endlessly with this sweet Chinese lady whom we were sharing the room with. She and the Chinese lady were giggling like little girls when I hushed them to sleep!

She's game in anything!

Since this was mum's first trip abroad, I prepared it for her in such a way that she can see as many places as possible. In other words this trip entailed a lot of walking. And I was very happy to see that my mum could never get tired of walking! For one full day in Singapore, we managed to see most of the must-sees and even managed to relax in between. Little India, China Town, Orchard Road, Bugis, Suntec City, Sentosa, Musical fountain show, you name it, we conquered it! And the walking didn't end there because when we got to Chiang Mai, she was always looking forward to her day trips and was touring like a mad woman!

Mum is a big fan of spicy food.

I treated mum to an Indian restaurant when we arrived in Singapore. I love Indian food, it's in my top three favourite international dishes and I was so delighted to see mum liking the food I love! Ahh and then in Thailand (i'm such a big fan of Thai food! also happens to be in my top 3 fave foods) mum really enjoyed Thai food and would order without asking the waiter "not too spicy please" (of course this is embarassing for me after my declaration of loving Thai food, because i would always ask the waiter to go slow on the spice!) Ah but the mother could eat spicy food! And being the cool mum that she is, it was so funny seeing her gulping down a bottle of Singha beer one night after one of our meals.

Shopping Queen.

When we were in Chiang Mai (goodness, the night bazaars are so overwhelming! you would hate that you only have so much money with you and that you have only so much for your check-in baggage), anyways, I had to discipline my mum because she seemed like she wouldn't like to stop! We started shopping at 4 in the afternoon and we ended by 9pm, only because I had to remind her that I was really hungry and too tired to move another muscle. After our meal, we went for a very relaxing foot massage. When we finished, I started walking back to our hotel when mum told me she was still up for shopping! That was already 11 pm! In short, I left her in the night bazaar so that she could carry on shopping while I went back to the hotel to get my rest. Mind you folks, my mum has a pacemaker but she has an energy of a fit teenager!

Bloopers!

This trip was also full of bloopers. One time, I was woken up in the middle of the night because I heard someone moving around the room, I got up to discover my mum pacing back and forth, only to find out later that she was doing her morning exercises! ARRGGGGHHHH!!!
Then one night, she said she couldn;t sleep, and because I was dead tired from the first day of my management course and didn't have the energy to talk to her anymore, I asked her to just lay in bed and count sheeps. Then when I was beginning to doze off, my mum who-was-a-minute-ago-a-restless-girl-who- couldn't-sleep started to snore! Ay naku po! So the next night I told her to wait for me to sleep before she can sleep so that I can also find some rest. =(
In Sentosa in Singapore, when we were at the Underwater World, my mum behaved like a cheeky little girl and picked up this poor fish that was in a tank (uhmn, yeah, the sign read, "you may touch the animals") so I snapped at her and she put the fish back with a guilty "oops" expression on her face. The man behind her laughed at the scene in front of him of a daughter telling off her mother. hehe

My mum and I had a good laugh one night when we realized that in this trip, we had our roles reversed - she became the child and I became the mother. Man! I was doing most of the telling off and she was this girl enjoying the life!

She also had to remind herself (again!) that I am no longer her little girl, that my life has changed, and for that matter she learned that I am a light sleeper, and couldn't sleep when someone snores, or that she has to keep still in bed when she wakes up at 5 am otherwise she'll wake me up, and she learned that I hate being woken up in the middle of the night because it can be difficult for me to go back to sleep and that I need at least 7 hours of sleep! Etc. etc.
To sum it all and despite the bloopers, I truly had a great time with ma, and I was again reminded that life is short and very precious, and it is lovely indeed to see your loved ones enjoy life's simple pleasures. And most of all, I learned how fun it is to travel with my mother.

Surfing in L.U.!

November 2006

I have learned a new sport... surfing! Thanks to my sis Dada who invited me to have my first surfing lessons in San Juan, La Union, Philippines!

Why surfing? Why not!

It was the first weekend after I arrived from Sri Lanka and as if my holiday wasn't enough, I went back on a holiday mode after a week-long work mode, and packed my beach garb (har har which proved useless to surfing and I will tell you later why), hitched a ride to Dagupan with our dear friend Bulgee and whisked off to San Juan!

Of course, this story won't go straight to surfing but will tell you that I got a gorgeous hunk for a surfing instructor. Ah well, I guess the motivation to learn surfing got more exciting at that point! My instructor Anthony (yes gals, you can find him at the______, I'm not telling! hehe) proved his worth when I realized he was as good as an instructor as his looks! During my first lesson, he taught me how to stand up on my board, paddle with my board, and finally ride my first wave! The moment I got on my first wave, I never really wanted to stop! So on a pleasant afternoon with the sun setting and red and orange skies were bursting on the background, my friends and I were enjoying lapping with the waves, getting turned over by waves and riding the waves - more appropriately called as SURFING!

The following day, my surfing instructor taught me a new skill, and that is, how to catch my own wave! Wow, I'm getting there! After my first weekend of surfing lessons, Dada and I were already planning to go back the following weekend. Yes, surfing is cool and here are some things you may want to know before heading off to San Juan:

1. Basic requirement. You should at least be confident in the water, i.e. that you should know how to swim or that when you fall in the water, don't go on a panic!

2. Wear tight-fitting tops otherwise subject yourself to become a flasher when you get rolled over by waves! I don't have my own rash guard, but thanks to Dada who lends me her rash guard everytime we go surfing. Rash guards are expensive (Php1,800++), so if you don't have one, wear something on top of your bikini top that is really tight enough to lock your top! I got another tip from a dorm-mate wayback in college and she said she wears knitted tops coz they hung tight to your body.

3. Choose an instructor who knows how to communicate. During my second weekend of lessons, my surfing instructor wasn't there, so I got a new one (who unfortunately was just pushing me towards the waves and didn't seem to teach me anything at all).

4. Meet and hang out with the local surfers. Yes dude, so that you get more tips even after you're out of the water!

5. Budget: 1 hour of surfing lesson (with surf board rental) is Php350. Accommodations range between Php150 (dorm) to Php800 (fan room) to Php1000++ (aircon room). Decent meals cost at least Php50.00. Drinks around Php 20.00. Beer Php25.00 up.

6. Where to stay. I've been to San Juan twice and stayed in both occasion at Mona Liza Resort (Php500 up depending on the number of occupants per room). Choose a beach-front room and you wake up to a view of pro-surfers riding the waves at the POINT!

7. Where to hang out. Surfers' Retreat. A bar on the highway fronting SeBay where you find all the surfing instructors mingling with old and new surfers as they burn their hard-earned cash over bottles of beer. Cool dude!

The Lovely Sri Lanka

November 2006

it never occured to me that my 2-week holiday in sri lanka will make me fall in love with the place many times over. this was far from what i felt 5 months ago when this holiday was being planned and the height of the Tamil conflict was reverberating in news headlines. as always, when political conflicts are reported in a country, this usually put visitors off and i wasn't spared from that initial reaction because i immediately thought of the risks involved in traveling to sri lanka. moreover, it did not help that my impressions of sri lanka are still the depressing pictures of the tragedies caused by the 2005 tsunami.

but i looked on the brighter side and thought that this will be my first south asian country to visit! aha! another country in my list! this should be something new. suddenly i became excited!

i arrived in sri lanka around 10:30 am on nov 5 and managed to get a cab easily (oh yeah i was in luck, the mob of taxi drivers waiting in the que was a challenge!) from one of the stalls that lined the exit path of the airport. i instructed the cab driver to take me to Golden Star beach resort in Negombo. as we got nearer to our destination, the laidback atmosphere gave me a reassuring feeling of the adventure ahead of me.

the following day, we set off for Colombo and stayed at Globar Towers where we got a room with a fantastic view of the sea!

i spent my first day in colombo shopping for batiks. while other tourists would flock to go to Bare Foot (a popular touristy store selling sri lankan batiks and other novelty items), i opted (of course after getting the advice from our sri lankan friend Ruvanthi) to go shopping at the street markets of Pettah.

by this time, while my eyes were busy observing my surroundings, it struck me how sri lanka is indeed (very) patriarchal. well, the attendants at the hotel were all men, the crew at restaurants were all men, and the street shops were all run by males!

but despite the male dominance, i didn't feel intimidated at all because the people were just friendly. i didn't even get hassled by the shopkeepers (something unusual in developing countries' street markets). my tuktok driver was even kind enough to grant my request of stopping at a temple that we passed by on our way back to the hotel. how can i not fall in love with such a place whose people are nice and friendly?

next stop was in Kandy. Kandy is an upcountry found in the central part of Sri Lanka. we stayed at Randy's Place, whose owner we met at the train station and promised to give us a room with a view. when i woke up the following morning, i got what we were promised and saw an exhilirating view of the mountains and the nearby lake from our room terrace. we spent the rest of our day walking inside the compounds of the Temple of Tooth (where the ancient tooth relic believed to be of the Buddha's is housed.)

we traveled further north and reached Dambulla. this was where we went to see ancient paintings on the walls of 5 caves situated on top of a hill. at the foot of the hill was a gigantic golden Buddha that welcomes every visitor on the hike up. up in the caves, i found it overwhelming to see different types and ages of Buddha painted on the walls. no space was left on the walls!

before going to our next stop, decided to become posh for a day and stayed in the famous Kandalama Hotel. this green globe awardee hotel is set in the midst of a forest overlooking Kandalama Lake. the hotel was designed by the famous Geoffrey Bawa who is known for his exemplary architectural designs of various structures all over Sri Lanka. the best bit in this hotel is its infinity pool (that from one's vantage point, gives one the illusion that the pool extends all the way to the lake! amazing!) and so for more than a day, we were sampling a luxurious holiday at Kandalama that started from our room being upgraded from de luxe to a suite (complete with a jacuzzi, the feeling of showering with the nature because you walk into a shower with a glass wall so you can see the wonderful nature outside), a buffet dinner that served Italian and Mongolian barbeque, use of all facilities and a free bird watching trip (which we missed because we were too lazy to wake up early!)

we traveled to our next destination and set off for Sigiriya. the highlight of which was our climb to the fortress of the Sigiriya rock mountain. the hike up to the summit shows you the one-of-a-kind-water gardens that adorn either sides of the mountain. as you reach the top, you will see a pair of a giant lion's paws that serve as the entrance before the final ascent to the fortress.

The last week of the holiday was spent lounging in the beautiful and idyllic beach of Mirissa where our mornings start with yoga at the beach followed by eating Sri Lankan breakfast composed of hoppers and curry. then we would just nestle in the hammocks set under palm trees and would while away the time reading our books. afternoons were spent swimming and body surfing and more walking on the beach.
yes, Sri Lanka was such great fun! lovely people, great food, the touristy places are remarkable, plus going around is relatively cheap!