Life, Day by Day

The City Tour Our harassed travel agent cum tour guide arrived early the next morning to pick us up for the " part of the package, shouldn't be missed " half day city tour.  There were just 6 of us (my aunt-nun has joined us by this time) and so our ride was the same van that we rode from the airport.  Our tour guide was named Eric and he was very informative and his Chinese English with a British accent was very entertaining.  He says pooh instead of poor and people turned to peepoh...heheh.  On our way to the cross harbor tunnel which we will be entering to go to Hongkong Island, he pointed out heritage places, shopping centers, hotels, schools as well as tenement houses which had clothes lines hanging out from window to window up to the top floors. But remember this was in 1993, so I don't know if this practice is still common in the Kowloon part of Hongkong.

We checked in at Holiday Inn Golden Mile at Kowloon and to my surprise, their front desk staff was not as fluent in English as I would have expected from people living in a British Colony or maybe because this was the night shift?  In fact for the next 5 days, I found it difficult to communicate with most of the locals I encountered, either they could not speak English very well or they refused to speak it.

Our group of 5 flew from Bacolod to Mactan International Airport in Cebu on November 10, 1993 to take the PAL flight PR 0302 bound for Kai Tak Airport (this airport closed in 1998) in Hongkong for a 5 day holiday.  We were not part of any tour group so that our travel agency gave us specific instructions on what to do and who to look for when we landed.  During that time, there were no cellphones, so that we had to rely on oral and written instructions which were simple enough I thought. 

The very first time I went overseas was in November 10, 1993.  The place: Hongkong.  The company: my mom and brother, together with a distant aunt and her grand-daughter.  The purpose: primarily for pleasure but also to escort home our father's first cousin, a Good Shepherd nun who was ending her assignment there.  We took the CEBU-HK Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight going there and a Cathay Pacific (CX) flight coming back.  The rationale for taking 2 airlines was because my auntie-nun bought a one-way CX ticket for her trip home while we wanted to ride PAL. Well, I thought that's a good way to check out both carriers...at least I can say later I have experienced them both.

In the summer of 2007 I was invited to be part of a group that went to  El Nido Resort s. Back then I was blogging intermittently and was not yet on Facebook.  As I reviewed my travel pages here, I realized that I never wrote about my trip to this beautiful resort that was doubly memorable, because it was a trip of many firsts for me.

Boracay is totally changed since we visited in 2000. If at that time, the island already looked crowded, it has grown even bigger in terms of infrastructure and population, all in the name of progress.  The island's enchantment and purity in the 70's is all but gone. Once upon a time it was only people from Aklan who knew of its beautiful beach.  Of course, even the best kept secret does not stay a secret for long.  Eventually, the few settlers with land titles in the island decided to either develop, sell or lease their lands. Today, there are hundreds of resorts, both beach front or in-land, high end or budget type, varied restaurants, either local or franchised, coffee shops (yes, Starbucks is in Boracay), all kinds of bars, expensive boutiques ( I saw a Mango Outlet), and even food carts can be seen in Boracay.  I now call the place little Metro-Manila with a beachfront.  It is one big party place, THE PLACE to be seen not just in summer but at all times of...

The first time I went to Boracay was in the year 2000.  My cousins living in Davao (then) and Manila were all going to meet up there for the Holy Week and we (my mom, brother, son) decided to come along to celebrate my birthday there as well.  We stayed at Marzon's in station 3 while my cousins stayed at Tirol & Tirol in station 2.  It was a good thing that we did because the resort was only a few steps to the beach, it was clean with friendly and accommodating staff and above all quiet since it was far from the noise of bars playing loud music and party atmosphere in station 2.  We stayed for 2 nights and 3 days and although we enjoyed the beautiful beach, the company and the resort...fact is, Boracay is the worst place to be on Holy Week and so, I swore never to come back at this time of year.   Then come 2011...my mom wanted to spend family time with the kids before summer vacation ends, as my nephew was going to Manila for college.  The initi...

After experiencing Amanpulo , then what... I have been to famous white beaches like Boracay and Panglao Island in Bohol and I have been to Miniloc Island of El Nido Resorts in Palawan as well as Apo Island in Negros Oriental , and honestly,  Pamalican Island's (home to Amanpulo) pristine white beach surrounding the island is not much different but , taking everything else into consideration, nothing else compares to what this breathtaking island has to offer .  For one, the island's owners and Amanresorts have seen to it the island's lush tropical surroundings, flora and fauna remained untouched.  I cannot say the same for the other famous beaches in the country. Whatever development made in the island was done in such a way that modern amenities built did not change its natural beauty nor cause destruction to nature. Our casita was surrounded by wild vegetation and we had a resident bayawak living in the rocks and trees but this did not in any way diminish the ...

My last day and I woke up late!  I took one look at the overcast sky and  knew that there will be no chance of swimming in the beach anymore.  We spent the rest of the morning packing our things and taking more pictures before lunch.  Our pizza themed lunch was initially scheduled at the picnic grove but due to the rain, venue was moved to the main clubhouse.  While there I checked out the library, boutique and swimming pool...bought some of the delicious smelling soap, the same one placed in our rooms, albeit a much bigger version.  These were 6x the cost of imported soaps but they smelled really heavenly and frankly, there was nothing cheaper to bring home as souvenir being sold in their boutiques!  There were nice keychains but no resort logo...in fact, the resort logo could only be found in a some caps, children's t-shirts (very small embroidery) and long sleeves rash guard swimwear.  I was told that Amanresorts which runs Amanpulo espouses s...

After an exciting and food-filled first day, we retired to our beautiful casitas for a good night's rest.  The blinds were drawn and the beds turned down, when we got there.  The bathroom had everything from delicious smelling soaps, shampoos, lotions and even insect repellant.  There was coffee, cold bottled water, WIFI, cable TV and mobilephones had good signals...hmmmm, what more can a working girl ask for?  We woke up Tuesday morning to some sunshine, got ready to go to breakfast and explore the island.  That was the plan...but as my luck goes, I had a minor accident yesterday afternoon, falling on my knees which I did not think was bad but unfortunately when morning came I found myself with a slightly swollen left knee causing limited mobility.  I really don't want to talk about it, it's enough to say that I could walk but not run.  Still, I did not want to miss out on all the planned activities, so I designated myself as motivator and driver, he...

We landed in Amanpulo at approximately 12:45 PM, May 9, 2011 and was warmly met by the resort's general managers, a husband and wife team, Nicholas and Christine Juett. There was a red carpet and leis placed on each guest, making me feel special the moment I got off the plane. Of course, I know that they do this for each arrival but still it was a nice touch. We were then shuttled to our individual golf carts (our mode of transportation for the duration of our stay) and our guide, Lyn took us for a short orientation tour around the main features of the private island resort before bringing us to our beach casita.   My roommate and I were assigned to Casita No. 23 and registration was a shoo-in...I just gave her my business card and signed the form.  After showing us the casita's features and amenities (including how to operate the cart), contact numbers and other instructions, we were left to our own devices. First on the agenda was to explore our casita.  I...

I spent Sunday, May 8 preparing for my trip, although I still wasn't too sure I was making the right decision. I went to the 6:30 PM mass and I said to God... I put everything in your hands ...and somehow, the hesitation greatly diminished.  When I got home, my mom told me that the typhoon was on it's way out (she was actually praying that the weather improves), which for me was a good sign.  But I slept late and woke up at 5 AM Monday, almost missing my 6:20 AM flight...not a good sign.  Surprisingly, the flight to Manila was good and although there were some rain showers, the weather seem to be cooperating...which again was a good sign (I was looking for signs everywhere)...but then again, no one came to meet me at the airport.  I tried to contact my friends and they said that a car was supposed to pick me up and bring me to where they were...at the Soriano Hanger. And so I waited...and waited...and waited...until the assigned driver finally appeared almost 1 hour...

Mornings at Lalimar is breathtaking...you wake up to this... a view of serene water meeting the blue sky... My brother was up early, so he had breakfast with our driver-mechanic at the resto-bar by the pool. My mom, daughter and her nanny were having their breakfast at the cottage veranda and told me to order mine. I wanted bacon and eggs but was told "baconsilog" was not available so I opted for "longsilog" instead, also to be delivered to the cottage of course...I told you, they had great room service...although I think it's also because my mom is a big tipper :) The kids were still asleep so I decided to explore our surroundings while waiting for breakfast. Cottage 1 where we stayed the beautiful eternity pool As you can see from my amateur pictures (taken with a simple digital camera), that this is a beautiful place and I'm very happy that we came.  Although the beach was full of stones, pebbles and corals, they were n...

The coastal view from Vallehermoso to La Libertad is breathtaking. I would love to have a home here where you wake up to the sea and sky becoming one. The road trip to Lalimar Resort took about an hour and it was easy to find since it is located right along the highway. The place looked clean and parking was spacious. There were a lot of people but I found out that these were just day guests. It was a very informal set-up...reception was also located at the bar where I found Leny who was in-charge of our reservation. I knew that check-in time was 2 PM but we arrived early a little past 1 PM and our room was still being readied but the staff was kind enough to allow us to stay in the porch while waiting. The room was very spacious, T&B was clean and there was hot and cold water. After a simple check-in procedure, we all settled in...and the kids went around to explore the place. I checked out the bar...and found that mineral water and sodas were expensive...a liter of Wilkens...

It was after the surgical mission organized by the Provincial Health Office in '97 or '98 in Calatrava town that the team decided to come back to Bacolod via the new Negros Translink Highway.  It was about 60% finished then, steep and dusty with some fantastic sceneries.  Today, more than 10 years after, it is a bustling highway and the scenery became even more beautiful. The waterfall which I first saw in the 90's is still there with it's viewing deck.  There are vendors now selling foodstuffs and restrooms! The air here is cold and if you plan to stay longer and explore, it would be practical to wear something  to keep you warmer or bring a jacket. But sadly, there is one thing that has not changed much...and that is, denuded hills. I still do not see new trees in the hills of San Carlos and Negros Oriental.  After some picture taking and a car-sickness mishap (all that zig-zags and curves took its toll), we arrived in San Carlos at around 10 AM.  San ...

For the longest time I have been wanting to take a road trip to Northern Negros via the Translink Highway that run from Salvador Benedicto town to San Carlos City .  The first time I passed through here was in the mid 90's when it was still being completed...the view was fantastic but on the roadsides were basically just nipa huts and road workers.  I remember we were a convoy of ambulances and we would wave at the people and they would wave back, especially the children.  I actually felt like some minor celebrity...heehee.  And so last June 5, 2010, a day after my brother's birthday, we decided to take that road trip.

After posting my travel photos to Facebook and this blog, I got a lot of comments re: how nice Singapore is, how orderly and efficient, how modern, how disciplined, etc.  Basically, I agree with all comments except that somehow beneath all that orderliness, efficiency and modernism lies a restless spirit...is it dissatisfaction? defiance? cynicism? boredom?...I can't quite pinpoint it, but somehow the impression I get is that people are not really happy with their lives and that life is not quite satisfying as it seems.  Even our tour guide who seemed up all the time, seemed to me as trying very hard to show his enthusiasm.  One would think that in a country where the per capita income is very high having a highly developed market-based economy, life would be very satisfactory and happier, but it seems not, since you rarely see people smiling and looking happy or friendly in Singapore.  Almost everyone looked very business like (not to mention tired) and in a hurry, ...

Port Klang is about an hour ride from Kuala Lumpur (I know I said that before)...I spent the whole trip thinking about "my bell"...it was a quiet ride to the port and even the scenery was sparse.  In fact I saw several unoccupied and empty townhouses, business establishments on the way.  The Star Cruises Terminal Port is located at Pulau Indah which is located next to the cargo terminals of Westport and is quite impressive but there were very few people around except for some parked taxis waiting for passengers who want to go around.  Still thinking about the bell...I saw one in a souvenir shop but it cost RM 25...okay, so I am obsessing about it but I am not that obsessed! This was our last night on the boat, and so we had dinner at one of their more formal restaurants.  The boat left the port for the trip back to Singapore at about 8:30 PM.  After dinner, some of the group went to watch a show and enjoyed the other amenities on the ship.  I on the ...

After a very sumptuous lunch at Hotel Equatorial, we proceeded to ride the bus that would take us to Kuala Lumpur.  It was a very short visit to Melaka/Malacca and because we basically just moved around the Bandar Hilir area, I'm sure there is more to the whole city than just the Dutch Square, St. Paul's Hill and Chinese temples.  I would like to visit again one day and take in more sights and explore the whole city. We left Malacca at about 1 PM passing through the more modern part of the city until we got to the North-South Expressway ....Kuala Lumpur, here we come! It was a 2 hour drive and as soon as we got to the expressway, our guide allowed us to nod off to lalaland ☺☺☺ .  After dozing off for a half hour or more, I started to be more aware of our surroundings and there was one thing I noticed...emergency phones every 2 kilometers or so, and there were motorcycle lanes! The landscape was also mostly palm trees, plantations probably...I was trying to look for rubb...

First day of the cruise, I was up by 5:30 AM, ready by 6:20, breakfast by 6:30 and waiting at The Lido by 7:00 AM for our shore excursion to Melaka and Kuala Lampur.  This was a technical stop for the ship and we will be transferring to a tender boat which will bring us to the Melaka port since the shallow waters there will not allow the ship to dock.  Entering the boat, I had this deja vu feeling...I think because it was like a harbor pilot's boat and something similar to what my maternal grandfather would use when he meets and goes up the international ships he would guide in entering the Manila port.  The short trip took less than an hour and this was what greeted us...and quite friendlier faces complete with a good morning greeting from immigration and the coast guard. Melaka was recognized in 2008 by UNESCO as a world heritage city. We were first brought to this place, "Dutch Square", with its Town Hall, Clock Tower and Church. We then went up St.Paul'...