Her Trip - Manila, Clark

We recently got back from a 3-day trip to Manila. It was more of a trip for work, rather than for leisure. The trip was heavily scheduled. But as the saying goes, "Things never turn out the way you planned." And some of the plans we previously made had to be canceled.

The PRC Real Estate oathtaking ceremony was held at the Manila Hotel, the oldest hotel in Manila. It is strategically located along Manila Bay, just near Rizal Park and Intramuros. It was built by the Americans during the American occupation in the Philippines. Supposedly a 5-star hotel, the hotel to me very much needed a face lift. The chandeliers in the dining hall where the event was held, were not upright. It looked like they would come crashing down in the event of an earthquake. The food served, though just snacks, were not impressive at all.

The oathtaking event itself was boring for me, but I was just tagging along. My better half was the participant. Just like any normal ceremony, there was the usual introduction of officers then the keynote speeches. That and the meeting of other fellow participants. I usually do not socialize. A few minutes after the polite hi's and hello's, and I got bored. I just am not interested in the lives of people I've just met. I killed time playing mobile Monopoly, losing one game after the other. Drat.

An upside to that was the formal dress attire of the event. Donning the traditional barong tagalog*, my better half was the handsomest gentleman to me in the entire room. I rarely see him all dressed up like that. I can only imagine my groom on our big day.

Next stop was Clark. With the ever-reliable GPS navigator, we drove all the way. We stayed at DM Residente, got a suite for P1,395 the night. There were other less expensive rooms, but it was what was available that time. Aside from the usual hot and cold shower, cable television and telephone, it also had a little kitchenette. The room was decent, and especially since it was located in a quiet residential area, away from the night clubs, it was actually pretty good. The hotel is just not easily accessible, nor visible from the main road.

Clark was not as I expected. Being a former US air base, I expected an American-ish setting. The freeport zone was - bare. Except for the bars that lined up the streets, there was no hint of the American settlement left at all. The old houses and barracks were sadly replaced or renovated.

But we were there for the Annual Hot Air Balloon festival. And there were a number of them. The balloons were huge, and colorful. They looked nicer still being blown up on the ground, as they looked tiny floating up in the sky. We were able to get near the balloons for our pre-wedding photo shoot. A number of other couples also had prenups and postnups taken that morning. We took a few more shots around Clark, then slowly headed back to Manila.

Next stop was Binondo, Manila's Chinatown. We stayed at Binondo Suites, a hotel right in the middle of it all. Just like the Chinatown's of other places, it was dirty, it stunk, but it sold just about anything you could think of. And since we were looking for Chinese stuff, it was the only place to go.

The plan was to stay a day in Binondo, then head to Kawit, Cavite for Jose Mari Chan's concert. But sadly, the concert was canceled. Though we had still planned to push through with Cavite to see the place and relax, we had to forgo the trip to make way for the Binondo shopping. We were a long way from done, and it was the priority.

We spent the rest of the trip going around the streets of Binondo, Raon and made a quick visit to Quiapo church. As we were there on a Sunday, we tried to attend a mass in Mandarin. Funny as there were less than 10 people inside the church when the mass started. Felt like the priest was celebrating mass just for us. And we couldn't understand a thing! Regrettably, we had to leave and go to the nearby church.

We celebrated Pre-Valentine's Day that weekend. Coincidentally, we also turned 11(months) that time. We couldn't have dinner on Valentine's Day itself. But being together that weekend was more Valentine-y to me more than anything.

P.S. We were so busy that we failed to take pictures.

* The barong tagalog is an embroidered formal garment of the Philippines. These are usually worn over an undershirt, untucked. The finest barong tagalogs are hand-loomed from pineapple leaf fibers.