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.

Her Trip - Subic, Zambales, Manila (Part 3)

Me and my ambitious self drove the 100-kilometer stretch back to civilization. The drive was a boring one. Highway after highway of empty roads, anyone could've easily fallen asleep on the wheel. But lucky me, I had someone keeping me company. Until finally, we reached the final leg of the trip. The busy district of Manila.

Driving on the expressway was a bore. Driving in Manila however, suicide. We come from not-so-busy cities. Cities where driving is almost equivalent to unwinding. I sometimes drive around town alone to de-stress, or run errands to relax. In Manila however, driving in itself is a chore. Vehicles go by so fast, changing lanes is a nightmare. And then there's this thing with him reading the expressway signs. He reads them out loud. Upon hearing them, I switch lanes. But, no, that wasn't a cue to shift. I had to get off. A few more kilometers, and I was sure we would've ended up yelling at each other.

I've been to Manila countless times (for work mostly), yet I still don't know my way around. My better half, though, knows the place by heart. "This was where ..", "Here is .." and on he goes. And I, coyly smile in adoration.

We (I'm assuming him too) don't enjoy wandering aimlessly, so we made plans.







First up, was Carlos Celdran's If These Wall Could Talk! It is a 3-hour tour around Intramuros, the walled city of Manila. Around 40 people joined the tour that afternoon. The audience was a mix of Canadians, Chinese, Europeans, Americans and Filipinos. I won't go too much into the details lest I spoil the experience. All I can say is that for me, the tour stayed true to Celdran's tag line, "A man who is trying to change the way you look at Manila - one step at a time". I had a much different insight on Philippine History after that. The tour for me wasn't comical nor funny, it was just interesting to say the least. Made me want to dig up my old history books after.

Next, was Chinatown in Binondo. Having returned our rented vehicle, we had to face the cruel Manila traffic and commute. That meant 2 MRT rides, plus the jeepney. It all seemed daunting until it's over. And I can say that it wasn't at all so bad. The company must've made it easier to bear.

Upon reaching Binondo, we scouted the streets of Ongpin looking for the famous Chinese doctor. Apparently, he detects diseases just by feeling people's pulses. And medicines are herbal tablets or tea concoctions. We found him and true enough, he diagnosed a variety of disorders. We had our share of medicines, and we have yet to return to him.

Shocked and at the same time relieved, that what we had wasn't so bad, we headed off to lunch, bought some Chinese treats, and hurriedly headed back.

There were some change of plans as we decided to fly back a day earlier. But it was all good. We had done all that we had planned to do.

Winter in Hong Kong in 2 months! That I am excited about.