My cousin and brother thought of taking me to witness Anvaya Cove as a birthday present. Guess what, they really gave me that roadtrip one Sunday which was indeed such a great sight to see! Thanks guys! You rock! :)
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I looked forward to this week wherein we finally got to be complete! Kay has been gone from Manila for 10 months already. Personally, I can't believe how fast time just zoomed by. It was a week of togetherness filled with loads of catching up and laughter. Our agenda had quite a consistent pattern which revolved around shopping, eating, watching HBO, and sleeping! Even though it was like that, I must admit it was still loads of fun. Thai food was good and affordable. I had Thai milk tea, addictive spicky snacks, pocky, and of course thousand layer crepe cakes which simply were the ultimate must feast for me! :) We got to check out something fun too or else King would be super bored. We went to Siam Ocean World for some underwater adventure. (siamoceanworld.co.th) Siam Ocean World like all quality oceanariums around the world would have the glass tunnel. They got the glass boat rides and the fish spa as well. The more unique thriller was the diving opportunity with the sharks. No assurance of course in terms of survival! Hahaha. I will let you in a secret. Did you know that if you purchased those entrance tickets as a foreigner, they will be charging you around P900++ ? This is way too high a mark up versus a Thai person purchasing the ticket. Thai person is charged P300++ !!! So don't be fooled. :) What you don't know can hurt. Hehehe. Good thing my sister can speak Thai so she was able to get us the appropriate fee. :) Whew! There were 5 of us. 900 x 5 would have been such a rip off! ;D During our first night, Kay treated us to some Thai food at Yum Tum in K Village, a little Japanese eating & shopping place. Greyhound Cafe (www.greyhoundcafe.co.th), Fuji (fuji.co.th/2009/TH/home/index.php), Coffee Beans by Dao (coffeebeans.co.th) and the Coco Curry House were the family favorites. Bangkok was always considered paradise for Shopaholics!
We got to go to a Catholic Church since we celebrated Easter Sunday there. This is the Church Kay would go to for Sunday mass. We also got to attend the Fashion Fair at the Impact Exhibition and Convention Center where Maroon 5 just performed! I thought the design and lighting were nicely done. Oh yes splashes of pink. I always found the Thai folks to be very creative. One highlight especially for King was riding the Tuk-tuk during instances wherein no taxi wanted to take us home anymore. It was a 3 wheeler motorcycle with a fancy finish that kinda resembled the jeepneys we got in Manila. It was quite fast though and I found it amazing how it was able to load all 5 of us given the little space. Well that's a glimpse of my Bangkok Trip. Hope to see my sister again soon! :)
I finally got to use this overnight gift certificate from winning the raffle at work last Christmas Party. At last, I won something for the first time! :) Yay! Decided to spend the weekend at the Manila Peninsula to celebrate King's Graduation / End of exams! It was a great source of relaxation for the family. Dad got unlimited spa sessions. King got his swimming delight. Mom and I just enjoyed the company of the family. I also got the chance to bring the family to Ayala Triangle by just crossing the road. Can't believe it's literally their first time! So we got to try out Bon Chon Chicken at last. It was quite good. I wouldn't mind going again.
I got to try something new today thanks to Charles's great idea. The only downside was waking up early in the morning to make it in time for my first ever cooking class by 9 AM! But hey, even though I'm so not a morning person, I managed to make it on time. The focus cuisine for the day was Thai Food. Reminds me of my sister in Bangkok! (Miss you Kay!) I got to cook Tom Yum Goong, Green Curry with Pork, Sticky Rice with Mangoes, Satay Chicken, and don't forget the all famous Pad-Thai!!! The class kicked-off with a round of introduction among the participants followed by a cooking demo by our multi-awarded and well-traveled Chef Mike Navarra. I was amazed by the diversity of folks who were interested to learn how to cook. By the time we were ready with the basics, we wore our chef's hat and apron, familiarized ourselves with the recipe and procedures, then headed for the kitchen to see whether we actually had potential to cook or otherwise. We were divided into 6 groups of 3. I was groupmates with Charles and Anne. Our group rocked of course. I was surprised how the class was able to make cooking Thai Dishes seem relatively doable. It was really more effort on the preparation versus the actual cooking. It sure was a confidence boost for someone like me who was traumatized with fire during my childhood years. Hehe. I even got to meet new friends who also enjoy food/eating. LOL. After we cooked our dishes we got to eat them as a class. We even got the chance to taste and compare the finished product of the other groups against ours. (There goes the competitive me!) Thai lunch was wonderful. The sting or kick of spice was just right for the dishes we made. I applaud myself and my fellow classmates. I recommend the experience of learning something new such as cooking if you haven't tried it. Personally, this session got me excited and made me realize that this is only the beginning... :) Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts
5th Floor Walter Mart Makati, 790 Chino Roces Ave. Corner A. Arnaiz Avenue Makati City, Philippines 632-887-5329 I found this creature hanging around Avilon Zoo, Tiendesitas a couple of weeks ago.
Check it out at your own risk! There's more to see inside the Ark at P300 per head. Frontera Verde Ortigas Avenue Corner C5, Pasig City Telephone Nos. (+632) 706-2992/ 706-2993 The rapids were roaring and so were we! :)
White Water Rafting Adventures with Kristel, Pam, Rico, and Alex. I thank Joyce for lending me her shocking pink rash guard. She was right when she said people will be able to spot me even miles away without effort. This experience started off with some basic orientation at the Crocodile Farm to make us realize that what we were about to go through was not entirely 100% safe. This was followed by a practice round. We all took turns jumping off the raft and trying to get back into it by pulling/carrying each other. We battled with the rapids (rocks) in the water and emerged victorious despite the never ending splashes against our faces. A stop over for some good lunch to revive our energy! Then more rapids kept coming our way after that along with an intentional capsize moment. :) Day 1 started early for us. I was at the airport around 1am in the morning for the 4am flight. At times, the stress of travelling alone can get into you. Not having anyone to talk to especially at that time of the day. Not even being able to sleep a bit or else your belongings might just disappear out of thin air when you wake up or the potential of missing the flight. Anyway, I managed to keep myself awake and busy until the 4am flight. Though, I slept like a baby for two hours in the plane. Then I finally reached my destination and got to meet fellow No Borders travel mates. Outside the airport we were greeted by this huge durian which was Davao's specialty. As the journey began we were given official No Borders pamphlets which I found cute and informative. We had breakfast at McDonalds and then headed for the Philippine Eagle Center. (Check out my previous post for details)
We had quite a long ride to Eden Park but I didn't mind since it gave all of us time to catch up with sleep. Eden Park is a place for nature lovers. I was apparently the right target market. Wild unique flowers and animals we fortunately got to see. There were also mini versions of a zip line in several spots. It was quite a thrill but nothing of course will beat the real thing! We had lunch at a glass house in Eden and I want to highlight how fresh the vegetables were. So I had salad topped with sweet mangoes drizzled with mango vinaigrette. Exploration went on after lunch. We took some shots at the stadium place and simply appreciated the forest. Next stop is Camp Sabros (yes, still Day 1), where the real zip line is but that's another story to tell. :) Pictures I've included to give you a feel of Eden. Hope you enjoy! This is the start of my Davao Journey. I must say this trip was significant because it officially puts a check to me being able to be in the island of Mindanao for the first time! Thanks to No Borders Tours for making it happen! Davao is home to the all famous Philippine Eagle (Pag-Asa) which is currently in danger of getting extinct. I got to visit the Philippine Eagle Center last Friday with the wonderful company of the No Borders Tours Group. There I found variations of eagles of different types, shades, sizes, and colors. The tour guide talked about initiatives done to replicate these species of eagles, particularly those that are only few of their kind. It was cool how some of the birds were just a few inches away from you which gives you a real close up view. I must say we were blessed with deep blue skies during day one! Also, I love the lush greens that surrounded the place from trees, flowers, to plants. Let's exclude the pests of course flying around in circles. Well, check out my photos to see for yourself! That's a glimpse of the Philippine Eagle Center. More Davao adventures await in my succeeding entries!
- Camp Sabros for Zip Line Experience and the View of Mt. Apo - Beautiful Eden Park which reunites you with nature - White River Rafting through Davao River Lugang Cafe (pronounced as Lu Kang) just opened for a week yet it is already very much talked about. Restaurant comes from Beijing and Shanghai but the food is more of the Taiwanese Cuisine. While I was in the office last week, Cher told me about how this was a must check out because of the nice ambience for a typical Chinese Restaurant. I thought why not give it a try. But before I even got to tell my folks about it, I had my mom talking about it already. She was describing how she went to this Chinese food place in Connecticut Street with my aunt where they both enjoyed themselves. She was insisting how we should all go and try it for ourselves. It was only after a few minutes when it hit me that this was the same place Cher was recommending. The lines were intense. Parents waited for more than an hour. The ambience was modern Chinese. No more red chinese stuff. Not bad at all. Sadly. I wasn't able to bring my cam. Good thing my iPhone served its purpose when I needed it. Here are the stuff we feasted on. Dessert was unique. They had bubble milk tea as well. I wouldn't mind going back to take my sister there when she comes home this December. Lugang Café
116 Connecticut St. Northeast Greenhills, San Juan, Philippines (632) 721 9100 / (632) 570 9011 |
Welcome!All about the traveling Queen who wanted to share with the world the little and great discoveries that have brought her joy.
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