I’ve just left the CCP Complex, after Carlos Celdran’s Livin’ la vida Imelda walking tour.

I’ve been meaning to take his tour for the longest time, and it’s only now that I finally decided to go for it. All it took is to NOT plan for it at all.

It couldn’t be at a better time, too. Since I’ve started traveling out of the country again, I’ve been neglecting Manila. While I go off to explore other cities, I’ve forgotten to explore my own turf.

I’ll blog about the tour in detail later, but I’ll say this: it was a great start to re-acquainting myself with this lovely city I call home.

* This was supposed to be a mobile-blog, but for some reason, the photo only made it to flickr and not this blog. Hmp.

Originally published at Justwandering.org

That was printed on the front of the notebook I gave my sister as a birthday gift. The notebook was a red hardbound, with blank white paper inside. The perfect notebook for plotting world domination writing down your inspired thoughts for making positive change in the world (yeah right).

Notebook from Team Manila

I saw the notebook while going through Team Manila’s spot at the Crossings Department store back in May, and right then and there, I knew I had to buy it. It was pretty pricey, actually (can’t remember how much it costs now, though), but for a unique idea, it’s worth the price. Other titles are How to survive the streets of Manila (perfect for a travel journal!), Mga kwento ni Lolo at Lola and one other that has something about chismis (gossip).

I’ve always loved Team Manila designs. They go beyond the usual and raised the bar in graphic design in Manila. Gone were the tacky souvenir shirts (well, not really), and in their place we have funky shirts that you’d be proud to wear, even if you’re not a tourist. Their iconic design would have to be their trademark Jose Rizal wearing aviators. Brilliant, just brilliant.

Tiny Manila shirt, Jose Rizal pins and passport holder, jeepney purse

Their shop is always in my list whenever I or a sibling is flying overseas to visit family. Aside from the Manila and Pinoy themed shirts, they also have bags, purses, keychains, lanyards, pencil holders, stickers, pins, passport holders and even clocks. The best thing about Team Manila is that they don’t mass produce — designs are on a limited run and usually only come in one color. It can get frustrating if you missed out on a design you like, but when you do get one, chances of running into someone wearing the same shirt is pretty slim.

Yesterday I found myself wandering around the nearby mall, ending up at the Team Manila store. I just wanted to see what they have in stock and as it turns out, all of the things I wanted from their latest release are available. Dang. Bye bye money.

Team Manila has branches in Jupiter Street (Bel-air, Makati), Powerplant Mall, SM Mall of Asia and Trinoma Mall.

Copyright 2006-2009 Nina Fuentes | Justwandering.org

Last September 26, Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the Philippines, depositing as much as a month’s worth of rainfall in just six hours. Many are left homeless and they need your help. Find out how you can help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy here.

Boarding pass from 2007

I wasn’t always like this. Years ago, I’d ignore these sales and just watch from the sidelines as travelers battle with unstable servers. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to — I did. Except that these sales were almost always held whenever I’m on a trip, just gotten back from a trip or just plain broke. However, lately the sales seem to be happening more often, catching me unaware and scrambling to get my credit card.

When was the first time? I guess it was early this year, when I got antsy about traveling. The sales would pop up at the most opportune moment, and I would take it as a sign that I needed to travel. That’s how I ended up in Hong Kong, on a trip that I never really planned for. That’s how I also ended up in Bangkok last month.

On the surface, these sales are a great money saver for budget travelers. How can you say no to ticket prices that cost less than what you would pay your cab to the airport? It was during these sales that I was able to score tickets to and from Singapore for less than US$100? One leg of that trip was on Singapore Airlines to boot.

However, these sales have a downside. Usually, in people’s haste to get cheap fares, they get a promo fare on the flight out, but can’t get a promo fare going back on the date they wanted. They would either end up buying on regular fare (which is higher than usual) just to get tickets on that specific date. If their dates are flexible, they would end up clicking on the next day or previous day button just to find available sale tickets. Doing this, they either end up with an itinerary that’s shorter than they would have liked, or longer than they can afford to take a leave from work.

Some of those who buy tickets during these sales end up not using the tickets. Since the travel dates for these sales are several months into the future, circumstances change. This happened to me in 2007, when I bought tickets for Cambodia. I bought it around August 2006, for travel in January 2007. Little did I know when I was booking that I would be flying to Australia at the end of the year, and staying until March 2007.

Of the seven tickets that I’m holding now, two won’t be used, and depending on how the coming months progress, I might not even be able to use some of the others as well. The latest seat sale was probably my craziest yet, buying three tickets for next year, and another one booked by a friend. Less than 24 hours from my purchase, I knew I wouldn’t be able to use two of those. I just tell myself that it’s just XXX amount, but at the end of the day, those small figures add up.

So will this serve as a lesson for me? Will I be more cautious about impulsively buying tickets in the future? Probably not. I will probably end up booking a ticket or two on the next sale, and hope that I do get to use them. Hey, you never know.. by that time I might be in dire need for a break

P.S. Tiger Airways is on sale.

This trip is expensive, compared to my month-long trip back in June spanning five countries. However, it still came out cheaper than the budget I drew up when I was still planning for the trip. And this is the moment when I admit that I really cannot be a hardcore backpacker (that sounds sooo wrong). Haggling will never be my forte, and I will splurge whenever I can. And I will never stop buying doll clothes and books.

Shopping aside, the biggest expense in this trip was my 4-day stay at the Sunway Hotel in Georgetown. I needed to work during those four days, so I splurged on a hotel to ensure that I have a stable Internet connection. Ironically, the Internet at the guesthouse where I transfered to was much better. Hmp.

Originally published at Justwandering.org | Subscribe via your favorite RSS reader.

Last September 26, Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the Philippines, depositing as much as a month’s worth of rainfall in just six hours. Many are left homeless and they need your help. Find out how you can help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy here.

Posting my photos of my friends without their permission. MWAHAHAHAHA.

It was timely that Joyce sent me an invite to try out Redbox’s latest offerings. Singing your heart out has always been a great way to de-stress, and since it’s a karaoke place, you don’t have to worry about neighbors complaining.

Redbox offers clean, spacious rooms for different sized groups. Singing’s not the only thing to do at Redbox — you can also play your favorite Wii games in selected branches. When you get hungry while belting out your favorite tunes, fret not because Redbox got you covered. Aside from typical Karaoke snacks, they offer hearty entrees like pastas (the creamy garlic chicken pasta is exquisite) and Pinoy favorites (sisig, lechon kawali and crispy pata, ).

Creamy garlic chicken, chili cheese sticks, calamari

That afternoon, we enjoyed plates of calamari, chili cheese sticks, cheese steak sandwich, which we paired off with lemonades and iced tea. Redbox actually offer a wide range of drinks, from cocktails to top international beer brands like Stella Artois and Corona (to help you get the courage to sing out loud and embarass yourself further, I guess). If beer’s not your thing, you can also opt to order coffee or tea instead from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

We miss you, Stephen

We sang songs from high school — songs that never fail to make us laugh and remember the good times. Definitely the best way to ease off the stress from the week, and leave you ready to face a new one with a smile.

Thanks to Redbox Karaoke for the invitation. Experience a different level of karaoke high. Red Box has branches in Greenbelt 3 and Trinoma. For more information and inquiries, please call 757-6188 (Greenbelt) & 901-8833 (Trinoma) or visit www.redbox.com.ph.

Copyright 2006-2009 Nina Fuentes | Justwandering.org

Last September 26, Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the Philippines, depositing as much as a month’s worth of rainfall in just six hours. Many are left homeless and they need your help. Find out how you can help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy here.

Abuhan’s beef pochero. Photo from file because I couldn’t be arsed to take any photos that evening.

Our first meal in Cebu was at Abuhan Dos, a favorite of mine since my first trip to the island back in 2006. I always make it a point to eat here when I’m visiting, and I convinced Gail, Marc and Juned to try it out last Friday night.

Pochero in Cebu is what we in Manila would call bulalo (beef bone marrow soup). A huge beef shank was served in an equally huge bowl, surrounded by meat, veggies, corn and the best full-flavored beef broth. As if this wasn’t sinful enough, we paired it off with an order of Sizzling Pochero: the same tender beef shank slathered in creamy, buttery gravy served in a sizzling plate. YUM. I was so happy that the first timers in Abuhan loved it, including Sha and Karla who arrived later that night.

Lunch the following day was at a beach in Talisay. Markku took us to his hometown, and we were treated to a taste of Talisay lechon, as well as a number of fresh seafood. Apart from the usual grilled and fried fish, we were also able to some exotic seafood: sea urchin, sea cucumber, and this one thing that looked like some sort of shell. We were all wary of it, but when someone was brave enough to try it and pronounced it good, we followed suit. It was pretty good. Tasted like squid.

Can anyone tell me what this is? It tastes like squid, and everything is edible, except for the tip.

Before we parted ways that afternoon, Winston suggested that we try Moon Cafe at the Ayala Terraces. The place had a Mexican theme going on, and serve a number of Mexican specialties. However, most of the items in the menu are Western and Filipino fares. But ah, the food was good! We ordered food like there’s no tomorrow: nachos, pizza, flautas, sisig and several plates of baby back ribs. Most of what we ordered were a big hit, specially the sisig and the baby back ribs. When the bill arrived, we were all surprised: the total cost was just a little over Php 3,000. Considering that we were a table of 10 and we ordered a shitload of food, we expected a much higher amount.

A couple of weeks before we left for Cebu, a blog entry came to my attention that made me so excited about the trip: Marketman has announced that his crew would be selling the lechon that Anthony Bourdain proclaimed as the
best pig ever.” Zubuchon is available for whole lechon orders any day of the week, but on Sundays, you can troop over to the Banilad Town Center to buy per kilo. The lechon has been generating a lot of buzz in the local Cebuano media, so we thought it’d be best to go there early to ensure that we don’t ruin out of lechon. True enough, we arrive at 10:05 (the Sunday market opens at 10am), and they were already hacking away on their second lechon. There were two customers ahead of us, and right before we left, there was already a small line forming. As Marketman mentioned, Zubuchon is not your typical lechon. It does not have the smooth skin lechon usually have, instead it has a texture much like chicharon. Actually, the skin tasted like chicharon, only a tad sweeter. Ahh, how my mouth water just thinking of this lechon.

The Zubuchon stall at the Banidal Town Center Sunday market

Our last meal in Cebu was at the Golden Cowrie restaurant in Lahug. This came highly recommended, and we were all looking forward to trying out their much talked about Baked Scallops. The scallops exceeded our expectations, and we ended up ordering two more in the course of the meal. Aside from the scallops, we also had the equally exceptional gambas, as well as the cripy pata, native chicken tinola, escabeche, tuna fingers and sweet chili chicken.

The eating doesn’t end in Cebu. Just before we headed to the Mactan airport, we made a last stop at Tabo-an market to buy souvenirs to take home. Tabo-an is your one-stop shop for pasalubong shopping in Cebu. Just as long as the only souvenir you’re planning to take home is food, that is. Different variations of danggit by the bushels line all storefront, along with other kinds of dried seafood. Inside the stores are other Cebuano delicacies like the Cebu longganisa, otap, rosquillos, dried mangoes and chicharon. Each of us took home several kilos of dried fish and other snacks, enough to last us until that next trip to Cebu.

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Last September 26, Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the Philippines, depositing as much as a month’s worth of rainfall in just six hours. Many are left homeless and they need your help. Find out how you can help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy here.

Magellan’s Cross

We all flew in for the Cebu leg of the Philippine Blog Awards, and we all met up Saturday morning for a half-day tour and plenty of good food. Our first stop was the Basilica del Santo Niño de Cebu, a 16th century church where an image of the child Jesus is housed. Devotees flock the church any day of the week to pray and show their devotion.

Right beside it is the the Magellan’s cross. The cross standing inside is just a replica of the cross that was planted in Cebu when Ferdinand Magellan claimed the territory for Spain. Milling around the small chapel that housed the cross are old ladies selling candles and prayers. For a fee, they will perform the Sinulog: a prayer that is offered while dancing.

Lighting a candle at the Sto. Niño Basilica

From Cebu’s historic center, we drove out of the city and into Talisay, Markku’s hometown. We went to the beach where we gorged ourselves on Talisay lechon and different kinds of seafood (fish, clams, sea cucumber, sea urchin and some other stuff I can’t identify). We had pusô to go with it. Pusô is rice cooked in a woven pouch made with palm leaf. Afterwards, they plied us with native snacks like biko, kunselba, and salvaro. The PBA officers and organizers had an impromptu meeting right after lunch, and to pass the time waiting, I walk down to the water’s edge to take photos of the skimboarders riding the waves.

Skimboarding in Talisay

Before the sea breeze relaxes us too much, we trooped back to the van for the ride back to the city. We drove to Fort San Pedro, one of the Spanish’s military defenses around the country. It’s tiny compared to Fort Santiago, and the sea have moved quite from ways from the fort, owing to reclamation. Activities for kids are sometimes held inside the grounds, but there are still plenty of places inside the old fort where you can find (relative) peace and quiet.

Fort San Pedro

There was still some light and ample time left before dinner, so we sped to the Taoist Temple on Bevery Hills. As we were hurrying to the temple’s main gate, we were warned that the temple will close in 20 minutes. We headed up the stairs leading up to the temple, barely stopping to catch our breaths just so we’ll have enough time to take photos. Alas, less than a minute at the top and this surly lady was shouting that the temple is already closed. Some have already started making their way down, while there are some still catching their breaths from the climb up. All of a sudden, this lady screams for us to get out. That was the only sour note in our Cebu tour.

Instead of touring some more, we decided to just head to our respective hotels to rest and freshen up before meeting again for dinner. Dinner was at Moon Cafe at the new Ayala Terraces. That night proved that there’s a pretty big reason to love Cebu. Food is good and food is cheap. Moon Cafe was a great discovery. Winston suggested this place to us, and we were all so glad he did. The food was great and the price was simply outrageous — we had twice as much food as we would have had in another restaurant for half the price. For dessert, we went to another fantastic discovery: Gelatissimo. Serving fine Italian gelato, this quaint cafe serves a bevy of interesting flavors from plain chocolates to flavor-packed fruit gelato. We all can’t wait for Gelatissimo to open in Greenbelt 5 this December.

Looking down on Cebu City below

We parted ways in good spirits — save for that rude lady at the Taoist temple, our first full day in Cebu was a blast. It helped that we were with friends, but this tour (even if only for half a day) made me realize that there really is so much to love about Cebu.

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Last September 26, Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the Philippines, depositing as much as a month’s worth of rainfall in just six hours. Many are left homeless and they need your help. Find out how you can help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy here.

Sayuri at Penang Hill

On Friday night, I met up with Wei and his friends and we went up Penang Hill. It has the highest peaks in Penang and it can be reached by riding the funicular train or if you’re looking for some exercise, you can do a 3-hour hike to the top. The train station is usually filled with people queuing to get in the trains, but that night, the station was deserted. We arrived just in time to catch the last train up, and have about 15 minutes at the peak before catching the last train back.

I don’t know how the hill and the view look during the day, but at night it was gorgeous. Of course, the empty train and the cool temperature greatly helped. Still, the twinkling lights of the island, the Penang Bridge and Butterworth was breathtaking.

Georgetown, the Penang Bridge and Butterworth as seen from Penang Hill

From Penang Hill, we went down to Gurney drive for dinner. We had asam laksa, and they had me try the Chinese herbal jelly, a black jelly that had a slightly bitter after taste. It was oddly addicting and it eased the burning sensation the laksa left in my mouth.

The night apparently still wasn’t over, and we drove to Batu Ferringhi to check out the night market and the beach. The market was meh, but the beach seemed nice. Well, as nice as a beach would look under the glare of powerful flood lights.

Penang Botanic Gardens

On Saturday we went to the Penang Botanic Garden, on the way to the waterfalls in between Balik Pulau and Teluk Bahang. The gardens was pretty, and the weather was perfect (though a bit too warm for my liking). Still, the sun was out, the sky is blue and there was a cool breeze flowing through the trees.

Not the actual waterfall

The waterfall, called Air Terjun Titi Kerawang (Filipinos, please stop snickering). The entrance is right beside Route 6 in Jalan Teluk Bahang. From the road, you have to walk through a path that takes you to the foot of the waterfalls. It was a lovely and relaxing place, and after walking around Georgetown, it was great to be surrounded by nature.

From the waterfall, we headed to Balik Pulau, which translates to “back of the island.” We drove up to this lookout point, where you can get a gorgeous view of the town below and the sea beyond. It also faces West, so it should be lovely during sunset. From the lookout point we drove down to the seaside, in Kampung Nelayan, a fishing village in Teluk Kumbar for dinner. We feasted on fresh seafood, including fried mantis shrimp, which interestingly is neither a shrimp nor mantis (which explains why it doesn’t taste like shrimp).

After dinner, they took me to Queensbay Mall in Bayan Lepas to look for gifts for friends who celebrated their birthdays last week. From there we drove and drove and drove until we got lost and ended up in this place that serves David Beckham. They have this selection of fruit and vegetable coolers named after celebrities, and I picked mine purely because…well, it’s David Beckham. He was made with orange, carrot, celery and some other vegetable. It sounds pretty weird on paper, but it was actually pretty good. David Beckham tasted like celery, if you want to know.

David Beckham was so thick I can hardly wrap my hands around him. He was big and hard and tasted like celery.

My flight back to Bangkok was on Sunday afternoon, and much to my consternation, Wei wouldn’t let me leave Penang without going to the Snake Temple. The name alone should give you an idea of what to expect in the temple. The temple was built in honor of Chor Soo Kong, a Buddhist monk who is revered as a deity. He was also a healer and said to have given shelter to snakes in the jungle. Story goes that when the temple was built, snakes flocked to the temple in their own accord and never left.

Pit vipers at the Snake Temple

From the outside, the temple looks like your typical Chinese temple. Inside, it maintains the same architecture and features the same elements found inside other temples with one stark difference: the snakes. The venomous pit vipers are resting on wooden… things at the altar. They don’t seem to be moving, which was fine with me. The venom has been removed, but visitors are still advised against picking, prodding, poking and uh, provoking the snakes.

After the Snake Temple, we killed some time doing something so utterly local: we went to the supermarket. It was the Giant Hypermarket, actually. Though it may seem weird to be going there, it was a pretty good choice. Apart from the fact that it’s airconditioned, I was able to buy a pack of Horlicks (the only place where I can get Horlicks ais in Manila is Toast Box and it’s ridiculously expensive at Php89 or MYR 6.40) and much to Rotch’s glee, a Liverpool FC cellphone charm bearing Fernando Torres’ number (to match the number 8 Steven Gerrard charm I got her from Cameron Highlands).

Sunset at Kampung Nelayan

I was able to check into my flight two hours before departure and had plenty of time to kill before boarding. Much to Wei’s dismay, I chose to have my last meal in Penang at McDonald’s. I love Malaysian food and the food in Penang is just wonderful, but after a week, I’m quite content to have something relatively bland in comparison.

My week in Penang has been awesome. I was happy with my decision to go back and take my time exploring Georgetown. I quite lucky to have the chance to explore the other side of the island, luckier still to know Wei (and to get to know his friends who were nothing but hospitable). I love how there was no need to rush things and cramming everything in just a couple of days. Future trips should all be like this, I think.

I finally finished writing this entry 12 hours after starting it. Some parts of the entry were written on the plane, and it was finally finished in Cebu.

Originally published at Justwandering.org

Last September 26, Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the Philippines, depositing as much as a month’s worth of rainfall in just six hours. Many are left homeless and they need your help. Find out how you can help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy here.

Still, rather than regret the amount I spent, I just tell myself that here at Hutton, I don’t have this view outside my window.

Sunrise in Georgetown

I had plans to go walking around the area today, to head to the places I missed earlier this week, but I opted to stay inside instead. Despite the ominous clouds that threatened to pour buckets of rain this morning, the skies cleared and I finally have the blue skies I’ve been hoping for. Unfortunately, that meant sunshine, and lots of it. I’m not opposed to getting some much needed vitamin D, but walking under the heat is just not right. Besides, I was able to get a lot of walking done the past two days, when it was overcast (and very pleasant to walk around town).

On Wednesday I walked from Jalan Macalister all the way to Lebuh Farquhar, where the Penang Museum is. I never really intended to walk the entire distance, but there’s plenty to see around Georgetown that you find yourself wanting to walk just a little bit further to see what the next corner brings. There was still 15 minutes before the clock strikes 5pm, but the guys inside the museum has already closed shop for the day.

Masjid Kapitan Keling

I just continued walking, turning down Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, passing St. George’s Church, Kuan Yin Temple, and of course, the Kapitan Keling Mosque.

The following day, I went back to check out the other places that I missed. There are several other attractions in the area, like the Sri Mariamman temple, Teochew temple and the Cheah Kongsi, but it was the Khoo Kongsi that I was aiming for, since it was highly recommended.

Khoo Kongsi Clanhouse

Like the day before, I arrived a quarter till five, but this time, the guards still let me in. The clan house is set away from the street, requiring you to go down a small street to enter. It’s also not visible from the main street (Lebuh Cannon), so people often miss this magnificent treasure. The upside to this is that it’s not as crowded as the others (or maybe it’s just because I arrived just before closing). There was only one group inside the temple when I arrived, and to avoid them, I went to the museum first. True enough, by the time I was done with the exhibit, I had the place all to myself.

I still have two more days in Penang, and there are still places that I wasn’t able to visit. I don’t feel the need to see and tick off all these places from the list though. Frankly, I’m happy enough just being able to come back and take my time exploring this beautiful city.

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Last September 26, Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the Philippines, depositing as much as a month’s worth of rainfall in just six hours. Many are left homeless and they need your help. Find out how you can help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy here.

KOMTAR from my window

The rain poured in earnest as we were driving towards Georgetown, where I’ll be staying for the next couple of days. I decided to go back to Penang because I felt I missed a lot when I hurriedly left the island last June. This time, I’m taking my time to get to know the city.

The rain didn’t let up throughout the night, easing up a little for a couple of hours, then pouring again. The rain has stopped by the time I woke up around noon, but the sky was still filled with gray clouds. Suffice to day that put a damper to my desire to explore, but when my growling stomach had me running to the nearby hawker stalls, I made sure to bring my camera and the Penang Heritage Trail maps.

Sri Kamatchi Amman Temple

I wanted to get started on the buildings I missed during my first trip here, but I decided to just explore the neighborhood. I’m staying at the Sunway Hotel Georgetown, just off MacAlister street. It’s a far cry from the places I usually stay at when I travel, but since I need to be online to work, I figured I’d shell out the extra money for a stable Internet connection. So far, Sunway’s broadband Internet hasn’t failed me. Yet.* I booked based on Martin’s (the Tourism Malaysia guy) recommendation, the promise of Internet, the price (admittedly, not as cheap as I would like), and the location. I just knew that the hotel is near Komtar, and that’s central enough for me. Much to my delight, New Lane is pretty much hawker street at night so I don’t have to go far for food.

Somehow, I ended up at Prangin Mall instead of the museum. I wandered around aimlessly, ducking into random stores and stopping myself from buying more useless knick-knacks. When I emerged from the mall, the gray clouds have started to clear, and blue skies emerged. I walked back to Jalan MacAlister to see what else is in the vicinity. In my short walk, I came across Hindu temples, churches and a mosque. The interesting thing about the chuch was that at the gate, it says that there’s a Filipino service every Sunday, which makes me wonder if there’s a Filipino community in Penang.

Masjid Pakistan

In the course of my walk, I ended up in front of the the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Centre. I was deciding whether to go in or to continue walking, when I turned around and saw the Nasi Kandar Pelita right across the street. It’s the same restaurant as the one we had dinner at in Kuala Lumpur last September, and I was looking forward to having murtabak again. I went straight to the counter where the rotis are being cooked and placed my order. The restaurant was almost empty, as it was still too early for dinner. I settled for a table outside, enjoying the light breeze and marveling at the gorgeous blue sky. The table was right beside a busy street, filled with the rush hour traffic. Sitting there amidst all the noise and car exhaust, I felt surprisingly at peace.

* Once in a while, connection with Gmail and Gtalk falters and I’m left unable to access my mail. But other than that, the Internet’s peachy.

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Last September 26, Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the Philippines, depositing as much as a month’s worth of rainfall in just six hours. Many are left homeless and they need your help. Find out how you can help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy here.

Pretty but overpriced airport food

I am leaving Bangkok today, alone once more. The girls took the red eye flight from Bangkok to Manila last night, giving them one whole day to spend in Bangkok and just enough time to shower before heading to work.

Yesterday was epic. Among the four of us, Cla was the only first timer in Bangkok, and she wasn’t in the mood for temple-hopping. That leaves the tennis and the shopping, and since Nadal pulled out, we were all for dollie shopping.

We woke up relatively early, and since they already packed their bags the night before, we took our time getting ready. We did not have breakfast at the hostel; instead we went up to the rooftop to take pictures of our dolls. Of course, what’s a trip with dollie friend without taking time to take photos of our toys? Like me, Rotch and Rael brought Pinky Street dolls — Makoto (The Girl Who Leapt through Time) and Pucci (Kira Kira DS Game). Cla brought her pink Baby Treeson and Addie, a Dal. As always, I have Sayuri (Sumire) with me, along with Caine (Range Murata).

Group pic! In the instax: Rael, me, Rotch and Cla

After checking out of HI-Sukhumvit, we headed to MBK for brunch, and for the girls to leave their bags before we head out for some major shopping. Our main destination was Chatuchak, to go back to the doll stores we stumbled upon last Saturday and to look for the shop we initially set out to find (but didn’t because I forgot to check the address of the store). However, we knew Chatuchak would be too hot during the early afternoon, so we arranged our itinerary so it would be our last stop before heading back to MBK.

We headed to Chinatown first. I took them to the doll shop I discovered last June, and Cla went crazy buying stuff that we don’t easily get in Manila. I already had my fill of this store from my last trip, and I was content to just stand back and watch them shop. I was actually saving my money for the stores in Chatuchak. From Chinatown, we headed back to the city center by taxi. The great thing about traveling with a group is that you get to split the cost of the taxi. Depending on the time of day, it is much cheaper to travel by taxi in Bangkok if you’re traveling with friends. Taking the BTS Skytrain from Thong Lor (where the hostel is) to National Stadium (where MBK is) would have cost us 30 baht each. The same distance cost 73 baht in light traffic in the taxi, and when divided by four, only cost us 17.50 baht each.

Shooting with Instax at HI-Sukhumvit’s rooftop

We had the taxi driver take us to Central World, where Rotch bought her Liverpool training bag. We savored the airconditioning inside the mall, and took advantage of the clean restrooms. We had some cool drinks at the central food hall before heading back out to the street. We walked to the Siam BTS station, where we took the train to Morchit. It was past 3 o’clock in the afternoon when we arrived at Chatuchak, and it was still pretty hot and very crowded. We pretty much cut through the huge weekend market to get to the Chatuchak Plaza, where the doll store is. Armed with our Chatuchak map and the address of the store, we found Monae Glow without much problem. They had two stores in Zone A, Soi 7, right across each other. One is where most of the doll accessories are sold, the other where the actual dolls are on display and for sale, along with more clothes and their area for making custom dolls. The prices in the shops at Chatuchak are more expensive than in Chinatown, but they offer more choices, more brands and generally better clothes.

After paying for the clothes, we continued walking down Soi 7 until we emerged in the street fronting the JJ Mall. We entered the mall, going up to the 2nd floor where the Bambino shop is. Aside from selling rare and regular release Pullips, Dals and Taeyangs, they also sell Momokos, J-dolls and Obitsu bodies, a great replacement body for doll’s stock bodies. What’s great about these stores in Chatuchak is that they are run by collectors, so they really know their dolls and they know which clothes sell, and which clothes fit a particular doll. We left the mall satisfied, and walked back to the Chatucak weekend market for some souvenir shopping. It was past 5 o’clock already, and the sun was setting. It wasn’t as hot as when we arrived, making the walk back to the train station much more pleasant. Rotch, Rael and Cla ended up shopping again, this time for human clothes. We were all impressed by the range of clothing found at the market, and they all walked off with a shirt or two.

Because sometimes, you just have to do the touristy stuff. Forget Ronald McDonald, it’s Geoffrey the Giraffe for me.

We were quiet in the train back to the city, all of us exhausted. They had one more shopping to do at MBK, for Thai snacks to give to family and friends in Manila. Another round of packing was done, rearranging their things to fit everything into their bags. We had one last dinner together at the MBK food court, with Rotch and Cla facing one of the many TV scattered around the food court, engrossed with the football game. It seems they weren’t the only fans around — when Arsenal scored a goal, one section of the food court let out a loud cheer.

At 8 o’clock, we parted ways. Them walking to the taxi stand, me back to the BTS. I had one last stop before heading back to the hostel — Kinokuniya at Siam Paragon. After years of refusing to read The Beach by Alex Garland, I finally gave in and picked up a copy. It was ironic because throughout my travels, I’ve been seeing this book in stores and hostels, but when I wanted to buy it, there weren’t any copies in Manila. I’ve already started reading the book last night and I was quickly engrossed. The story started in Bangkok, and it was rather fitting that I also started reading it in Bangkok.

Waiting for the next flight out

Richard, the main character of the book left Bangkok almost as soon as he arrived, and it felt the same for us in this trip. He left Bangkok in search for a beach. And I’m… well, I’m just leaving.

P.S. Thank you British Airways first class lounge for leaving your wi-fi unsecured.

Originally published at Justwandering.org

Last September 26, Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the Philippines, depositing as much as a month’s worth of rainfall in just six hours. Many are left homeless and they need your help. Find out how you can help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy here.

We love our toys so much, we take them with us when we travel. That’s my Sayuri and Caine with Cla’s Addie and Baby Treeson and Rotch’s Makoto.

Mind you, Bangkok isn’t an expensive place to travel in. In fact, it’s quite cheap. Public transport in Bangkok is pretty efficient, and if you opt to take a taxi, the fare isn’t all that expensive, especially if you’re traveling with a group.

Good food is plentiful in Thailand, and for as low as 50 baht, you can get a plate of the best pad thai with 5 plump shrimp. For 30 baht more, you can get a plate of 10 chicken satay. For dessert, how about a plate of the most amazing mango and sticky rice for only 60 baht?

What pwns us in Bangkok is the shopping. Many would rave about the cheap clothes and accessories in Bangkok, but for Rotch, Cla and I, it’s all about the dolls. Last June, I stumbled upon dollie heaven in Yaowarat (Chinatown). This time, we found utopia in Chatuchak Mall.

Super realistic looking doll shoes for Taeyangs. They’re pretty expensive, but they’re very detailed.

It was funny, really. We headed out to this huge weekend market and surrounding shopping areas, without any clue as to where this dolly shop that Cla was able to find on Flickr. With Rotch leading the way, we went through the weekend market to the Chatuchak Plaza and eventually into Chatuchak Mall, where we found this store specializing in Pullips, Dals and Taeyangs — a rarity in a city so enamored with Blythe.

With mouths agape, we looked over their collection, many of which are rares that we only read about online, never seen in person. Right next to the store is another shop specializing in different doll accessories. There are clothes not only for Blythes, but also for Pullips, Dals and Taeyangs as well. There are even Momokos for sale for a fraction of the cost, and even a Ru Paul doll (99% plastic, 1% woman).

Best mango and sticky rice ever! This is from the stall in Sukhumvit Soi 38’s night market.

Tomorrow we’re going on another mission. I’m taking the girls to Chinatown, to that store with doll clothes (though the selection isn’t as huge, the price is lower there), and we’re headed back to Chatuchak to look for the store we initially intended to visit.

Bangkok may have pwned our budget, but if it’s anything to do with dollies, we welcome this pwnage.

Copyright 2006-2009 Nina Fuentes | Justwandering.org

Last September 26, Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the Philippines, depositing as much as a month’s worth of rainfall in just six hours. Many are left homeless and they need your help. Find out how you can help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy here.

I made the wrong assumption that my ticket already includes the Philippine travel tax. It wasn’t so I had to pay the Php 1,620 at the counter. Luckily, I bought extra money to cover the travel tax. Unfortunately, I totally forgot about the Php 750 airport tax, so I had to use my taxi money for the trip back. To make things worse, I did not bring my ATM card with me, thinking that I wouldn’t need it.

I am going to Thailand for the weekend. This is sort of done on a whim, except that I’ve bought my ticket way back in August. You’d think that given that generous lead time, I’d have a concrete plan. I don’t.

We (me and my tennis-crazy friends) are headed to Bangkok for the Bangkok Open. Rafael Nadal was supposed to play, but due to an injury he got during the US Open, he was forced to pull out of the tour. However, we decided to push through with our tour, with or without Rafa and his famous ass. Nevermind that a typhoon just narrowly missed the country, we are off to conquer Bangkok. Or at least scour every mall for doll clothes and accessories.

My three travel buddies are actually already in Bangkok; Rotch and Rael flew in yesterday morning, Cla flew in late last night. Due to work, the girls are only staying until tomorrow evening, so we have a day to spend in BKK together. This is my first time to travel with them, and I’m guessing the next 24 hours is going to be absolutely crazy.

I have an hour until boarding and I am terribly bored and very sleepy. As with the other morning flights I’ve taken before, I did not sleep the night before because my work ends at 6am on a Saturday. It doesn’t help that there’s nothing to do here at the airport. There’s about 8 internet kioks here at the International wing of Terminal 2, but only 4 are functional. There’s a 10-minute limit for usage, and you need to login with your e-mail to use it. And it uses Internet Explorer 6. The horrors.

There are laptop stations scattered around, but it only has an outlet, some chairs. There’s no free wi-fi here, that’s why I’m using my time offline to concentrate on writing a blog entry. My laptop can detect several wi-fi signals, but most of them are secured. The only unsecured one wouldn’t let me connect properly. Boo.

The Centenial terminal is stark. It’s small — the International wing only have 6 gates. But then, it’s only used by one airline. It’s an improvement over the old Terminal 1, but they’re equally boring. Except Terminal 2 is a lot prettier and less crowded. Terminal 2 utilizes natural light and it’s quite lovely inside during the day. It looks rather dark and depressing at night though, and I shudder thinking how it’s like inside the terminal during a terrible storm.

I’m getting really sleepy now. I hate how there’s nothing much to do inside the airports in Manila. But then again, boring airports like this gives me time to write blog entries.

9:06am, Centennial Airport

Woohoo, turns out Airborne Access is free!

Genting Highland outdoor theme park

“Damn, we should have brought our camer–WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGHHH!!!”

Without warning, we plummeted back down to the ground at speeds reaching up to 67 km/hour. For a second or two, we were displaced from our seats — there was nothing solid underneath our bottoms, the safety bars are the only ones keeping us from flying off. The ride really was intense, and exceeded all our expectations. Back in solid ground, all of us were talking all the the same time, chattering about our exhilarating experience. This trip to Genting was certainly one of the highlights of our Megafamiliarization Tour of Kuala Lumpur.

Our day started with a train ride on the Kelana Jaya line. Marie, our tour guide, had us start late today to let the rush hour pass so the trains aren’t as crowded. From Impiana KLCC, we walked to the KLCC station, and from KLCC, we rode all the way to Terminal Purtra (Gombak), where we waited for Azizi and the van. Marie said that taking the train is one of the cheapest and fastest way to go to Genting. At Terminal Putra, there are buses that would take you all the up to the First World Hotel.

Genting Highland cable car

However, our stop wasn’t First World Hotel. Azizi, our driver, dropped us off at Genting Skyway Station at Gohtong Jaya. The Genting Skyway cable car is one of the world’s fastest, and Southeast Asia’s longest, stretching 3.38 kilometers. It was a spectacular ride up the mountain and in no time, we were disembarking at the Genting Highlands Resort.

As soon as we stepped out of the gondola, we were enveloped with the cool mountain air. The wind at this elevation was brisk, and fog swirls all around us. We walked all the way from the skyway station to the theme park, hurrying to make the most of our short stay in the park. As Marie sorts out our ticket, we check out the ride right beside the ticket booth, the Flying Coaster. Like most roller coasters, this ride had its fair share of twists and turns, but with one stark difference: you ride lying down on your belly, going through the ride as if flying.

The Genting outdoor theme park has an all-access pass, the Genting Signature attractions, like the Flying Coaster, Snow World and Sky Venture require a separate ticket. With our passes around our wrists and clutching tickets to the other rides, we eagerly made our way to the Flying Coaster entrance, only to be told that the ride is not operating. Genting is prone to rains, and the changing weather conditions affect the performance and safety of the rides, hence the need to close. However, we got lucky because as soon as we stepped out of the ride’s ticket booth, the attendants calls us back, saying that the Flying Coaster is operational again.

Martin and I at the Flying Coaster. Thank you Ferdz for taking this photo!

We divided into two, so we can take photos of each other — Ferdz and Ivan going first, me and Martin taking our turn after them. We watch with anticipation as Ivan and Ferdz climb the capsule, our fingers poised to click the shutter of their cameras. Their capsule eased out of the starting and end point of the ride, going up a spiral path up to one of the ride’s peaks. There were no sounds coming from their capsule all this time, but as soon as they started descending and zooming through the tracks, the air was filled with two sets of (very) low-pitched screams. Martin and I clicked away, thinking that in a couple of minutes, it was going to to be us up there.

Ferdz and Ivan met us back on solid ground in high spirits. This gets us both excited and terrified at the same time: it’s our turn now. We handed them our bags and camera and I masked my dread with excitement as we make our way up to the platform. Securely fastened in our capsule, Martin and I joked nervously as worst case scenarios flashed through my head. I was momentarily soothed by the beautiful scenery afforded by this unique vantage point — the views around Genting Highlands is spectacular, where ever you turn. The calm did not last long though, for within minutes we were “flying” through the tracks, screaming all the way (although there were some curses hurled at certain points of the ride).

Adrenalin was still coursing through our veins when we got off the capsule, and it made us forget all about the chilly weather. We had thirty minutes before we had to meet Marie for lunch, so we discussed where to go. All of us wanted to try the Sky Venture, but we remembered Marie’s warning that it usually rains in Genting in the afternoons. We opted to stay in the outdoor theme park, making the most of the clear weather for photos. It was then that we saw the Space Shot towering above everything in the park. We were lucky; there was only four available seats in the ride when we got there so we didn’t have to wait. We were luckier still that the seats we got were the ones facing the capital city.

My Penang asam laksa and Martin’s kuay teow soup in the background

On a high from the two thrill rides, we met Marie at the other entrance to the theme park, the one fronting the Theme Park Hotel. She led us to the Penang Food Village, where we feasted on asam laksa, char kuay teow, rojak while enjoying the views from inside the restaurant.

It started drizzling as soon as we stepped out of the Theme Park Hotel after lunch, just as Marie told us. We headed to the indoor park, towards Snow World. Like the other attractions, Snow World can only accommodate a certain number of people inside, so you would have to book for your turn inside. Luckily, the Sports Unlimited team was inside, and thanks to Ivan’s incredible powers of persuasion, we were allowed to join them, as we were (technically) part of the media team (just not their media team). Before heading inside, we were given thick jackets to keep us warm and gloves to keep our fingers from falling off freezing.

We step inside the -5C Snow World, and Ivan quickly got into a snowball fight with Marc Nelson, one of Sports Unlimited’s hosts. It was great to meet up again with the show’s crew, whom we met at the press conference and gathering of all the participants of this fam tour. We were all looking forward to try out the Sky Venture, a skydiving wind tunnel that simulates free fall skydiving, but were told that it was closed for the day, given the strong wind and rain Genting is experiencing that afternoon.

Sky Venture with the Sports Unlimited team

Dejected, we parted ways from the TV crew and went off to console ourselves at the bumper cars. Bump cars are always fun. Of course, it’s more fun when you have a target. Ferdz, Ivan and I agreed to target Martin, the guy from Tourism Malaysia. Of course, like most evil plans, it was bound to backfire. Karma’s a bitch — in exchange for my hatching this evil deed, I got a car that stalled at the most inopportune moments, until it eventually died. Boo.

We had time to kill before we had to go back to KL, so we ventured back to the outdoor theme park for another ride or two. We ran into Jake, Sports Unlimited’s head writer, looking lost. She got separated from the crew when we went to the toilets and could not contact them because her phone’s battery is dead. They were supposed to go to the Space Shot, so we accompanied her, only to find out later on that the crew was granted access to the Sky Venture. We hurried back to the indoor park, excited by this new development. Unfortunately, it turns out that while we were allowed into the attraction, only the show’s two hosts are given permission to try it out since the ride was technically closed. Still, it was interesting watching them, specially when their Body Fly instructor showed off her prowess inside the wind tunnel.

It was time to leave, but Marie let us have a couple more minutes for some souvenir shopping. We ended up at Diadora, where some items are marked up to 70% off. There plenty of other retailers scattered throughout Genting Highlands (Esprit, Adidas, Nike, Converse, Giordano and even a Mango outlet store, among others) so it’s hard to leave Genting without buying something. True enough, we all walked back to Genting Highlands Resort toting Diadora shopping bags.

Genting Highlands is a great day trip destination from Kuala Lumpur. It is 45 minutes away, and offers a cool respite from the heat and humidity of the city below. There are plenty of things to do, whether you’re a child of 5 or 50.

Genting Highlands offer a Go Genting package, where for RM35, you get bus transfers from different pick up points in Kuala Lumpur, round trip tickets on the Genting Skyway, Outdoor Theme Park Ride Pass OR a buffet lunch at the Coffee Terrace. For more information about the Go Genting Package, visit the Genting Highlands website.

Originally published at Justwandering.org | Subscribe via your favorite RSS reader.

Last September 26, Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the Philippines, depositing as much as a month’s worth of rainfall in just six hours. Many are left homeless and they need your help. Find out how you can help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy here.

Won’t be able to attend the awards night on the 9th? You can watch it live online on flippish.com.

Copyright 2006-2009 Nina Fuentes | Justwandering.org