Paalam Philippines, Konnichiwa Japan!

Last night in Manila, I got REALLY sick...

Jay and I went to Market! Market! and Serendra to do some last minute shopping (MUFE restock =p) and buy some cough meds. Soon after taking my meds, I felt really sick ..so we had to leave dinner early. We didn't even get to finish our thai food.. and I can't tell if it was any good cuz I couldn't taste anything at this point. 

We had back to the condo and I couldn't get out of bed ... even when the boys stopped by .. sorry guys =(

Fortunately, I was able to get up in the middle of the night to pack my bags.

I don't remember much about actually leaving. We got through the check-in and security process pretty quickly. And since Jay and I were hungry we went to find the Manila/Sampaguita Lounge, which wasn't as nice I remember. But at least they had internet.

We arrived at the airport and go through customs relatively quickly. The immigration lady seemed pretty friendly and let me take my glasses off for the immigration picture (was super tempted to do the peace sign). Our only hiccup was that we couldn't find our bags right away - for some reason, our stuff wasn't on the conveyor belt for our flight. So I asked one of the airport employees and saw that all our bags were off too the side. I guess we were the only ones from the PI that weren't transferring on. =)

Leaving the customs area, we are greeted by cousin Leo, who's flight arrived about an hour before ours. We made our way to dump our bigger luggage at luggage storage, changed some cash (though not enough) and found the train connection area. The lady selling tickets told us exactly which train we had to catch to get to Asakusa. Unfortunately, they only took cash so I close to running out of yen before I even left the airport. We only had a few minutes to catch our train so Jay ran through the open turnstile not realizing we had to put our tickets through the machine. We only realized this after figuring out that the turnstile attendant was yelling "TICKET! TICKET" and pointing at the turnstile.

We jumped on our train and proceeded to stare at the screens and our Tokyo tour book.. hoping we could find a similarity to confirm we were on the right train. (I will continue to do this for ALL train rides while in Tokyo).  Fortunately, we were on the right train and about 45 minutes later we arrived in Asakusa. Only problem was that once we got out of the train station I had no idea where we were (there's 3 different train services that stop in Asakusa). A little flustered, I pull out my map with the hotel location...and lucky for me, one of the boys points out a map of Asakusa with a little "You are HERE" arrow right outside the train. So we compared that to my hotel map and we made our way to Dormy Inn!

Dormy Inn
By Western standards, our room was tiny but it was comfortable and really, just the right size. And when hotels are really just places to put your heads down on vacations it was perfect The bed easily fits the 2 of us and is pushed up against a wall. Along the other wall you have your desk, chair, TV and closet, which is just big enough to hang our clothes for the week. Near the entrance is the bathroom door, which you have to step up into. It comes with the typical multi-button toilet with heat seat (this might actually be my favorite thing). Fortunately for us, the pictures were very clear and it didn't take long for us to figure out what the buttons were for.  The shower took a little getting use to as we had to figure out that the controls for the shower was connected to the sink.  The tub itself was super short and tall, which reminds me of a modern version of the old wooden hot tubs. =) The one thing I had real issues figuring out how to use was the temperature controls. I never managed to figure it out =p. The room also came with a great view of the Sumida River, Asahi Building and Flame (or golden poop) and the Tokyo Sky Tree! And if you're tired after walking around Tokyo, you can rest your feet on a elevator bench as it takes you up to your floor.

Another great perk at Dormy Inn is the food. Your stay comes with a complimentary breakfast, either Western or Japanese style. I preferred the Japanese breakfast which came with a rice, fish, soup, and tofu. You can also help yourself to fresh fruits and yogurt but the meal itself was enough to fill and satisfy me.  The hotel also offers complementary ramen during winter evenings. This a great and delicious treat especially after walking around in the cold winter days.

And if the ramen isn't enough to warm you up you can always go to the onsen/public hot baths in the top floor of the hotel. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the bath area since it might be awkward =p And since I've never been to once before, I did everything really slow while I waited to watch other women's lead.  But basically you strip, wash up and soak in a nice hot, mineral bath. They're really strict about keeping the water clean so you have to make sure you rinse your feet before going into the bath and tie up your hair so it doesn't get in the water. And you have to go naked - no towel wraps like in the animes since they're concerned that the fibers from the towel will dirty the water.
Now when I say hot, I mean HOT. I stayed only stayed in until I started feeling heart palpitations =p. The top floor had 2 different baths, one indoor and an open air one in an enclosed balcony. The open air bath felt wonderful as you enjoy the mix of cold air and hot water. Unfortunately for me, there's only 1 bath room and women's bathing hours were usually over by the time I got back to the hotel...Soo I only got to enjoy the baths once. What I did get to enjoy a few times was the hot foot spa, which again was a great combination of hot water and cool air as well as a great view of the golden poop. Since it was SUPER cold out you can just grab once of their blankets of a hot drink from the vending machine. But if your temperature sensitive, be careful because it's SUPER HOT. Your legs will get pink/red from soaking =p

Sheridan Spa and Resort + Palawan in General

So my days of Palawan blend together, so I thought I'd write my thoughts about the hotel and Palawan in general instead of describing our daily activities (because basically we played in the pool all day, everyday).

Overall the hotel fails (even if you don't consider the lack of electricity).

• Like I said, on the first day, they pushed the 2 beds together leaving the phone in the middle.
• There supposed garden view is a view of the wall if you're lucky or a view to someone else's shack and generator if you're not so lucky.
• No where on the website did it tell you that the complimentary transportation to the hotel would take 2 hours.
• No one called ahead of time to inform us there were problems at the hotel.  Even the shuttle drive kept his mouth shut and gave us no warning.
• There weren't enough beach chairs - there were probably only 12 chairs around the pool.
• The restaurant staff is POORLY trained in management.
• Half the time they didn't have what was on the menu.
• They would forget you. They would forget to refill your water even if you ask or bring condiments or sides.
• Almost every time, our order took over 30-45 minutes, even if it was just a sandwich. Twice, I fell asleep waiting for food.  We eventually learned to place an order and then come back in 30 minutes.
• They wouldn't bring orders together. One time I didn't get my meal until everyone else already finished eating.
• They don't know how to compensate for the inconveniences they cause you. The day we went to the Underground River, we could not eat lunch because because after 45 minutes of waiting our food was still not ready. We could not wait any longer as we had an appt. The waiter apologized for the wait but still made us pay for our drinks =p I don't think they understood that wait time is unacceptable.
• The OK workers were the ones at the pool bar..but even then, there wasn't always a bartender. We'd have to ask for a bartender.

Palawan is just OK. I don't know about the rest of Palawan (outside of Puerto Princesa) but the beach isn't that great. I'd actually rather be at the Jersey shore. =p The sand wasn't white or soft. There were dogs and caribou running (and pooping) all over the beach. There were even trucks driving through. So that beach is definitely not a relaxing paradise.

The underground river is nothing more than a cave. If you've seen one already just image that with water instead of a floor.  I don't think the tour guide was at all informative. All he would tell us is what the formations looked like...which is highly subjective and I didn't see some of it. Wish it could have been more informative, such as describing how the cavern formed in the first place. Ohhh best part, the battery used to power the light was a car battery. The person in front would have to attach the thing to complete the circuit. Yup all very safe =p.


And now that I'm done complaining ...
It wasn't ALL bad. But the good parts were cuz of the family. Playing in the pool all day and drinking at the pool bar was tons of fun.
And so were the ATV rides....even though Jay and I kept getting stuck in the mud. We did the ATV course, then the guide led us somewhere where we can see the mountain that the underground river runs under (I think). And another mountain that has the birds that make the super expensive and edible birds nest. So that one is protected by rangers.
On the way to the mountain, we passed by puppies playing with a piglet..but I was only able to snap a pic of the puppies as I was too scared to take a pic with both hands while on the ATV bike.
We almost made it to the entire tour without incident. On the way back to the resort, Miguel's clutch broke. The guide said it was alright and kept going =p And it must have been ok since we all made it back safely =). Lol - if anyone else remembers anything else from Palawan, please remind me =p

Day 6: On to Palawan.

Before we checked out, Miguel and Ver stopped by for a visit and helped us bring our stuff to the van. As soon as we checked out, I swear I felt lighter, happier. We had to stop at the condo to drop off our big luggage, but we had plenty of time before our flight, so Uncle Jun suggested we go to Market Market. There we had lunch with Uncle Jun and Uncle Lito at Chicken Bacolod and the food was yummy!! I had pancit molo .. it's not as good as mom's but still tasty. After lunch we did some shopping. Got new sunglasses, stuff for IO, a new frame for the Villa Escudero pic and meds for my sore throat.  I went to the pharmacy in the Supermarket, and the woman gave me Chinese herbs for laryngitis. I figured I'd give it a go. It actually seemed to work. By the 2nd day, I got most of my voice back and my throat wasn't sore anymore. Buuutt I still had a cough and I was getting headaches. I think the headaches might have been due to the borax in the Chinese herbal medicine. So I stopped taking it. I stuck with tylenol and vick drops but the Vick did nothing for my coughing.

Flight to Palawan
Our flight was on Cebu Pacific and we left from the new terminal. Checking in and finding our terminal was relatively easy. Our terminal was warm and packed! Also, I noticed lots of Caucasians heading to Palawan.
When it was time to board, I handed the gate attendant my boarding pass and she asked me if I was pregnant. I was a little taken aback. I answered her and tried to laugh it off...thinking, ok maybe I did eat to much. I wanted to ask Pia if they asked her. Maybe it's something they ask all females...at least I'm hoping it wasn't just me. Later I learned, it wasn't because of any weight I may have gained. When leaving Palawan, the check-in agent informed me that he was required to ask me if I was pregnant because we are seated in the aisle row. Apparently pregnant women can grab things and throw things out of the emergency exit. Felt a little relief learning this.
We fly Cebu Pacific, hoping we'd get a show but all we got were on-flight games. It was still fun to watch.
The seats on the plane were comfy and tons of leg room! Why can't AA be this nice??

Tons of leg room and games on Cebu Pacific

We arrive in Palawan and I'm excited! We find our driver but he tells us the van won't leave for the hotel for another 2 hours as he was waiting on 4 Koreans (his words) who were having dinner. He asked if he can drop us off at that same restaurant for dinner and pick us up at the same time. We were game and he dropped us off. The place was really nice and right over the water. Unfortunately, the staff lacked restaurant management skills. When we arrived more than half the restaurant was empty, but they would not seat us, stating all those tables were reserved. Since the drive was gone and we didn't have his number (and it was in the middle of nowhere) we said we'd wait. It took over an hour for us to get seated. And the whole time we waited, tables remained empty. In fact, one of the tables that was reserved didn't get patrons until 2 hours after we arrived. We could have easily sat at that table when we first arrived and they could have sent us on our way before the party came. AND they would have made a tip. Hell, they lost customers who didn't want to wait...it's like they don't want to make money.
But I do have to say the food was good...but still no tip for needlessly making us wait.

To the Resort
No one told us it took 2 hours to get to the resort. It was actually on the other side of the island and a drive through the hills and mountains. If I had known this ...
 I slept that whole ride but I had to give the driver props for driving through the mountains at night in torrential rain and staying on the road.

We arrive to the hotel and we're told that there's no electricity. Yay! The main generator caught on fire as water got into the system and mixed in the oil. So no AC, not TV, but at least we had light and warm water. We didn't get our welcome drink, but since the system was down we didn't have to place a deposit. Yay us. But apparently they flew someone in from Cebu to fix the generators. Bored, Pia, Marco and Allan walked us to our room. Our room was actually pretty nice and on the poolside. Despite not having heat, it was nice and cool. Only quirk was that we requested a king bed. I'm assuming they ran out of kind poolside rooms, as our bed was 2 full beds pushed together. Which is all good, except they left the phone in the middle..yup, right in the middle of our bed. Lol, we kept knocking into it at night and I would wake up to the busy signal. Luckily, whoever cleaned our room the next day fixed this by getting a longer cord and moving the phone to the bedSIDE.

Lol anyway, as there was nothing to do, we chatted in our room. Somehow the conversation led to ghost stories...like personal ghost stories. I was completely freaked out when the lights TURNED OFF! I crawled in the dark towards Jay .. lol I was so scared. Luckily the lights, as well as the rest of the missing electricity came back on 4 seconds later.  At this point, Marco, Allan and Pia ran back to their room to charge their phones.

Day 5: The Wedding Day

We started the day as usual, with comp'd breakfast. We brought our stuff to Pia's room as the hotel would not let us check-in early and we needed to leave to get ready for the wedding. Unfortunately for Pia and Marco, the electronic lock on their door was broken. As the 1 maintenance guy was off, the only solution the hotel could offer was manually locking the doors and coming up to open it whenever they returned. By the time all this was done and we were ready to catch a cab, Jay was able to get our new room keys.

We arrived at Manila hotel and they made us go through the metal detector. The place was packed. People were sitting and standing around everywhere.  The girls were getting ready in Shiel's brother's room which was a different wing so it was time to split up again. Pia and I were the last ones to get there and the make-up artist for the bridesmaids was still on the 2nd bridesmaid. Since there were still 2 ahead of us, a group went downstairs for a smoke. I was thirsty so I came along hoping to grab a drink... which we did. We stopped at the hotel bar, which reminds me of an old cigar/smoking lounge. I decided to give cocktails one more chance and ordered their house special, a Desire. It was actually decent. It wasn't strong at all but the mix was flavorful and not watered down like others I've tried. When we returned, the make-up guy was finishing up on the 2nd bridesmaid. I was last...
Pia got her hair prepped and went to Shiel's room to get her make-up done. When she came back, I was still waiting to get my make-up and hair done. Nervous about the time, I ran upstairs to get fixed too. Shiel's make-up guy did my hair & make-up in less than 30 minutes. Just enough time for me to throw on my dress and run back to Shiel's room for photos (can't wait to see those photos). And I'm really happy I ran up as Shiel's make-up guy was really good. He matched my skin really well instead of using something with a white-ish tint.

The Dress
As I mentioned earlier, I had to get the dress taken in...but as the girls tried to hook me in my built-in corset, it felt TIGHT.  Could it be all the eating from the last 3 days .... the buffet from the day before? Maybe... It could also be that I'm not use to a corset; maybe it's suppose to feel like this. I've never had a dress with a built-in corset and when I have used a corset, it was a tie-in ones, not the hook and eye. I'm not really sure the corset was necessary though because I had some of the hooks undone at the reception and the dress looked just as good. I had to do this because the boning kept poking me when I tried to bend... The arms felt fine, lol.
The heat of the day didn't help much either. During the fitting, we were in air conditioned building and the dress felt loose and comfortable. It's a little different on a hot day with no AC. lol - oh well, price of beauty as it was a pretty dress.

The Church
San Agustin is the oldest church in the Philippines and the staff have weddings down to a T.  When we arrived, another wedding was occurring. The staff gave us our flowers and lined us up off to the side. Once the Bride and Groom were out of the building they had us move our line to the middle and the wedding procession began. As I mentioned before, it's the oldest church .. which means, no AC. I was so mad I left my nice fan in the US. The church is really nice, but I was paying attention to mass more than the details.  I wish I took more pictures, but my brain doesn't function well in the heat. When it was time for me to go up and put on the veil, the staff member who directed me to the altar told me to make sure I cover the face.  As I adjust the veil over Shiel's face, another staff member yells at me to move it lower. Mind you my tagalog sucks and all I hear is "lower". I'm assuming she meant the other way, lower on the back, as I was already attempting to pull it lower on the front. Why would you interrupt what I'm doing unless you want me to do something else? Thankfully Shiel told me to it forward more =)

So beautiful church, beautiful couple, beautiful mass...but the frowns on the staffs members faces annoyed me. It's a happy occasion... the staff should SMILE! It's not that hard.

After the wedding we headed over to the reception. The girls were lucky enough to get a ride and not have to walk. The reception hall was a beautiful, Spanish style building with a central garden, lots of arches and no walls/windows.  This meant no enclosed AC, but we were kept cool by a mister from the ceiling. Most of the reception programs (speeches, cake cutting, etc) occurred in the beginning. Dinner was buffet style, with salad, entrees, Mongolian stir-fry, and dessert. The garter and bouquet parts were ... interesting. Unlike the US where you just throw the garter and bouquet, guests had to "win" them.  For the guys, they were told to take off their shoes, put one in a box and the other next to them. The box was then taken to the other side of the hall.  They had to run barefoot, get their shoe from the box, put it on, then run back to their other shoe. And of course, Jay didn't just race, he had to tackle other racers to make sure to slow them down. =p Yup, that's my babe. Leo was the winner of the garter.

To win the bouquet, the girls had to play musical chairs around Leo. The MC didn't care if you were related to him, you had to play. I did good and moved fast. The first time the music stopped, I slid in right under Pia and was able to get out of the game. I tried to take Pia with me but the MC wouldn't let me. All the cousins attempted to get out of the game first, as winning would have been awkward. When about half the girls were out, the game was stopped and the MOH was announced the winner =)

Oh and I can't forget about the photobooth. That was a ton of fun. Wish I could have done another pic with the group but the booth closed =/

Once the reception was over, we couldn't leave until Ben was ready to leave as all our stuff was in his room.  Back in the Manila hotel, we changed and headed down to the bar with the boys. And here I gotta say, Jay's smart. He ordered a double shot of Jack and a side of Ginger Ale and this way you can mix your own drink =) I followed suit with Sprite. Ahh best place I drank in Manila was Manila hotel. We continued to drink and eat in the bar for a while before heading back to our hotels. Shiel's dad was super sweet and arranged for us to be driven home, worried that we'd have a hard time catching a cab.

Back to Millenia
We grabbed our stuff from Pia's room and headed to our new suite. If we had this room, when we first arrived, it would have been perfect for hanging out and drinking sessions.  Despite the broken safe, it was a nice room. My favorite part is the bed facing straight out  the window, so I can stare at the skyline from bed and wake up to sunshine in the morning. I really wished to staff could have figured out how to upgrade our room earlier!

An Evening in Liverpool

On our last night in the UK, our host was nice enough to bring us to Liverpool. We tried to catch the ferry but missed it since we it took a little while to close up the last day of meetings. Instead of the ferry, we took a 30 minute train ride to Liverpool (which meant nap time for me). Overall, Liverpool's a really nice looking city (I mean I can't really judge as I was only there for a few hours. But there was a really nice mix of old and modern buildings that look great in the evening light. In fact, I learned that night that Liverpool has the greatest amount of historical buildings in the EU that are given the "no-touching" grade. I don't remember the actually grade, but essentially these buildings can't be taken down and modernized.

For dinner we headed to a Thai Restaurtant in Liverpool One, Chaophraya. Since we had a big group, we had a private room with a sunken table, which meant no shoes and sitting on the floor. Also, because of the large group, we ate family style. We had an assortment of appetizers with satay chicken, eggs rolls and fried shrimp. For entrees we had Pad Thai, Coconut Curry Chicken, Duck and Beef. My 2 faves were the pad thai and curry. Of course that's not counting dessert. As it was my last night, I went for an English dessert: sticky toffee pudding and ice cream, which was really, really good and satisfying. The warm cake went great with the cold ice cream.

And I can't forget the great company and conversation at dinner. I sat next to my colleague's wife, which is one of the nicest person I've met.  She was just really sweet and interested =)

After dinner we headed over to the Cavern to see where the Beatles got their start. The street is was on was pretty interesting.  The whole block was populated with bars and clubs, which must make bar hopping super easy =).

My only complaint of the country/area was that shops closed around 5-6pm. I wish I could have fitting some shopping but by the time I got out of work, shops were closed =/

Mold

On our second evening in UK we went to MOLD! That's right there's town called Mold and it makes me giggle. Anyway, it's a very cute area in Wales. Our first stop was a pub, Grasfryn where we had some pre-dinner drinks. I tried a British Brew called Flowers and was supper proud of myself for finishing =).

After leaving Grasfryn, we headed over to Soughton Hall to have dinner at the Stables. And yes, The Stables restaurant, use to be the stables of the main hall. Actually a little worried because it smelled like a stable outside...but fortunately not inside. The interior was beautiful and the food was delicious. I had seabass and steak. I ordered the steak medium and it was actually medium!! I didn't taste minerally at all or need sauce. We also had an award ceremony here and yup, I got one for my site too =).

The main hall is really beautiful on the outside but I couldn't get a picture. Apparently it's a very popular wedding venue.

Walled-in in Chester

During our stay in the UK, we stayed in the walled town of Chester. Fortunately for me, I arrived a day before I had my first meeting and had time to wander around town. And what a cute, cute town it is. But before, I made my way around town, I had to explore my room.

The Crowne Plaza

The Hotel: I was staying at the Crown Plaza. When the taxi first dropped us off, it seemed a little shady as it looks like it's below an overpass (which is actually just a walkway to the shopping center above) and in an alley. But if you take a step back, you'll notice it's a cute little building. Though the building itself is old and there was a weird smell in the hallway, the staff is amazingly accommodating and helpful. I don't think I could have made it to my meetings on time without their wake up calls. And when I noticed that my

adaptar wasn't grounded and therefore wouldn't work with my laptop, they sent out someone to get one (it wasn't just for me though, the front desk said a lot of people had the same issue, so I'm thinking someone walked off with the ones they left in the room).  The rooms themselves were pretty nice. The bed was comfy and blankie was puffy.  They even leave complimentary lavender spray to help you sleep at night. One of my favorite features was the towel warmer. It was nice to be toasty right after a shower. I even put my pjs on there before I changed =p.
The food's not bad either, my first English meal was here. I ordered fish and chips, which was much bigger than expected, and hot cocoa to keep me warm after a long trek outdoors. The fish was really good; crispy but still moist and steamy on the inside. The chips were these massive stubs and, like the fish, had soft interior with crispy exterior. The cocoa was just fancy - it wasn't chocolately enough for me but the square of fudge it came with more than made up for it =)

The Walled in Town: Chester was formerly a Roman fort and the walls of that fort still stand today. Since you can actually walk on top of the walls, that was my first destination to get great views of the town. I started at North Gate and made my way to the cathedral. From I got off the wall and explored the streets (filled with shops!). Once there were no more shops in sight, I headed for Grosvenor Park and the River Dee. I was completely impressed at how well-maintained the park was - completely manicured.

The animals in the park were massive and not too skittish if you come by, which was how I got take pics of them =). The River itself was pretty beautiful.

Afterwards, I went looking for one of UKs largest ampitheater. But before I found it, I was delightfully surprised when I encountered the Church of St. John the Baptist. The ruins of the original eastern walls still stand on the property and you can even see the coffin that they later found hidden in the wall. After the Church, I went across the street to find the ampitheather. It was actually discovered in the 1920s when a nearby girls school was being expanded. Only 1/2 of the ampitheater is visible because the other half lay below historical buildings. But I have to say, the best part of this Roman Ampitheater was the school trips and tours that came here. A group of shield bearing children were given a history lesson by a gladiator. It's interesting to hear kids do a war chant in the middle of England.

Unfortunately for me, I had to cut short my wanderings around town to take a quick nap before dinner.  The dinner was arranged as a meet and greet as many of us hadn't met before so I wanted to be rested enough to hold a conversation. =p Dinner was at an Italian restaurant, Piccolino's. The food here was REALLY good. I had their dinner special with was scallops with a garlic butter sauce =). And dessert was an Italian honey and hazelnut ice cream with a biscuit on the side. The dinner was delicious but dessert was my favorite. Very creamy and flavorful.

The Wall Part 2: Luckily for my I was able to traverse the rest of the wall on my last day. I don't remember much because I was trying to finish it before my taxi came. But I do remember stopping at a place called the Goblin Room, where you can actually go in and see where archers very posted.

Then I discovered the castle! I wish I had time to go in and see it, but it was only the map that the hotel gave me the first day so I never looked for it =(. Next time!!

UK Airports

So I haven't even caught up to posting about Japan and I'm already leaving the home...
Last week, I got sent to the UK for an internal conference (global meeting). The nice part was I got to go the day before my meetings actually started.


First impressions: Customs was easy peasy. There was barely any wait, the customs officer only asked one question and then stamped my passport. There was also a really nice lady standing around the luggage carousel in case we had questions which we didn't. Then to leave, you don't have to stand in another customs line! Just walk out 2 doors while they videotape you.

Taxis: The airport taxi will try to rip you off. When we first got out of the customs area, we check with a private car service for a pricing. They told us it would be £65 for the taxi but it was a 50 minute wait. As I'm not one for sitting around airports, we went outside to find a public taxi. The taxi guy loaded the taxi and then pulled out his handy dandy chart and showed us that a ride to Chester was £85.  We then kindly asked him to remove our bags as the private service was much much cheaper and we didn't feel like being ripped off. The driver then negotiated down to £70. As we didn't really want to wait 50 minutes, we went for it. Which I later learned was still way over the norm: the hotel was actually able to arrange a car service from the hotel to the airport for only £40.One cool thing about the taxi, you have tons of control in the back seat.

Manchester Airport: OK maybe this isn't Manchester Airport so much as BMI Airlines. BMI cancelled my flight to Heathrow without telling me. Even worse than not telling, they confused the hell out of me.  There were 3 of us travelling to Heathrow but only 1 of use got a cancellation notice. So we called and checked online and both say the flights are on schedule. Who do we listen too??? My 2 colleagues decided not to chance it and take the train to Heathrow so they can make the connecting flight back to the States. Unfortunately for me, my rib muscles still ached so I couldn't lug around my luggage around the transit system. 
I made my way to the BMI counter and was told my flight was cancelled but they already put me on the next flight (YAY!). The down side, which I had to prod out of them, was that I would arrive about 1 hour before my connecting flight and would have to switch terminals. And since they didn't notify me of the cancellation, I was extra early. I tried to kill time shopping but I was done in less in 30 minutes. More time to kill so I ate. Still more time to kill so I tried to find my gate. But nope, they won't tell you what gate you need to go to until the gate opens, which is when boarding starts. Until then, I was asked to patiently wait in the lounge and stare at the gate information screen.


London Heathrow: Our flight actually landed earlier than scheduled. I got excited thinking I get extra time to find my gate, but it took the plane a good 20-25 minutes to TAXI to the gate. Great. I get out and am told to go through international connections to get the bus to my next terminal. International connections was a massively long hallway with 3 different stops (which means 3 different lines). I get to the bus area and the bus is late, like 10 minutes late. And once we board, the bus driver wanders around looking for something someone lost. What was suppose to be an 8 minute ride felt like forever as the bus weaves (not exaggerating here) the airport grounds. And yeah he had to stop to chat with an incoming bus. Sigh. When I get to the terminal it was time to power walk to the gate. Thankfully, I made it to the gate exactly when boarding started. The boarding attendants then ask me to wait off the side so the can print me a proper boarding pass (I had an electronic print out from BMI). So I waited, but they were swamped ... so they gave me back my boarding pass and let me get on the plane .. lol

Day 4: Family Time

Today was the trip to Himlayang Pilipino to visit Lolo's grave. As last night was Buck's night, it was difficult to wake up Jay. Uncle Robbie came to pick the 2 of us up..I felt bad as he made the trip just for me and Jay.  Miguel and Allan were suppose to come but I couldn't get a hold of them (probably recovering from buck's night) and Pia and Marco were off to a wedding expo.

We were the last to arrive at Himlayang Pilipino, so we started prayers shortly after arriving. Auntie Rose led the rosary. After prayers, it was picture time and Jay served as a stand-in for his dad.

When it was time head back to the Bayleaf, Jay rode with Uncle Lito and I went in the van with the Aunties, Lola, and cousins.  And of course, we hit traffic. Fortunately, the aunties were excellent tour guides and pointed out all the points of interests of their youths (birthplaces, home, schools, even Eileen's current apartment). Not sure how long we sat through traffic but it got hot.  The AC in the van isn't as strong when it's not really moving. We sat so long that Auntie Cynthia was tempted to buy some lanzones from a street vendor but changed her mind when she was warned that it'll be warm/hot from being out in the sun.

The Bayleaf seems like a nice hotel. It's right by one of the Intramuros entrances. The lobby was shiny and bright and rooms appear to be relatively new and in good shape. Bathroom was a good size and they even had internet in their room =p. Everyone was staying on the same floor except for Leo which made things nice and easy =/ Upon arrive, Jay headed straight for the cafe not knowing he needed a key card to use to the elevator. He kept pushing the button, and no one told him he needed a card.. so he finally figured it out and had me come get him.

Day 3: Free Day = Shopping time

Today was the only unplanned day we had in Manila. So we had to make the most of it and go shopping for the black pants Jay needed for the wedding. As he already tried looking in Ortigas, we decided to try in Makati, where 3 malls (SM, Glorietta and Greenbelt) are pretty much connected to each other. If we couldn't find one in the first one, we had 2 others to try.

1st stop: SM Makati. Due to last nights drinking, we started the trip with a visit to the food court. I was still pretty full from breakfast so I went in search of taho (which is silk tofu, syrup, and tapioca). I opted for the regular syrup.

Once everyone was full and satisfied, we headed upstairs to the Men's department and Jay found a pair within the 1st 5 minutes.  One really cool thing we learned was that dress pants are not sold hemmed in the Philippines.  So sizes are just by waist and the length is tailored at the alterations department. This worried me at first because in the US, the tailor that actually does the sewing is not always in the department store and it can take a few days to get your items back. Fortunately, the alterations department told us the pants would be ready in 30 minutes!

Day 2: Villa Escudero + Street Food in UP

Still jet-Lagged:

I'm still having issues sleeping. I only slept about 3 hours last night. Tried to sleep as much as I could in the van but it's hard. When I finally fell asleep, I woke up at Jollibee's where we stopped for  breakfast.  Turn's out Villa Escuedero was just down the road.

Villa Escudero

Villa Escudero was pretty nice and I'm glad we made the trip.  It was originally a sugar plantation but was later converted to a coconut plantation. Currently, it still grows coconuts but has become a tourist spot as well. Our first stop on the plantation was the Museum which was a replica of St. Augustine. It held a collection of various items; from parade floats to jars to stuffed animals. Since we were such a large group, we had our own tour guide, Jose. He was really funny...but I don't think I learned anything =p I don't think it can be helped though..The collection was super random. Plus I didn't understand all of it. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the interior as photography wasn't allowed.

What I did notice though were that the religious figurines were super ornate; in particular, there was float of Jesus carrying the cross, wearing a rich red velvet and gold filigree cape. The grounds were covered with statues of Filipinos in regional/traditional attire (plus random statues, like ET), war-related models and vehicles, and jeepneys.

Day 1.5 in PI

A Late Night Arrival:

Because of the rain, our arrival to manila was slightly delayed. The customs area was packed but when through relatively quick (at least quicker then MX).  The customs officer barely asked us any questions. The only hiccup was that no one told us we needed a disembarkation card for each person so Jay track another one down. It would make too much sense to have extras at the customs counters. 

Not much else to say about our arrival. My first thoughts were: “damn, I forgot about that smell, it's hot and fuck it's crowded”. I guess I don't ever forget those things, but no way to be ready for it again. And not necessary that its a bad smell..it's just distinctive.

We got to Milennia hotel around midnight, hung out with cousins and fell asleep around 230 or 3. But then woke  up again at 6:30 =/

On the first real day, Jay and I both woke up early and started finding ways to kill time. We tried to check in but the staff wanted to charge us an early check in fee. We asked if we can upgrade our room, but they did not know how to do it. Pretty much, the hotel staff was severely incompotent but more on that later.

Since we couldn't check in, Jay and I ventured out looking for a bank and a place to eat breakfast. We tried McDonalds but they didn't take card or US cash and I didn't have enough pesos on me.  We ended up wandering in the Richmonde hotel for their breakfast buffet . Best thing in the buffet was the tocino and fried rice. I had sunny side egg with it, but it wasn't as good as Auntie Margie's (which are pretty darn perfect – I just wished I was clearheaded enough on Sunday to tell her, but I wasn't).

After finding a bank we headed back to Pia's room to kill time until we could check in. When we finally get the room, Jay and I quickly unpack so I can get ready for the dress fitting. There were no irons in the rooms so I tried to get everything hung.  After my shower, some guy opens the door to our room.  Surprised to see me, he quickly closes the door. I went to go talk to him and learned that we were in his room - he recently transferred to an apartment, but he had prepaid for the room until the following day. He told me he'd go down to yell at the staff for giving away a room he already paid for. Jay went to yell at them for giving us a room that someone else had access to. Their response was that  their system showed that are only 2 active keys to the room. Which is really the wrong thing to tell your customers as it just shows that your whole security system is inaccurate and worthless. I mean, obviously, your system is wrong and broken.

Almost there ...

The flight from CA to Japan was pretty damn uncomfortable. Again, the seats just aren't meant for little people. My feet didn't reach the floor and there was no footrest =p 

I watched Puss in Boots twice due to their lack of movie choices and inability to sleep =/ 

The food was meh.  Rice was mushy and pizza was bland .. AA really fulfills the crappy airline food stereotype.

No good snacks in between meals either so it was a hungry trip.  I'll need to remember to pack some snacks in the way home =/

So you can imagine how happy I was to land at Narita! The airport staff was really helpful in finding our next gate.  And the food at the airport really hit the spot. Rice balls and miso ramen are great comfort foods. And the deliciousness was just an added bonus. 

Our flight to Manila was on JAL, who's food was 10 times better than the AA flight. I had just eaten 3 hours earlier at the airport, but I had to try.  I got the grilled blue fin tuna with rice. There was a side of salmon, pasta salad and vanilla ice cream!

24 Hours in Cali = Food & Drink Adventures

Leo and Nardo picked us up from airport and on the way to our first stop we already hit traffic =)

First stop: In and Out.
I haven't been to CA since I was a kid so it's my time trying In and Out. We ordered an animal style hamburger animal for me, animal style double double for Jay and animal fries to share. Silly Jay didn't realize double double and animal fries were cheesy. So we switched, he had my hamburger and I had his double, but too much for me so I couldn't finish =/ I really wanted to finish =p

Another first: We got to meet Billy, Amy and Soma for the first time. Say “Hi” to Soma.

Soma's awesome except she kept trying to chew my hand and sweater .. wouldn't have minded if the her teeth weren't so sharp.

Stop 2: Cafe Lu for boobs and coffee.
Coffee was ok but avocado shakes were even better. It reminded of the Filipino desert with mashed avocado, milk and sugar. The cafe reminded me of a scene from asian movie were the gangsters hang out and gamble-kinda den-like. Super smoky... Eyes got really irritated so it was time to move on. No pics of this because I'm pretty sure photography isn't allowed ... but then, neither was smoking.

Stop 3: Haven Gastropub in Old Towne Orange.
We had a Moscow Meal (with bourbon instead of vodka) in a copper mug and a Knock-Knock (I think). We also had olives and potatos chips for the table. Chips were really really good and seasoned with Salt + pepper + oregano. Another plus, our waitress was a NY Giants fan and was totally digging my sweater. 

Stop 4: Bruxie 
After Haven we walked down the super cute street heading to a waffle place. These waffles were delicious and smart! The waffles are folded creating a waffle sandwich and lets you eat with your hands.

Stop 5: Auntie Margie's house! 
Where we were greeted by 3 awesome doggies. I loved playing with these guys. They were super happy to see us and I couldn't stop playing with them. Lucy was extra cute in her onesie and Buddy just plane cuddly! Princess was a sweety and tried to get hugs while I was trying to nap.

Stop 6: Dinner
After Auntie Margie and Tito Jun came home, we headed out to Lazy Dog for an early dinner. Unfortunately, there was a 45 minute wait so we decided to head for a place called Chili Peppers. I had a guac and beef taco and Jay had a pork and rice dish. The spanish rice was really good and the pork was nice and tender.


Stop 7: The supermarket!
To pick up a Vday card for mom, Off! Spray, 5 hour energy shots and a bottle of Crown. 

Stop 8: Post-dinner Dinner + Drinks at Cafe Artist 
Nardo, Jay and I met up with Billy and Amy for an eating an drinking session. The coconut snails were my favorite from that night, closely followed by the steak. There were plenty of other food: seafood hot pot, clams, and balut. And lots of crown and 5 hour energy.

Stop 9: Amy's house 
To work on finishing a 3rd bottle of Crown. Leo was nice enough to be our DD for the night. When we got home, Nardo made a new friend, a lost guy, who apparently has been wandering around the neighborhood. And probably wandered around a little longer as he didn't seem to want to listen to Nardo's directions.

The next day I got a wake up call from Lucy, who knocked on the door until I got up to play with her and Buddy. Really great wake up to those two. Such good pups and sweety pies. Buddy kept rolling on his back for belly rubs =)

OTW to Cali! (backtracking =p)

We're Heeerre I've got to say, that was probably one of the most uncomfortable flights I've been on. No wait, I take that back. The most uncomfortable flight was when in high school, when I slipped on a waterslide and landed on my butt bone. The following day I sat through about a 12+ hr flight to Hawaii (from PI). My back ached the whole time. But that was from my own careless (I mean the hotel folks did put up a sign tell me walk slowly as it's slippery). This flight just has super uncomfortable seats. First off, the next pillow/support is way too high for a short girl like me. So instead of it supporting my neck, all it does is push my head forward out of neutral position. Not very ergonomic. I woke up with the worst crick in my neck. My back also hurts. I blame on the neck pillow issue as well. I'm worried about the next leg of the trip now. I think I'll have to purchase a neck pillow (along with the eye mask I couldn't find) and ask the flight attendants for extra pillows for my back so I get better support. Speaking of flight attendants, when we first boarded, the lady behind me asks one of the flight attendant if she can help her put her bag in the overhead. The flight attendant said “No”. As we're flying out of NY, I thought maybe she was kidding or being sarcastic. But the attendant proceeds to explain, that they are not permitted to help passengers put carryons in the overhead bins because if they get hurt then their out of a job. The lady then apologizes to the attendant and proceeds to place her luggage herself. Now, I understand issues with employee safety and compensibililty but I've always thought attendants were there to assist passengers. I mean, isn't that why there's a call button on every seat? If I was that woman, I'd be pissed (and frankly, I'm a little pissed for her). I'm short, and depending on the plane, I have trouble getting the carryon in the overhead without climbing on the seats abit. Do they really want passengers climbing on seats? That doesn't sound safe either. I'm sure that if passengers and employee lifted the bag together, and shared the load chances of injury to either party would be less. Idk, I just feel like the physical ability to lift the weight of a carryon should be part of the job description. Next thing you know, the cargo handlers will begin telling us we have to load our own luggage on the plane because they can't risk getting injured. And speaking of carryons – we had to check ours in as it was to wide for the overhead bin. It does meet their size requirement and we have carried it on before. We just didn't expect the tiny bins. Now I have to consider weather or not I should switch carryon bags … I'm assuming the international flight will be larger and with larger bins. I guess I've got some homework to do tonight.

Blog Fail

Since leaving the US, I have experienced some technical difficulties...The first hotel we stayed in in the Philippines did not have internet in the rooms, and when I would go to the lobby to connect, I'd be unable to acquire an address. The second hotel did not have electricity half the time I was there. Thankfully, I wasn't completely deprived as I had internet on the phone, but blogging on the phone is no fun. Plus it's hard to add pictures. But now that I'm in Japan, I have internet access from the comfort of my room =) I will try to catch up and post old posts that I've been saving.

Peace out East Coast!!

Other than a rude gate attendant and having to check in our carry because the overhead compartment is tiny, the airport experience wasn't awful. All the lines were short and quick ..possibly because was 5 am. But we're boarded and ready to go!! And sleep!

Last day... To get ready

Yesterday was my last day to get everything ready. It started out fine.. I repacked my stuff into a smaller bag. Here's my stuff in the original bag. As you can see it's only half full so jay and I had to switch.

Then got errands done: picked up my meds, went out to get vday cards to mail to the parents, get my nails done (purple to match the bm dresses).

With all that done, I was happy to get home and finish putting together my carry-on and clean the house. I didn't get as much as I wanted done but at least it was cleaner than yesterday :p. And that's probably when things started to go wrong. I completely lost track of time. I had wanted to get to bed early as we had to leave the house at 330 am to catch our 630 flight. But I didn't stop cleaning until 11, at which point I began writing yet another insurance inquiry response letter and vday cards. ..and of course I had no stamps. Fortunately, mama n papa had some. Then as I'm writing, I realize there's no card for my mom! i clearly remember finding the perfect card for her..I must have accidently put it back when I returned another card. So I brought an extra stamp with me and hope find a card while in cali. Around 1130, Jay gets home and we start weighing everything and moving stuff around. As I get ready for bed, american airlines calls to tell us our flight is canceled due to the snow in the midwest. Our only options were to take a later flight or fly out of JFK. Sigh. We chose JFK so we don't lose our LA day. All this time, my little ones were waiting for me to get to bed..ah I'm gonna miss those cute cuddle babies