staying at the discovery country suites

i'm very happy with how my 2015 is turning out in terms of travel. this month, i got to stay in discovery country suites in tagaytay. 

susie and i have always loved restaurant verbena in discovery country suites, and we've always been curious about the rooms in the property. last october, the discovery group was offering rooms at their various properties at huge discounts. so i checked out their website and found that their suites were at half off (if you check in on sunday-thursday). i hurriedly booked a random date in february, booking the nantucket suite for just Php 6,388 net, with complimentary country breakfast for two, milk and cookies at bedtime, complimentary wi-fi access and parking.

for those who will be booking their rooms for this property online, discovery country suites will send you a confirmation of your reservation by email. you have to send a signed copy of this back to them by a certain date, otherwise "the Hotel Management will have the discretion to release your room blockings as deemed necessary." i just thought i'd mention that, because most of our reservations these days are deemed confirmed, and don't usually require a response.

fast forward to that random date in february. since i had reserved in a hurry, i wasn't able to think things through and booked us on a wednesday, the day susie's car is under the number coding scheme. so that morning, i gave our little blueberry baby a hurried kiss goodbye at 630am so we could make it out of makati before seven.

on the road again.

we cruised along the skyway and were out of manila pretty quickly. we stopped for breakfast at petron along SLEX. we lingered and talked for a bit while the rain poured. i took my time finishing my oatmeal and hot chocolate, susie did the same with his coffee. i'm actually not used to not being in a hurry, and this was such a welcome pace.

at around 8am, we got to tagaytay. check-in at discovery was still at 2pm, so we had a lot of time to kill. susie drove up to palace in the sky, and we were hoping to check it out, since i had never been there, but it was too foggy to see anything. on our way back, we saw a coffee bean and tea leaf with a windmill on top, and thought it was a good place to stop and kill some time. 

cafe voila at crosswinds, tagaytay

as it turned out, the coffee bean and tea leaf is still being constructed and won't be open for a few more days. luckily, beside it was cafe voila, a restaurant with a rustic asian feel. it was so inviting, we couldn't help but take a seat and order drinks.

lovely, right?

such a shame we were still full from breakfast, because they had a pretty extensive menu.

after taking a few more photos, we went back to the car and drove around tagaytay some more. it was great to be in the city on a weekday--traffic was so light, so we were zipping back and forth between random places we wanted to see. we checked out the area where marcia adams tuscany was; sadly we didn't think to reserve a table.

we drove back and had brunch at breakfast at antonio's. susie was happy with his steak; i wasn't so impressed with my morcilla roesti (which, in hindsight, was probably the chorizo roesti, they may have served me the wrong dish). i was very happy with their banana macadamia nut spread, though! i took a jar home (P250) for the office folks, and they loved it.

we took our time with brunch, and drove back to verbena to finally check in. gela, who was at the concierge desk, received us warmly. we were checked in in a matter of minutes. it took them a while to open the door to our suite, though, there was a bit of a problem as the wooden door had expanded due to the humidity from the cold weather. this is what we saw when we entered: 

the nantucket suite

since we had booked months ago, i had completely forgotten about the room i chose. i remember favoring this particular suite in case we wanted to take the blueberry baby with us. it was even more spacious than i had expected, and tastefully decorated. even with the space, it still exuded a cozy feel; i just wanted to burrow under the covers and read a book then.

the room also had a large desk--in case you'd be foolish enough to do any work in this beautiful getaway. our suite also boasted a balcony, and an enormous bathroom. this is the room to book if you want quick access to the concierge or the restaurant, as it is on street level. it's also perfect for those who need PWD access, as you won't need to use the stairs to get to this room.

i also valued the sweet, little touches that they offer all guests. at sundown, they served us two glasses of wine and a platter of cheeses. when we got back to our room after dinner, there was a plate of yummy cookies and a pot of warm milk waiting for us. 

happy campers.

it was such a treat to wake up in such a comfy and cozy bed. we got even more excited when we realized we had complimentary breakfast at verbena! we got our pick of the restaurant's breakfast menu. the choices are pretty interesting; there were omelettes, different takes on eggs benedict, a selection of filipino breakfasts, among others. this was on top of the bread and butter that you can take from the buffet area, where you can also find cereals, milk, and juices. it was a very satisfying meal.

for the rest of our stay, we just hung out in the room and enjoyed it to the hilt. at around 12, we reluctantly checked out and bid the place goodbye. we vowed to go back. it was wonderful to find that the outstanding service we get in verbena matches that of discovery country suites. all the staff members we encountered treated us warmly, and were very professional and accommodating. 

so don't find it surprising if i post about staying in this place again. i was able to purchase accommodation vouchers for an overnight stay for P6,628.50 net. i'm very excited at the thought that i can book a stay anytime (until november 30, 2015, that is). 

check out more photos of our brief tagaytay fling. 

accommodation details
discovery country suites
address: 300 calamba road, san jose, tagaytay
email: dcrsvn@discovery.com.ph
phone number: +63 2 529.8172 / +63 46 413.4567

2011 ptaa travel & tour expo

next year, i'm going to make sure i secure plenty of travel deals for myself. :)

the 18th travel and tour expo for 2011 will be on 18-20 february, at the SMX convention center at mall of asia, with the theme "around the world in 3 days."

it's going to be the first time in two years that i'll be here for this, so i'm going to get myself a lot of deals!

this means, though, that i have to start saving up for the trips already! 2011, here i come!

taking on the louvre

visiting the louvre is a must, and is probably on every traveler's list. while i certainly did not want to pass up the opportunity to see a fraction of the 35,000 things in its collection, i have to admit that i actually was not completely looking forward to my visit.

for one thing, the musee du louvre is HUGE. it occupies over 60,000 square meters of space. because of this, i took the advice of the well-traveled and told myself that i should not even attempt to take in all the masterpieces in its walls. another thing was that i have read very little about this museum (being too caught up with the orsay), so i didn't know what to expect, or who to expect (save for the mona lisa and venus de milo).

no line had formed yet when we arrived by metro. as it turns out, there's an exit in the metro that takes you to the carrousel du louvre, a shopping space under the museum's famous pyramid. here, another entrance to the museum can be found, with much less people than by the main entrance.

since the museum was not opening its doors until 10am (that's later than usual because there was an event they had to take care of), susie and i decided to explore the area right outside the museum. we ended up walking to the jardin de tuileries, where we were able to sit by the fountain and watch the other people in the park. the weather, however, decided to turn chilly, so we headed back to the carrousel du louvre entrance.

under the pyramids.
another entrance to the museum by the carrousel du louvre

i was shocked to find that an incredibly long line had already materialized in the few minutes that we were gone. so we quickly fell in line, and after a few minutes, the "gates" opened. this line was just to enter the cour carrée, a square that contains information booths, ticket booths, and the cloak room. good thing we already had our museum pass, so we didn't need to line up again for tickets. we decided to pass on the audio guides, so we just got a map of the museum, and dove headfirst into the throng of masterpieces.

we saw venus de milo, ramses II, winged victory. then came the paintings. i saw the card sharper by georges de la tour, a self-portrait of albrecht durer, une odalisque (la grande odalisque) by jean-auguste-dominique ingres, who became an instant favorite. my head was starting to spin with all the colors, the figures, the symbols. i may sound like an ingrate to you, but i didn't want any of these paintings to be forgotten, to be erased in my head. they were all beautiful, all important, and i wanted to allot precious brain GBs in my head for them. but thank god photography was allowed, and i can look at them so i can keep remembering.

in the middle of our visit, an alarm started to go off. "haha, somebody must have touched a painting or something," susie said. then the alarm was followed by an announcement in french, spanish, and then english, of which we only caught "please leave the premises immediately." i looked around and saw that nobody was following these instructions, so i thought i should do the same. susie insisted we go out and see what happened, since there were terror threats at the time.

i was very resistant and reluctant to do that, because we had come so far into the museum, and i really didn't want to go back to the cour carrée, then pick up where we left off if things were fine. it's idiotic, i know, but that's how enormous this museum was. i was tired and hungry, and i wanted to just cover the other things we wanted to see and leave. but susie kept insisting, and it was the logical and safe thing to do, so we looked for the exit.

tired.
where can i get a massage around here?

when we finally reached the exit, the museum guards were just hanging out and talking like nothing happened, while the alarm was still going off inside. we asked them what the matter was. the response? something along the lines of "oh, nothing. false alarm. if we want you out, we'll get you out." i counted to ten, and walked back into the labyrinth.

after that, all the other things in the museum became a blur. all i was after was to see the mona lisa. we had entered one of the galleries, and saw a line of people trying to muscle their way into another gallery. and that's when i knew that i was only seconds away from meeting her. my exhaustion melted, my hunger vanished. i went straight for the crowd and used the singit skills that i've acquired through years of taking the MRT. in no time, i was near the front, elbowing my way to a wall covered with glass, to protect the precious little frame inside it.

my right hand lowered the camera. all around me, people were scrambling to get the perfect photo, but i couldn't take a snapshot--i was just staring. some people told me that when they saw her, they said, "that's it?!" because she was so tiny. but the words in my heard were, "THIS. IS. IT." it sounds too dramatic, but i nearly cried. for a friggin' painting. but being face to face with something so important was so incredibly overwhelming that i froze. i managed to get ahold of myself, and eventually snapped a photo, but i think that moment will stay with me for a while.

the superstar of the louvre.
the crowd trying to get closer to la gioconda

before that moment, i was being so cranky, i was being an ungrateful bruha because the louvre was exhausting the hell out of me. but when i got to that moment, and looking back at what i've seen, i would do it again, but next time, i will slap myself silly if i ever feel like complaining. because the things you see in the louvre are worth all the effin' trouble. the expensive admission fee, the long wait in the even longer line, the crowds, the indecipherable french descriptions, the starvation--they all seem so inconsequential when you think about what you take away from the louvre.

more photos of my visit to the louvre here.

museum information
musee du louvre
address: 75001 paris, france
opening hours: 9am-6pm (monday, thursday, saturday, sunday), 9am-10pm (wednesday & friday), closed on tuesdays
admission fee: EUR 10
metro: palais royal-musee du louvre
buses: 21, 24, 27, 39, 48, 68, 69, 72, 81, 95, or the paris tourist bus
batobus: louvre stop

centre pompidou

jetlag got the better of us after our trip to the musee d'orsay, so we decided to go back to the hotel and rest. we woke up at about 6pm. the only sights we could visit then was the centre pompidou, paris's museum of modern art, and the arc de triomphe, as they both stay open until late.

we got off our asses and took the metro to rambuteau, and were awed when we were faced with the mighty structure of the centre georges pompidou. the entire building have 7 "superstructure" levels, and occupies a land area of 2 hectares. it's mostly made of steel and glass, which makes it look modern despite the fact that it's been around since february 1977. i was intimidated from the sight of it alone.

we were there an hour and a half before closing time, so we didn't get to see everything on display. we did get to check out elles@centrepompidou, which is an exhibition of and about different kinds of art pieces by women. my favorite part of the museum is the fifth level, where i got to see modern works by picasso, matisse, miro, modigliani, gris, among others. it was a pleasant surprise, as i wasn't able to do a lot of research for this particular museum.

aside from the artworks, the 6th level also gives you a darned good view of paris. there's a cafe and restaurant there, but we decided to have dinner somewhere else.

check out the things i saw at the centre pompidou.

museum information
centre pompidou
metro stops: rambuteau, hôtel de ville, châtelet
RER stop: Châtelet - Les Halles
bus: 21, 29, 38, 47, 58, 69, 70, 72, 74, 75, 76, 81, 85, 96
notes: closed on tuesdays and may 1st
admission: EUR 12, EUR 3 for panorama ticket (access to the panoramic view at 6th floor only, no entry to museums and exhibitions)

grave sightings in paris

on our first full day in paris, i decided to drag susie over to the montparnasse cemetery, which was a two-minute walk from our hotel. a lot of famous people are interred at various cemeteries all over paris, and montparnasse's most famous residents may probably be the people i went to see that day: the philosopher jean paul sartre and his lover, simone de beauvoir.

it was a nice sunny day in paris. the place was quiet, but not grim. right by the gate is a map that shows you the way to the graves of the cemetery's memorable residents. among them are writer samuel beckett, sculptor constantin brancusi, andré citroën (of the automobile brand), gustave coriolis (of the coriolis effect), the artist henri latour, author guy de maupassant (whose story, "the necklace," i read in high school), historian edgar quinet, and writer susan sontag.

sartre and de beauvoir's graves were just a few steps from the gate. from the map, all we needed to do was turn around and take a couple of steps, and there they were. the stone was adorned with kisses, the gravestone was also laden with gifts, such as a small, golden replica of the eiffel, plenty of roses, and even a lighter.

after that, susie and i walked around for a little bit, not looking for anyone in particular, but just looking at the stones and the graves, checking how long some had been staying there. we were pretty impressed at the variety and artistry in the tombstones. art in paris definitely permeates even its cemeteries.

some people would have said that starting the day by seeing the dead is a sad way to start any day, but i beg to differ. visiting one of the most influential personalities the world has ever known is one of the best ways to start any day for me. and it definitely fits what would become of our trip to paris--we ended up chasing personalities, both real and fictional, all over the french capital.

but that's getting ahead of the story. :)

list of cemeteries in paris:
montparnasse cemetery (Cimetière du Montparnasse)
3, boulevard Edouard Quinet 75014 Paris
Tel.: +33(0)1 44 10 86 50
Metro: Edgar Quinet or Raspail
Buses: 28 or 68

père-lachaise cemetery (Cimetière du Père-Lachaise)
16, rue du Repos
75020 Paris
Tel.: +33(0)1 55 25 82 10
Metro: Père Lachaise or Philippe Auguste
Buses: 61 or 69

montmartre cemetery (Cimetière Montmartre)
20, avenue Rachel
75018 Paris
Tel.: +33(0)1 53 42 36 30
Metro: Blanche or Place de Clichy
Buses: 95, 80, 74, 54 or 30

admission to these cemeteries is free.

view more photos of i gotta go's trip to cimetière du montparnasse

bienvenue a paris, i gotta go!

our flight to paris was delayed by an hour, and in hindsight, i should have taken that as a sign that our time in paris would be... funny.

our air france flight went rather well--the food was great, the choice of films were pretty entertaining. the length of the flight was just right, so i didn't feel restless (like i did when i took KLM to amsterdam from manila).

air france lunch: glazed duck with fresh salad, beef bourguignon, cheese, fresh fruit, cherry tart, and tea

we landed at 630pm, an hour and 20 minutes later than we were supposed to, but since we did have a flight delay, we actually did good time.

charles de gaulle airport was not what i expected it to be--it was huge, but quiet and empty. i wasn't sure if we had just caught it at a time when there's very little traffic, but it seemed a tad hollow to me.

we went to the RER station to get our tickets to the city center. it was a good thing susie was listening to the PA system, or i would have gone ahead and bought tickets to a train line that was being fixed at the moment.

after some confusion, it was established that we were still to buy our tickets in the CDG station, so we had to search for a machine that gave change, or a machine that's solely made to change bills into coins.

the station's information center had printed out little guides in english and french on where we're supposed to go to catch the other train from mitry claye, which connects to the RER as well (the line that takes you from CDG to paris city center). the airport had provided a bus to shuttle people from the airport to far-flung mitry claye, and the ride was looooong.

when we arrived at mitry claye, i was shocked to find a rather small and starting-to-get-run-down station. we were made to carry our bulky suitcases down and up flights of concrete stairs before we reached the dirty train. paris airport authorities didn't come up with a solution to make this convenient for passengers, especially the elderly ones.

we shuffled into the filthy train and found our place, then heard another announcement, in french, over the PA system. next thing i knew, everybody was hurrying out of the train, one parisian shouted expletives at the speaker on the train, and there was a huge commotion as everyone struggled with their suitcases again down another flight of stairs so we could transfer to the next train. as it turns out, the first train that they ushered us into was broken.

so finally, we were on our way to the city. this was around 830pm, i think. we changed metro lines to reach raspail, which is where our hotel was. i was not prepared for the fact that the paris metro is not at all suited to travelers. there were no lifts or escalators, only stairs that seemed to stretch forever. poor susie had to lug two heavy suitcases up and down flights of stairs. thankfully, one guy with a beautiful pair of white leather shoes helped me carry my suitcase down to the platform. and, as i will find out later, the french are actually quite a helpful lot.

we were finally able to check into the hotel at 930pm, tired, but happy and relieved to finally be where we're supposed to be. our receptionist, maia, was the nicest. he let us get settled in first, and gave us helpful tips when we decided to check out the neighborhood after we had everything in order.

so that was how we reached paris. more bloopers came after that, but the city endeared itself to me. :)

touch down, hong kong

we took the 8am flight to hong kong via philippine airlines, and i gotta say, i was pleasantly surprised. the flight boarded and left on time, and landed 10 minutes early. quite an uneventful trip, which is how i prefer my flights.

we left our big suitcases at the airport's left baggage facility. HKD 120/bag/day. a tad steep, but it sure is convenient.

then we went to casa g&c discovery bay (our friends' place) to drop off our stuff and play with their little one before setting off for tung chung.

one of the main reasons for the tung chung outing was to check out the canon s95 for susie. my man left the mall quite happy--he got the camera for HKD 3,280 (PHP 19,047.00) from fortress, and it included a bunch of freebies to boot: 8gb sd card, extra battery,a mini tripod, camera case, and even an sd card reader. a damned good deal.

i walked around the mall for a bit, trying to find something to buy, but nothing called out to me.

so now we're back at casa g&c. :) i think i'll go and join susie for a nap. i feel exhausted all of a sudden.

ba noi's: the second time just sucked

ba noi's is a new vietnamese restaurant along perea street in legazpi village. since i love pho and will never say no to a bowl of beef pho noodles, susie and i decided to have dinner there a couple of weeks back.

the place was simple and pleasant. the crew friendly enough. i enjoyed their fried spring rolls, and the pho bo was yummy, despite the reviews that said it was bland. i had forgotten what susie ordered, but he enjoyed it, too. we went out of ba noi's then with satisfied smiles on our mugs.

banking on that first experience, we decided to have lunch there last saturday.

it started out well enough: the place wasn't too packed, and the waitress gave us our menus; she was still attentive enough. we ordered the shrimp pomelo salad as our starter, and i got a pho bo again (because i loved it the first time), and susie finally got to try the lemongrass chicken (which wasn't available last time).

our salad arrived on time, but it wasn't anything special. it wasn't bad, but i wouldn't sing praises about it, either. i didn't mind much, because i knew the pho bo would make up for it.

this time, ba noi's decided not to prove the reviews wrong. the broth came warm, not hot, and was bland. the basil and lime they provided didn't give it enough flavor, so i asked for more. it took the waitress about 15 minutes to give me my additional spices, and by then, the broth had turned lukewarm.

a really good bowl of pho can turn my mood around, but at the same time, a really bland (bad) one can turn me into a monster. this was not helped by the fact that susie's order had not come, even when i was halfway through my bowl (and i was eating it very slowly since i didn't really like how it tasted). all around us, people who had just come in were already feasting on their dishes, while poor susie had to wait with a grumbling stomach.

we followed it up with the staff, who just nodded and went back to the counter. the dish came after about 10 minutes or so. by this time, i had given up on my bowl, and i decided to order the fried spring rolls so we can at least have something nice to eat. unfortunately, the dish never came even after susie had finished his food.

so we just paid for the bill (we didn't have to wait long for that, how nice) and left a note about how disappointed we were, complete with name and number. no response from them yet. doesn't matter, though. we're never going back there again.

burp: create your own burgers at BRGR: the burger project

since we had been spending a lot of time at the farm (my friend adrian's garden, which we have turned into a mini farm), we thought we'd mix things up and go someplace else for dinner.

so last saturday, we went with adrian's suggestion to bring our monstrous appetites over to BRGR: the burger project in quezon city. i had no idea what was in store for us; the mere mention of the word burger compelled me to say yes.

BRGR is a small and bright burger joint along maginhawa street in teacher's village. the decor was playful, and the interiors kept simple. we walked up to the counter and were each given our own clipboards and marker. attached to the clipboard was an order form, where you can check the ingredients that you want on your burger.
the idea of making my own burger filled me with both thrill and dread--i mean, sure, it's exciting that i could put whatever i want on my burger, but when faced with the choices that BRGR has, it was actually a difficult thing to do, especially when you're hungry.

my order form ended up being the messiest, with a lot of corrections and crossed-out ingredients. i was so befuddled that i actually submitted my form without a choice of patty (you can have up to three 100% beef patties, or a tofu patty). i was initially lured by the idea of a delicious blue cheese burger, but that flew out the window the minute i saw "egg" as one of the choices.

my burger project at BRGR.

in the end, i opted for a single 100% beef patty with a fried egg, sauteed mushrooms, bacon, onions, lettuce, and tomato on a potato bun. i ordered a side of potato fries and a glass of their vanilla milkshake. these extras caused my bill to reach Php400. pricey, yes, but if you loved your meal, price is nothing.

a word of caution: it's very easy to get carried away with your BRGR creations. choosing a lot of ingredients can drive your bill up, so keep a drop of practicality if you don't want to part with your cash (but where's the fun in that?). the average cost of a BRGR is about Php 280, if you skip the milkshake (Php145) and keep your ingredients to a minimum.

taste-wise, though, i only have one thing to complain about: the sauteed mushrooms came out tough when i bit on them, but they were still very tasty. other than that, though, my burger rocked. it took me a long time to finish it (it was very, very heavy), but the price and time were all worth it. the milkshake did NOT help matters any, but i wouldn't have missed that drink for the world.

we left BRGR with all of us clutching our tummies and breathing heavily after the battle that we just subjected our bodies to, but we all had big smiles on our faces.

so next time you're feeling hungry AND creative, head on over to BRGR: the burger project, and whip yourself up a burger that you can be proud of.

view more photos of our food trip at BRGR: the burger project.

restaurant information
BRGR: the burger project
122 maginhawa street
teacher's village, quezon city
mobile number: (0915) 520-2266
business hours: 11am - 11pm daily

intramuros with our mabuhay guide

our friend, bryan ocampo, is part of the mabuhay guides, a group of pinoys who have been trained intensively in the art of tour guiding in the philippines. he offered to take us on a free tour of intramuros last saturday, and what ensued was a fun and interesting morning filled with rizal trivia and other philippine historical info.

our first stop for the day was fort santiago, and while i've been there a number of times, that day was my first time to enter the rizal shrine. it's a museum that houses plenty of rizal artifacts, including photographs, paintings of rizal, and even rizal's vertebra (strange, right?). my favorite area was the staircase, which doubled as a gallery of paintings of rizal as portrayed by different artists.

san agustin church was closed for lunch, so bry took us on a tour of casa manila first. no photography allowed, and i wouldn't have been able to take anyway, because bry was sharing plenty of interesting details, including the placement of the rooms, the little details in each room, how the room you're entertained in by the head of the house signifies his relationship with you. having a guide with you really changes the entire experience. the displays take on a lot more meaning.

jose rizal's business card

after casa manila, we had lunch at barbara's, and went back to san agustin. we entered the church, and learned about the architecture. bry then took us to the different exhibitions in the museum, pausing to expound on an artifact or two. it's funny, i've been to the san agustin crypt a number of times, but if bry (and susie) hadn't pointed it out to me, i would never have known that THE juan luna's remains are in that crypt.

now, i didn't tell you what i learned exactly, because that would be giving it away. :) if you want to learn what i learned, the best way to do so is to go on a tour yourself. so why not contact bryan ocampo to find out more about our history?

see more photos of our intramuros tour.

philippine airlines' great miles getaway

i just came back from the mabuhay miles center at pasay road, where i spent a good six hours in line just to book a ticket using my mother's mabuhay miles.

i found out about the great miles getaway promo of philippine airlines via email, and they told me that miles are now at 70% off! it came at the right time, since i needed to book susie and myself tickets to hong kong for the europe trip in october. airfare to european cities from hong kong are cheaper, so i decided to transit via hong kong this time. even with the taxes we paid for the redeemed tickets, it still out came out cheaper than buying tickets from manila to a european city.

booking and ticketing period for the promo is only from august 2 to 4, and travel is until december 7 only. i decided to go straight to the mabuhay miles center this morning so i can book and pay for the ticket already. when i got there at 830am, the line snaked from the second floor to the parking area of power realty building. the maintenance personnel of the building told us that people had started lining up at 5am. i expected a lot of people to be there for this promo, but i wasn't ready for THIS.

a few minutes later, i was finally ushered into the packed ticketing office on the second floor. i was given my transaction number: 5147. i looked at the screen to see what number was being accommodated then: 5023. niiiiice.

during the wait, i had made friends with rheean, who was also there to claim her tickets. she told me that she was able to book tickets over the phone, although she had to stay on the line for 8 hours. apparently, the promo started at midnight today, so she called the mabuhay miles hotline at 12, and was accommodated at 8am. it was an incredible feat, staying on the phone for 8 hours, but her tactic paid off: she was able to secure roundtrip tickets to hong kong for her and her baby, as well as osaka tickets for her and her friends.

while waiting, i asked my mom to try and book my dates over the phone. i was really lucky that she was able to get through and secure flights for the dates that i needed--i owe my mom a lot for this (since she also gave me her miles). at 230pm, my number was finally called, and my transaction went smoothly. at 3pm, i was able to have lunch.

it was one hell of an experience, but quite worth it, because I GOT MY TICKETS! i paid php 9806.00 for both susie and myself, which already includes travel tax. i'm hoping PAL comes up with a way to make their great miles getaway promo less of a hassle, but if this is how it goes next time, i've got a slew of tricks up my sleeve to make it worth my while.

this signals the start of the preparations for europe 2010. next up: visa application requirements.

hobbes & landes trivia night: brains vs. brawns

sounds fun, no?

snore: the manila hotel (part 1of my manila weekend)

Part of the reason I signed up for Carlos Celdran’s My Manila Tour was so that I could finally have a chance to stay in The Manila Hotel. I know that it hasn’t had a good reputation for the past few years, but I’ve always fancied staying in a hotel that has so much history, and holds memories of how my country was like before the war.

The experience was enjoyable, though definitely not perfect. I’ve broken down The Manila Hotel experience in various segments, so read on:

Booking
To book for the My Manila Tour, I sent an email to Carlos’s assistant, Lesley, who then referred me to The Manila Hotel’s representatives, Nian and Gyranne. They told me that I can reserve a room through them (by email), or through The Manila Hotel website, which is what I did.

Since I would have to provide my credit card details, I decided to reserve through the website, which was more secure than my GMail account. At first, I was a bit confused about booking online, because the only price shown was for single occupancy. But once I clicked on “book,” I found out that you had to key in the number of guests per room, and the system will automatically add an additional person charge.

It was also nice that they put the inclusions and itinerary on the site, so you know what you’re going to get out of the tour.

Check-in
We drove to Manila Hotel and were greeted warmly by the valet. Did you know that valet parking comes free of charge, whether or not you’re staying the night? Pretty cool, methinks.

To check-in, we showed a printout of our reservation, and check-in went off without a hitch. We were escorted to our room on the eighth floor, where we had some down time before the Intramuros tour.

Room and Amenities
The room we got was in the new wing of The Manila Hotel, and was one of the redesigned/updated rooms. While it retained the wooden closet doors, the entertainment console, and antique-style bed, it also had modern accents, such as the mother of pearl frames on the mirrors, a Samsung flat-screen TV, an iLuv mp3 dock, and a waterproof LCD TV by the bathtub. The look was also updated by installing new wallpapers.

It was a pretty good-sized room, and provided us a view of the bay. Being a budget hostel regular, it was one of the more luxurious rooms I’ve been in. It was also newly carpeted, and the king-sized bed had a Senso Memory Foam mattress, which, for someone who has scoliosis like me, was very, very comfortable.

I discovered through the website that the bathroom was newly redesigned as well, and is decked in Italian marble. Aside from a tub, it also has a separate rain shower area, and comes with L’Occitane toiletries. I was stoked when I saw that they also provided a loofah, aside from the usual shower cap, toothbrush, and shaving kit. The bathroom also came with three sets of towels for each guest, and a bathrobe.

Other room furnishings included a safe, a set of office supplies placed in a leather case, complimentary water, a mini bar/ref, coffee-making facilities, and comfy hotel slippers. I was also surprised to find that they offer free wi-fi in the room—I’m so used to being charged for that in other hotels.

Facilities
During our stay, we also got to enjoy the different facilities in The Manila Hotel. On our first night, we used our coupons for complimentary 2-for-1 cocktails at the Tap Room, which featured very classic bar design (I loved the wooden walls and wooden bar).

For my first drink, I decided to try an alcoholic one, which reminded me of a tequila sunrise, but was called something else. It was too strong for me, so I opted for a non-alcoholic one for my second, which I ended up enjoying a lot! They called it a Fruit Crush, which reminded me of a Piña Colada sans the alcohol. Malou, one of the writers, was able to obtain the recipe from the waiter, and we found out it had coconut, cream, and pineapples. It was very, very yummy.

We were then given a private tour of the MacArthur Suite—a two-bedroom extravaganza with a kitchen, dining room, living room, and an office at the top floor of the old wing of The Manila Hotel. It was decorated with MacArthur memorabilia, but upsized with modern comforts: the kitchen had a washing machine and refrigerator, while the living room and master’s bedroom were both equipped with their Samsung flatscreens.

Afterwards, we were treated to a lovely dinner by Chef Christine Zarandin at the Champagne Room. I loved the charming, Frenchy interiors of the place, which seemed to come alive when it’s filled with happy, chatty people. The food was superb (especially the lobster), but service could use more courtesy and speed. The experience was made more enjoyable by the company we had—Susie and I were exiled to a table separate from the larger group, but we were lucky enough to be joined by Tessa, Carlos’s wife, and their friend Ria.

On the second day, we woke up to a breakfast buffet at Roma, since Café Ilang-Ilang was being renovated. There was a wide selection of breakfast offerings—cereal, various kinds of bread, yogurt, typical Filipino breakfasts like tocino and lugaw, plus a few others that made it quite a good spread.

Carlos was also able to snag us private access to The Manila Hotel Archives, which was tiny room near Mabuhay Palace. As tiny as it was, it included a deluge of memories, among them old brochures, menus of the hotel’s many restaurants, clippings that featured the hotel. The walls were decorated with black and white photos of famous personalities who’ve stayed in The Manila Hotel, among them the King and Queen of Spain and Prince Charles. We also found a signed Philippine jacket by Manny Pacquiao, which sent one of our companions, Colin, quite giddy, as his son happens to love the Pinoy Boxer.

And finally, before we took off for the Imelda Tour at CCP, Susie and I decided to check out the pool area. He decided to just hang out by the lounge chairs while I took a dip in the pool. The water wasn’t as refreshing, because the pool water was warm. Being newly renovated, the pool area looked pretty inviting—it was huge, had its own kiddie pool, and it had a pool bar where you can enjoy a drink or two. The lounge chairs surrounding the pool were comfortable enough, and provided some shade if you’ve had enough of the sun.

Service
In terms of rooms and facilities, I can say that The Manila Hotel is already on its way back to awesome. However, they really need to keep up in the service department.

The staff, while friendly and accommodating, still lack professionalism. I saw this at the reception desk while we were checking out. Our check out process went smoothly, but there was a man who was requesting for something, and he was made to wait for a long time.

He approached the reception desk while we were checking out, and the staff was clearly frazzled. When asked what was taking them so long, one of the receptionists didn’t reply, but decided to dial a number, and grumble “Please pick up the phone, pick up the phone, PICK UP THE PHONE!” That didn’t make the guest feel any better, and it even showed that they lack organization. In situations like that, I believe people should keep calm, and try to pacify the obviously irritated client instead.

There were other instances when I saw that there really is a need to train the staff. I guess, after the physical upgrades, they can concentrate on the people next.


Value
Oh, it definitely was not cheap, but not shockingly expensive either. We paid Php 13,980.00, which already included a superior deluxe room for two, cocktails at the Tap Room, dinner at the Champagne Room, and two Carlos Celdran tours. That comes out to about Php 7,000 per person, for a weekend where you can get to know your country a little better in style. I’d say it’s worth dishing out that much moolah to pamper yourself and soak up some culture every now and then.

Conclusion
Even with a few chinks in the armor, though, I will still come back. It will take a lot of work, but The Manila Hotel can and will get its former glory back, and I will be there to applaud when it happens.

Hotel Information
The Manila Hotel
Address: One Rizal Park, Manila
Phone number: (632) 5270011

seair flies to la union now?

i just found out that the san fernando airport is now open, and that seair now offers flights from manila to san fernando, la union.

flights are every monday, wednesday, and friday. in theory, this should be fantastic news for those who surf in san juan, la union, which is just 15 minutes away from san fernando. instead of taking the five-hour bus ride/drive to la union on weekends, flying should save you time on the road and give you more time to be one with the waves.

however, when i tried booking a flight to la union for june 11-14, i found out that the schedules aren't ideal for the usual la union weekend getaway. the flight leaves at 10am on friday, and arrives in san fernando at 11am (i also can't believe it takes an hour to get there--should be faster. manila to legazpi flights take 50 minutes.). this means you have to take friday off from work if you want to surf on the weekend, instead of just having saturday and sunday on the beach.

the flight back to manila leaves at 1130am and lands at 1230pm. this, again, eats up your working hours (of course, i'm talking about usual working hours for most people), and makes the idea of a weekend getaway quite useless.

then again, the flight wasn't made for those of us who are scrimping. roundtrip flights to san fernando, la union cost Php 7,375.20 per person, which is about seven times what you pay for a bus ride to LU.

so, it's back to partas rides and arnes bus stop meals for us surf-lovin' cheapos.

hotels.com offers half-price rooms!

hotels.com is having a 48-hour sale, offering rooms for half the price! so if you're planning to go to europe from now until june 9, you may want to check hotels.com and grab a great hotel deal. :)

for more details, read hotels.com launches 48-hour sale with half-price rooms, which i stumbled upon at etravel.org.

you can also go to hotels.com's 48-hour sale.

sunday at the manila seedling bank

since susie started planting flowers on our balcony, i felt compelled to have my own little plants as well (playing plants vs. zombies also helped pushed me in that direction). but since i am not inclined to be enamored of flowers, i thought i'd get myself a couple of herb seedlings from the manila seedling bank.

i didn't expect the place to be so huge--i thought it was just a little garden with little plants around, but when i arrived, i found that it had so many tents/stalls/greenhouses. the variety of plants you can take home and care for was just overwhelming.

luckily, i did not give in to temptation and just got what i came for--a little sweet basil plant, which cost me P50, and a parsley plant for the same price, i believe. my sister asked me to get her sweet basil, too, along with rosemary and tarragon. i got all those for a total of P150.

the shopkeepers are also quite friendly. my parsley came from a nice, friendly lady who assured me that the parsley would be quite fine in a balcony. kuya basil, meanwhile, sold me my sweet basil (and my sister's plants). they're all very easy to talk to, and are willing to give advice on how to take care of your new babies.

aside from plants, the manila seedling bank also has stalls that sell kitchenware, toys, tables, and animals. we found a couple of pheasants and big-ass cochin chickens in one of the stalls.

i think i would have enjoyed the experience even if i hadn't bought anything. strolling through the stalls and tents was lovely enough--it was such a nice way to spend a sunday afternoon.

details:
manila seedling bank foundation, inc.
address: quezon avenue extension cor. EDSA, quezon city
MRT station: quezon ave., and just cross quezon avenue to get to the EDSA entrance.
by car: go along EDSA, cross quezon avenue and turn right at the manila seedling bank gate. alternatively, you can also turn right at quezon avenue (if you're coming from the south), turn left at agham road, then u-turn and enter at the agham road gate.
phone number: (02) 924-7001 to 02
email address: qualitytrees@msbfi.com

view more photos of manila seedling bank.

action-packed weekend in bicol

i just came from a weekend in bicol, where i ziplined at lignon hill and went swimming with whale sharks in donsol. until now, i find it hard to digest that i was able to do all that in one weekend.

i'm still waiting for the photos of the butanding interaction from the underwater camera to be processed, but in the meantime, i'll leave you with this video of me ziplining at lignon hill in bicol:

i kinda look like a ghost floating over the trees, no? :p

airline fees to watch out for

i don't know if you guys heard of this yet, but florida-based spirit airlines is now charging USD 20-45 for carry-on luggage.

yep, that's carry-on, and not checked baggage, which means for passengers of spirit, gone are the days when you can exercise your mad packing skillz to fit everything in a tiny bag just so you don't have to pay for luggage when you travel.

the airline says they are charging this fee to improve safety and inefficiency, and in a way, i do see their point. bob thompson here echoes my sentiments, albeit in a more intense manner than i could ever muster:

while i wouldn't say it in the same way he did, i see his point. i've seen just how disruptive those "morons" are, and they are present in every flight i've ever gone on, and probably every flight you've been on as well. they get away with bringing a lot of stuff on board, while you, the diligent passenger, did your best to make all your things fit in your tiny bag. spirit airlines' reaction may be a tad too extreme, but i'm sure it will improve boarding efficiency, and will definitely lessen the load onboard.

however, i think they could have gone through a few other measures before settling for charging passengers a carry-on fee. i liked easyJet's way of measuring whether your carry-on can be brought on board or not: they have a little stand at the end of check-in counters with a container that has the correct dimensions for carry-ons. all you need to do is place your bag there, and if it fits, you can take it. doesn't matter how heavy it is, all they need to know is that it will fit in the overhead compartment.

another budget airline is setting the stage for yet another outrageous charging scheme. that oh-so-famous european budget airline ryanair is contemplating charging passengers for use of the lavatory for flights lasting an hour or less.

i can't resist quoting the following lines from the article:

The carrier said it is working with Boeing to develop a coin-operated door release so that when nature calls, passengers would need to deposit the change before being able to use the facilities.

The idea is to encourage people to use restrooms in airport terminals before boarding, Ryanair said. If the airline were to proceed, the changes would be at least 12 to 18 months away.

As part of the plan, the airline is also considering removing two of the three lavatories on some of its planes so it could squeeze in up to six extra seats. The move would help reduce fares by at least 5 percent, Ryanair said.

i, for one, find the lavatory fee a little too extreme. i actually shouldn't be that bothered, because i don't go to the restroom a lot, much less on board planes, but let's not take budget traveling to the extreme and charge "natural urges" a standard fee as well.

i'm updating you on these because these airline fees might reach our shores as well. at the moment, budget airlines have only taken out inflight meals and have retained standard services such as seating assignments. i wonder if any of our budget airlines will implement any of these schemes, and how pinoy travelers will react to these airline fees.

april events at instituto cervantes

more european films, a jeepney poetry tour, and a day of books and roses fill up the days of april, thanks to instituto cervantes! the best part is, all events are free!

cine chileno. before the regular screenings at 6pm every saturday, chilean films will be shown at 4pm as well as a gesture of solidarity with chile after the quake.

10 april, 4pm
la fiebre del loco (loco fever)
in spanish with english subtitles
director: andrés wood
duration: 94 minutes
cast: Tamara Acosta, Emilio Bardi, Loreto Moya, María Izquierdo, Luis Dubo, Julio Marcone, Luis Margani

One winter, the Chilean officials allowed for a short period the harvesting of the valuable and aphrodisiac shellfish "el loco" in the seaside village of Puerto Gala , where fishermen and prostitutes live and wanting to earn money. Greed and lust take hold. Greed is embodied by Carlos Maldonato, "El Canuto," who, after convincing his friend Jorge, the priest Luis and the whole community, bought all of the shellfish for a Japanese company. El Canuto also wrangles to get into good stead with an old flame, Sonia, who is now the proprietor of " La Pincoya ," a local restaurant. But "el loco" proves to be more effective and more damaging than anyone could have guessed because after the selling part, people disclose a secret with tragic consequences.


17 april, 4pm
taxi para tres (a cab for three)
in spanish with english subtitles
director: orlando lübbert
duration: 90 minutes
cast: Alejandro Trejo, Fernando Gómez-Rovira, Daniel Muñoz, Elsa Poblete

A poor taxi driver with a big family to support is given a difficult choice from 2 small time crooks: drive them around while they rob, or get locked up in the trunk.


24 april, 4pm
una casa de locos (the spanish apartment)
in spanish with english subtitles
director: cédric klapisch
duration: 120 minutes
cast: Romain Duris, Cécile de France, Judith Godrèche, Audrey Tautou, Kelly Reilly, Cristina Brondo, Federico D''Anna, Barnaby Metschurat, Christian Pagh, Xavier de Guillebon, Kevin Bishop, Olivier Raynal

Xavier is a 27-year-old Parisian who decides to go to Barcelona for the last year of his university studies in economic sciences. When he arrives in Barcelona he looks for a place to live and finally finds a flat in the centre which he shares with 6 people each from a different European country. All of them are in the same situation; all of them are studying in Barcelona through the European university exchange scheme (ERASMUS).


regular film line up. screened at the salon de actos, every saturday at 6pm:

10 april, 6pm
amor idiota (idiot love)
in spanish with english subtitles
director: ventura pons
duration: 105 minutes
cast: Santi Millán, Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, Marc Cartes, Mercè Pons, Jordi Dauder, Héctor Mas

Idiot Love begins as Pere-Lluc drowns his sorrow with alcohol after learning of the death of a close friend in Buenos Aires . Wandering home after his bender, he slams into a ladder being used by a young woman hanging banners on the street. When he attempts to wake up from his stupor, all he can see is the woman. Mesmerized, he claims he’s in love with her and sets out to win her affection— even though she’s married.


17 april, 6pm
lo que sé de lola (what i know of lola)
in spanish with english subtitles
director: javier rebollo
duration: 100 minutes
cast: Michaël Abiteboul, Lola Dueñas, Carmen Machi, Lucienne Deschamps

Leon, a lonesome man who watches the world as if it were a show, suddenly becomes fascinated by an ordinary woman, Lola, deciding from then on to devote himself exclusively to her... She never even knows he exists.


other events. instituto cervantes has cooked up a host of other events for us to enjoy.

17 april, 12nn-10pm
berso sa metro: poetry jeepney tour
filipino and spanish poets read along the streets of manila

An interesting way of spreading literature, this poetry reading tour comprises of three venues with Filipino and Spanish poets reciting some of the most relevant poems in each stop. With participants onboard an electrical jeepney, this tour is truly a unique way of reminding people of the beauty of words as they speed to their destinations. This is an extension of the promotional reading campaign through MRT and LRT, which received an Anvil Award of Merit for Educational Public Relations Program during the 45th Anvil Awards Competition.

24 april, 10am-6pm
rosas y libros, día del libro (books and roses, international day of the book)
book fair

As celebrated yearly, Instituto Cervantes de Manila, in collaboration with various bookstores and other institutions, will offer a Book Market during the Open House and Book Party on the 24th of April. From 10 am to 6pm, bibliophiles can get their hands on a wide selection of books: children and young adult titles, dictionaries, novels, and non-fiction titles, at the Día del Libro book fair. Available at even madder prices, brand new books go for as low as Php20.00. And to make the deal even sweeter, Instituto Cervantes gives a red rose with every purchase. Also, get a chance to mingle with your favourite authors as they grace this event, signing copies of their latest works. And to cap the day, a Book Party with a live band will entertain you until midnight.

get more info from the dia del libro facebook page.

24 april, 10am-6pm
pintas historias (color your world)
coloring activity for children

Instituto Cervantes, in collaboration with Faber-Castell, organizes anew a fun-filled activity for children ages 3 to 12 years old during the celebration of the International Book Day. Color Your World will start at 10AM until 4PM to make a whole day of painting and reading fun for the young artists.

24 april, 4pm
bersong europinoy
poetry reading

Instituto Cervantes in Manila will once again hold the "Bersong EuroPinoy" during the celebration of International Book Day. It will be a poetry chain of European and Filipino poems, a celebration highlighting the Spanish Presidency of the European Union.

24 april, 6pm
canciones de la revolucion filipina (songs of the philippine revolution)
a lecture-concert by Raúl Súnico, Musical arranger-pianist-composer
performers: coro tomasino

Among the many testaments to the close cultural ties between Spain and the Philippines is a little-known genre of songs of the revolution with Spanish and Filipino lyrics that emerged in different parts of the country.

Find out about Instituto Cervantes's Cultural Events and Programs at Cultura En Manila.

competitours: travel, complete, win big!

have you always dreamed of joining and winning the amazing race? now, you can live out your fantasy of racing through your dream destinations with competitours!

competitours pits you against 16 other teams as you breeze through four european countries in a span of nine days. during the day, you will have a choice between 8-10 challenges, which will earn you points upon completion. at night, you get to interact and party with your "tour mates."

unlike amazing race, though, there are no eliminations in this race, and you even get a chance to research. assignments are received every night in the form of a virtual mission packet, where you get to choose 2-5 challenges out of the 8-10 given. the packet indicates whether your challenge is in the city center or the outskirts, so you get to customize the tour to your own liking.

what's the prize? this being a contest, there IS a prize, of course, and it's pretty sweet. first placers win USD 5,500, second prize is USD 2,500, and third prize is USD 1,000. the competitours dynamic way of scoring levels the playing field and makes the competition even more exciting: you never know who will win until the very last day.

for this much excitement, there IS a price to pay: the tour costs USD 2,675 per person, to be paid after finishing the tour. a USD 100 deposit is required to join the nine-day tour. the fee includes roundtrip airfare, lodging for seven nights, intercity transport (eurail tickets), two days of admissions for group challenge sessions, welcome and awarding parties, up to 70 challenges, and of course, the chance to win USD 5,500.

it won't cover the fee you'll pay for the whole tour, but i'm sure the experience will be worth it. if i had the moolah, i totally would. :)

tour information

competitours

price: USD 2,675 per person

duration: 9 days

destination: 4 european countries (you won't know where until you get there)

email address: info@competitours.com