Whale shark interaction in Donsol

Travel dates: 24-25 February 2011

Budget: 

• Airfare Manila-Legaspi-Manila or bus to Legaspi and back
• Transfers: P1500/van per trip if hiring a van from the airport. Approximately P200 for a Legaspi-Donsol-Legaspi trip if taking public transportation  
• Overnight stay at Vitton Beach Resort: P2200 for a room for 4. P1800 for a room for 2
• Whale shark interaction: P3500 for the boat (maximum of 6) + P100/person; P200 for the use of a mask, snorkel and fins (we brought our own)
• Firefly tour: P1250 for the boat (maximum of 5) + P200/tricycle
• Meals: P100 to P300 per person per meal

Travel mode: Plane from Manila to Legaspi, land trip from Legaspi to Donsol

Donsol is an unassuming town 1.5 hours away from Legaspi. It gives you the classic Philippine scenery of  fields, cows, mountains and nipa huts. Tricycles are the only mode of public transportation. But as charming as it is, it is no match for its gem of a tourist attraction: swimming with the whale sharks!

Whale sharks are huge as they are the largest living fish specie -  the ones we encountered were at least as big as buses. But they really are so gentle and I can really believe the statement that humans can swim with them without risk, apart from unintentional blows from its large tail fin (which fortunately, didn't happen to any of us!) Swimming with them was such an awesome experience. It was so exciting that for our first few whale sharks encounters, I would always forget that I had a camera with me. Since the whale sharks swam slow, we were able to follow some for at least 10 minutes. We would only lose sight of them if they choose to swim deeper into the waters. We really got a high from swimming with the gentle giants that we never felt tired until we got back to the boat.

Another attraction in Donsol is their firefly watching tour. It's not as awesome as the whale shark interaction but it was interesting to go boating in the dark and to find trees lit up by a colony of fireflies. The tourism officer also gave a good introduction to fireflies and their mating habits.

Travel tips:

• Best time to visit is from February to May when the chances of swimming with whale sharks are high.
• There are a lot of choices for accommodations in Donsol. Some offer homestays for as low as P150 per head per night. Some resorts offer more luxuries. We chose to stay in Vitton Beach Resort as it was right next to the Butanding center. Vitton's rooms were clean but very basic - they have airconditioning, hot water, soap and towels. They only had small flat sheets for blankets. They also have a couple of restaurants, a bar and a pool. The manager, Annie, was also very easy to deal with. I would stay there again.   
• The Butanding center is open from 7:30 to 5:00 PM. Be there as early as possible. They only allow a maximum of 6 passengers per boat and only a maximum of 30 boats are allowed at the Butanding area at any given time. If you arrive late afternoon, you can still register and watch the training video so that you wouldn't have to do so the next morning.
• If you don't fill up the 6 slots, you can invite people to join your group. We chose not to and we thought it was a good decision since the Butanding Interaction Officer (BIO) was able to take good care of me. I'm not a strong swimmer so he held my hand the whole time and pulled me along.
• You don't need to be a strong swimmer to swim with the whale sharks. You don't even need to know how to swim! You can swim with a life vest and if you swim slow like me, the BIO would just pull you with him. You just need to be brave enough to literally jump into the dark waters of Donsol.
• Most resorts would charge a pick-up fee of P1500 from the Legaspi airports. That's the same rate that taxi drivers in the airport gave us. (Yes, there are now a lot of taxis in Legaspi.) Since we wanted to keep our costs low, we took a tricycle to the van terminal and took a van from there (all the tricycle drivers know where the van terminal is). The tricycle ride costs P50/tricycle. The vans charge P65/person but if you want more room, you can pay for the whole row. In our case, we paid P780 for the whole van. What's nice about doing the tricycle+van route is that there's a SaveMore at the van terminal where we had snacks and bought some groceries.
• There are 2 options for the firefly tour, one in Donsol and another in Ogod. People say that the tour in Ogod is better as there are more fireflies and the trees are lower.
• For our firefly tour, we just hailed a tricycle on the road and asked the driver to bring us to Ogod. He waited for us and charged us P250 (other tricycle drivers charged P200).
• There are no ATMs in Donsol. Bring cash.

More photos taken in Albay are here.

My Manila: Kinder Zoo at the Manila Zoo

The Kinder Zoo is the one thing that you shouldn't miss when visiting Manila Zoo. I missed it last week and went back to see it. The return trip was so worth it.

Kinder Zoo only occupies a small area but every meter gives a dose of animal fun. As soon as you pass through their  arc, you will be welcomed by a snake and a crocodile on a table, colorful birds perched on a tree and a couple of pot-bellied pigs lazily walking around. Following the cemented path, you will find small turtles in a pond, more birds perched on branches, a tamed ostrich and an enclosure for giant turtles.

There weren't that many animals and the Lego figures for picture-taking purposes were faded but I still enjoyed the mini-zoo. What I loved about Kinder Zoo was that it was highly interactive. Birds gamely pose on visitors' shoulders, kids can ride the giant turtles and the ostrich and you can have a picture taken with a snake draped on your shoulders or a crocodile on your lap. A lot of the animals are not in their cages and their handlers encourage visitors to touch them. The friendly handlers seem genuinely fond of the animals and show them off as if they are children. I had so much fun watching a bird fake its death when the handler says, "Bang!" Even the pot-bellied pigs know how to turn around and bow. I even found it funny when the smaller pig, Benjie, started crying when the bigger Jackpot stole its food.

I was planning on being there for just an hour since I was planning to take shots of the Manila Bay sunset. I stayed there for 2 hours as I really enjoyed watching the animals. I can always watch the sunset another time.

*** Kinder Zoo charges an entrance fee of P75.00 on top of the P40.00 entrance fee for Manila Zoo.
*** While the Kinder Zoo try to keep their animals clean, people should wash their hands every time they touch the animals.

More pictures are here.

My Manila: White Moon Bar at Manila Ocean Park

After our Manila Zoo adventure, we just wanted to sit and relax. When we're in Manila, we usually have ensaimada at the New Diamond Hotel. But since we were on adventure mode, we decided to try something new.

I remembered seeing a feature on White Moon bar so we headed to Manila Ocean Park. White Moon Bar is an open-air bar with a gorgeous view of Manila's famous sunset. It has huge, comfortable white sofas, low tables and capiz-decorated speakers. Last Sunday, they were playing 80s music, which was probably perfect for most of the customers. It served really cold beer (a bit pricey at P80/bottle) and other cocktails. Our waiter nicely suggested that we also order food and swore by their beef nachos, but we had to decline as we already had dinner plans. Most of the other customers also just ordered drinks, which the waiters efficiently served.

The atmosphere was very relaxed. Some of the customers were a couple, 2 small groups of tourists (4 or 5 persons in each group), and a group of men. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves with drinks but the place was never noisy. I couldn't even hear the laughter from the group of men who were 3 sofas away from us. The gentle winds probably carried out the sound.

With the comfy chairs, the magnificent sunset, the 80s music and the perfectly cold beer, we forgot all our cares and snuggled deeper into the sofa. For that moment, there were no bills to pay, no global warming to worry about, and the world was in peace.

Tips:

• If you're bringing a car, park inside the gate of Manila Ocean Park. There are plenty of parking spaces inside even on a Sunday.
• Go early. The sofas get filled at around 5:30 PM.
• If you get there before 5PM and you can't stand the heat, you can explore the complex first.
• You can catch the Musical Fountain Show after sunset. If you pay online or get an SMS coupon, the ticket is only P99. Check out http://www.manilaoceanpark.com/promos.php?id=96&l=indexnews for details. Promo is valid until 31 March 2011.

*White Moon Bar is at the second floor of the Manila Ocean Park complex. You can take the main entrance, take the escalator near the food stalls at the left side of the mall, then walk right, heading towards Hotel H20. You can always ask the guard for instructions, they're very helpful.

My Manila: Manila Zoo

7 Feb 2011 - B and I have decided to see Manila as if we were tourists. First stop: Manila Zoo, the field-trip destination when we were in elementary school.

Manila zoo has improved over the years. Only the chimps' cages retained the broken tile and cement flooring. There are now huge cages for our eagles and other fowls. There are lots of picture-taking opportunities - you get to carry a snake or a bird on our shoulders, you can ride a horse or ride a boat. There are also several play areas for kids. It's still not as nice as the public zoos I've visited in other countries, neither does it match Avilon Zoo on the other side of Metro Manila. But it's not a bad place to spend your P40.

Travel tips:

• We went on a Sunday afternoon and while there were a lot of people, the place wasn't too crowded. 
• Bring lots of coins or small bills for the toilets and the other stuff that you may want to purchase (ice cream, bottled water, soft drinks, etc.)
• Be patient - a lot of kids are running around.
• Read the signs.
• Wear closed shoes. With kids running around and parents running after them, someone is bound to trample on your toes.
• Look of the Kinder Zoo - I didn't so I now have to go back to Manila Zoo!

Batanes

I've always wanted to photograph Batanes. So, after having so much fun in Backpack Photography - Banaue, it was only a matter of time before we signed up for Backpack Photography - Batanes.

Batanes did not disappoint - it had power outages, our inn had problems with water supply, bottled water was a precious commodity and the sun was blazing so hot it activated my dormant sweat glands, but the views were so magnificent that I was always torn between just standing and breathing in the beauty of the landscape or attempting to capture them in photos. And the food, specially the daily serving of lobster and coconut crabs, was a treat to my  sleep-deprived body.

Here's the album I ordered from Artscow.com (you may also visit this site to see the album):



More pictures may be viewed here.

Remembering Batanes - travel notes

Travel dates: 24-27 July 2010

Companions: joined a Backpack Photography workshop organized by Ferdz Decena (ironwulf.net) and Oggie Ramos (lagalog.com)

Budget: P22,500 ALL IN (this includes airfare, inn, food, tours and photo lessons/tutorials) ; or P12,500 without airfare.

Travel mode: Plane - SEAIR

Travel Tips

• Places to visit: Fundacion Pacita (if you're not staying there), Radar Tukon, Viang rolling hills, Ivana church, House of Dakay, Honesty Coffee shop, Basco lighthouse, Valugan Bay, Marlborough hills, Mahatao Lighthouse, Imnajbu, Diura fishing village, Song-song ruins and Sabtang (Savidug village, Chavayan village, Tinan and Nakabuang beach).
• Fundacion Pacita still remains the nicest place to stay but for  other alternatives check out: http://www.ironwulf.net/2009/05/13/batanes-accommodations-and-places-to-stay-in-basco/
• It would be good if you can find an air-conditioned vehicle for your tours. There's very little shade in the places to visit in Batanes. Summer in Batanes is quite severe. I normally don't sweat even after 2 hours of exercise (I just get red and oily) but Batanes woke up my dormant sweat glands. On the third day, sweat kept pouring out of my legs. We went around on a jeep and every time I stood up, I'd see pools of sweat on the area where I sat. So bring a hat, hand towels and lots of sunblock. Or ride on top of the jeep (which I did!). Or choose to go there in December or January, when the weather is much cooler.
• This year, Seair's lean season started mid-June and ends mid-October. You can get roundtrip airfares for 6T. You can still go to Batanes in June and July. According to our tour guide, there aren't much typhoons during these months. Or wait for the promos around the time of Seair's anniversary (end-March). Better still, click on the Like button on Seair's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/flyseair) to get notified of their promos. (Note: I don't work for Seair.)
• Wear hiking sandals specially if you want to explore Marlborough and Viang rolling hills and Tinan. I survived even if I just wore flipflops but it would have been a lot easier if I wore hiking sandals.
• Eat lobsters and coconut crabs! They're cheap in Batanes.
• Eat at Pension Ivatan - they serve native dishes. And their lobsters and coconut crabs are cheap. (But don't go there with an empty stomach. Service is terribly slow.) We also had delicious lunches at the Diura fishing village and at Nakabuang beach.
• Avoid going there during the fiesta - they have rotating brownouts.
• Bottled water is a precious commodity - probably because locals are used to drinking tap or spring water. I did, and I didn't have tummy problems.
• If you plan to visit Sabtang, bring a wet bag - there are times when the waves are so huge, you can really get drenched. We were lucky when we went there in July, the boatmen said that the waters were relatively calm.

Rate the trip: 9.99 out of 10

It would have been perfect if we didn't go there during the town fiesta. The rotating brownouts were so irritating since the generator of the inn we stayed at (DDD Habitat) couldn't power their air-conditioning units. I understand that Pension Ivatan has a more powerful generator. I guess it would have been better if we stayed at an inn or resort by the sea, at least we would have the sea breeze. Another participant liked Shanedel's Inn better.

Batanes is really beautiful. The views are so awesome, looking at them becomes a religious experience. We were joking that even blind people can take beautiful pictures of Batanes. The people are also so nice and helpful (I don't believe in the guide's zero crime rate spiel, though. We got to visit a small courtroom and there were a few hearings on the calendar, one of which involved serious physical injuries. But still, the list of hearings is so much shorter than the lists in Manila courts.)

And a free-plug for Backpack Photography (http://www.backpackphotography.net/) - I like joining their tours. Aside from Batanes, I've joined their Banaue and Lake Sebu Backpack Photography sessions. The tours are far from luxurious (but still far from roughing it out) and we're always up before sunrise but the trips were always so much fun! Ferdz and Oggie plan the itineraries so that the views are seen in their best light (sunrise in Valugan Bay, sunset at the Viang rolling hills, etc.) and we always have lots of opportunities to interact with the residents of the places we visit (the Ifugaos in Banaue and the T'bolis in Lake Sebu). Both of them are also very generous with their travel and photography knowledge. And since the participants are all photo-enthusiasts, we always have enough time to explore and take pictures, and we always have nice portraits as we also take pictures of each other. I'm just thankful that I have a nerd of a husband who doesn't mind that I travel with friends once in a while.

My Batanes album is in: http://www.artscow.com/share/Batanes-Batanes-Philippines-travel-Ivatan-landcapes-Basco-Sabtang-Abie-Co-tn58np9m5tuu?Ref=FB879828

More photos are posted here.

A different beach experience in Alona Beach, Panglao Island, Bohol

Choosing a place to stay at in Panglao Island is a daunting task even if we already had a budget in mind. We had  to choose between Alona beach, a stretch of beach with a wide range of resort, restaurant and entertainment choices or the area of Bohol Beach Club and Dumaluan Beach Resort with the better sand. After reading travel books, lurking on internet sites and forums, and interviewing friends who have visited Panglao Island, we decided to stay at Alona Beach.

Alona beach may disappoint some people. The sand, while white, isn't as fine as what you see in Boracay or Palawan. There are some corals, rocks, and sometimes even seaweeds, mixed in the sand. The restaurants that had good reviews online served ordinary-tasting food, and some of the entertainment bands were a torture to watch (there was a time when I just wanted to get on stage and grab the mic!).

After a couple of so-so meals, we just walked on the beach and chose a restaurant based on the price on the menu,  the smile of the servers and the temperature of their beers. The criteria worked for us because we got to eat inexpensive grilled meals which we enjoyed with our chilled drinks. (If you really want delicious meals, try the restaurant at Amorita,  pricey but worth the money.)

I also loved watching the dozens of boats docked on the shores of Alona beach. I loved how these vessels, which were all painted white, bobbed in rhythm to the sound of the waves.  

But the gem of alona beach is the fish sanctuary near Amorita resort. There were plenty of fish and you only need to swim a few meters from the shore to see them. They weren't as big and colorful as the ones in Balicasag Island, but I really loved the fact that you don't need to ride a boat to get to the wall (or the drop to the deep blue sea where the fish usually swim).

Imperfect as it is, Alona beach has a different charm, and gives a different but still enjoyable experience to its guests.

Banaue - more than its rice terraces

After visiting Sagada twice when I was much younger (and had stronger legs!), Banaue has always been on top of my to-go list. It also helped that I grew up thinking that the Banaue rice terraces was the "8th wonder of the world." (I guess children from different countries have different ideas on what the "8th wonder of the world" is.)

Visiting Banaue made me realize that it is more than just its famous rice terraces. It is a culture-rich heaven with intelligent and dedicated people who acknowledge that the terraces are not only a blessing but also a responsibility that they are willing to bear.

Details


Travel dates: 18-21 March 2010 
Companion: joined a Backpack Photography workshop organized by Ferdz Decena (ironwulf.net) and Oggie Ramos (lagalog.com)
Budget: P8,000 ALL IN (this includes bus fare, inn, food, tours and photo lessons/tutorials) 
Travel mode: 8-hour bus ride on Florida bus line


Information and travel tips

• The rice terraces is not only located in Banaue. There are rice terraces in Kalinga, Apayao, Benguet, Mountain Province and Ifugao. 2,000 to 6,000 years old, these are located 1,500 meters above sea level and cover 10,360 kilometers.
• The view of the rice terraces from the Banaue town proper is dotted with steel-walled houses that  harshly reflected the sun's rays. To appreciate the magnificence of the terraces, hire a jeep or a tricycle to take you to the viewpoints. The views in Batad and Hapyao are also much better.
• We stayed at the Banaue Ethnic Village and Pine Forest Resort. Located in Apar Nga-oh, it is approximately 20 minutes from the town proper. The resort has replicas of native Ifugao houses. We even got to sleep in one! The resort also organized a cultural show where the Ifugaos shared their dances, songs and rituals with us. The resort manager's tour of the ethnic village was also interesting - we learned how the Ifugaos improved their dwellings over the years, and we got to see the tools and things that they use. 

• I understand that the Banaue Hotel also organizes cultural shows for its guests.
• We toured the rice terraces in Hapao. It has steep stairs that lead down to the terraces. The hike isn't too far but there were times when walking along the terraces made my knees weak - the terraces were approximate a foot wide and in some places, you had the irrigation on one side and a 10 to 12-ft drop on the other.
• A lot of travellers also visit Batad, where the terraces form an impressive ampi-theater. My friends say that the ride over kilometers of bad road and a challenging 1-hour downhill hike was worth the view. (I have yet to go to Batad, though.)
• Hire a jeep or a tricycle to take you around the viewpoints.
• If taking the Florida bus, eat dinner first and bring snacks. There is only one stopover, which is halfway through the 8-hour trip.
• At the stopover, try the chicken mami - it was served hot, and it tasted like they've been boiling the broth for hours. It is also topped with really tasty dried garlic which you can also buy in bottles.
• It can get very cold in the bus - bring a jacket!
• Be prepared for emergencies. On the way back to Manila, our bus stopped. We were stuck in the middle of Nueva Ecija in the middle of the night with a not-so-helpful conductor and driver. The only option they gave us was to transfer to other Florida buses that are already full of passengers that you'll have to stand (or sit on your bags) the whole way back to Manila. We decided to take a jeep to the nearest bus terminal.

More pictures are posted here.

Back from Hundred Islands

Pangasinan doesn't have 100 islands . . . it has at least 123! And a day in Hundred Islands is worth the 5-hour drive from Manila.

Photos are here.

Fully Booked at Bonifacio High Street

B hated picking me up when I was still working at Legaspi Village in Makati City. He loved some of the restos in Greenbelt but he always found the Ayala Central Business District too crowded.

Now that I'm working at the Fort Bonifacio, he always jumps at the opportunity to pick me up. I have to admit that there is more breathing room at the Fort, but what tempts my B like a moth to a flame is the 4-storey Fully Booked branch at the Bonifacio High Street.

The Fully Booked branch is on soft opening but most of its selling area is already filled with hundreds of books. It has stock of all the old bobo books that I've been looking for and it also sells the photography books that I almost ordered online when I couldn't find them in any of the stores here.

The comic books and popular fiction are at the ground floor, together with the pretty notebooks and scrapbooks. It took me several minutes to browse through all the sci-fi and the chic lit that I love to read.

Half the second floor is for kids. There are are rows of colorful children's books that looked interesting. The artwork on the new children's books are all so pretty!I'm already planning to buy a book on faeries and an illustrated book of poems.

There are rows and rows of travel books at the 3rd floor and I'm sure I'll be hanging out there when I'm planning for my next trip (which will be 10 years from now since I recently spent all my money in China and Singapore.) B loved browsing through the non-fiction books at the same floor.

There are CDs and videos at the 4th floor but there's still a huge space for art and other hobby books. We loved browsing through the books on interior design. And of course, I lusted over a couple of photography books.

The Starbucks at the 3rd floor isn't open yet but there are several soft seats scattered around the place. We literally spent hours there. It truly is a heaven for book lovers like me! (Of course, there's hell to pay when you get to the cashier.)

[Note: All photos taken using my Blackberry]

Happy Meal Near McDonald's

I had dinner with officemates last night at Je Suis Gourmand at the Fort (near McDonalds) and the food was excellent!

We loved the pate platter - it had different types of pate, all of them creamy and tasty. We also enjoyed the prawn and smoked salmon salad. The prawns weren't so big but they were perfectly grilled and the smoked salmon was creamy and tasty. It also had some greens (except arugula! yey! for arugula lovers, they have arugula with smoked salmon). I also got to taste the roasted vegetables and feta cheese salad - the vegetables were just lightly roasted and the feta cheese was a good foil to the vinaigrette dressing.

An officemate likes their pea soup and their pasta. I didn't get to taste these dishes, though.

For the main course, we had the duck confit which was tender and served with mushrooms. We also got to taste the lapu-lapu, which, by itself was light but flavorful, but tasted rich and creamy when eaten with the sauce (the sauce was so yummy that it can be eaten with bread!). An officemate loved their braised lamb shank in peppered mushroom sauce.

For dessert, we liked the creme brulee, the strawberry sherbet and the grand marnier sherbet.

The owner is a French chef who is married to a Filipina.

It is best to reserve a table before going to the resto as it only has a few tables and it gets filled up quickly. Their number is: 8158801.

*Unfortunately, Je Suis Gourmand closed its doors on December 2010.

BT Cafe, Bagaberde and Growing Old

B and i just arrived from a really fulfilling el cheapo adventure to BT Cafe. BT Cafe, or Batangas Tapa Cafe, is a small resto at the boring end of Tomas Morato (near E. Rodriguez.) It serves grilled chicken, pork and batangas beef and kapeng barako. they give their clients the choice of ordering "eat-and-drink-all-you-can" from the menu for only P239 or a la carte. since we arrived at 9 and they close at 10, we decided to order a la carte.

the items on their menu are pretty cheap. the batangas tapa meal (with rice and fried egg) is P60. a single serving (no rice and fried egg) is P30. you can also order longanisa and beef franks at around the same price. they also serve porterhouse steak with rice for P105. it's P90 without the rice. the t-bone steak is a few pesos cheaper. they also serve sisig for P90. bottomless iced tea is P30.

B and i ordered the batangas tapa, the porterhouse steak and the sisig. the batangas tapa was so good! it was tender and perfectly seasoned. unfortunately, there was only a handful of it so i ordered an extra single serving. B loved the sisig (I didn't - it had egg and mayo!) so he ate everything on the sizzling plate. the porterhouse was thin and a teeny bit tough, but it tasted ok. B ordered another serving.

we had so much fun eating everything that we ordered. we also loved the fact that our bill didn't even reach P500. my only complaints were that they didn't serve hot tea (I NEEDED IT!) and the place was a bit too small at around 3 meters x 7 meters.

All in all, the BT Cafe really gives value for your money. However, it is definitely not for the claustrophobic.

*BT Cafe has already closed.

************

last night, my officemates and i went to bagaberde to see MYMP live. B was supposed to join us but backed out when he learned that MYMP will be alternating with the wiseguys.

when we arrived at around 9:30, the place was already packed. the wiseguys were already performing and i was surprised to find myself enjoying their show. each of the guys had acceptable singing voices and i appreciated their attempt to sing in harmony. they more than made up with whatever they lacked in talent with their stage projection.

after an hour and a half, it was MYMP's turn. i just love juris' voice! however, it was the only thing i liked about their performance. hearing them sing live wasn't too different from watching their music videos. BUT, there are only a few bands who have real talent so i still enjoyed their set.

when the wiseguys came back on stage for their second set, my officemates and i were ready to dance (busog na kasi!). the wiseguys didn't disappoint. they sang dance tunes for an hour and didn't give us an opportunity to stop. the funny thing was that not everyone in bagaberde was dancing. there were only a handful of us but we weren't so bothered about it since we were seated at the back so we weren't blocking anyone's view and we really didn't care what other people thought of us. plus, from the way some of the younger girls grooved in their chairs, we knew that they also wanted to dance but were just too shy or self-conscious to do so. ha! old age really does come with confidence. it so nice to be old! hee.

B and i are planning to go back on july 23 to watch side a and pido.

exploring pasig

after picking up our DVDs (season 1 of golden girls, ang tatanda na namin!) from Metrowalk, B and I decided to explore the Ortigas area.

since i wanted a facial, we decided to go to robinson's galleria. except for the addition of the east wing (that offers free wifi), there's not much change in galleria. so we didn't have any difficulty looking for our then-favorite stores - the computer shops near automatic center, the pet store at the top floor, and the toy store in front of it. we also visited filbars where i found a CD for bookworm, a game that i'd once given up hope of finding (i went through all the stores in greenhills and failed to find it there.) i was so happy that i also bought B a CD of a scanned X-men comic book.

while going around the mall, we also found a hotloops donut branch. we got the white chocolate donut and the bavarian. their dough was good (better than gonuts donuts) and their donut was not too sweet. i didn't like their bavarian filling, though.

after going around, i got a little tired and took a break at bo's coffee. i ordered tea and i appreciated the fact that the lady on the counter voluntarily told me that i can get hot water refills for free.

we so enjoyed exploring galleria together that i forgot that i wanted to have a facial.

afterwards, we decided to have a little adventure by trying out a new restaurant. (by "new", i mean that we haven't eaten there previously.) we checked out cafe juanita in brgy. kapitolyo.

the little restaurant was a feast for the eyes! it was decked with a lot of different stuff - each corner was filled with breads, masks, stuffed toys, buddha heads, candle sticks, scarves, silk butterflies, and other knick knacks. but it didn't looked cramped at all. everything seemed to fit perfectly and the place made me feel i was in another world!

the servers were nice and recommended the crispy seafood and the two-way adobo spare ribs. the crispy seafood was okay (it was the thai version of the palad that we eat at home) but the two-way adobo spare ribs was excellent! the beef was tender and it was perfectly seasoned. the crispy adobo flakes was perfect with it. it was so good that we decided to order more food (hay, i-justify ba ang katakawan?) we ordered the shrimp wrapped in sugar cane and the spicy spare ribs. The shrimp was okay (B didn't like it, though) but the spicy spare ribs was even more delicious than the two-way adobo spare ribs - the spare ribs were crisp but were so juicy and tasty! SARAP!

we also loved their mango jubilee. it had a few mango balls but it had the right amount of liquor.

and the best thing about it? our bill was only a little above P1,000. maligaya na naman ang mga biik!

afternoon delight

after bugging B for a week, he finally agreed to watch batman with me. we were planning to catch the first show in greenbelt 3 but since i took a long time taking a shower (which is not surprising), we missed it. B suggested that we enjoy a frozen zombie litro (a liter of iced zombie) at masa's while waiting for the 4:50 show.

the zombie was really good! it had a pretty good kick despite its fruity taste. it was perfect with the kesong puti sticks and tokwa't baboy that we ordered. i wanted the nilasing na hipon (my favorite!) but it was not available. we so enjoyed the appetizers that we finished everything in less than 30 minutes! the waiter recommended the clams. he said that he'll ask the chef to make it a little spicy. it's a good thing we listened to him as the clams were the perfect compliment to the zombie! the gluttons that we are finished off the generous serving in less than 15 minutes! but since we were feeling a bit full, we just ordered kesong puti sticks. we also ordered another zombie litro.

after an hour and a half of drinking, we finally left masa's. we passed by the globe hub before going to the cinema to follow up my phone line. the lady at the counter was so nice. she was also efficient as i got my line the next day.

when we got to the cinema floor, we got popcorn from chimara. the lady at the counter was so nice! unfortunately,the popocorn was overcooked so we didn't fully appreciate the white cheddar flavor.

the girl at the cinema door was also cheery. it was then that i realized that i was walking around with a silly grin on my face. no wonder everyone was smiling at me.

the movie featured the darker side of batman. but we enjoyed every minute of it! the puns were funny and the cinematography was great. but the biggest joke was that the supporting actors were bigger stars than the lead. and sorry to christian bale fans, but my tipsy self just didn't see his charm. all i saw was that he needed dental work. i still loved the movie, though.

we passed by grappa's before going home. B wanted to drink their freshly brewed beer. i had to wake early the next morning so i just ordered orange juice. i guess i was still smiling stupidly as the servers were very nice even if i was just wearing a big shirt, really short cut-offs and slippers.

it was a good day. so good that even my nightmares made me smile.