Boracay!

Boracay, we meet again! The last time I visited Boracay was more than four years ago so I was due for a return trip. Knowing that my Ati-Atihan experience would exhaust me, I felt that a couple of days relaxing at the beach would do me well. They certainly did.

This was my first solo trip to Boracay. I chose to stay at the Boracay Mandarin (I will write more about this hotel later), which meant that I was just a short walk from D'Mall and many other restaurants in Station 2. This allowed me to try a lot of different restaurants (I will be writing more about these as well in succeeding posts).

I also managed read a book (my first since Juliet, Naked) during my short vacation. On top of that, I actually finished it in just one day. I can't recall the last time I was able to read an entire book in just one day. Granted, the novel I read, In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami, is only 181 pages long. Gotta say, reading a book by the beach while enjoying fresh fruit shakes is the life. :)

I somehow ended up with a bit of a late-day-early-evening routine while I was there. I would go swimming in the sea shortly before sunset and once it got dark, I would move to the swimming pool of Boracay Mandarin. The water was a bit cool since it was January but I found it very calming.

Of course, no trip to Boracay would be complete without the requisite sunset shot. :)

This vacation turned out to be one of the most restful I've had in a while and it allowed me to regain my equilibrium. Despite being on my own (or maybe precisely because I was on my own), I enjoyed my two-night stay in Boracay tremendously.

Kalibo Ati-Atihan: Final Thoughts and Travel Tips

Here's a summary of my Kalibo and Ati-Atihan posts:

• Kalibo Ati-Atihan
• Sadsad (Street dances and parades)
• Sunday mass and final festivities
• Food tripping: Primavera
• Food tripping: Peil
• Food tripping: Ramboy's
• Accommodations: La Esperanza Hotel
• Final thoughts and travel tips

I'm really happy that I have now been able to attend my first Ati-Atihan Festival in Kalibo, the city where many of my relatives were born and raised. Being able to experience the annual celebration from which many other festivals got their inspiration was incredible.

Kalibo Cathedral

I'm amazed at the endurance and heat tolerance of the parading tribes. It was tremendously hot when I was in Kalibo, and I can't even imagine how difficult it must have been to dance and parade in oppressive heat while wearing an elaborate costume and being covered in body paint. Or while beating drums - some of them pretty big and heavy - non-stop and with full force. That this is done for hours at a time and many times over the At-Atihan weekend, with many of the participants being children, makes you realize just how big of a deal this festival is to the locals.

I will say this though: if you want to have your photo taken with one of the people parading in costume, it is just more polite and proper to ask them (or at the very least just say you will take a photo with them). I was really put off when I saw some people grabbing random paraders - a lot of them kids - to stop them from moving forward so that these people could take a better photo. It is rude to grab someone else, especially when what they doing is very physically demanding, so please treat the paraders with respect.

Getting around Kalibo
Tricycles are most common and easiest way to get around the city. A tricycle from the airport costs P100 (for one person that's expensive but for a group of people, not really). Within the city, tricycle rides are P8 for short distances. I guess there are jeepneys here as well but I don't know their routes. There are no taxis.

Where to stay
As I wrote in my previous post, during Ati-Atihan, if you want a bit of peace and quiet, La Esperanza Hotel is a very good option. (Be ready to pay about 3-4 times more than you normally would if you plan to visit during the annual festival.) If you want to visit Kalibo at a different time and you want something closer to the plaza, you could stay at Hotel Carmen. If you plan to go to Boracay after your stay in Kalibo, La Esperanza is the best option because it is right next to the Ceres bus terminal, meaning that you can just get on the bus immediately after checking out.

Kalibo to Caticlan (Boracay)
I was told that the best way to travel from Kalibo to Caticlan is by bus from the Ceres bus terminal. Shuttle vans are apparently not very safe because they are driven too fast in the hopes of making more trips from Kalibo to Boracay and back. Aside from more safety, another good thing about riding the bus is that you also have a bit more leg room.

When I got to the Ceres bus station, the Caticlan bus had just left but I only had to wait about 20 minutes for the next one to arrive. (There was actually a non-aircon bus to Caticlan but I wanted to take a bus with aircon so I decided to wait just a little longer). My bus took 1 hour and 45 minute to get to Caticlan and it made only a few stops on the way. It also doesn't wait to be full before it goes, so you don't really lose a lot of time if you choose to travel by bus.

Total cost of my trip from Kalibo to Boracay island via bus: P332

• Bus ride from Caticlan to Kalibo:              P107
• Terminal fee at the Caticlan port:              P100
• Environmental feeat the Caticlan port:         P75
• Boat ride from Caticlan to Boracay:            P25
• Electric tricycle ride on Boracay Island:      P25

After my high energy weekend in Kalibo for Ati-Atihan, I spent two days in Boracay to chill and relax. I will be writing more about that next.

Kalibo: La Esperanza Hotel

I booked a standard room in La Esperanza Hotel along Osmena Avenue. The hotel is a 15-20 minute walk from the Plaza. It is near the rotonda where you can find a Chowking and a Dunkin' Donuts (which is where I got my caffeine fix multiple times during my stay). There's an Andok's right next to the hotel which is open 24 hours I think. There are also many sari-sari stores and a drugstore nearby. (I can't recall which one it was; I think it was Super K?)

The standard double room comes with a queen-sized bed. There's a TV mounted on the wall. The toilet is quite spacious and the shower area has hot water. There is free WiFi in the hotel but the internet speed could be better - I guess maybe there were so many people checked into the hotel during my stay that at certain times of the day, everyone was online.

Note: there are no elevators so if your room is on the 2nd or 3rd floor, you need to use the stairs. This should not be a problem for most people but if you have difficulty going up stairs for whatever reason, you may need to request for a room on the ground floor.

What I realized is that hotel room prices really spike during Ati-Atihan. When I checked the price of a standard room in La Esperanza on a different date, it is around P1,300. During my stay, I had to pay around three times that rate. I will assume this is the same for any other hotel in Kalibo.

La Esperanza is about a one to two-star hotel. During my stay, my room was not cleaned and my towels were not replaced. However, I didn't have any need for my room to be cleaned (I had no trash inside and I was pretty tidy when I was there) and I wanted to conserve water and energy so I didn't want nor need my towels to be replaced. That said, I am guessing that if you want your room cleaned or your towels replaced, you can probably ask them to do it.

I initially thought of staying in a different hotel the next time I go to Ati-Atihan, one that is closer to the plaza. However, I think that La Esperanza is a very good option primarily because its distance from the plaza. This means that you can get some peace and quiet at the end of the day when you feel like it since you won't hear drumbeats all throughout the day and you won't be amidst thick crowds of people all the time. I would definitely recommend La Esperanza as a place to stay in Kalibo.

La Esperanza Hotel
http://www.agoda.com/la-esperanza-hotel/hotel/kalibo-ph.html 
Address: Osmena Avenue, Kalibo
Phone:(036) 262 3989

Food tripping in Kalibo: Ramboy's

Ramboy's came up in a couple of lists I saw online of food places that you shouldn't miss when you are in Kalibo. It is supposed to be known for it's liempo, which is a bit unique because unlike most other liempo dishes, the Ramboy's version has a very crispy crackling skin. When I learned about this, I knew I had to try it.

Ramboy's, like most lechon manok and liempo places (such as Andok's) is primarily a take-out joint. I read online that you can pay an additional P10 to eat in so I had initially planned to do that, but when I got there, no one else was dining in and there seemed to be only one person preparing and selling the food so I ended up just getting an order of liempo for take out.

An order of liempo is P290 but it serves about 3-4 people. I also have to say that it absolutely lived up to the hype. While the meat is good and tasty, the star of this dish is the crackling skin. I don't know how they season it but it not only has a really good crunch to it, it also has a whole lot of flavor.

Since I was by myself in my hotel room, I couldn't eat all of it in one go so I had a third of it for early dinner (around 7pm), another third for a midnight meal (don't worry, I didn't sleep immediately after eating), and the rest I consumed the next morning. What's amazing is that even the next morning, more than 12 hours after I bought the liempo, the crackling skin was still very crispy. I don't know if there is more than one Ramboy's in Kalibo but the one I visited was along Toting Reyes Street, at the corner of N Roldan Street (just one short block away from Roxas Avenue).

Food tripping in Kalibo: Peil

I visited Peil on Saturday afternoon before I joined my relatives for our late afternoon sadsad. It is on the corner of 19 Martyrs and Acevedo Streets, and it is in fact on the same building complex as Primavera (albeit on the opposite side). I saw this place on Friday afternoon and I noticed that the place was packed and they served crepes. I decided this was a perfect place for me to have an afternoon snack.

Peil doesn't only serve crepes; they also have a lot of other items, including savory dishes, on the menu. The challenge I had was that the menu didn't have descriptions of the different crepes. I ended up getting the Red Maisie, which the waiter told me was a strawberry crepe.

Red Maisie crepe (P135)

Red Maisie (P135) is served with a generous drizzle of strawberry sauce and a scoop of strawberry ice cream. It is served with bananas, cream, and surprisingly, cereal! I had never tried crepes served with cereal before and I actually really enjoyed this. The cereal provided a good crunchy, textural contrast and made this sweet snack even more satisfying.

The downside of Peil is that they don't serve coffee, not even instant. I ended up ordering softdrinks to go with my crepe. While I do wish they had brewed coffee in this place, the crepe I had was really good so I wouldn't mind visiting this place again to try the other crepes on their menu.

Food tripping in Kalibo: Primavera

While in Kalibo for Ati-Atihan, I found time to try a few restaurants and food places in the city.

Primavera is at the corner of 19 Martyrs and G. Ramos Streets, just a couple of blocks away from the plaza. I ended up having lunch here on Saturday because I was looking for a place to have lunch and almost all places I saw were full. Primavera was also full but just as I passed by, a table became available so it became a logical and easy choice for me to eat here.

I ordered the Penne Rosa pasta (P252). It was pretty good, quite similar to the Penne Rosa of Amici.

It was while having lunch here that I saw the parades in full costume passing by so I decided to finish my pasta and not have any coffee and dessert, which was what I had originally planned. As such, I returned to Primavera the next day after having lunch with my relatives on Sunday so that I could get my caffeine fix. This time, I ordered a Cafe Americano and a slice of Sans Rival. (Total bill for both was P200, I guess each item was around P100; unfortunately, I lost the receipt.)

Overall, this is a place to have a meal, with is tasty food, good portion It has great ambience (I prefer sitting outdoors as the interior of the restaurant has a tendency to smell a bit like the smoke from all the food that was cooked during the day). They also don't have any service charge. If you are looking for Western cuisine and good coffee near the plaza, this is a good place for you.

Ati-Atihan 2016: Sunday Mass and Final Day Festivities

The last day of Ati-Atihan starts with the Pilgrim's mass which is held at the Kalibo Cathedral at 7AM. A stage is actually set up at the church quadrangle and a very good sound system allows thousands of people at the plaza grounds to hear the mass. I was actually late because the last two days left me exhausted and I overslept yet again but I was happy that I still made it midway through the mass.

At the end of the celebration, the priest exclaims "Viva kay Sr. Sto. Nino" three times, and the crowd responds with a resounding "Viva" each time. The drums then started beating and xylophones sounds filled the air to signal the start of the morning sadsad. All the participating tribes were in the plaza grounds during the mass and it was cool to see them come to life once the music began.

Check out this video to see the end of the mass and the start of the sadsad:

Once again, I started taking photos of the parading tribes and enjoying the festive atmosphere.

During the mass, I saw someone at the cathedral bell tower. I decided that I wanted to go up there myself after the mass to take photos of the parades and enjoy the views. There was no sign that indicated it wasn't allowed to go up and the door to the bell tower was open so I headed up. The staircase starts out with more solid stone or concrete steps but as you get close to the top, you have to ascend a metal spiral staircase which is a bit rickety. It was then that I thought that access to the bell tower should be restricted (or maybe it is and the door was just left open somehow). It was pretty scary heading down the spiral staircase (I was happy and felt a lot safer once I got to the stone/concrete steps) but I am quite happy that I got to take some shots of the crowd from the top.

After spending about an hour at the plaza once the mass ended, I decided to join my relatives for breakfast at Uncle Jack's house. About a dozen of my relatives, most of whom traveled to Kalibo just to join the Ati-Atihan, were there so it was like a breakfast party. At around 11am, Uncle Jack headed out to lead the sadsad of our group of relatives. My two uncles and I were supposed to follow him but we couldn't find them on the streets. We then decided to just go to the house of Uncle Arthur (I call him Uncle but he's actually my grandfather's brother) for lunch.

By early afternoon, I started feeling really tired so I went back to my hotel to rest a bit (I actually fell asleep for about an hour and a half). At that point, I had missed the start of the final procession, and there wouldn't be an easy way for me to find my relatives on the streets of Kalibo anymore. I decided to just go back to Uncle Arthur's house to catch up with him and watch the passing parades. I stayed there for maybe a couple of hours and Uncle Arthur and I got to share many stories. I stayed there for maybe 1-2 hours before going back to my hotel and even after sundown, the processions were still ongoing.

It was an incredible and thoroughly enjoyable first Ati-Atihan experience for me and I will certainly be going back. Hopefully, next time, I will manage my energy well enough to allow me to join that final procession (it takes about 5-6 hours I was told, so you really need to be physically prepared for it).

Hala Bira! Ati-Atihan 2016: Sadsad

The Ati-Atihan Festival is held in Kalibo, Aklan every January to honor Santo Niño. It culminates on the 3rd Sunday of the month. It actually inspired and served as the model for other festivals in the country, such as the Sinulog in Cebu and the Dinagyang in Iloilo which also celebrate the Sto. Nino. For this reason, Ati-Atihan legally holds the title "Mother of all Philippine Festivals" (read more about it in wikipedia).

While some festivities and parades start earlier in the week, the biggest and most important activities start late in the week. (See the 2016 schedule here.) I arrived in Kalibo on Friday early afternoon so I got there just in time to witness and join some of the major events.

When I checked into my hotel, I asked the receptionist what time the parades would start and he told me that they were already ongoing. He also said that the sadsad (or street dancing) with vibrant and elaborate costumes would start on Saturday at around 8 or 9am. While many parades are scattered around city, majority of them make their way to the plaza so that's where I went after I settled into my room.

It was my first time in Kalibo so I studied the map of the city center (which I checked online) to give me an idea of the layout of the land. Of course, asking around was still the easiest way for me to get from my hotel to the plaza. I arrived at the plaza at around 3:30pm and when I got there, I was welcomed by an endless stream of parading people and a cacophony of drumbeats and xylophone music.

The vibe was electric and while I had very little sleep and not a lot to eat that day, I was suddenly filled with a lot energy. I stayed there for about 3 hours, running around taking pictures of the sadsad, the crowds, and the Kalibo Cathedral and enjoying the atmosphere.

This lechon was still pretty intact when I first saw it on the other side of the plaza. :)

I had planned to wake up early on Saturday to catch the parades in costume but I woke up late and got to the plaza at around 1030am. By then, the parades in costume seemed to have already completed their rounds. I asked one of the vendors if there would still be an opportunity to see them and he told me that they would be going around again on Sunday morning after the Pilgrim's mass. I hung about in the plaza a bit to see a few more parades and take a few more photos before having lunch at a restaurant just a few blocks away. At around 1pm, while waiting for my food to be served, I heard a drumbeat that was steadily increasing in volume. I look down the street and I see a parade of people in full costume heading down and making their way towards the plaza! Cool!

This was the first parade in full costume that I saw.

Apparently, they all had another round to make that afternoon and it seems that they were starting again after lunch. Once my meal arrived, I ate it really quickly and then went back to the plaza. It was at that point that I saw one colorful parade after another. Check out my sadsad compilation video here:

Seeing all those people dancing down the streets in brilliant costumes was just so thrilling! I must have had a smile plastered on my face that entire afternoon. The sun was scorching hot but even that was not enough to stop me from running around the plaza, taking photos and dancing along to the drumbeats and the music.

Sadsad at the plaza

I don't normally take selfies but as I was there by myself, I ended up taking more selfies than I ever have in a short span of time.

Selfie time!

In the mid-afternoon, a few tribes completed their sadsad and some of them rested in the church grounds. I asked one of the guys from Tribu Bukid Tigayon if I could have my photo taken with his headdress and he very kindly agreed. Cool! :)

wearing the headdress of Tribu Bukid Tigayon

Later that afternoon, I visited my uncle, who lives in Kalibo, and my aunts who were both in Kalibo for Ati-Atihan, to give them some gifts from my mom. Thankfully, I passed by at the right time. They told me I should join them in the sadsad of our group of relatives. After watching so many different parades go around the plaza, I was more than eager to actually join one. We started at around 5pm and we finished our sadsad at close to 8pm. Even at that time, there were still a whole lot of people dancing around the streets and the plaza was still filled with people.

The plaza at night

My uncle and aunts told me that there was a party that night and they invited me to join them. However, since I wasn't expecting to join a sadsad, I didn't manage my energy for that and I had spent about 8 hours on my feet, walking, running and even dancing under the intense heat of the sun. I also knew that I had to wake up really early the next day to join the Pilgrim's mass (which I will write about in more detail in my next post) so I passed on the party invite and went back to my hotel to rest. I was exhausted and sunburned and my legs and feet were sore but it was such an amazing day.

Next: the Pilgrim's mass and the last day of Ati-Atihan

Visiting Kalibo for Ati-Atihan

Finally! I have now been able to visit Kalibo during Ati-Atihan!

I had been wanting to go to Ati-Atihan for a really long time now because my grandfather's family is from there and because of its cultural significance as one of the most important festivals in Philippines. I was actually supposed to go around 15 years ago but I ended up getting sick right before the trip so I couldn't go. My friends have started recommending that I join other Philippine events but I felt that I needed to go to Ati-Atihan first.

I actually also planned to visit last year (2015) but as I made an attempt to book a hotel, I quickly found out that I was reserving accommodations too late as all places to stay were unavailable. I have a lot of relatives in Kalibo but they didn't me too well (I am very glad to say that this has now changed) so I didn't want to inconvenience people who barely knew me by asking to stay with them. As such, I decided to postpone my plans to 2016. This time around, I almost didn't make it either. When I was looking for available rooms, I only found a handful. I quickly booked a room then I proceeded to book my flight. Now I just had to wait for mid-January to come around. :)

But on my date of departure, things almost went horribly wrong. I was so tired and I lacked sleep the entire week leading up to my flight that I slept through all my alarms and I woke up 2 hours before my flight which was on a Friday. Usually the worst traffic day of the week. I was in state of panic because I thought I was going to miss my flight. I got ready in a flash but it took around 25 minutes to get a taxi - not that long considering the day and time but given that I was running very late, I was getting frazzled. (I should download Grab Car, Grab Taxi, or Uber one of these days.) When I was finally in my cab, I started thinking of options if I miss my flight (I knew there was one more flight later in the day but I was certain it would be fully booked.) By some stroke of sheer luck (to compensate for my misfortune of waking up late), there was no traffic all the way up to Resorts World. It took 10-15 minutes to get through the airport road construction traffic but I made it 45 minutes before my flight, just enough time not to be bumped off. Thank God! (As it turned out, my flight was delayed by about an hour, but I still don't know if I would have been allowed to check in less than 45 minutes before the planned departure time.) When I finally checked in, I just breathed a huge sigh of relief.

I will write more about my Kalibo experience over the next few blog posts, paying special attention to the Ati-Atihan Festival.

Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie

Under Pressure is my favorite Queen song, my favorite David Bowie song, and one of my favorite songs of all time. In fact, it's the 4th most played song on my iPod.


video uploaded by moreno cavanna

RIP David, Kuya Germs, Susan and Natalie

2016 has just started but even in this short period of time, the country and the world says goodbye to some very influential people:

David Bowie, the legendary artist known primarily for his music, succumbed to cancer just two days after turning 69. He had just released his album, Blackstar, on his birthday and people feel that this was a parting gift to his fans (and the world) since he knew he didn't have too long to live, as he had been battling liver cancer for 18 months already. While he was a prolific singer/songwriter and is known for songs like Let's Dance and Heroes, my favorite is his collaboration with Queen: Under Pressure.

German "Kuya Germs" Moreno passed away at the age of 82 last Friday, January 8, due to cardiac arrest. Kuya Germs was an icon and an institution in the Philippine showbiz industry as he paved the way for many stars to build their careers through shows like GMA Supershow and That's Entertainment. In more recent years, he became famous for his tagline "Walang Tulugan" in the late night show Walang Tulugan with the Master Showman.

Susan Calo Medina is known by many for hosting the local TV show Travel Time. This show has been on air for the last 27 years, making it the longest-running travel show in the country, and also the most awarded. She died of a heart attack on Thursday, January 7. She was 73.

And just one day before new year, singer Natalie Cole, daughter of Nat King Cole, passed away from congestive heart failure. A nine-time Grammy Award winner, she is known by many for songs like Inseparable, Someone that I used to love, Miss you like crazy, Starting over again, and her "Unforgettable" duet with her father.

Catching up with friends

The Christmas season may be over but early January is still a time for catching up. Shortly after new year, I met up with my friends Doms, Zaza, Denise and Katco - the people I worked very closely with for many years as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility organization at work - for lunch in Estancia Mall in Capitol Commons. It was my first time there and I like the this mall - it's not too big and it's very well lit. We had lunch at Wholesome Table (the food is good but I find it a bit too expensive) before moving to Larcy's for some cupcakes and coffee. It was too bad that a lot of other folks couldn't make it that day but I am happy that we were still able to meet up. As expected, so many fun, interesting and amazing stories were shared.

enjoying a cupcake and coffee at Larcy's in Capitol Commons

I met up with my college friends for lunch. This was our annual get-together and while normally we have it between Christmas and New Year, scheduling conflicts meant that we had to meet up in early January instead. As usual, we had a potluck set-up and knowing that I wouldn't get there early, I volunteered to bring dessert. (I still recall the year I volunteered to bring drinks and I was late; that was a bit of a disaster LOL.) I couldn't stay long so I missed a couple of our classmates who arrived in the late afternoon but at least I did get to see most of the folks.

A couple of days later, I met up with my friends from my previous job. Once again, this was part 2 because we already met prior to Christmas. But one of my friends, Che, wanted to meet up again because she felt that she left our previous get together a bit early to catch a screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I personally hadn't seen her as well in a while since she wasn't able to join our 2014 Christmas party. We ended up having dinner in Wang Fu in Serendra (it's a really good and pretty affordable Chinese restaurant) before moving to Mary Grace for coffee and dessert.

Needless to say, I ate too much over the holidays and I have gained a bit of weight. I now need to start eating less to try and get rid off the excess kilos.

Super Saturday

What a full and incredible yesterday was. It started out with brunch with my friends Anna and Lala while Anna was still in town. Since I had plans in Jupiter Street for lunch, I asked if we could meet somewhere near there so we ended up enjoying food at Bizu in One Rockwell. I've had breakfast/brunch there before but Lala and Anna hadn't. They seemed to enjoy their food (and of course the great thing about Bizu is that if you have breakfast before 11am, you get a cup of coffee for free). Usually, I order their Eggs Benedict but I decided to try something different. I instead got their Apple Cinnamon French Toast. It was okay but if I do visit Bizu again, I may try the pancakes instead.

After brunch, I headed over to Jupiter to the attend the Christening of my 2nd cousin Miguel. Uncle Albert (he's actually my late grandfather's brother but my generation still call hims Uncle) is Miguel's grandfather and for the first family event I can remember, he was the only one of his siblings who was there. That meant there wasn't a lot of live piano and violin playing (my grandfather and his siblings could all play the piano and the violin very well) so to try and make things interesting, my grandmother Nanay sang while Uncle Albert played the piano. That essentially kicked off an entertainment-filled afternoon. Uncle Albert started getting people to sing karaoke and at some point, it was my turn to take the stage. Apart from my mom and my grandmother, none of my other relatives there had heard me sing before. I decided to sing John Legend's "All of me" and it turned out to be quite well-received so I was asked to do an encore (I decided to do Sam Smith's "Lay me down"). By then, it was mid-afternoon and I needed to leave to head out to my third event of the day: the birthday celebration of my friend Mike.

Mike was the one who introduced me to all sorts of board games and as such, he wanted to spend the day playing these games and introducing them to some of his other friends. The great thing for me was that we ended up playing games I had already played before, so instead of trying to figure out how to play, I was now in the position to try and figure out how to do better and even win. It turned out to be a solid day for me, since I ended up on the winning end more often than I had in the past. I played Blueprints twice: in the first game I lost miserably but in the second, I tied for first. I also played Splendor three times, and I won twice. The third time, we were teaching a newbie and a couple of us helped her figure out what to do so she ended up winning (and even then I ended up only a point behind). Heck, even in Ultimate Werewolf, I was able to help the villagers beat the werewolves. :) Possibly my biggest win though was in Rococo, a very complicated game that I had played twice (losing very badly once). This time around, I somehow ended up winning, beating very good players in the process. Awesome!

It was a tremendously long but full day. I felt it this morning though; I overslept and I felt very tired. :) It's a good start to the year and I hope the rest of the year follows suit. (With my plans the next few weekends, it looks like it will be.)

Looking back at 2015

What I love about having my blog is that I am always able to look back at the highlights of the last year. As it is the start of the new year, I will uphold tradition and review some of the most influential moments of the last year.

Memorable moments:
My family celebrated Nanay's birthday at Prince Albert and a few months later, we revisited La Cocina De Tita Moning. I attended the 40th wedding anniversary of my aunt and uncle at Lemuria. I now have another godchild. I went to Pansol with my new team. I also spent a wonderful day in Thunderbird Resort in Rizal with some of my closest friends. It wasn't all good though. Early this year, both my grandmother Mama and Tita Nelia passed away. I also had surgery that left me hobbled for a month.

Travel:
For the second year in a row, I didn't travel abroad. As mentioned, I visited Rizal, Pansol. I also went to Subic twice (in early October and then in late October). I almost went through the entire year without getting on a flight for the first time since 1997 but I ended up flying to Davao and Bacolod (where I got to see The Ruins) towards the end of 2015. All of these trips also allowed me to enjoy many food offerings from these places: Texas Joe's and Rachi Curry Corner in Subic, Kai Artisan s'mores in Davao, and 21 Restaurant, Ading's Pala-Pala, Calea, Felicia's, and Lord Byron's in Bacolod.

Dining:
I enjoyed some really good meals, both in old favorites as well as in new places. Sadly, two places I enjoyed a lot and that provided memorable family moments are now closed: Brasserie CiÇou and Prince Albert. I revisited Lola Cafe + Bar and Va Bene. Aside from the many places I tried in Bacolod, Subic, and Davao, I also got to try Gino's Brick Over Pizza, Kafe Batwan and a few restaurants in Century City Mall for the first time.

Entertainment:
I watched two musicals in Manila: Beauty and the Beast and Singin' in the Rain, both of which I really enjoyed. I also got to watch a lot of films during the year. Heneral Luna influenced me to learn more about Philippine history and visit local museums and memorials. My favorite film of the year? Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Hobbies and interests:
My board game "addiction" has been fueled by the advent of places like Ludo and DyceNDyne. I taught some friends how to play 7 Wonders and Ticket to Ride. I also met new friends with whom I have played a lot of new games like Istanbul, Gallerist, Fresco, Splendor, Orleans, and a whole lot more. I also played a lot more volleyball this year (I even competed in a tournament at work for the first time in years). I put together my coin collection, read a book for the first time since 2012, bought my 500th voucher, and even started shredding my old, confidential documents. I also stayed at the Intercon while it was still open.

Blog milestones:
I celebrated my blog's 10th year anniversary (with a cake and with a summary of my local and international trips as well as some of my other favorite posts). I also achieved a personal record month in March. Aside from that, 2015 proved to be my most prolific year, and is the only year where I posted more than 200 times (202 to be exact). I certainly won't maintain this blogging pace in 2016 as i do plan to slow down just a bit but this year was pretty breakthrough for me in terms of blogging.

Happy 2016!

Happy New Year, everyone!

It was an incredible and eventful 2015 (I will be writing about this in more detail in my next post) and I am now looking forward to 2016. Before we fully jump into the new year, let us all enjoy the incredible fireworks display at the Sydney Harbor bridge.


video uploaded by City of Sydney

Christmas celebrations

This Christmas season was a really stressful and hectic one - quite possibly the most it has ever been for me - but on a good note, I got to spend a lot of quality time with my family and friends.

For my family's Christmas day celebration, instead of getting a cake which I usually do, I got kouign amann from Brasserie CiÇou. I know my family enjoyed these desserts when we ate there a few months ago and when I learned that Brasserie CiÇou was closing on December 31 (such a shame that I was only able to dine at this restaurant once), it made perfect sense to bring home a couple of boxes.

kouign amann from Brasserie CiÇou

I also got a half gallon tub of Baskin Robbins Baseball Nut ice cream (which I got at a big discount thanks to my Metrodeal voucher). My family really enjoyed this a lot too.

A couple of days later, I took my family to Megamall to have dinner at Din Tai Fung, the Michelin-star restaurant from Taiwan that opened in Manila last December 8. We got there around 5pm and we got seated in about 20 minutes (which is not really a long wait considering this is the hot, new restaurant in Manila). I looked up some of their most popular dishes to help me know what to order. These include the Pork Xiao Long Bao, Crab Roe and Pork Xiao Long Bao, Black Pepper Beef, and Salted Egg Yolk Prawns, among a whole lot of other dishes. Despite ordering a lot, we actually managed to eat everything! My family really love the food here. Special call-out to the Chocolate Xiao Long Bao, which is a dish that is featured only in Din Tai Fung Manila (it isn't offered in this restaurant in other countries). I will certainly be dining here again.

My high school friends and I also celebrated differently this year, with an out-of-town trip. We wanted some place not too far from Manila so we decided to visit Thunderbird Resort in Rizal.

Thunderbird Resort in Rizal

Unfortunately, I couldn't stay overnight but I was able stay from check-in until very late night. The kids all went swimming but us adults just lounged by the pool most of the afternoon. We also took lots of pictures of the resort, the views, and each other. :) The cool thing about Thunderbird is that it faces the sunset, providing a lot of good photo opportunities.

pool at Thunderbird

After exchanging gifts, we played a few rounds of Splendor (Joyce bought this game recently) before having dinner at Olives (the only other dining option was the restaurant in the casino but kids aren't allowed there). There was time to play one more round of Splendor before I had to go home.

Beautiful Christmas display at the resort

My #AchievementUnlocked moment: I don't have Waze or GPS so I had to keep looking at my map on the way to Thunderbird. Thankfully, I only got lost at one point, when I missed my final left turn that leads straight to the resort. However, on the way home, I actually managed to remember the directions and I found my way without once looking at my map or asking for help. Cool!

Speaking of high school, my friend Jeff was in Manila (he is now based in the US) so a few of us met up with him at Elias in Bonifacion High Street. It was good for me too because I got to hang out with a couple of my classmates who I don't often get to see. The intent was to get at least one person for every section that Jeffrey was in - my presence there of course made it a lot easier since Jeff and I were classmates for three years - so when Joyce arrived, all of Jeff's sections were represented.

 My college friends and I also met in BGC, this time at the Burgos Circle area. We had dinner at Tipsy Pig before moving to Casa Italia for dessert. The reason we met up that night was because I wasn't available for our official get-together. Since I wanted to see at least some folks over the holidays, I requested for another one. (As it turns out, our reunion got rescheduled and I am not available to meet up, but hey, no harm in meeting up with good friends a couple of times instead of just once. :)) I also got to see our batchmate, Kristine, who I last saw a few years ago.

For my work friends, we did what we normally do, which is to meet at the house of my friends Joh and Raffa. The fact that there are lots of kids now makes it difficult for us to meet anywhere else. For the first time, we had lunch on a workday (most of us were already on holiday break). While a lot of other people were not in Manila and couldn't join us, we did get to talk to one of them - Me-Ann - via facetime.

I also did my first Maginhawa Food trip during the holidays with my travel buddies. We first met up at Theo's Baked + Brewed in the late afternoon for coffee and  snacks. (I particularly enjoyed their Cookie Shot.) We then walked down the road to have dinner at Friuli Trattoria. The food here is just okay. The pizza is quite good (especially considering that it's cheap) but the pasta is hit or miss; the Capellini alla Putanesca was good but I would advise you to stay away from the spaghetti with bacon and eggs (we all found it pretty flavorless). After dinner, we had coffee and dessert at Magpie Cafe at StrEAT. This place serves really good bingsoo (which is like a Korean version of halo-halo). To end the evening, we went to Music 21 in Timog and sang our hearts out until the wee hours of the morning. Oh and one thing I learned from this karaoke night: I'll make a man out of you from Mulan is a cool song to sing. :)

Farewell, Intercon

I learned earlier this year that Hotel Intercontinental Makati is ceasing its operations on December 31, 2015. This is quite sad since the hotel has been around for 46 years.

hotel lobby

It follows in the footsteps of Mandarin Oriental which closed its doors to the public last year. While I missed out on staying at the Mandarin before it shut down, I managed to book a room at the Intercon on its last few days.

my room

I've had a few memorable experiences at this hotel. Earlier this year, I took my family to Prince Albert to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. This after I enjoyed the prime rib a few times before. I also attended the wedding reception of my friends Chris and Joy which was set up at the pool area. (Side note: that wedding was made even more memorable by the fact that at the last minute, I was asked to be a co-emcee because one of the emcees was running very late. Thankfully, even with no prep time, I managed to hold the fort well enough until the other emcee could join.)

swimming pool

Breakfast was at Cafe Jeepney. As it turned out, there were so many people who decided to stay there at the same time I did (probably for the same reasons) so there was a waiting list to get in. There was an option to have breakfast at Gambrinus or the Legaspi room but I wanted the experience of dining in Cafe Jeepney so I opted to wait for an available table.

Cafe Jeepney

There used to be a big jeepney inside but they had replaced it with a smaller replica. There were also jeepney-inspired decorations on the walls.

jeepney decoration and light source on the wall

Prior to my stay, I got to try a few Intercon cakes, thanks to the Deal Grocer vouchers I purchased a while back. The Double Chocolate Royale looks very sophisticated with its bright color streak and chocolate ball. However, of the three cakes I had, this was probably my least favorite because it was mainly a marshmallow-y mousse. Nevertheless, it does look really beautiful.

Double Chocolate Royale

The Black Forest is probably my favorite of the three I tried. Its combination of whipped cream, chocolate and cherry make for a great cake.

Black Forest

The Fresh Fruit Tart is arguably the most attractive and vibrant-looking because of its cornucopia of glazed fruits that are beautifully laid out on top of the tart.

Fresh Fruit Tart

I heard that the Intercon may actually find another home in Makati (possibly in the place currently occupied by Shangri-La Makati which is supposedly going to close down once the one in BGC is fully built; of course, these are all rumors). Hopefully this rumor is true and that when a new Intercon is built, it reestablishes Prince Albert.

Farewell, Hotel Intercontinental! I hope to see you again some time in the future.