Manila Sunset... No filter needed

I got a call from my best friend Lee, she was driving and was so awed by what she saw in the horizon, she just had to make sure I look out my window to see it.

The Manila Bay Sunset! There's really nothing like it. I thank God everyday that my condo is where it is. I get to see God's painting in the sky. I swear it's different each day.

As I shared to my Facebook friends a couple of days ago, it makes me love doing paperwork looking at this view. 

With all that happened this year--having emergency surgery, a difficult recovery, residual reflux to this day--the beauty I see outside my window gives me hope for the future.

I see it as God's encouragement, that whatever difficulty I face... Just like the sunset, some things are constant. Like his everlasting love for me. Thank you, Lord! 

The Big Move

Moving is never easy, particularly in the wee hours of the morning... I still have a huge headache from the sudden leasing of my aunt & sister's condo. I've been managing our rental properties for ages but this one's really something else.

I had to move stuff out of the apartment to get it ready for the tenant in just four hours! Good thing a neighbor rents out her 7th floor unit for 1800 php/night so we had somewhere to place our stuff before I accepted our new condo three floors up.

It was not a pretty sight at the studio apartment. I'm just thankful that I had people working at my kiosk who are also my distant cousins. So I have people who cares about me & were there to help  no matter how late it was. 

At least I've got the new aircon & the shower heater installed now. I find I didn't mind not having a proper bed yet as long as I have a/c & hot water. I did a double take with the 2500 php installation fee though. Ugh! That hurts.

Now I'm waiting for the architect to do his thing. A condo this small needs an expert to decide where everything should be. Though I'm absolutely dreading the bill. :(

Canada: To Apply for a TRV or not

My mother and I are in a tizzy right now. We were sent an invitation to visit by my sister--who is a permanent resident in Canada--the statutory declaration says that she & her husband will take care of everything we might need while there. Who wouldn't want that, right?

Certainly, this travel junkie is all excited and salivating at the thought of seeing the Canadian Rocky Mountains up-close! But the timing is awful... I'm in the middle of a permanent move from my Valenzuela apartment to our newly-acquired Makati condo.

It's just a total mess right now and I also have work to contend with. To add to the confusion, Mama can't stay past the summer season in fear of her joints acting up in the cold. That's really our main concern, that she enjoy her 75th year... The year of visiting all her kids & grandkids scattered about in Canada, Australia & New Zealand.

We're both excited to see my brother & his family in Ontario, some of his kids we have not met since they were born. We also can't bear to disappoint my sister's kids in Alberta. The eldest, 17-year-old Jian, worked at KFC so he can save for his grandma's plane ticket. 

Aww... this is hard. Should we go through with the Temporary Resident Visa application? I just hope we get approved (or not) while it's still summer there.

Corregidor: Island of Valor

Cruising to Corregidor

   

Keeping my family entertained when in Manila has become one of my unofficial "duties". They know for a direction-challenged, allergic-to-drive person I certainly do get around a lot. As long as there are cabs and I can ask around and pretend to know where I'm headed, I'm good to go.

                                         
A cruise to Corregidor Island, the World War II fortress, is highly recommended. A day-long excursion to get some idea about what Filipino and American soldiers went through in the war against the Japanese invaders... I thought it was perfect especially for my young nieces and nephew.

Sun Cruises provides ferry services to Corregidor so we contacted them a few days before we were set to sail. The price was 2200/adult and 1250/child for a day tour package inclusive of roundtrip ferry transfers, entrance and terminal fees plus guided tour of the island and buffet lunch.

We showed up at the Sun Cruises office before 7:00 am and got our boarding passes and hopped on a van to the CCP Bay Terminal (beside the Folk Arts Theater) where the catamaran MV Sun Cruises was docked. The ferry is much like the one we traveled in from Kowloon to Macau.

We showed up at 6:

The departure time was supposed to be at 8:00 am but some tour groups arrived late so we left 30 minutes later. Great to leave Manila's traffic and pollution for a day but wait, its trash seemed to have followed us! Sad to see snack wrappers and all sorts of plastic floating from Manila Bay to Corregidor Island.

After over an hour of sailing, the tadpole-shaped island was at last in our sights. Trams aka tramvia were waiting for us, they ushered the groups according to the language they want as there were English, Filipino and Japanese-speaking guides on the trams.

So much history of pain, death, defeat and ultimately triumph are what Corregidor Island represents. Not your usual day tour, for sure.

Tigers, Pythons & Co. @ Malabon Zoo

Malabon Zoo is a private sanctuary for animals located just off MacArthur Highway near Monumento, Caloocan. It has earned a reputation for having more animals than the much-larger Manila Zoo.

Having had my post-grad studies in Valenzuela, I've always been aware that there is a Malabon Zoo but it was only when my nieces and nephew was in town that I actually got to visit this zoo.

It's located close to Malabon Elementary School and the sign boards along the streets to the zoo were very helpful in pointing us in the right direction so we arrived at 10:00 am and paid the ₱100 entrance fee.

 Cute sayings and quotes about life, love, even lyrics of songs like Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" dotted the various animal cages. It was nice that we were just in time for the feeding of the animals like the orangutans. It was fascinating to see these huge primates running around, being awkwardly cute.

The zoo also allows you to hold pythons for photo ops and my nephew Jian, nieces Mariel & Kee, and my brother-in-law Manoy Lito eagerly paid the ₱200 to get their pictures taken with the snakes.

My sister Maris, my friend Joy and I were a bit more apprehensive but much persuading and taunting by the kids left Joy and I no choice but to try it. I've always been grossed out by snakes, but honor was at stake, so I held one Burmese python for posterity's sake and it was not so bad. It helped that the snake was docile and not slimy at all.

The zoo also has a tiger cub named "Dionisia", and she was incredibly cute and playful. She's like a big cat jumping around and swatting our hands playfully. She got too energetic at one point and jumped off the table that the handler pulled on her tongue to quiet her up.

That was weird to see and we felt very bad for the tiger cub. She was just a baby and just playing around. The incident somewhat tainted our enjoyment of petting a real honest-to-goodness tiger cub. Sorry your tongue got hurt, dear Dionisia!

There was a grizzly bear in this zoo too. Though it looked quiet demented, just bouncing around, moving its huge head up and down. Maybe it's the stifling summer heat that was making him do that or the cramped cage, or both? Poor thing.

There were many adult tigers and I've always been fascinated by how smoothly they move. The crocodiles were amply represented as well. This zoo do have more animals than the Manila Zoo but I wish there were more space for them to move around.

 
                                      

I hope the well-intentioned Malabon Zoo people can transfer some of their animals some place with more room. I appreciate that it's privately-owned and it must cost the owner a pretty penny to keep them fed and clean but the place is a bit small. Maybe they can donate or lend some of the animals to Manila Zoo, God knows that zoo has the space.

Malabon Zoo & Aquarium
1 Governor Pascual Avenue
Potrero, Malabon
Tel: 3613083

Tagaytay Accommodations: Mar Ermino's

Unplanned overnight trips can be challenging and our excursion to Tagaytay was definitely a challenge. Just imagine looking for a place at 8pm in a strange touristy city... hmm, good thing the much vaunted Filipino hospitality and friendliness to lost strangers worked for us.

It was dark when we left Picnic Grove and after our dinner at Andok's, we retraced our steps and walked down Kaykulot Road (right across Tagaytay Picnic Grove) and found Kuya Mar Ermino's hostel/rooms for rent. An a/c room to accommodate all five of us for ₱1200 was a good deal so we plunked down the money, was handed the key for room 4 and got ready for bed.

The house is in a quiet neighborhood, the mattresses were firm, the bathroom clean (no hot water though). The store in front of the house is also very convenient, we bought coffee and bread there for our breakfast and Kuya Mar was kind enough to give us hot water.

Ermino's is a no-frills, value for money place. A good night's sleep was had by all and we were grateful to have this place to stay in Tagaytay City when we needed it. If you ever find yourself stuck at the Picnic Grove at night--you're not the picky type and don't mind cold showers--then Ermino's is for you.

Update: Mar Ermino's has improved! They have free wi-fi now, cable TV and hot shower. ₱1800 for 24 hours, good for 2-4 pax. You can actually haggle for a discount down to ₱1500 with breakfast. :)

Mar Ermino's Rooms
Kaykulot Road, Sungay East
4120 Tagaytay City
(across Picnic Grove Exit Gate)
Tel.: +639172483189