flying first class

Thanks to Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Miles program, i was able to score a first class round trip ticket to CDO at half it's regular mileage points. I only paid travel taxes amounting to barely 2300.00. Yes i'm a regular traveler but i always take economy class. I am still after all masa and ignorant to these things.


So i learned that the perks of traveling first class actually start upon entering the express entrance lane at the airport, having its own counter for check-in and an access to its Mabuhay Lounge. The lounge actually offers meals, free soup and assorted sandwiches and fruits and dessert and coffee and drinks. One can even have some beer from the ref. Too bad i had a rather early flight and my stomach is not really accustomed to heavy breakfast meals. But yes, i did finish one mini croissant sandwich filled with bacon, lettuce and tomato, one mini sandwich with grilled chicken, a serving of their mini banoffee crepe and two more mini croissants with butter. plus 3 more cups of their brewed coffee. phew! and there's wi-fi at the lounge too.





upon boarding the plane, one is ushered to the first few seats. seats are wider thus having more room. since i'm pretty petite i felt like umaalog-alog ako that i wanted to sing bulilit bulilit ang liit liit! it was a bit uncomfortable for me. i tried to sleep as soon as the plane took off but too much caffeine was really hard to fight off eh. and then the steward approached me to serve some more food, OMG! i couldn't help but remember Fr. Gorospe from my Theology of Liberation class telling us all about social sins! I mean how could one afford to have this too much luxuries in just an hour and 15 minute flight? i was still too full and yet there's still more food!
upon deplaning, there's still one more perk. our bags would come out the earliest after having been tagged as "priority" baggages. so this must be what the aristocrats feel like. have the best priority and full service everything. i almost felt like there was a chauffeur driven car waiting outside to take me home. but of course reality just have to jolt us back in as i had to hail a cab to take me to the bus station to where i should be going. okay, back to reality. i am still very much hoi polloi.
but wait, it's a round trip fare so i will still enjoy these perks again when i go back to Manila next week.

Tony Takitani

� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � Tony Takitani is one of the two Japanese films i caught at last week's Eiga-Sai at the Shangri-la. I was particularly drawn to this film because it is based on a short story by Haruki Murakami who i discovered fairly recently. Murakami has his way of telling stories which transports you into an almost transcluscent world and i was kinda curious as to how his stories would appear on film.

True enough, i found the movie fairly gauzy but in a clean and crisp way. It's like watching the characters in their real setting but is still seemingly floating, apart from everyone else.�

Just like most of his stories, this also delves on loneliness and solitude. A theme that is evident in Japanese culture, what with their boxed, and i say, almost claustrophobic lifestyle. Everything in its compartmentalized, organized state.

The main character, Tony Takitani is shunned since his childhood because of his foreign sounding name. Life has then taught him to fend for himself and wallow in solitude. He dabbled in a career in technical design and as a really good artist, made great money with it. In his latter years, he met a woman who he eventually fell in love with and married. The woman however has one great fault. She is so much addicted to shopping for designer clothes.

I bet most of the Japanese women could relate to the story. It is a running joke for most Filipinos in Japan, that for one to win a Japanese woman's heart, one must be ready to shower her with material gifts mostly of designer bags, shoes, clothes.

The film thus takes us into a woman's closet and how she fills them with one wonderful piece of clothing to another. How she picks each one item from the racks, buys, caresses, smells and worships them could almost be contaminating. Almost like some scene from Confessions of a Shopaholic!

But it is also this same addiction that leads to her tragic end.

Which brings us back to the prevailing theme of sadness and isolation and solitude.

Yes, pretty heavy and profound.�

"take away"

in Malaysia, or even in some other countries, food you "take out" or is "to go" is called "take away" which is why they would ask you if it's "for here?" or "take away?".�

while we were having a great time with our drinks one time at some bar in Kota Kinabalu, my friend took fancy of their paper coaster. she nonchalantly asked the waiter if she could take them home. the waiter replied with:

"yes, just don't let us know"

my friend then hinted on the beer mug,
"how about this one?"

the waiter said, "yes, just hide it. don't let us see it"�

so there.�

VINCCI'S

my love affair with Vincci's started when we went to Kuala Lumpur lst year and got to visit their stall at some mall. I'm not really fond of girly shoes but staring at endless rows and rows of shoes in delicate designs and very reasonable prices too are just too hard to ignore.

i bought myself two pairs, a 4 inch silver and transparent sandals and a red number in patent leather.

i got the silver one for 69 RM and the red one at 59 RM and both at a 20% discount so just please do the Math. 1 RM is about 14 pesos.�

i became doubly excited when i learned that there are Vincci outlets in Kota Kinabalu and yes, we again scoured all of them when we went there last week.

the selection was just too much for me to bear. i want all of them! but of course i don't really know when and how i'd get to wear them anyway so i only took home two pairs too.

a red low-heeled sandals with gold studs at 65 RM and an old rose/maroon/gold sandals at 70 RM...both at 20% off as well.�

so you would understand what the craze is all about, Vincci's is locally known as VNC and it is priced at 1500-3000 pesos per pair here in our country. �

exploring kota kinabalu

June 26-29, 2009

it wasn't just humid, it was hot when we arrived at the kota kinabalu airport. the flight attendant announced a ground temperature of 30C even at past 7pm! i was a bit glad though especially when it was raining hard, even stormy when we left Manila.

we were met by guides from different hotels and resorts at the airport and most of them were Filipinos. they even lend us a phone for us to call our sundo. i didn't feel like leaving our country after all.

our sundo from the lodge came to pick us up and we dropped by the money changer to exchange our notes. please remember that they most of them don't accept 100 and 50 US dollar bills. Pesos are fine, and i made a great mistake because i exchanged our money to dollars before we left. at least i found one counter which accepted my money but she only accepted a few notes. i had to give most of my pesos as well.

Kota Kinabalu gave me different impressions. it is more like Subic, a seemingly sleepy island town. yet at some part, like near the backpackers' lodges were we stayed, it's more like Binondo even Quiapo bustling with peddlers and 24 hour restaurants serving Malay food.

it was late when we arrive so we just ate at some restaurant which was suggested by our guide from the lodge. food were dirt cheap at 6-7RM per servings (less than a hundred pesos) and they were really good. mostly because i've always loved malay food, pretty tasty and spicy too. we forgot to take pictures of our food beacuse we were so hungry already.

at the resto, we met another Filipino who offered to help us with our island tour the following day. we learned that we could just rent our own boat and tour as many islands as we can and just buy our food in the island at minimal prices as well. the boat would cost us 250 RM which is a far cry from the 130RM per head for a packaged tour! he even led us to Jesselton Point, the port where we are supposed to go for the island hopping which apparently is just a short walk from where we stayed.

off we went the following morning to the port. the sun was already scorching even at 9am!

aside from the 250 RM boat fee, here's the rest of our expenses:

6 RM each for the port tax

10 RM each for island tax (for all islands)

8-10RM each for meals

the Tunku abdul Rahman National Park is actually composed of 5 neighboring islands jsut about 10-15 minutes off Kota Kinabalu. we chose to just hop on a 3 island tour lest we'd get too exhausted.

our first stop was Mamutik Is., supposedly the smaller and lesser popular with but with the most fishes even at the shallowest part.

the white sand was soft and truly powdery even if we stayed just near the dock for our boatmen to see us at once when they come back to fetch us. we had our own piece of heaven in there. we stayed there for two hours sunbathing, bathing, feeding the fish before we moved on the next island.

the next island was manukan Is., a bit bigger with more people and more resorts and restaurants. we bought our food at some "carenderia" because it only costs us about 7RM per meal instead of the 105RM seafood buffet another restaurant also offered.

my 7RM meals consisted of sauted vegetable, chicken curry and fried fish marinated in different spices. it was so good it disappeared in a jiffy!�

then to while away the time, we just walked around, took naps, took more pictures and relaxed. we decided not to swim anymore because we were so full.

i've never been to Aanawangin but it must be a like this? fine white sand beach lined with pine tress. it's a bit odd seeing the sand littered with pine cones and needles.

our final island stop was sapi is. and oh, this must be my most favorite of them all.

it has the finest, whitest sand. it's relatively quiet with the full amenities of a resort, a cafe, public showers...aah bliss!�

too bad we had to leave already.

after heading back to our lodge we showered, rested a bit then went to 1Borneo, their newest, bissgest, most posh mall as of the moment. it's just like our local Shangrila just that they have a Vincci shoe outlet!

we just walked around the mall then looked for a place to eat before we went back home to call it a night.

but for us youngsters we walked around the city and found this nearby bar with a lot of "kids" in it and enjoyed a few tiger beers. yi-ha!

the following day was Sunday Market day! i bought just a few items because i was more amused with the sights, the sounds, the smell of market activity. it was truly exhilarating. not to mention it was so hot i had to take cover most of the time.

they sell almost everything from food, handicrafts, antiques, even pets!!!

that afternoon we then we to Monsopiad Cultural Village for some, er, culture. Monsopiad is almost 30 minutes off the city center and we went ther by taxi that cost us 100RM for a roundtrip fare. and yes, our driver is also a Filipino. the night before, we also met another Filipino driver but he offered us 140RM for the roundtrip hmmm...

taxis don't have meters here. you only have to talk it over with your driver as to how much you can give that is amenable to him as well. kinda tough huh!

but other than that, we opted to walk most of the time anyway.

Monsopiad is more like our own Mindanao village though. it showcases local Malay culture like their costumes, games, dances. the free coffee was good though, same with the wine that they offered.

we stayed there for two hours before going back to town and went shopping again hihi.

we went to Warisan Square, i bought more shoes. then we walked to the Filipino market then the Handicrafts Market, then the Night Market (yup, lotsa markets in there) before we headed home for our dinner.

we the youngsters, again, went out that night to go back to Warisan Square where we went to Vincci's again, bought some sunglasses then had coffee at Starbucks ( na miss lang!)

the following day was bye-bye day and was spent on more last minute shopping and picture talking. just as good because we had no more money already.�

yeah, Kota Kinabalu is not just for mountain climbing and trekking, it's also for beach trips, sunbathing and more shopping!�

more pics here:

thursday group

*emo mode starts* there's one thing truly comforting in this ultra chaotic world, and that is consistency. consistency in the sense that as we go on, drag our weary bodies each day of our lives to work, there's an event each week that we could look forward to. a time for us to spend time with friends, unwind, pig out, drink, laugh, tell (tall) tales, have fun! *emo mode ends*

the thursday group started a couple of months back in giligan's, makati (i think) by then seemingly bored workmen namely andy, andrea, marc (with a c), and obey.

i was out of town then but i believe they just sort of agreed among themselves to meet each thursday and to call it simply as the thursday group.

when i came back, we started planning it out each week. each time is actually made more exciting by selecting different venues like the fort, ortigas, metrowalk, timog, and makati. and there was an instance too when we went to Meat Shop in Katipunan. we only rotate the selection of the venues as we like it.

we started inviting different personalities. the number of attendees would vary. sometimes it's just about a handful, like 4-5 people or a big family of 12-14. the usual agenda would be dinner/drinks and sometimes coffee. sisig would almost always be present, along with crispy pata, liempo, veggies, buckets and buckets of ice cold beer, and recently, Quattro's bibingka!

there would always be laughters and heavy pointers from some oldies and veterans, naks! and surprisng quips from the younger ones, hihi. what matters most really is that at least in a week, there's one day when we could let loose and enjoy each other's company.

oh yeah, the thursday group could also be held on tuesdays or wednesdays or fridays. fairly flexible indeed. but yep, we still call it the thursday group.

why thursday? because it is andrea's day off, bars are fairly empty on those days, and it also happens to be my favorite group back then when Kuya Germ's That's Entertainment was still around wehehe.

charmed

it rained hard that morning when i woke up and was supposed to rush early to the bus station where we had to meet up and board the Jac Liner bus to Tiaong en route to Dolores, Quezon where Kinabuhayan cafe is. i was fashionably late but blessings rained in as well when the sun finally came out and i managed to get free rides both in the LRT 2 and LRT lines since it was June 12, Independence Day after all.

the bus ride to Tiaong was just about 3 hours but we went past the new public market where the jeepney station to Dolores was located hihi. we had to take another tricycle ride where we saw a big jeep where a few passengers were also waiting. we found out that it was a byaheng alas-puno. meaning we had to wait for it to get filled up unless we were willing to pay for the vacant seats, hmpf.



we finally got to Dejarme St. where the cafe was located. there wasn't any sign whatsoever but we knew it was the place where we intended to go and stay the night. the staff made us rush to our little hut to change for swimming outfits and leave our bags as our lunch was supposed to be waiting at the nearby spring. what greeted us was an idyllic place seemingly straight out from some 80s local TV where love teams will just come out to sing kundiman in their baro't saya and kamisa chino !



then we met Jay who served us our food in an unassuming manner. he had long locks and was dressed in simple shorts and shirt. but boy, taste his food and you'd easily worship this man.


lunch by the batis consisted of mushroom risotto, succulent barbecued pork and fresh dahon and kamatis and bulaklak drizzled with vinaigrette. yup, we actually ate the petals and deemed it truly appetizing. we then dipped our plastic glasses at the nearby bamboo "faucets" where fresh spring water flowed eternal.

after that truly filling lunch we then looked for adventure as we hied on in search for the so called 10 feet falls at the end of Jay's property. we felt like kids again being able to tumble on rocks and got wet and took dips and trudged on uneven path.



we waded through mud, clear pools up to the knee or lampas tao we had to keep ourselves afloat. we'd stop by once in a while to take photos or scrub ourselves clean with the gugo bark Jay provided us with. we would take short breathers and clown around and take more pictures and laugh and giggle and just be ourselves having such a grand time. then we finally got to the mini falls. it really wasn't 10 feet, they say the man who discovered it must be so short he miscalculated its height.


then we all headed back to our table then to our hut again. we almost forgot that we just arrived that same day. it felt so good to be giggling like crazy again. we knew we were in for one truly wonderful day.


dinner later that night consisted of roasted chicken and what i believed was curry rice. i seemed to have wolfed it at once. sarap!


we spent the night having endless kwento with Ralph and Jay and some more friends over bottles of lambanog while their pet Onion, the pig comfortably nuzzling on the sofa with his baby pink blanket.

we later slept on the top floor of the hut with mattresses laid out on the floor and some mosquito net protecting us from, er, mosquitos and other creatures of the night.


we woke up feeling refreshed and raring for more adventures that morning. we did trek down to the more than 200 steps leading to Sta. Lucia Falls where the mystic waters of Banahaw flow and is flocked by many pilgrims and believers. it was another truly refreshing and cleansing experience in spite of the almost taxing climb and the company of many people wishing and praying to get cleansed us well. we were there mainly to sightsee and take dips though. feeling the cleansing powers was just an added bonus to that trip.




then came goodbye time as we were bound for another destination. it was a bit heartbreaking, and i'm not even exaggerating here. i kinda felt sad leaving the place, Ralph, Jay and his bevy of animal friends that i could not keep myself from giving him a hug as we were about to leave.

indeed there is some certain charm the place possesses. must be the mystery of the mountain itself. or it's rustic, idyllic feel. or maybe Ralph's and Jay's personalized service and attention and care to their guests which makes this place really endearing. but wow, i really hope we could go back.