This trip to Manila was even a question mark in the beginning as prices went up towards the middle of April.  In any case, when I planned for this trip, my goal was to meet my 8 month old niece, get the stuff my sister sent me, spend time with my dad and do some shopping.  It was a good coincidence to have celebrated my Uncle’s 51st birthday.  However, the trip ended in a sad note with my uncle passing away on the day before my flight back to Beijing.

If you care to read on, I’ll be writing a daily diary of my trip:

April 29, 2010 – Beijing – Hong Kong – Manila

DELAYED.  That’s what happened on both legs of my flight.  It would be nice if we were delayed while at the airport but the delay happened while inside the airplane.  I remembered in our Hong Kong to Manila flight, the flight purser apologized and explained in Chinese that the delay was due to air traffic in the runway and we were the 14th in line for take-off.  However, the flight purser who spoke in English explained that we were 14th in line for take off and no apologies.  Where’s the apology??  I mean they should at least be considerate of the passengers.  I just like the airplanes we used on both legs as we have individual screens and the headsets were working in both ears.  The downside is the food as in both legs, they really suck.  I wasn’t even able to finish eating it even though I was hungry.  Breakfast served was running cold and the sandwich was not to my liking. 

April 29, 2010 – John and Yoko, Greenbelt 5

I celebrated my 31st birthday in this restaurant and enjoyed the mango chicken teriyaki pizza.  I remembered how the mango and teriyaki sauce blends well together and the thin crust.  To relive the experience, I invited my dad and siblings to this restaurant.  The Philadelphia roll was a big “WHAT IS THIS?” and the California roll was just ok.  Of course, nothing beats the Mango Chicken Teriyaki pizza which we ordered two and the Oyster overload.   My bill came out to almost PHP 1400.

April 30, 2010 – Dentist, Acer Service Center and Uncle Dodong’s 51st Birthday

Every time I fly to Manila, I see to a point to visit my dentist for teeth cleaning and check-up.  I was happy to know that I don’t need any other dental procedures except for my regular teeth cleaning. 

After my dentist appointment, I went to Metropoint to check with the LTO renewal office if I could renew my drivers license 6 months before expiry.  Lady luck wasn’t on my side and was referred to the main LTO office in Pasay.  He said I should arm myself with my driver’s license, passport and travel ticket as proof that I was set to leave on that date for them to process the renewal.  As it was the last day for government offices to work during my stay, I opt not to pursue it and plan it for my next travel.  Lunch at home was grilled tangigue and chicken adobo.  Yummy! 

After lunch brought me to the Acer Service Center near Robinson’s Otis where I have my laptop voluntary recalled as requested.  According to them, they need to fix the battery or the cables linking to the battery but somehow, it wasn’t fixed as my battery doesn’t fully charge still.     I have to contend with a shorter battery life.  Bummer! 

After a quick grocery stop at Cash and Carry where they don’t even have Corned Beef!  I headed home to wait for my cousin who will also visit my Uncle at the hospital and celebrate his 51st birthday.  For this occasion, my sister baked Strawberry Shortcake.  When we arrived at the hospital, my uncle was conscious and even wanted some ice cream.  I even joked with my aunt and tell her to melt the ice cream and put it in the bag which pumps food to my uncle’s bloodstream.  Uncle was in good spirits even through the pain he’s experiencing.  I was also able to taste Amber’s palabok and barbecue which were the best! 

May 1 – Sonya’s Garden, Tagaytay, Dencio’s Grill and Iron Man 2

As I haven’t been to Tagaytay for quite some time, my cousins graciously volunteered to bring me there for a visit.  It was a quick trip as I need to be back in town to pick up my laptop.  We had lunch at Sonya’s Garden and enjoyed the ambiance.  It was horse food but healthy.  We had fun with the singkamas and had funny pictures depicting vampires and rabbit.  After lunch, we headed to Starbucks to get a shot with Taal Volcano.  Para bang tourist.  Hehehe! 

At night, my cousin Patrick was in high spirits and treated us for dinner.  Since I was craving for sisig, we went to Dencio’s.  It was an ok meal.  The sisig was crunchy but dry, the adobong pusit rice was bland, the lechon kawali with kangkong was bland and another chicken which I don’t know what it was was just ok. 

After dinner, we met up with my cousins’ friends and watched Iron Man 2.  I didn’t know what to expect as I haven’t seen Iron Man 1.  Reviews from friends who’ve watched it were mixed but we were informed that we have to stay till after the credits to catch a short glimpse of Iron Man 3.  The movie was a typical comic book story turned into a movie with special effects and good fight scenes.  It wasn’t a wow movie but it was good. 

After the movie, I headed to my cousin’s place and played with my cute cute niece, Sonja.  She didn’t cry when I held her even if my cousin told me that she was recognizing people already.  The clothes I bought for her were luckily still big even though it was meant for a 6 month old baby. 

May 2 – CCF, Banana Leaf, Hospital Visit and Swimming with Sonja

At 8am, we were already attending the CCF worship service at St. Francis.  The message was to be a proactive citizen.  The emphasis was to go and vote in the upcoming elections in May 10.  He didn’t mention which candidate to vote but to exercise our right to vote.  I will be voting once I return to Beijing.  My candidate?  Most probably Gordon who I initially chose. 

At lunch, my dad, sister and I met up with my Aunt Janet and her family.  We gave the stuff that were meant for my mom and siblings in the US as they were travelling on the 4th.  The pandan chicken was a bit dry for my taste and would have been better.  The pad thai was well received.  The Chinese Kangkong was wolfed down immediately and the fish was wiped out to the bones. 

After lunch, we received a call from my aunt saying that my uncle took a turn for the worse and was asking for all siblings to visit him at the hospital.  We made a quick detour to Rockwell as I want to buy this Pilipinas shirt at Collezione.   After dropping off the items I bought at home, my dad, brother, sister-in-law and I went to the hospital.  We can see that he was having difficulty already.  Somehow he already foresaw that he will be leaving soon.  By 530pm, we decided to continue with our set activities and headed to my aunt’s place for swimming with baby Sonja.  It was uneventful as Sonja wasn’t the bubbly kid that everyone know and was a bit intimidated with the water.  Dinner was delicious courtesy of Judith and Sonja was back to her bubbly self.  I miss you already Sonja especially your smile with your tongue peeking out your cute little mouth.

As dad wasn’t feeling better, we headed home early, but by 11pm, we were back at the hospital as Uncle was requesting to remove the tubes and a family decision was needed.  We came home at 130am and the decision was to let the tubes remain.

May 3 -  Bonifacio High Street, Market-Market and Via Mare

After a home-cooked meal courtesy of my sister-in-law Tia, we were informed that my uncle passed away.  We were concerned about my dad but he let us continue with our plans for the day. 

We went to Bonifacio High Street to check out Runnr.  I was thinking of trying out running and I need to equip myself with the right set of running shoes.  Off we went with my brother behind the wheels.  When we arrived there, I was asked to run barefoot on this running analysis machine.  I was advised that my foot size was 6.5, which was weird and I need a shoes which will give me stability (i.e. cushion on the arch of my foot). 

Afterwards, we headed to Market-market to have a pedicure.  I signed up for a space and went off to another bout of shopping.  The next thing on my list is a pair of glasses.  I was able to find one at EQ optical shop.  It’s red, titanium steel with transition lenses.  I’m quite happy with the design and the weight.  The reviews were quite good.     After hunting for the glasses, I went back to CANS for my pedicure.  With nice toes perfect for summer, we went for our last stop at Mercury Drugstore for some medicines.

For dinner, we picked up my dad and went to Greenbelt for Via Mare.  Via Mare has been a family haunt since I can remember.  We ordered our favorites, pancit luglug, five ways oyster, lechon kawali, sisig, bibingka and pichi-pichi.  The Five ways oyster is the same as I remember.  It still taste so good!  Bibingka was heavenly.  The sisig was a little bit wet so we weren’t able to finish it.  It was a nice dinner with family.

May 4 – Back to Beijing

I was hoping to visit my uncle’s wake before going to the airport but we didn’t know where the place is.  When I arrived at the airport, I went straight to the OWWA area.  I applied for my Overseas Employment Certificate and renewed my OWWA membership for another year.

Since I already checked in online the night before, I just had to drop my luggage and get my boarding pass.  It was a breeze compared to waiting in line for check in.  After giving my OEC to waive the terminal fee, a long queue awaits me in the immigration area.  While waiting for my turn, Cathay Pacific sent me a message saying that my flight will be delayed and won’t take off till 115pm. 

I bought some duty free items for my friends and chocolates then off to the gate.  I went straight to the counter and asked if I have enough time to connect.  They said not to worry and someone will be assisting us when we arrived in Hong Kong.  My flight to Hong Kong took off at 130pm and was estimated to arrive at 330pm.  By the time I got off the plane, it was already 340pm.  20 mins to connect in an airport as big as Hong Kong.

Someone did meet us as we exit the gate but once all the passengers heading to either Shanghai or Beijing were herded.  We walked fast to the transfer gate E1 for security check.  Luckily, the line wasn’t long and we were able to breeze through in 5 mins.  Our guide was long gone with just a message to go to gate 505.  Luckily, I was able to hear what he said to the guy in front of me on how to go to the gate or else I would be going up to the regular gates rather than down. 

When we got on the plane, the pilot informed us that we were still waiting for a few more passengers who were connecting to this flight.  Off we go at 430pm, the pilot said we would still arrive on there on time at 730pm.  The flight was horrible as it was packed.  The kid in front was on hyper mode and the baby to the side was singing her hearts out.  There was no in-flight entertainment and the food they served left me with a big question mark.  Did I really missed out on flying Dragonair in the past year?  I was all praised in 2008 when I flew with this airline but now, it made me scratch my head.  In any case, the food was hot food and Haagen Dasz ice cream only.  No bread or salad any longer. 

As we were approaching Beijing, the pilot informed us that Beijing air traffic control requests us to slow down and we would now be arriving at 740pm.  That’s not bad as we would just be 10 mins late.  However, as we were about to descend to Beijing airport, the pilot informed us that Beijing airport is now closed due to thunderstorms.  The flight would then be diverted to Tianjin airport to wait for the airport to open and refuel.  We arrived in Tianjin at 745pm and as we come to a complete stop, the pilot was pleased to inform us that Beijing airport is now open. (Talk about sarcastic!)  He said that we would be refuelling and will file a new flight plan to Beijing.  It would roughly take an hour.  Two episodes of CSI New York and some biscuits, we were off to Beijing.  The 730pm arrival became 1030pm.  By the time I left the airport, I was hungry, cranky and just want to rest.

The next day I found out from our auditors, they were in the 5pm flight to Beijing from Hong Kong.  They had the worse luck as they were already in the plane and had to wait several hours before they were allowed to fly.  Their 9pm arrival became 3am. 

Conclusion:

It was a good trip.  I was able to meet my niece Sonja, hang out with my dad, siblings and cousins.  Celebrated my uncles birthday and shop.  It was a short holiday and I felt bad not able to meet any of my friends.  Hopefully, next time my flights will be much better.  Till my next adventure!  Hopefully, it will be Tokyo. 

Changdeokgung Palace

Changdeokgung Palace was built as a secondary palace in 1405, under King Taejong’s reign.  During the Japanese invasion of 1592, the palace was totally destroyed.  It was restored in 1610 and served as a main palace for 258 years.  It was inscribed on the Unesco World Cultural Heritage list in 1997.

Except for Thursdays during April through November, guided tours are only allowed while visiting this place.  The Palace is closed on Mondays.  Guided tours last for one hour and twenty minutes with specific time schedule for the languages it supports (Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean).  English schedule is 1130am, 130pm, 330pm only.  Chinese schedule is 1100am and 300pm.  If you miss the tour, then join the other tours but just admire the beauty of the place.

Changdeokgung Palace is not a typical European palace but an Oriental palace.  The grounds are huge and the palace itself looks like a mixed of Japanese and Chinese architecture.  It’s not as grand as the Forbidden City but it has a tranquility and serenity that you can’t find in Chinese tourist spots.  After visiting several palaces and temples in Europe and China, this place is a bit of a letdown.

Admission: 

• Guided Tours:  3,000 won for adults and 1,500 won for Children
• Non-guided tours:  15,000 won for adults and 7,500 won for children
• Additional tour to Ongnyucheon (Apr-Nov) :  5,000 won
• Additional tour to Nakseonjae (Apr-Nov) : 5,000 won

To get there:  Take subway line 3 and get off of Anguk station, exit 3. 

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gyeongbokgung or Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven was built in 1395 and served as the main palace in the heart of the capital city.  It was torn down during the Japanese invasion and restoration only began in 1990. 

This palace is located to the west of Changdeokgung Palace.  A lot of students visit this place and Marco was lucky enough  to be surrounded by pretty young ladies in a picture.  We also got the chance to watch the marching of the guards ceremony and wear guards uniform for free.  The place is huge with charming sceneries all around. 

Visitor information:

• Hours  9:00 am to 6:00pm Mar-Oct / 9:00am to 5:00pm Nov-Feb
• Admission:  Adults- 3,000 won, Children- 1,500 won,  Group rate of 20 or more persons- 2,400 won
• Palace ground is closed on Tuesdays.
• Free Guided Tours:  English (11:00am, 1:30pm, 2:30pm)
• To Get There:  Take subway line 3 and get off of Gyeongbokgung station, use exit 5.

Our hotel is located at Itaewon which is a tourist district with a lot of foreigners.  Just outside the hotel, we have Coldstone Creamery!  Sweet!  It’s even cheaper than in the US.  We also have two Starbucks coffee shop (Don & Gold got your Seoul & Korea Tumblers!), KFC, Mcdonalds, shopping area and bars.  We’re in a pretty good location as both the airport bus and subway stop is just in front of the hotel.  I haven’t seen any stars yet but we haven’t been to their Rodeo Drive.

We didn’t go to Lotte World yet as it’s quite far and pretty pricey.  Also, we need the whole day there which we don’t have as we prefer to shop.  Tomorrow, we’ll be going to Myaeong-dong, a palace, Seoul Tower and a Korean village.  We haven’t had the chance to eat at a good Korean place so it’s a shame.    Well.. I’m off for now.   I’ll be writing from Beijing next time.

Manila outbound travellers are in for a treat as Philippine Airlines introduced a new promo which slash their prices by more than half.  Tickets must be purchased online and issued on April 27 and 28, 2009 and travel to be started and completed between June 1, 2009 to October 15, 2009.

In any case, I’m based in Beijing and the only fares I can avail right now is the Econolight.  So, last night after confirming with my friend that she really was planning to go home, I tried to purchase the ticket.  After several error messages, I reached the payment page.  My only problem was I forgot my securecode password and the credit card agent can’t speak English!  Argghh.. I tried purchasing it this morning but got frustrated with the slow processing pace and the neverending request for the passenger details.

I tried again this afternoon as my friend wants to purchase tickets for her children and sister, after  clicking the “Book the Itinerary” several times, I was able to reach the payment page.  However, when they processed the payment, there was a “Payment Flow Page” error.  AAAAHHHHH!!!!  What is wrong with PAL’s website!

My friend who works for PAL here said the best option now is go to the ticket office but cautioned me that the line is as long as the line auditioning for American Idol.  hahahahaa!  oh well.. I washed my hands on this.

PS.  As of 11pm tonight, my friend’s sister is still in the queue waiting for their turn.  Apparently, the airport’s system’s ticket office went down.  She said there were 2000+ people waiting.