Nellie Woke Me Up To A Day Of Fun!!: Manila Trip With Nellie's Singaporean Friends

- December 28, 2009, Monday

- I woke up around 11am and immediately saw Nellie calling my cellphone. I answered the phone with my hoarse morning voice, and she told me that her Singaporean friends would be in Manila today, and that she needed me to guide the city (or at least Chinatown) with her.

- I immediately prepared myself and went straight ahead to the Binondo Church. She told me to meet her there.

- I met Nellie around a bit more than half an hour later, and stood inside the Binondo Church to wait for her around 20 Singaporean friends. Since they were still in Intramuros, from the last time we contacted them, we "loitered" around Chinatown, as Nellie would say, and went to Mr. Ube to talk to Royce, the son of Mr. Ube.

- We told Royce about Nellie's friends coming over to Chinatown (and Eng Bee Tin). Royce made us talk with his mom, and his mom immediately told us to look for Connie when we get to Eng Bee Tin in the afternoon. She was ready to give discounts to Nellie's Singaporean friends.

- While waiting, Royce and his nice family also treated us to a light brunch in Mr. Ube. It was really nice of them to do that. :D:D:D:D

- Nellie got a phone call around half an hour later from one of her Singaporean friends. They were already in Chinatown and looking for somewhere to eat. Another phone call came, and this time it was from a Filipino person. We found out that Nellie's big group of Singaporean friends had two Filipino companions already. The person, who later introduced him as RS, also told us that they were already at the second floor of Ying Ying.

- Nellie and I walked to Ying Ying, and promptly met all of her friends. To be honest, I only remember the names of a few of them. I can't memorize that much names in a short day. :) :) :) :) They were really nice, and they were all Chinese, except for Hara, a Korean.

- Nellie and I ordered for our table (2 + 5 Singaporeans), and had a bit of chat with them. I am really amazed that they were really open in meeting me, I think, and they had a really good sense of humor. Also, they were SO SHOCKED to hear me speak Chinese. They didn't expect me to know the language. HARHAR. :)) :)) :)) :)) By the way, the Singaporeans also treated my meal and Nellie's. It was really nice of them to do that. :) :) :) :)

- After eating a big banquet, we went to visit the Binondo Church, as well as Eng Bee Tin. During our stay at Eng Bee Tin, Nellie looked for Connie, and we were told that she was with someone on the phone. The Singaporeans however, were already lined up to pay for the hopia and other treats. Coincidentally, Connie went out from the back after the Singaporeans bought their stuff. Goodbye discount. :)) :)) :)) :))

- We walked to Cafe Mezzanine, since 4 of us needed to go potty. I saw Shirby in Cafe Mezzanine. :D:D:D:D

- Next, the big big group went to Santa Cruz and Quiapo. We were supposed to make them go to the "Ilalim ng Tulay" to buy souvenirs. Since they had a fun time shopping, it kinda ate away some of our time. It was ok though, things in Quiapo are still really cheap.

- We waited for one of the Singaporeans' Filipino friends. That also took away another bit of our time. They also needed to see the epic sunset at the Manila Bay, and time was running out. We weren't able to bring them to the "Ilalim ng Tulay".

- We rode the jeep to the Baywalk, and settled there to watch the sunset. It wasn't the best sunset I've seen since the sky was partially cloudy.

- After the sun set, we all walked to Robinson's Place Ermita. Nellie and I planned to go to Korean Village for dinner, so we separated from the group somewhere in Pedro Gil corner Adriatico. It was a quick goodbye, but a very sincere one as well. I had loads of fun meeting them.

- Nellie and I walked to Korean Village and saw that it was closed. The big fool that I am, I forgot that Korean Village was always closed on Mondays. Haha. We walked back to Robinson's and decided to eat dinner there instead.

- We chose to eat at the Banana Leaf for some Asian food. We had roti canai with curry dip, pad thai (don't order this please....it doesn't taste anything like the real pad thai), chicken satay, nasi goreng (that tasted like beef hofan....which is a good thing for us, since Nellie and I were craving for beef hofan, and they didn't have beef hofan), and Thai grapefruit salad (don't order as well....small serving size, and it had sour pomelo instead of the sweet one)

- It was also a good thing that the Banana Leaf had credit card promos. Due to my Citibank card, I was able to get a 15% discount. HAHAHAHA. YEY THE POWER OF CREDIT CARDS. :)) :)) :)) :))

- Nellie's mom talked to Nellie, and told us that we were going to be picked up instead, so we don't have to commute home. That gave Nellie and I so much extra time to go around Robinson's and window shop. I also grabbed a gelato from Volare, an Italian restaurant in the Padre Faura Wing. :D:D:D:D

- We were picked up around 8:30 by Nellie's parents, and rode home. Now that I'm writing this, I still can't believe that all of these happened today. It all began with a phone call from Nellie. :) :) :) :)