BLOOMING DESPITE THE STORM: Blessilda's 18th!!

- July 26, 2009, 3 days before Bless's real birthday, 7pm, Oasis

- I went with Bless to the venue, so that meant going to the venue really REALLY early. We arrived around 4:30 in the afternoon.

- I helped a bit in organizing the events for the night, and worried a lot about who my co-host/s would be. In the end, Bless' sister "volunteered" herself, just in case Karel or Berna would not agree.

- Around 7pm, no one has arrived yet. Bless was really really worried (her curls were uncurling already) since they were receiving calls from people that were standed on the road, or people who might not even be able to make it due to the heavy rain and the streets-turned-rivers.

- After a short while, people started to come in. Bless was relieved. All of us ate first before starting the program. I went to the buffet table 4 times. Haha.

- Atsi Joy and I started around 8:45pm. I really had a hard time hosting last night (could be harder without Atsi Joy) because Bless and the stage were at the opposite side of the screen and the laptops.

- I didn't have much time to camwhore during the program, since I was really busy in my "SNN-Kris-Boy" mode in front of everyone.

- After the line-up of events were over, Karel, Berna, Fajj and I had a last go at the buffet table to get out dessert (hey, that makes 5 trips to the buffet table. Yey!!)

- I guess the real fun came AFTER the party. After everyone went home, Bless, Fajj, Berna, Karel and I were left. We had a great time catching up on one another (sawang sawa na ako kay Bless. Nagkikita kami sa Ateneo, tapos kapitbahay ko pa dito. JOKE!!!! Peace tayo Bless!! :D:D:D:D ) We talked a whole lot while everyone else was busy packing.

- The fun became greater when the first ride went ahead. The first ride had Bless's grandparents, parents, Karel, Atsi Donna and Bless's maid. The car would come back again to fetch the rest of us. Berna went ahead with her sundo. Bless, Fajj, Atsi Joy, Bless's Brother and I were left for the second ride. We had a fun time chatting, only disturbed once in a while by the croaks of a very annoying frog. Hahahaha.

- I came home around 2:30 in the morning, since we had a hard time looking for floodless streets. I took a bath, and stayed until around three in the morning to dry my hair. :D:D:D:D Yey!!

HARLECINQ DAY: Version 2009

- July 25, 2009, Saturday, around 4pm

- I was invited by some of my Harlequin friends a few days before for an afternoon "gathering" at Eat Fresh. (Harlequin - name of another section where I have a lot of friends. Haha.)

- Today, Clarisse texted me around 4pm that they were on their way to Eat Fresh. I dressed up quickly and went there. We ate a lot in Eat Fresh and decided to go to CKSC as the people kept coming (and eventually crowding the place).

- We had a lot of fun messing around in CKSC. It was around 5 something already, so most of the people have gone home. We did a lot of talking, and realized many things (as Mr. Sev Sarmenta, my ComRes prof would say, "the deeper meaning of life").

- It was one short short shorrrrrrrrrrt afternoon, yet I felt like we did much, not to mention stuffing ourselves with plenty of food. :D:D:D:D

- Yey :D:D:D:D

CHARMAINE'S MINIVENTURE: East Asian Tour In Manila

- July 24, 2009, Friday

- I picked up Charmaine from her house at around 12:30pm (she lives in the floor above ours. Haha)

- We rode the LRT until the Pedro Gil Station and searched for Adriatico Street, since I was told that this is where Manila's Koreatown can be found.

- After we found the Adriatico Street, we stumbled upon a small Korean Grocery named Da Mul Korean Grocery. We were so happy, since it was the first Korean thing we saw after a long walk. We went inside and bought Korean Ice Cream. Yey!!

- While leisurely walking along the large large street, we saw a Japanese grocery that sold some local products and a lot of Japanese goods. We weren't able to buy anything from the store simply because they were toooo expensive!!!!

- After leaving, we journeyed through the long street, and saw a massive Buddhist Temple. How random could that be?? We were sure if we were allowed to go in or not. The guard was unresponsive when we went in the small gate, but again, we were in doubt. A kind Chinese lady came in the gate and spoke to us in Mandarin. She asked who we were looking for. I replied, in Mandarin, that we were just there to look around. For some reason, it feels nice to know that I still know Mandarin after 3 years of non-Chinese-school-education. Hahahaha. (I think my family will disown me if ever I forgot my Mandarin. Hahahaha!!!!)

- Charmaine and I went in and explored the place. It wasn't as large as it looked from outside (Seng Guan Si is still better. Haha)

- We went out the temple after a few shots, and walked on. We accidentally passed through the Korean Village restaurant. For many many weeks now, I've been trying to find out how to get there without a car. Well, now I know. Lucky me, lucky us!! :) :) :) :)

- Charmaine and I ordered an assorted platter of Korean barbecue worth 200php, and 2 bowls of rice worth 40 per bowl for each of us. The kingly appetizers were free, and I guess the appetizers would weigh more than the main course if placed on a scale. Hahahaha. In the end....we only spent 140php per person (200 + 40(2) = 280 / 2 = 120php) Not bad right??

- After leaving the restaurant, we walked for a few minutes and realized that the street wasn't as "Korean" as we thought it would (Makati's Koreatown is still better). We went to a store named Walnut Cookies and bought something for ourselves, and a common friend named Angela Ong. The store sells walnut-shaped cookies with walnuts and walnut paste. The cookies are really really soft ones, almost similar to the texture of a waffle. Each dozen is worth 80php (but not boxed), and a box of 2 dozen is worth 190php. Charmaine and I bought a dozen each. One dozen would be for us and the other dozen for Angela. Haha.

- Finally, we passed by Robinson's Place Ermita to get to the LRT Station faster. We got on the train and got off at the Doroteo Jose Station. Charmaine went to the Recto Station via the overpass from D. Jose, since she needed to go to Ateneo for her JTA Talk. On the other hand, I went home. Today's trip was really unpredictable, since we weren't really sure what we were looking for. In the end, we realized that we got a bit of China, Japan, and Korea in one afternoon. :) :) :) :)

Dora: "Where Are We Going?? *Clap-Clap-Clap* KOREATOWN!!!!"

- July 18, 2009, Saturday

- After weeeeeks of planning, organizing (sort of), and preparing for the trip, not to mention postponing it, we finally made it to Makati's Koreatown!! (there are other Koreatowns aside from this one....hehe)

- I felt great about this trip because it didn't rain, except for the time when we were about to head home.

- The three of us met around 9:30am at Doroteo Jose Station. We rode until EDSA, transferred to the MRT line. We got off at Guadalupe and rode a jeep to Rockwell.

- Upon arriving at Rockwell, I put out my "Ins and Outs of Manila" map book, since I was not familiar with the little streets of Makati.

- I'm normally good with maps, but the tiny streets and alleys that didn't appear on the map confused me more. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to ask around, so we did. **We asked 3 Rockwell guards, a street sweeper, a policeman, friendly guards and personnel from the Ateneo Graduate School, and random guards from random buildings**

- We all felt like characters from a *live action* Dora show. We had a map *since we didn't know which way to go*, Marga as Dora because she was in pink, my shirt almost resembling the color of Boots the Monkey's fur, and Clarisse as um....we weren't able to think of a yellow colored character, so we told her to be Swiper the Fox. Then again, Clarisse could be the Grumpy Old Troll (who lives under the briddgeeee), since he was yellow. Only if I thought of that earlier. Haha.

- After around 30 minutes of getting lost in Makati, we finally arrived at MA SAN GARDEN, located at 29 Polaris Street, Makati. The restaurant is a bit hidden, but hey, we were able to find it. Hehe.

- The facade of the restaurant looked like a traditional Korean house. The interior however, gave that Korean vibe we wanted. The restaurant was decorated with Korean items, such as dolls that happily greet the customers upon entering.

- Since we came early, we were the only ones in the restaurant, aside from two other people in another part of the restaurant. Haha. We immediately sat down, browsed the menu, and decided to order extra servings of kimchi, aside from the complimentary appetizers, bibimbap (with chili paste on the side)and Dolsot Bulgogi (raw beef stips to be grilled) served with lettuce, another type of leaf (I dunno what it's called), peanut sauce and raw garlic.

- While we were eating, I asked the waiter about Ms. Lee, the owner of a restaurant, to confirm if what I read from articles and food/travelblogs were true. I read that Ms. Lee was a very nice lady who wore a hanbok everyday to the restaurant. Kuya said it was true. Yey for us!!

- Later, Ms. Lee came out from the counter, but she wasn't in her hanbok. I asked why, and kuya said that she doesn't wear her hanbok during weekends. Poor us.

- While happily digging in our food, Marga and Clarisse told me that the owner looked at us while talking to kuya. Kuya later came and told us that she asked Ms. Lee to wear her hanbok for us. That's something we don't see everyday. Haha.

- Moments later, Ms. Lee came out from her unknown-Narnia-closet-whereabouts-dressing-room in a hanbok. Haha. That really made my day!! That also signaled me to put out the "Let's Speak Korean" book I brought along. The three of us looked for phrases that we might be able to use aside from the typical phrases.

- Ms. Lee later came and asked us about the food. She can barely speak Filipino or English, but her sincerity in welcoming and talking to her customers was strongly felt. Sadly, the only thing that we could tell her at the moment were "annyonghaseyo", "good good", and head nods.

- Marga and I scanned for the perfect phrase to use when we could to to her before leaving.

- Soon, Clarisse' kimchi taste buds were asking for more kimchi. We ordered one more serving, but the kuya gave us two....the other one was free :) :) :) :) (thanks kuya!!)

- After stuffing ourselves up, we asked for the bill. Surprisingly, kuya did not want to give us our bill. He informed us that our gyoza was still cooking. Puzzled, we told the kuya that we didn't order gyoza. Kuya continued and said "galing ka ma'am [Ms. Lee] yan. Pinaluto niya, bibigay raw sa inyo" Wow!! The gyoza was around 280php....so we got more, without spending more.

- Later, another server, now a waitress, gave us our complimentary dessert - a freshly cut pineapple. We thought that the fruit was another "gift" from the owner, only to find out from ate that just like the appetizers, the pineapple was served to all customers. Hahahaha.

- Soon, we paid our bill that surprisingly cost around 700+ (or somewhere around 250 per person). Not bad, not bad.

- Before leaving, we luckily had the chance to talk to the owner and take a picture with her. The picture looked like a family picture. Aww. Haha. Now, the moment has arrived: my newly-learned Korean phrase. Haha. I told Ms. Lee "Chal mokossumnita", whic roughly meant "I had a good meal". She smiled. Hahahaha.

- Three three of us walked out of the restaurant with heavy bellies and dragged ourselves to the nearby Wang Mart. Wang Mart is a big Korean Grocery that I guess I could compare to our 7-11, except that Wang Mart also sells fresh veggies usually used in the Korean cuisine.

- I bought some Korean sweets that can be compared to our kakanin, but far less sweet. I also bought a tiny tetra pack of Korean chocolate milk. It was nothing special. Haha. Due to Marga's recommendation, since she went to Korea before, I also tried the Melonia Melon Flavored Popsicle. It was heaven in popsicle form :D:D:D:D Aside from that, I also bought myself a tiny box of Korean playing cards (this is the cheapest Korean souvenir I could find....it costs around 80+ php). Until now, I still don't understand how the cards work. Hahahaha.

- Random Scene: In front of Wang Mart, my melon popsicle was in my mouth, since I was figuring out how to get my umbrella from my bag (it drizzled just a little bit) since my hands were a bit full. For some unknown reason, I had the urge to laugh, and sprinkled some of that melted melon popsicle to Marga. Haha. I later tripped on a random cardboard on the road. Marga, not holding her melon popsicle at all, laughed at me. Her popsicle then flung out from her mouth to the sidewalk. Haha. *SORRY SORRY MARGAAAAA* Oh yeah. A guy from the other side of the street laughed at us. Thanks mister-whoever-you-are. Hahahaha.

- Next on the agenda was....well....a leisure walk through Koreatown. I guess I could say that Koreatown was around 10 times larger than Little India, but the stores and restaurants are not as compact as Chinatown or Quiapo.

- Went through some more groceries (I bought another ice cream and Marga bought another Melonia melon popsicle, making sure it was well-held and that it wouldn't fall to the ground), and also stumbled upon a cool store called OK Book Cafe. The store has a book rental/reading area, and a "store" area that sold mostly books, some CD's, VCD's, DVD's and a ton of Korean souvenirs. It was heaven for a souvenir lover like me, and a kpop fan like Marga. Problem is, everything was expensive :( :( :( :( I would love to buy things if they were a bit cheaper....or if I had more money. Haha.

- Soon, we got tired, and figured out that we had no more to see (though I think some of those stores are still hidden and yet to be discovered by me, bwahahahaha), so we stopped by at a nearby 7-11to look at the map, ask for directions to Rockwell (just so we're sure we're headed the right way), and have a bit of my Korean sweets. Haha. We went to Rockwell shortly.

- Figuring that time was quickly ticking, and Clarisse needed to get home early for her fun run tomorrow (....or today rather, since it's already 12mn while I'm writing this), we went home (home = CLARISSE' HOUSE....haha).

- Part two of the day started when we arrived at that familiar big green gate that led to Clarisse' house.

- We played Rockband, and other Wii Games with Clarisse and Kevin (Clarisse' "the next Yao Ming" younger brother) until around 6:30pm. Haha. HAD A LOT OF FUN :D:D:D:D


- Overall, this super duper tiring day was really worth it. It was a new experience for me, and another mini-country to go back to. Ma San will definitely be on my list, of course. :D:D:D:D Oh yeah. Aside from the cardboard tripping incident in front of Wang Mart, I also tripped a lot more times today (in the LRT station, while boarding the LRT, on random streets, on another random cardboard....just to name a few). Tralalalalalaaaaaa....




Quote of the day: "The sun is bright and SHINee. :D:D:D:D" (Marga was afraid that today would be as wet as all the other days....but it miraculously wasn't. SHINee on the other hand, is the name of an award-winning Korean male singing group)

Marga's Miniventure: FINDING KOREA IN CHINATOWN!!!!

- July 1, 2009, Friday

- Marga and I agreed to meet at Bookone, just in case the book that she was looking for was available. The book she was looking for was only available in Merriam Webster Bookstore (including Bookone) branches. As expected, the book she was looking for was no where to be found. Soon, the manager (??) called someone up and told us that the book was available in the Tandang Sora branch. They are willing to deliver it to Bookone from Tandang Sora on Monday so Marga can pick it up. I asked the manager if the Merriam branch in Carvajal had the copy, but he said they didn't. With my tingling senses going on, I told Marga that it's better if we still check out the Carvajal branch.

- We left Bookone and headed for Treats and Things to buy my clearbook. On the way out, I saw my long-lost-good-friend Raelene. We had a it of a small talk. :D:D:D:D

- I told Marga that we could check out a store in 168 selling some Korean stuff. Marga's eyes lightened up. Along the way, we talked about Kpop. Yes, I never knew I could relate to Kpop. Hahahaha.

- We arrived at the store in 168 and looked around for around 5 minutes. We left, and walked towards the nearby Chinatown. Again, we had a bit of kpop conversation madness. Hahahaha.

- After a few "miles", we finally arrived at Carvajal. For people who are not familiar with the Binondo area, Carvajal is a tiny tiny tiny tiny alley full of wonders. The tiny alley is home to many tiny shops, restaurants, a residential building, many stalls selling wet items, and yes, the Merriam Webster Bookstore branch we were looking for.

- Marga and I dashed upstairs to the books section and asked the second lady we could find. (The first lady was in the gift wrapping section :| :| :| :|) Fortunately, Marga's engineering book WAS AVAILABLE. *Thank you tingling senses*

- This wasn't the only highlight of Marga's miniventure. My eye set on a group of orange books in the next shelf. They were stocks of John Koo's Let's Speak Korean. Marga had been searching for the book since the beginning of eternity, becauase it was cheap but very effective. I bought my copy a few years ago for around 90 pesos....Due to inflation rates, Marga's copy was worth around 115php. Still cheap though. :) :) :) :)

- In the end, Marga was happy to have found her engineering book, but HAPPIER THAN HAPPY to have gotten a copy of John Koo's book. We can now both learn Korean together (with the same study material) in preparation for out postponed KOREATOWN TRIP. YEY!!!! :D:D:D:D

- I told Marga that we still had time for FOOD before her call time in DLSU. As always, I introduced Marga to Cafe Mezzanine. :D:D:D:D We had crab balls, raddish cake slices and we each had an order of hamburger and fries.

- Again, for the nth time, Marga and I talked about everything Korean related the whole time we were there. We talked about the Hangul alphabet....Korean survival phrases....Super Junior....SHINee (yey!!)....and more things Korean. Hahahaha.

- In the end, we both realized that we went to Chinatown for a Korean cause. *labo ata nito.* Marga realized that today was a sort of training day for her for our postponed Koreatown trip (it was supposed to be tomorrow. Sigh, it's ok though, more time to immerse myself in the ways of the Korean people.)


Dear Marga: Pag hindi ka na makalakad sa Koreatown next week, sisigawan lang kita ng "balli balli !!!!" Hahahaha. O di ba?? Kaya natin yan. Kung hindi makayanan ng rusty-Korean-speaking-powers natin, ngitian lang natin yung mga tao don, tapos turo here turo there. Hahahaha!!!! AJA!!!! HWAITING!!!!

Tapos kung may mangyaring masama sa Koreatown, sasabihin lang natin sa kanila "Sorry Sorry". HAHAHAHA. :D:D:D:D *wink wink*

Jan Bendric Borbe's Solo Recital :D:D:D:D

- July 5, 2009, 3pm

-CKSC Auditorium

- Borbe!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!! You're so great!! :D:D:D:D We need to have a duo-recital next time. Hahahaha.

- There was a bit of a problem with the electricity; it died twice during the concerto. Good thing the electricity died somewhere in the very beginning of the concerto. Oh well, third time's the charm. (And yes, it really was the charm.)

- The food was great. I had three rounds of food. Haha. Yes, I know I'm hungry. Hahahha.

- Had a ton of laughs with people two batches younger than me. I really missed them. Hehe. Parang naman hindi ko sila kilala. Hahahaha. :D:D:D:D

- Borbe, pa-arbor ng barong mo. Hahahaha. Joke :D:D:D:D

The Sudden Adventure: Yuchengco Museum (For Philo Class :D:D:D:D)

- July 4, 2009, Saturday

- I wasn't supposed to go to Yuchengco today, because I'm still a bit tired from yesterday's mega-walkathon-adventure. I decided to go this morning since it would be a perfect excuse for another adventure and an opportunity to visit the Yuchengco Museum for free, (the entrance fees during regular days are a bit pricy) and a chance to get some handy bonus points for my philo class under Dr. Leovino Garcia.

- Today's agenda was all about the emergence of the Philippines in old maps. The talk by Dr. Garcia was all about maps, maps, and yes, more maps. :D:D:D:D I bet Dora would've liked the talk if she were real.

- My random afternoon in Yuchengco started when I arrived at the venue with only a handful of people, including Dr. G himself, some museum people and a few Ateneans (presumably classmates in philo class or from the other section under Dr. G as well.) I also met Rica and her parents.

- After setting up the powerpoint for the talk, I guess Doc G was bored, so he offered to tour me, along with Rica and her parents to the third floor, where the map exhibit was located. Without rushing, Doc G explained as much as he could about how the Philippines gradually appeared on Western maps. Pretty interesting stuff. :) :) :) :) *really honored to be toured around by Doc Garcia. Hehe*

- At one point, Doc G also pointed out that Japan looked liked a kite or a potato on some maps. I noticed that one of Doc G's favorite word is "potato". Not only did I hear it several times today (pertaining to Japan....no offense to the Japanese), but he also used the word potato in many instances during his lectures in class. I found the "potato" thing really funny since it reminded me of my favorite Dora episode. Hahahaha. *please don't mind my Doraness*

- One map made by an Italian who obviously had never gone to the Philippines painted an image of a typical Philippine barrio. Guess what, the "Philippine barrio" looked like a typical Tuscan countryside. Hahahaha. *Dear Italian map maker....if you want to do a picture of something not-Italian, please make sure that you know exactly what you're about to draw. If you don't, Ms. Stephanie Coo, my Asian history teacher, will tell you to get your facts straight, and punch you like how she punched the Indonesian money changer who cheated her. Hahahaha.*
- After looking at the old map exhibit (in collaboration with the Philippine Map Collectors Society), we also spent a few moments looking at the exhibit of mantons by Manton de Manila (loveeeed this exhibit) and the Chinese exhibit about the Yuchengcos.

- I wanted to steal some of the exhibits, especially the mantons, because they were really really lovely. Mantons, especially the ones with long long fringes, are the ones that I really wanted to see being used in flamenco when watching flamenco videos on youtube. :D:D:D:D

- Later on, it was time for us to go back to the ground floor to get ready for the talk. Danica came just in time for the talk. Yey Danica!! :D:D:D:D

- The whole talk lasted about an hour. It contained really neat stuff. The whole talk meant a whole lot to me, since I am interested in archaeology, geography and travel. (Gilbert the Explorert nga. Haha)

- After the whole talk, Doc Garcia announced that merienda would be served to us. Obviously, I was excited. :D:D:D:D Since the meriendas were still prepared, he invited the whole group to the third floor to look at the map exhibit, as well as the other exhibits. One of the exhibits showed old economic documents. This made Danica's day (worse). HAHA. *Danica, hindi ka talaga tatantanan ng Economics....course mo kasi eh. hahahaha*

- I also told Danica about how much I wanted to "steal" the pretty manton exhibits and a nicely carved Chinese fan. She told me to supress my Swiper urges and said "Gilbert, I don't want you to go to jail this early. Maybe you can go to jail when you're 80 or something." HAHAHAHA. THANKS DANICA. :)) :)) :)) :))

- Later on, echoes were heard that merienda was already served. Danica and I dashed downstairs. To our surprise....the "merienda" Doc G was talking about were Dulcinea pastries, not to mention churros con chocolate. I ate around 2.5 boxes of churros (2 boxes plus half of Danica's....since she was a bit full, according to her.) Aside from that, I also tasted (or was it more than just "tasting") the other pastries.

- Lesson learned. TOO MANY CHURROS WILL UPSET YOUR STOMACH. Hahahaha :D:D:D:D Well they didn't really "upset" my tummy....they just weighed me down. Hahahaha.

- I'm really glad I went to today's talk. Definitely worth it....especially the bonus points for philo. Hahahaha. :D:D:D:D

Gilbert The Explorert's Toes Are Itchy Again: My Own Little Adventure :D:D:D:D

- July 3, 2009, Friday -> I don't have Friday classes this sem....maybe that's why I feel a bit sad, knowing that today is also a school holiday (Faculty Day + Late Freshmen Orientation)

- I longed to go for an adventure on my own, especially when I was ill the past 2 weeks (making this week the first ill-free week). Luckily, I had a chance to have a little adventure with me myself and I. :D:D:D:D



PART 1: CKSC (Chiang Kai Shek College)

- I picked up the pictures plus the CD (of the pictures) Uncle Ben, the auditorium guy, took during my recital last Sunday. I waited for Ke Sien around half an hour in the music room, since she was elsewhere eating her lunch. I would be picking up the pictures from her :D:D:D: I was also lucky to see a few friends while waiting for Ke Sien. :D:D:D:D

- I realized that I was late for an appointment with a friend in DLSU after I picked the pictures up. I rode a trike in front of the elementary building of St. Stephen's High School (SSHS) to the Doroteo Jose Station.



PART 2: DLSU (De La Salle University)

- I went to DLSU to deliver Margarette's Living Language In-Flight Korean (CD + booklet). Haha. I sold my copy of it to Marga a few days ago, and we had the transaction today. Haha. I wasn't using the CD/booklet anyway, since I didn't have time to use them. Oh well....they're in better hands right now. :D:D:D:D

- I waited a bit for Marga in front of McDonald's Taft. We met up shortly after a phonecall with each other and did the transaction. Out of nowhere, Lady appeared right before my eyes and 3 more people including my neighbor Russell. YEY!!!!

- I rode the LRT to Carriedo to start the "real" part of my adventure. :D:D:D:D

- Marga!!!! I'm sorry if I arrived uber uber late!! Hahahaha. I hope your meeting went welllllllllllllllllllllll. :D:D:D:D I also hope you're enjoying the CD/Booklet I sold you. :D:D:D:D



PART 3: QUIAPO

- Upong reaching Carriedo, I noticed that the wholeeee road was either playing religious music (as always) or Michael Jackson music. Sigh....

- I went to check out the music store in Quiapo, just in case they had stocks of the music piece my piano teacher told me to buy for my first ever piano lesson after my recital. Hahahaha. The store is called Rhapsody, and it's found in Platerias Street (it's a very very small street). It's a musician's haven....though unfortunately, they didn't have any stocks of the pieces my piano teacher asked my to buy.

- After going back to the main Carriedo road after visiting Rhapsody, I went straight ahead to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (a.k.a. Quiapo Church). Outside the church, I saw the usual stalls selling anting-antings and colorful wishing candles. I took one quick snap before going inside the church.

- Inside the church, I prayed a bit and observed the ocean of people inside the church. I also saw a replica of the black Nazarene on the other opening of the Quiapo Church.

- After "people watching", I went straight ahead to Hidalgo Street to visit our Muslim friends.

- I always wanted to discover more the customs and traditions of our Muslims friends. Since I was all alone, I was able to move around leisurely around the Muslim enclave found near the Golden Mosque (a.k.a. Globo de Oro).

- As I was roaming around like a tourist who has never gone to Quiapo before, I came a cross a simple Filipino-Muslim "restaurant" that I've been eyeing the past times I've been to Hidalgo. For some unknown reason, I forgot to see the name of the restaurant :| :| :| :|

- The nice "ate" introduced me to some Muslim dishes that were displayed in the glass case. I chose to eat Beef Rendang just for the sake of tasting authentic Southeast Asian Muslim food.

- After the nice ate seated me, I fancied the authentic Middle Eastern steel pitchers found on every table. I later found out that the pitchers were filled with drinking water, instead of the usual Middle-Eastern tea. :D:D:D:D

- Comment: THE BEEF RENDANG WAS VERY VERY SPICY. Gladly, the handy Blueberry-Grape Fit n' right bottle was always within my reach. Hahahaha. *Dear ate, salamat sa babala mo....kahit na naanghangan pa rin ang dila ko sa beef rendang.*

- After the ate's excellent service, I gave her a tip after paying for my food. :D:D:D:D

- Next on the agenda....MY SARONG HUNT :D:D:D:D

- I found a nice store nearby that displayed a lot of sarongs. I looked through the displays and immediately found an orange sarong that I instantly fell in love with. I asked the kind Muslim lady how to put on a sarong for men. She asked her male companion. The nice man taught me different ways of how to wrap a sarong on men. Sulit!! Not only did I get a generous discount from the lady, but I also had a Sarong 101 lesson from the nice man.

- After a few circles aroudn the Muslim enclave, I finally went back to the main Carriedo Road to walk towards Chinatown.



DETOUR 1: FENG SHUI STORE

- I went to this Feng Shui store with my mom the last time. I was amused by the "artifacts" as well as the usual Buddhist amulets and Buddha statues sold there.

- Some of the things sold there came from Nepal (uii....Nepal play memories). I almost bought a Garuda magnet "for good luck"....but I didn't (aww.)



DETOUR 2: STA. CRUZ CHURCH

- I passed by the Sta. Cruz Church on the way to Chinatown. The Sta. Cruz Church is just a stone-throw away from the Feng Shui store. Haha.

- I realized that I never gone inside the Sta. Cruz Church. Again, with time at my side, my little itchy toes dragged me inside the white church. I was fascinated at the solemn ambience of the church as opposed to the solemn-yet-a-bit-noisy-because-it's-crowded Quiapo Church.

- I was a bit shocked also to see some tombs inside the church. Oh well. They add to the solemness of the Church :D:D:D:D

- I also saw another replica of the Black Nazarene near the tombs.



PART 4: CHINATOWN

- As always, this town is very very close to my heart....and my home!! Hahahaha.

- I luckily found the little grocery Marc introduced to me a few months ago during my Ferry-Little India-Quiapo-Chinatown escapade with Tina and Mac. I ordered a glass of cold cold sugarcane juice and yes, I felt that it was heaven in juice form. :D:D:D:D

- I walked around Chinatown, hoping to find a male cheongsam, but unfortunately, non of the stores had a male cheongsam. *pouts*



DETOUR 3: MEISIC MALL - 168

- Since none of the stores in Chinatown had a male Cheongsam, I hoped that the tiny stall in Meisic Mall selling Chinese garments had one. I walked from Chinatown to Meisic and looked around like Chinatown was all new to me. Hahahaha.

- SADLYYYYY....the tiny stall in Meisic didn't have a male cheongsam....just the polo-type Chinese garments.

- Obviously, anyone could tell that I am starting to be depressed from "shopping". I went to the nearby 168 Mall to look around just in case I can find anything plaid or exotic.

- Gladly, 168 was not as crowded as it was "supposed to be"....since it was a weekday, and everyone else was either in school or at work.

- To add to my "shopper's depression", I couldn't find anything plaid or exotic that suited my taste....or my size (because the ones that were supposedly nice were TOO LARGE for me....talk about shirt sizes like XXXL or XXL).



DETOUR 4: SENG GUAN SI (The Buddhist Temple in Narra Street)

- While I was resting my tired legs in 168, I remembered the last time I went to Seng Guan Si with my mom. I didn't bring my camera then, so I was unable to take snaps of the marvelous Buddhist Temple.

- I took a long walk from 168 to Seng Guan Si.

- I went inside and was greeted by the security guard in a Buddhist way- with the usual "namaste" mudra. The namaste mudra is sort of similar to how a person would do to his hands when praying, or like how the Thai Ronald McDonald's would look like.

- I took snaps of some parts of the ground floor, including the "infinite" golden tombstone relics/representations (?? sorry, hard to explain....) of all the dead people.

- I went to the second floor to take snaps of Guan Yin (Avalokiteshvara), and the life of Buddha carved on the temple walls (sort of similar to the Borobudur Temple in Indonesia....but in a much smaller scale)

- I was also honored to visit the hall of the large large Buddha on my own....only the statue and I....There was a sort of "telepathic" connection between the LARGE golden Buddha statue and me. Maybe it's a result of too much talk about "how to be a human" in philo class with Doc Garcia. Hahahaha. By the way....I tried to find ways of showing how large the Buddha statue is. :D:D:D:D



PART 5: MCDONALD'S MASANGKAY

- After marvelling the size and goldness of the Big Big Buddha, it was time for me to head back to Masangkay to meet up with my usual McDo Buddies.

- I arrived in McDonald's a bit too early....I waited for a round an hour before my companions joined me.

- During that one hour wait, I saw some people I knew. I guess it was sort of a "Ramayana" reunion. I saw Alex (Manthara), some of my former dancers (KD and Kimberly), and Angelee (a former singer). I also saw Janessa, a MASCKS member, but wasn't a part of Yah Dharma Ke Pyaar.

- I also saw a few batchmates - Moises, Simon (na minamani lang ang Rubik's Cube) and Jacq Uy. :D:D:D:D

- Thankfully, after a looooooooooooong wait, Joanna came. We killed each other (like we always do), ordered food, and waited for everyone else. Soon, we were joined by Thea, Marnie and Nicollette. Too bad Ellaine wasn't able to come today.

- At one point, I also saw my friend Herly behind the counter in McDonald's. Boy is she working hard!! :D:D:D:D





Realizations:

1. This was a great but very very sabaw trip.

2. Sarongs can be pretty handy.

3. I visited (almost) DLSU for the first time. The last time I went to DLSU was when I took the entrace test there last 2006. Hahahaha. I didn't reallllllllllly visit DLSU since I didn't go in the school.

4. I like Southeast Asian Muslim food.

5. Sugarcane Juice is really like heaven in juice form.

6. I now appreciate Catholic/Spanish architecture.

7. I can go shopping WITHOUT SPENDING. (168....haha)

8. Trips with myself can be fun, but it's always fun to do it with at least 1 friend. Haha.

9. I can walk great distances (with a few short rests of course). I only commuted when I rode a trike to the LRT station, and of course the LRT trips to DLSU and to Carriedo.

10. I should sell my Living Language In-Flight Spanish (CD+booklet) as well. Hahahaha. Anyone wanna buy?? I gave a nice discount, since it's second hand. :D:D:D:D