When Tiffa Goes Outside The Box: Little India And All Its Mini-Glories. :D:D:D:D

- May 31, 2011, Tuesday.

- Little India, Little India, how I missed you so. My friends want to see you too, so I said, "why not, let's go!!"

- For months, my friend Tiffany had been telling me of how she wanted to visit Little India, since she wanted to have a little adventure with food and cultures. Knowing that Little India was "my turf," she asked me, and my neighbor Charmaine, to tour her around "my turf."

- After scheduling our trip numerous times, we were finally able to meet today. Charmaine and I went to Tiffa's house, and Tiffa's driver drove us to nearby Little India. We first "walked past" the Khalsa Dewan Sikh Temple, and proceeded to the groceries.

- We bought samosas and Indian sweets in Little India. While going around the largest Indian grocery among the three, I was explaining many many things to Tiffa, since it was the first time she's gotten up close with Indian sweets. As I was explaining the samosas to Tiffa, an Indian customer overheard me use some Hindi terms. He approached me, and told me that he was happy that I knew their language and their culture. Apparently, he was so amused that he even told his friend about me. :)) :)) :)) :))

- We visited Talwar's Indian grocery next, but wasn't able to buy anything. In Simron's, Charmaine bought Indian Maggie once again, because the ones she bought before was accidentally eaten by her helper at home. Hahahaha. Charmaine told us that her helper might have suffered eating the Indian Maggi, thinking it was regular "Pinoy" Maggi, because Indian Maggi flavors are almost always hot and spicy.

- Lunch was up next, and we had no other choice but to eat in Assad Cafe - the only Indian restaurant there. Just before lunch, I ran back to Talwar's, after getting change, and bought Tiffa a small gift. Like before, I gave her the money envelope, the "Indian counterpart" of the Chinese angpao, with a 1 Rupee coin stuck to the envelope for "wealth."

- I was happy to see that aside from the present I gave her, Tiffa seemed to have enjoyed our lunch a lot. We had Kashmiri Fish, Chicken Biryani, Naan (one of the flat breads of India,) and Paneer Masala (cottage cheese with green peas and Indian gravy.) We drank regular sweet lassi. :D:D:D:D Aside from these, we also ate the samosas and the Indian sweets we bought from the Minimart.

- After lunch, we rode a trike to the Hindu Temple in Mahatma Gandhi Street. During a phone call to the temple this morning, Ate Narcing, the secretary, told me that Mr. Dumri was not in the temple anymore. I have no idea why, and I forgot to ask her when I saw her in the temple.

- We arrived at the temple around 2:30, and toured Tiffa inside and outside the prayer hall. Charmaine had been to the temple many times now, so she decided to rest, while I showed and explained all the gods to Tiffa. It was easier to explain stuff to her because Tiffa knows a lot about mythologies and world religions.

- We left the temple around 3pm, and strolled back to the "Little India proper," and waited for her driver. Tiffa was kind enough to bring Charmaine and me home. Along the way, Tiffa was asking me about the whereabouts of Koreatown, or if that ever existed here in Manila. Charmaine and I looked at each other, and had a Bananas in Pajamas moment. Next stop, most probably, will be Koreatown with Tiffa. :D:D:D:D

Certifications And Gifts!!: Shakey's And McDonald's With Friends

- May 27, 2011, Friday.

- Just before June starts to kick in, my high school friends and I decided to (try to) meet up, so Jessica and I could once and for all give away the presents from our trips abroad. We weren't complete today, but at least more than half of us came to Shakey's tonight.

- Bless, Jessica, and I were the first three ones to arrive, and waited for the others to come, before ordering our food. Most of the people came an hour later, so we started eating around 7-ish in the evening. We decided to be a little "different" tonight, so we ordered chicken and chips, a rootbeer tower, and a Friday special - just because today is a Friday.

- Although the food and drinks were supposed to be enough for all of us, the food seemed to be a bit limited. Instead of ordering more from Shakey's, we decided to tumble to Shakey's' neighbor, McDonald's. Erlyn surprised all of us when she told us that she'd pay the bill, since she just passed the CPA exam. (Thanks Erlyn!!)

- At McDonald's we quickly grabbed a spot, and I was the first one to order; the other's preferred to "settle down and chat." I saw my friend Herly behind the counter, so I got excited to have the chance to order stuff from her again. I never knew she worked until evening.

- While standing in line and waiting for my turn to order, my high school friend Erwin called me from behind. I was surprised and very glad to have seen him again, and I told him to look for our table once he finished ordering. I figured he'd know some of the people I was with. Erwin told me that he'll just sit somewhere near our table.

- After starting my (second) meal, Erwin came with his tray, and sat at the table behind us. He seemed so keen to talk to me, and all the other people he knew from our table, so I gladly cleared a spot for him, and asked him to sit with us. Erwin did, and that was the start of a rather lengthy night of nonstop talking. Of course, memories and "banats" are inevitable, and those made our table even livelier than ever.

- After having a busy week, and being more tired by the thought of having a hectic week next week, this short dinner seemed to have given me some air from the rather stressful pre-Korea preparations. Truly, a small gathering with friends can be a good way - sometimes the right way - to end the week. (Yes, I know Saturday's waiting for its turn to come, but I'll leave that for tomorrow. Haha.)

"Us Already!!": Starbuck's Afternoon With Long-Invisible Friends

- May 25, 2011, Wednesday.

- After ages and ages of seemingly being engulfed in our busy lives, formerly college seniors, Tal, Jane, Leanne and I (as well as Cristina) were not able to meet each other. After coming home from my trip elsewhere, and Jane coming home from her Taiwan study tour 2 days ago, I felt that I really had to meet up with these people soon.

- I was told that Tal, Jane, and Leanne would be meeting today for scout stuff, although Jane soon backed out. She needed to go elsewhere first, but will try to come with us as soon as she was done with her business elsewhere.

- I left my house today at around 2pm, and went around Ongpin to buy myself one Korean popsicle, and hop around travel agencies to ask for some itineraries (no, I won't be travelling anytime soon, aside from my Korean trip sponsored by Ateneo.) The rain started to pour soon, I wished I wore my boots on today, but I still started to walk towards Starbucks Binondo. I wished to find Tal and Leanne in Leanne's house (instead of "hot" McDonald's), where they were having their meeting with other two younger scouts, since I wanted to seek shelter from the rain. Tal and Leanne weren't replying to my messages or receiving my calls, since I found out later on that signal was scarce in Leanne's house.

- I waited in Starbucks for several minutes, and was happy to see Jane arrive. We talked for a while, and waited for the other two to come.

- Leanne and Tal soon arrived, and all of us were just a little bunch of happy and noisy little people, because the seemingly impossible meeting became possible. (Miracles happen.) We didn't stop talking to each other for a bit, and the usual topics were raised. One interesting bit during our lengthy conversation was introducing Tal to the phrase "(Pronoun/Noun) already," as the literal English translation of "(Pronoun/Noun) na!!" (ex. "IKAW NA!!" = "YOU ALREADY!!") Jane thought it was a bad decision for her to do that, since Crystal, being too amazed with the phrase, constantly used it, and found many instances where she really had to squeeze the phrase in. Hahahaha. It was amusing nonetheless.

- We ended the short afternoon with Leanne leaving first, since she needed to go to Robinson's to buy important stuff, and Jane's parents looking for her at home. I will never know when all of us will be able to meet each other, until that day comes. I think that will be difficult if ever I will be able to buy souvenirs from Korea, and take great miles in hunting them down, so I can give them their souvenirs. Haha. Until the next season, era, millennium, lifetime, eternity then. HAHA.

Dimsum With The Koreans v(O'u'O)v

- May 21, 2011, Saturday (the supposed rapture day.)

- My friend Sang left for Singapore to work after graduation a few months ago. A few days ago, I suddenly received a text message, surprisingly from Sang. Apparently he missed us so much that he rode a plane to Manila just to visit us; he'll fly back to Singapore tomorrow, I think. He's currently in our friend Yoon's house. Yoon used to be my classmate in some subjects, but we got to know each other in Korean class last semester. Haha.

- I met up with Sang today, and was surprised to see Yoon with him. Sang didn't tell me beforehand that Yoon was coming. Oh well, it was nice to see both of them again - especially Sang's relatively longer hair. We all met at Golden Fortune Soler, and ate a whole lot of dimsum.

- I wanted to tag along my neighbor Charmaine with me today, but she had other commitments. Aww.

- Before, during, and after eating, we all talked as if we hadn't met each other for ages. It would have been fun to have had a bigger group of people eating on dimsum, but oh well. At least I got to see Sang and Yoon again. :D:D:D:D

Lightning Waits For No Man: I Wait Not For Nellie's Birthday!!

- May 11, 2011, Wednesday.

- I invited Nellie to watch Thor with me the other day, and so I could give her the souvenirs and the birthday gift I bought for her during my recent trip abroad. This was the only day that she was available, and sadly, no others were free today. Oh well, it's not like I haven't had an adventure with just the two of us.

- I met Nellie today at G. Puyat LRT around 10:30 in the morning. We immediately went to MOA to get our tickets for Thor, and killed roughly three hours before the movie started.

- Nellie and I first looked for appropriate picture frames for the paintings I bought in India. Sadly, I wasn't able to find pictures frames that suited my paintings; my paintings were irregular in size too, which made finding frames difficult.

- We soon had lunch in Burgoo, when I gave her the souvenirs and her birthday gift. I always like eating at Burgoo because of their Citibank promo. Hahahaha. After lunch, we went around MOA looking for Nellie's potential new shoes. We also ended up buying really really inexpensive yogurt while looking for shoes. We ended up in the Surplus shop where I found a perfect long-sleeved shirt for me. The heavens sent me a sign to not be a shopaholic when the Surplus store did not have more stocks of my size (the one I fit had a defect.) Even funnier was that there was someone who wanted to buy the same shirt and the same size. Too bad. Haha. The shirt was also inexpensive, judging by its quality and design.

- We both proceeded to the theater soon, after buying some not-so-cheesy "cheese" popcorn. For me, Thor was a supposedly nice movie, if it weren't for the cliffhangers and the many fast-paced parts of the movie. The effects, however, were obviously great, and Nellie and I are waiting for Thor's hopefully-next-film.

- Nellie and I walked around the mall a bit more after the movie, while thinking of our next adventure. Well, we haven't really thought of something "specific" or with whom we're going to have our next adventure with, but we're sure of having a next adventure, hopefully in the near future. :D:D:D:D

Taste-Testers To The Task!!!!

- May 7, 2011, Saturday

- Clarisse invited me and Marga over to her house, so we could hang out with her while she baked with her siblings. Normally we'd meet in Golden Fortune to have dimsum, but Clarisse asked me to bring dimsum to her house. Instead of brining dimsum from Golden Fortune, we decided to eat the vegetable dumplings from Lanzhou Lamian.

- After lunch, I immediately took out an order of steamed dumplings (120php/15pcs) and went to Clarisse' house around 2pm. I arrived at her house with Clarisse and Kevin preparing cookies, and cooked pretzels at the side.

- Minutes later, Margarette joined us, and so our trio has united once again after several months of schoolwork, or post-schoolwork matters. We all talked and chatted in the kitchen, until we decided to eat the dumplings upstairs, as well as some of Clarisse' baked goodies. Before that, Clarisse packed Marga and I a set of cookies each. Clarisse' chewy cinnamon cookies were not placed far apart during baking, so the cookies spread out, and finally forming a honeycomb-like structure. Even so, Clarisse' cinnamon cookies was one of the best cookies I've ever had in my entire life.

- We chatted more upstairs in Clarisse' room while enjoying the airconditioning system. Kevin and Wilbert joined us in the room to enjoy the aircon too, and spent spent some time eating, playing games, or chatting. Margarette introduced Clarisse to another Korean series, and Clarisse fell in love with the story. She immediately got hooked, so much so that when it was time for us to play Rockband 3, Clarisse chose to start watching the series via youtube, while Kevin, Marga, and I "destroyed" the instruments.

- Marga and I decided to go home at around 6:30pm, when Marga saw a lighting streak in the sky. The rain started to fall seconds after we left Clarisse' house. Marga was able to ride a jeep home, and I decided to ride the LRT, even if my house was just a station away from Clarisse' house. However, the electricty fluctuated inside the LRT station, so I ended up riding a jeep, and a trike to my house. Good thing I came home safely.

- Despite the irritating raincloud that seemed to have followed me from Nepal and Thailand (luckily not India,) I still hope that Marga and I will be able to go to Clarisse house and taste more of her baking goodies!!

Dinner After the Journey: A Visit, And Yellow Cab Binondo

- May 5, 2011, Thursday.

- After finally uploading and blogging all of my photos, I had more time to spare to meet up with people to give them their souvenirs from my trinational adventure. I was supposed to meet Monica at Pancake House today, but she told me this afternoon that she couldn't leave her house; her elder sister was coming home from Singapore, so she needed to standby at home. She still asked me to come over to get her graduation gift for me. Knowing that I couldn't have an early dinner with her, I invited some of my high school friends to have dinner in nearby Binondo, so I could also give them their souvenirs on the way home, after dinner.

- I arrived at Monica's house around 5 in the afternoon, with her friendly dogs greeting me. She hurriedly asked me to sit down, and tell her all about my trip. Since I had hours to spare before my dinner, I narrated my adventures, both good and bad situations, in great detail.

- At around 6:30pm, my friends started to text and call me, asking me of my whereabouts. I told that I was on my way, since I was already nearing the end of my narration to Monica. I left Monica's house around 7 in the evening, and ran towards the other side of Ongpin, to Yellow Cab Binondo.

- Bless, Marvinson, and I ordered the Yellow Cab promo and a pasta dish. We also waited for Nathalie, who told us that she'd be dropping by later. Because my mom, tourmates, tour guides, and other random people were the only ones I spoke to during the last two weeks, all my words came out like an endless record.

- I was able to meet other friends in Yellow Cab as well. My friends told me that Yellow Cab was my second home, since I knew at least one person from almost all tables. That was just a big big coincidence. Still, I concentrated on talking to my high school buddies, talking about the usual topics, aside from my trip to India, Nepal, and Thailand.

- The four of us left around 10 in the evening, with Bless, Faj, and I walking Nathalie to her house nearby. The three of us went to my house, so Bless and Faj could choose their souvenirs.

- It was great to have this sudden dinner, although it would have been better if we were more than four. Still, we're trying to cook up something for the latter part of May, when our two friends would be coming back from Taiwan. Once more, hello Manila, and cheers to more adventures!! :D:D:D:D

The Trinational Adventure: Part 7 - Bangkok

- April 30-May 2, 2011, Saturday-Monday.

- We arrived at Thailand around 6:30 in the evening via Thai Airways. The moment I stepped out of the airplane, I thought I was going to die of suffocation. Thailand's weather those days was humid and extremely hot, even hotter than when I was in India. Good thing the airconditioning system in Suvarnabhumi Airport was pretty cold, and our guide Olive was immediately in front of the airport, waiting for us.

- I can't go beyond without telling something about Olive. Our guide Olive is a really really energetic lady, who we initially thought was a Filipino in Thailand. Her first words to us were "Dito po tayo!!" when ushering us to the van. We later found out that she has so many Filipino tourist customers, that she learned many Filipino words and phrases. Since it was my first time in Thailand, she told me that she'll draw a map of the shopping places near our hotel, Indra Regent. In order to fully understand what kinds of shopping places we'd be coming across, she described the places using Philippine counterparts. "This one, parang 168, these ones, just like Greenbelt or Rockwell. Opposite that, just like Geeenhills....(and so on.)" Aside from that, she also always uses her good humor to explain things, and lighten up the mood.

- That evening, after Olive left us, my mom and I went around the Pratunam market to shop for souvenirs; I was a bit dizzy because of the extreme heat, and seeming lack of air. We also visited the Baiyoke Sky Hotel, to view the revolving roof deck, to view Bangkok from above. Funny enough, we saw Olive there, accompanying a Filipino family. We didn't call her since she was too busy entertaining her customers. Just below the roof deck, some exhibits can be seen, and can be used for free photo ops. Tuktuks, a Thai-house replica, some carvings among others were exhibited there.

There was a balloon inside Baiyoke.

Bangkok at night.

Tuktuk model.

Erawan (Brahma) shrine in the middle of Bangkok.

- My mom and I were supposed to go back to the Philippines the following afternoon, with the same flight as our other two companions. However, since I wanted to maximize my stay in Thailand, we arranged for a one-day extension in Thailand. I wanted to extend for more days, but I was afraid that our bag might be overweight, and that it'd be too tiring for me to travel for more than 2 weeks. Well, it's easy (and not too expensive) to go back to Thailand, since Southeast Asian nations do not need visas to travel to other Southeast Asian countries.

- Instead of going back to the Philippines, we arranged a day tour with Olive upon arriving at Thailand the night before. Our first stop was the Thai Grand palace. Now, I don't understand why rain clouds were following us, but it rained hard in Bangkok that morning. Gladly, the rain gradually and almost stopped upon reaching the big big big big palace complex.

- Just when I thought the rain was annoying, what annoyed me the most were once again, insensitive tourists who would block views, or walk in front of us even if they knew we were taking a photo. Olive hogged my photo for most of the morning, which took away my fun of taking photos. Still, I was glad that she was there to take decent photos of me (and my mom) in my day-stay in Bangkok. I also found it hilarious to see Olive's face whenever we'd encounter those insensitive tourists.

I hate that it was raining that day.

The stupa's goldness is mesmerizing.

The structures seem to glow in daylight; I just hoped it wasn't raining that day.

Stoop.

Himmapan creature.

Model of the Angkor Wat.

Rakshasas.

Tosakan's (Ravana's) heart was under this stucture.

Just like them.

The traditional Khmer pagoda: corn-like.

Different kidns of pagodas.

Chinese: angular/square-like, Khmer: corn-like, Thai: a combination of both.

Scenes from the Ramakien.

The Emerald Buddha.

Garudas.

Different kinds of stupas.

Thai-British combination.

This used to be the reception hall of the royal family.

With a Thai royal guard.

Dusit Maha Prasat Hall.

These structures are too elegant!!

Another Dusit building.

Near the exit.

- Our next stop was Wat Pho, where the famous golden reclining Buddha could be seen. The same insensitive tourists were experienced there, but we stayed for a shorter time in Way Pho. It was a marvel to see such a big golden statue that sent our spiritual and peaceful vibes, despite the seemingly blinding golden color.

The Reclining Buddha.

Offering bowls.

For the dramatic effect.

It was a huge huge statue!!

108 Auspicious Symbols of Buddha/Vishnu.

Too many spires. 

I love how Thailand's stupas are very colorful.

Walking around the Wat Pho compound.

Corn-shaped pagoda/stupa, a distinctly Khmer-style architecture.

Gold Buddhas.

Inside the main golden Buddha hall.

A funny-looking lion temple guardian

- After visiting and taking pictures in Wat Pho, we drove to the jewelry center, where we saw how gemstones were processed to perfection. During that time, I started to feel weird rumbles in my tummy - a foreshadow, and soon headed to a small small local restaurant for lunch.

- After our small Chinese meal, we headed to the Art of the Kingdom Throne Hall, a Victorian-styled building that housed many artworks around the country. Many of the artworks there were gifts of great artists to the royal family during special occasions. Photography wasn't allowed inside, sadly, even if the interior of the building would make it seem like the people were walking one of the buildings of Europe. Still, the exhibit itself, as well as some symbols that served as designs in the ceiling would remind people that they're still in Thailand. Also, we were able to buy 40 Baht sarongs (around 60 to 70 pesos) as part of our entrance fee. The colored sarongs were plain in color, but we were told that new colors constantly replace or add to the color catalogue of the sarongs. The sarong-selling was part of the king's advocacy to promote the art of Thailand.

Throne hall.

- My mom and I were soon brought back to the hotel to rest (ehem, shop,) so we could freshen up for our long night in Siam Niramit. Siam Niramit, or "The Magic of Thailand" in English, was built to showcase Thailand's cultures in a nutshell. Aside from the Guiness-awarded theater (highest theater in the world,) buffet meals, preview shows, elephant rides, and a Thai village with traditional house replicas can be seen.

- We arrived there around 5pm, and proceeded to have our buffet meal. The food served there range from Thai, Indian, Chinese, a little Japanese, and Western cuisines. After dinner, we were able to witness a preview show from the dancers that would be performing later on. They were showing a dance scene from a local Thai festival. While they were dancing, my mom and I went to the Thai village, where we not only saw local Thai houses, but people were also there to showcase regional art, cuisine, crafts, and music.

Arrived late afternoon.

Sawatdee chang (Hello elephant.)

With some performers.

These people pleasantly interrupted dinner.

- The gates to the theater soon opened, and we started around half an hour later. The show started out with Thailand's rich history, presenting all four regions, then on with the mythology and religious beliefs of the Thai people (hell, the Himmapaan forest, and heaven,) and last, the festivals and folk dances of the Thai people.

Siam Niramit at night.

Teaser performances.

That's one LARGEEE head.

Northern Thai.

Northeastern Thai (Issan.)

Jammin'.

Thai shadow puppets.

Stupa replica. 

Suvannamachha.

Hanuman.

- The stage was not too big, I think, or at least the stage being shown to people. The stage extended until the sides of the whole theater, which at some point I found distracting, especially when some people are performing in the center, and new features of the scene will come out at the far sides of the theater. Still, I highly admire and applaud the realistic effects that imitated nature. They were even able to build an indoor "river," where one person swam, and a few boats rowed by. Real goats, chickens, and an elephant was even part of the cast. I need not say more about the costume of props, or the flying apsaras and other deities, but I think the whole package indeed presented "Thailand" clearly, vividly, systematically, (extravagantly,) and concisely. Also, cameras and videocameras were not allowed inside, so people had to deposit them first before entering. Lucky for me, the lady who checked my bag didn't realize that my camera was in my bag. Still, I did not use my camera inside.

- I would also have enjoyed the last 30 minutes more, if only my stomach wasn't pounding my inner organs that much. I badly wanted to use the restroom. HAHA.

- Since most guests were still waiting for long cues to retrieve the cameras they deposited, I was lucky to have taken photos with some of the costumed performers at the open area. My mom was worried that I might not be able to, since I took a rather long trip to the restroom.

With some of the performers.

With northern Thais

Not too sure which part they're from.

With an apsara.

- Olive met us at the open area, and took us back to our hotel. Just as my mom and I were preparing to pack our bags for out flight back to Manila the afternoon after, big news flashed in all news channels: Pope John Paul II was beatified.

- The next morning, my tummy really gave its full force. I had a really bad case of LBM, which meant that I couldn't do some last minute shopping at the marketplace below our hotel. I guess that's a (nasty) blessing in disguise, so I wouldn't spend more money, and more importantly, our bags will risk being overweight, since our bags were 1 kilo away from the maximum weight. Still, I was able to watch the news that morning, and found out that Osama Bin Laden was already killed.

- I was happy that I felt better during our trip to the airport, and our flight back to Manila that day. During the dull moments in the plane (ehem, the whole flight,) I looked back at the trip, and still couldn't believe my luck of travelling to three countries that I badly wanted to visit (among many others.) During the entire trip, I realized that the funniest moments were the times when I would take vain photos of myself, and passersby would think I was taking pictures of them, the camera seeming to be aimed at them, although I was just taking photos of myself. I also wanted to thank the foreigners who offered to take my photos, with them thinking that I was having a hard time getting my angle. However, our Thai guide Olive told my mother, "Mama, he knows his angle." HAHA.

Churning of the ocean.

Isuan/Siwa (Shiva.)

The last shot.

- I will be more prepared next time, if ever I get to visit these countries again. Two weeks was not enough to be completely immersed in the cultures of these countries. My mom does not have any intention of going back to these countries, especially since she can't walk that much anymore, or exert too much effort. Going to these places made my parents think that I would be fulfilled, but the opposite just happened. I wanted to discover and know more about these cultures, because they only show how humans surpassed themselves during the early times. This may also give inspiration to and challenge the modern homo sapiens to surpass themselves, and do more wonders in the world.