Funny experiences with my maid

She never fails to get my hackles up. And I don’t know if her gender confusion has anything to do with my shortness of temper where she is concerned. But the following exchanges have nothing to do with gender. I take such issues gingerly because it’s a matter of choice and morals. Anyway:

First exchange:
Me: Look for my son’s shirt. White nga may collar.
He/she: ho-o day.
He/she leaves for my son’s room. My son asks him/her what he/she’s looking for.
He/she: white na shirt na may kulay.

Second exchange:
My husband was looking for a deodorant. To quote Francis M, “I knew it for a fact” that I had bought several. Husband rang the buzzer to call the maid. He/she comes in
Me: kun ga bakal kami deodorant, di-in mo guina butang?
He/she gestures a back and forth motion between her lifted upper arm and her armpit.
Me: hay naku.
My husband, whose back was turned to him/her snickered. I threw a face towel at him. He threw it back and I tried to suppress my laughter.
He/she and another maid were inside the dresser getting something. He/she asked the other maid:
“Hala nga-a ga hibi si Inday?” Now my laughter sounds like tears?
Shucks.

Japanese restaurants

Time was when my two favorite Japanese restaurants were Ramen Tei and Kimpura. But Ramen Tei has since left Katipunan and I no longer know where it is. So now, Kimpura takes the solo slot in my top favorite Japanese restaurants list. I like their beef yakiniku, their garlic rice/mixed fried rice. My husband thinks their gindara teriyaki is tops and unbeatable.

Yesterday we were in Power plant and ate in Sumo Sam. I ordered the beef tenderloin but sadly, it was like bubble gum. Too chewy for comfort. But the marinade was ok. Fried rice was ok as well, and so with mixed vegetable tempura which had a few slices of shrimp. My husband ordered salmon teriyaki, my son had fish and tofu chips. he was shocked when he dipped the fish in the sauce provided and realized it had wasabi. Asked the waitress what would be a good substitute for the dip and she suggested tempura sauce as the fish (asuhos) was cooked tempura style. My son wasn’t too enamored with the fish because he said it was too fleshy. My husband ate the salmon quietly.

Today, we had lunch in Teriyaki Boy to satiate my son’s craving for its mabo tofu. He ordered that but couldn’t finish it as there was just too much. A bit on the spicy side but ok. The beef tenderloin in Teriyaki Boy was superb. Just like yesterday I asked that it be prepared medium rare and at Teriyaki Boy, it was cooked just right. Ordered vegetable tempura but Sumo Sam’s was better. My husband ordered salmon teriyaki again and no reactions were forthcoming from him. Since we paid using a Citibank card, we had free California maki. It was all right but I prefer the “cleaner” taste of california maki in Kimpura which wraps its version in nori. The one in Teriyaki Boy has fish roe (the orange stuff) around the rice. Not bad but I really prefer Kimpura’s.

Also in Loyola Heights is Kami Rori whose gyoza (pork is cheaper than shrimp gyoza, i get the former as the latter doesn’t taste that much different) is good, but not as good as Ramen Tei’s. My son likes their torikatsu, I like their fried rice and beef teppan. I find their california maki too sweet. Their salmon and tuna sashimis are reasonably priced and very fresh.

Writing that comment on the sashimis brings to mind Cold Storage whose stuff reminds me of the word “catatonic”. Their products are frozen stiff so much so that when you cook them, they don’t taste like anything any longer. I always say “I’ll try again” because they look so good while in the freezers but… So lately I have been confining my purchases from Cold Storage (Rustan’s Katipunan has a CS freezer) to unagi (eel) which is ok. Rhe salmon sashimi is ok too, except that one can only buy them in huge (by my standards) quantities costing at least P200 plus.

A Haunting Experience

The place is okay, the waiters are cordial. I am writing about a restaurant in UP where the food was okay for the price. What I didn’t like about the place, though, was seeing a DOM and his paramour, a girl young enough to be his daughter. Now that was really, really sad. Every time the man reached out for her hand, she’d hesitantly allow him to hold it. Occasionally he’d give her a peck on her shoulder or cheek, she didn’t reciprocate nor even react. I guess she didn’t like the experience but felt she had no choice. After the man received his change from the resto, he sneaked this into her palm and she promptly closed her hand to cover it. Afterwards, they rode an old sports car.

Why didn’t the girl find work in a fast food chain, I wondered? I think that would give her the money she needs and spare her the embarrassment and trauma of being an old man’s girl! I felt so bad seeing the two of them but couldn’t look away as that was how my wheelchair was positioned in the cramped restaurant. I don’t want to ever go back there lest I see more of the same.

Globe Tracking

A year ago, a coparent in school told me about how she tracked her son while he was on vacation in Bacolod. I asked her to teach me how because rather than intrude actively into my son’s space, I want to be discreet. Often I just want to reassure myself he is fine, hence my curiosity about the tracking feature of GLOBE.

While it has helped me a lot, there are occasions when it’s inaccuracies drive me up the wall. A few weeks ago, I tried to track my son. It was 7:00 in the evening and the info I got from 7000 was that he was in Tanong, Marikina. That alarmed me as while I knew he was there mornings, night time was a different story altogether. As far as I knew he was in school. When he came home after a few minutes, he told me that indeed, he had been in school. Perchance, the Tanong thing was a glitch. That morning I had tried to track him but didn’t get a response from Globe.

Two nights ago, on the other hand, I tried to track him as he had called and I failed to answer. My husband and I were in a restaurant waiting for him. The info I got from globe was that he was in the vicinity of the Phil. Heart Center. That truly alarmed me as why on earth was he there? Had he met an accident? had his phone been snatched? Shortly after, he called again and said he was in Ateneo. Now that was really strange. And I know he wasn’t lying because very shortly after that call, he was with us in the restaurant.

Another thing. The globe tracking feature also allows subscribers to get a map of the location where the person being tracked is. I’ve accessed this feature a few times and while some maps are very precise, there was one instance where the map sent me had a sketch of a road and all it said was MacArthur Highway. how vague could they get? MacArthur Highway runs across Bulacan which is quite a long stretch. I’m not sure but I think it even extends to Pampanga!

At any rate, if you want to try it out, text HELP to 7000 for instructions.

ordering stuff via the Internet

There are many things unavailable in the Philippines which one needs or wants, so in the past years, I have taken to ordering stuff via the Net. e2door (http://www.e-2-door.com/) really helped me a lot in this except that it charges quite a sum for the service. So I’ve resorted to asking friends living in the States if I could order and have the stuff sent to their place so they could bring the same when they next come home. I pay for what I order using my credit card but I give my friend’s address.

Amazon.com (www.amazon.com)has accommodated this arrangement several times for me, but thinkgeek (http://www.thinkgeek.com/index.shtml) refuses to do so because of some bad experiences with Philippine credit cards. How unfair that we should suffer the consequences of their previous bad experiences, but I guess, the company does not have much of a choice. It’s a pity too, really because I’d have wanted to order some of the cute/novel products they sell. Oh well, it’s as much their loss as it is mine.

One reason why I decided to blog

In April. when the thought of going to Ilocos occurred to me, I was at a loss as to whether to proceed or not. I surfed the Net to check if driving so far would be worth it. I checked what sights would be worthwhile going to. And the blogs of several people helped me decide to proceed. In the same vein, I hope this blog will serve a purpose of sorts as well

Manila Pen

Two summers ago, I think it was, or maybe last year, we checked in at Manila Peninsula for two nights. I wasn’t then feeling very well and had an upset tummy in Ayala Museum of all places. What sparked that upset tummy? Indigestion. Our stay entitled us to free breakfast and I wanted to be healthy so I had orange juice, fruits, hot chocolate, bangus with eggs and I don’t know what else. I could hardly eat the bangus and true enough, soon after breakfast, while we were in the Museum, I had chills and felt queasy. I threw up. Horrible experience and all because I was eating healthy. Oh well. We canceled our trip to Power Plant in the hotel car, which I found a pity.

For two nights we watched the bands performing in the Conservatory. The main attraction then was Hyper Beat. But the bands which performed before them were much better really. Pity I couldn’t remember their names. They sang Bohemian Rhapsody very well.

A few weeks later, we found out that The Conservatory was no more. I guess because it wasn’t drawing in too many people.

Days Hotel Tagaytay and Westin Philippine Plaza

Why do I group these two places together? They seem so unrelated and they are actually, except for the fact that we got to stay overnight in each courtesy of a friend (Vicky) who had GCs which she gave me.

Days Hotel has a nice view of Taal Lake and Taal Volcano. We checked in late December so the air was cool, maybe even cold. We went to look at the pool and looked at Taal again. Bougainvileas were all over.

The bedroom was a bit dark but comfortable. What disappointed us, however, was the eating area. It was dark and gloomy and had swinging screen doors. It reminded me of a retreat house’s cafeteria. I didn’t think it suited the image of Days Hotel or what my concept of a dining area in a hotel should be, anyway. Disappointing.

Philippine Plaza was fun. Our room offered a view of Manila Bay. And from our room, too, we could see the floating casino of Stanley Ho. Just took pictures of it. That night, we would have wanted to go to the bar to watch a band and use the GC specific to that bar except that when the floor manager saw my son, he said “cannot be. Too young.” He suggested that we just order food and take this to our room, which we did. While we were waiting for our order, a man and his wife (I hope) were about to go inside the bar when the floor manager stopped them. The man was in slippers. Strict no? These days those slippers might be allowed in because they have been glorified, having been branded Havaianas, termed flipflops, thongs, etc. They were “smagol” in Negros when I grow up and they cost less than 10 pesos. Now they cost over P500! Worth trying out these days if anyone in Havianas or smagol can get inside that bar.

The next morning, we had GCs for the buffet breakfast and how we enjoyed it. There were so many choices and all five-star cooking (remember Fort Ilocandia which didn’t have five-star food?)Nice place Philippine Plaza. And oh yes, the afternoon before, as we were just wandering around the grounds, we saw a garden wedding. Non-Catholic, I think because the Catholic Church has disallowed such.

Discovery Country Suites, Pontefino and Firelake Grill

Last summer we hied off to Pontefino. I had read so many articles on it in the papers and was very curious. A friend warned me there really was nothing to do there but I wanted to see for myself.

The drive to Batangas was uneventful. Finding Pontefino was a breeze. It looked very nice visually and it was: a not too big hotel but very comfortable. It was summer so leaving the room to go to the billiards place meant enduring some amount of heat. The highlight of that outing, though, was not the food nor the hotel, but meeting my husband’s student by accident. He was on field work and had checked in there with his people. He joined us when we called him over after we realized it was he on the next table and we had a really long and interesting talk. He told us about Discovery Country Suites in Tagaytay and said it was worth a visit, but expensive. The bedrooms, he said, were big enough to conduct a meeting in. Even the bathroom, he said was huge. Plus he mentioned that … never mind, let me tell you of our experience.

So a few weeks after that chance meeting with Edward, we booked ourselves in Discovery Country Suites. I think it cost over P10,000 for one night but had some freebies so… Prior to Country Suites we had lunch at Firelake Grill in Cliffhouse. We reserved a table there and as we were too early (the place hadn’t opened yet), we took in the wonderful view of Taal Volcano and Taal Lake which it offered. We were so near to the lake, it seemed, that I could smell something marine-like, okay, fishy. But that didn’t bother me as the smell wasn’t overpowering. Then the restaurant opened.

I can’t recall now what we ordered but the food was okay and efforts were made to make them look good as well. I didn’t like the dessert too much, I felt it wasn’t sweet enough. But my husband who is diabetic was happy with the dessert (coconut-based). The highlight of this trip was meeting the chef, Paul Huang, who also owns the place. He had Crocs on like Mario Batali and they were orange just like Mario’s. He was very nice so we’ve been telling friends to visit the place.

Now on to Discovery Country Suites. As promised, the room we got was big: the Nantucket, I think. There are only 7 themed rooms in the Suites and Nantucket was accessible to me and big enough. Very nice actually, very tastefully decorated. Light blue walls, a huge bed, a huge TV set. And L’Occitaine products: shampoo, bath gel, lotion. Just outside our room was a shelf with DVDs (or were they VCDs)of a few movies. (yes each room had a DVD player) And books as well that one could borrow. At around six, we went to the balcony to partake of the cocktails of various cold cuts and cheeses. Shortly after we had dinner. And just before 9 p.m., there was a knock on our door: we were being served milk and cookies. Very British actually. Yes, I read in one book that’s how the British end their day (night?).

We left Discovery Country Suites before lunch as there was nothing to do there really. But somehow, it left us content and with beautiful memories of a beautiful place.

CIRCLES at the Makati Shangrila

Last Christmas, my sister gave me 3 gift certificates for buffet lunch at Circles. We weren’t able to use it until a few weeks ago. But even before we received the GCs, we had heard of the place.

We reserved a table for 3 and were led to that table after we surrendered our GCs. Saw an acquaintance and thought, well, I guess after a grueling week at work in the business district, one deserved to eat in such an expensive place. I think lunch costs P1200 at Circles.

There were a lot of food choices: japanese, Filipino, Asian, continental and several types of breads and desserts. But how much can any one person eat in one meal?

The lechon was tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. The sushis and sashimis were plentiful and one could just eat those and be happy. But do watch out. Just beside our table was this column with a hook. My eyes aren’t very good so I wondered what were suspended in that hook. They looked like plastic bags with something appealing inside. So I asked the waiter who must have thought, “She’s new to this place.” He nonchalantly said: “Potato chips”. Now, though I’m 51, I’m an occasional junk food lover so I asked my son to get two packs. He is the bigger junk food lover and tried a chip immediately. whoa: wasabi potato chips. For curiosity’s sake, I got one and that was it for me. I have this tendency to cough incessantly when my throat is irritated by something spicy and I didn’t want to attract attention via a coughing fit or for any reason whatsoever. So don’t be deceived by the inviting appearance of those chips. You have been warned.

I can’t remember now what else we ate but I was happy to have tried Circles. Go back? I don’t think so. I don’t eat too much so I’ll just stick to a la care menus.

Before I end this blog, my sister told me about the perfume-like bottles which she said were actually desserts that one could get for free. When I asked the lady in charge, however, she told me they were for sale. She did give me a plastic bag that looked like the one with the potato chips but this one contained two items. One was a round thing that looked like the receptacle of pressed powder, the other item was a bottle with a sprayer (spritz?)– think Victoria’s Secret splashes. The round thing had a brownish thing that looked like pressed powder on top and when you flipped it over there was a mirror! The bottle, the girl told me, contained flavored water. Just now, as I was typing this, I realized I hadn’t tried either. So I got a spoon and had a taste of the light brown, chocolatey thing. Very mild chocolate as the color hinted. I couldn’t muster the guts to try out the flavored water yet. I’ll try to convince my son to do so. I only drink stuff colored red if they are cough syrups and only when I have a bad cough. the only other drinks I take are colas, sprite or 7-up, very rarely Tru-Orange and orange juice. Water too, of course. Mompo if the priest at Communion gives it. But spare me the rest.

Chinese Food

Chinese lauriats are a lot of fun. One never knows what’s coming next. It is best to eat Chinese lauriats in the company of Chinese friends who can patiently explain what are being served. Bryan and Jimmy on separate occasions provided me with a lot of info and anecdotes, like did you know that when the tail of cooked fish goes upwards then that means the fish was fresh when it was cooked? Whoa. That info told me a lot of the fish I’ve eaten were not fresh after all.

We were at Harbor City, now called something else, in Wilson St. Greenhills lately. The first dish served was pancit something. We were guests and I was too embarrassed to ask what the dish was called. Anyway, it was the best pancit I’ve ever tasted and I like pancit! It was moist and had a lot of meats and vegetables. I’ve eaten pancit that were so sparsely “decorated” that I had to scrounge around for the meat and vegetables under the huge pile of noodles. (It was called birthday noodles, I later found out)

At Harbor City too, the pork asado was a wow. Way, way back, I liked asado very much. There was this asado noodle soup in the Plaza (?) Restaurant in Makati which served it and I was sad when the resto vanished. It was beside Gift Gate in front of Glorietta. Anyway that was really good. Since then that asado became my standard and every slice of asado I ate paled in comparison. They were just so dry. But at Harbor City, the asado was truly very good. Thus by the first two dishes of the lauriat, I was so happy that I didn’t really care about what were served next. The thing with Chinese lauriats is that crabs are always served last but by then I’m usually too full to bother with them, plus they’re so difficult to eat.

Also partook of the lauriat in Crowne Galleria and it was good. Same with the one in Century Park Sheraton (is that how it’s called till now?)

Out-of-town trips (2)

See the Philippines, particularly Luzon, has been our mantra for several years now.
We’ve been to Clark, Subic and Tagaytay. We also went to Batangas last year.

Re Clark. Once we stayed in Holiday Inn and as most hotels go, it was very comfortable. But I prefer staying in Fontana as it has a homey feel: a wide living room, a veranda, centralized airconditioning, two bedrooms, a maid’s room, a dining room, parking. We even cooked some meals while there. The last time we went, however, there was a typhoon (what timing) and sadly, a brownout. There was an emergency lamp that lit our unit but not for long. Luckily, because it was raining, it wasn’t too uncomfortable even if the aircon was off. One thing about Clark, though. Stores close at 6:30 or 7. So there’s not much one can do except watch TV in the evening.

As for food choices, there is (was?) a Korean restaurant that served very good food though it was a bit expensive. There is (was?) Red Crab which was also very good but was not disabled friendly in the sense that there were several steps one had to negotiate to get into the restaurant. Waiters were very helpful, though. There is (was?) a German restaurant as well but we didn’t try that out.

Places to go to in Clark? When we were there last, a resort was being constructed but it was for members only so we weren’t able to find out what it was about. We also saw the auditorium (gym?) built during the term of FVR which Doy Laurel had a hand in as well. Pity it’s hardly used.

A friend said we should have tried the sisig near the railway tracks but we weren’t able to because when we’re in Clark, we don’t venture into the city. Will we ever go back to Clark? There’s no reason not to, but there’s no compelling reason to go back yet either.

Serendra and Portico

Monday night, we hied off to Serendra to check the place out in the evening. Last December, we had lunch in Gaudi’s but as most establishments were closed then, it being Christmas Day, it was a bit difficult to appreciate what Serendra had to offer.

Two weeks ago, as we were driving home from a wake in Santuario de San Antonio, I noticed how at close to midnight, the Nike outlet was still brightly lit. Being a sucker for places that close late in the evening, I hoped we would be able to check it out soon.

Well, Serendra at night is a lot more inviting than Serendra in the daytime. Think Eastwood and Greenbelt and their unenclosed spaces. True, there’s fresh air there but I prefer the airconditioning of Power Plant, Podium and Shangrila during the daytime.

At any rate, we bumped into my nephew and his girlfriend and as we were neophytes in Serendra, we asked them for suggestions on where to eat. My nephew said, “Try out Duo.” And much as we wanted to, the inner restaurant would accommodate only those with reservations. My husband wanted to eat in an airconditioned resto, so that meant Duo and its steaks were out. Saw Conti’s and it was overflowing with people. Just as its Greenhills outlet often is.

As we went in search of a place to eat, we decided on Portico as it said it was “related” to Chateau. Following then is an account of our Portico experience.

Shortly after we placed our orders, we were served what looked like thin pita slices (shorter than an Orion ruler but almost as wide) and butter. When we finished one serving, we were given another, I guess so we’d not complain that our food was taking too long. My husband ordered poached gindara, my son fish and chips, while I ordered Oriental chicken. The gindara looked very clean and healthy, the fish fillet was ok and had two sauces/dips to choose from: tartar sauce and salsa. The Oriental chicken was good if a tad oily. We ordered garlic rice after we saw our food though earlier we thought of just eating them without rice. The garlic rice cost P70 per. The garlic was barely noticeable but it was ok. I don’t know why but the spices of the chicken were so strong that somehow, I could still taste them hours after. But it wasn’t a bad taste so Portico will see us yet again.

we got three cupcakes in Sonja’s for dessert: creme brulee, flourless chocolate cake and berry cheesecake. My son and husband liked the creme brulee, I preferred the two others.

Re Serendra, it’s very disabled friendly. Very considerate of the developers to put ramps everywhere. And as I mentioned earlier, the stores close rather later (yippee!). A Different Bookstore was, as always, hospitable. They encourage customers to just tear off the plastic wrap of the books and to browse. One lady even told my husband he could (should) sit on the sofa and browse comfortably. They have a few tables for coffee and pastries.

Serendra is a nice place to be in with its fountains, lights, benches, stores. We have yet to go up the second floor but that can wait. Not too many stores are open up there yet anyway…

Italian restaurants (2)

Yesterday, Mother’s Day, we ate at Mi Piace in Manila Pen. Everyone who works there is cordial and the food is wow! Shortly after we were seated, we were given a basket of a variety of breads. They were all so tasteful. My son asked for butter and he said, “This is white butter.” On the table was a bottle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Oh yes, served with the bread was parmesan cheese. My son prepared a sauce of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, parmesan cheese and pepper. Nice.

My husband ordered pasta with sauteed shrimps, my son ordered pollo with cheese, and an all meat pizza. I just shared what they ordered. I am not a pasta/pizza person but because the resto is a favorite of my son’s and the occasion was special, I chose to eat there. Luckily for me, the pasta was really good! Pizza was too. The chicken my son swooned over because the cheese was oozing (stretching), but by the time I got a portion closest to the bone, there was no more cheese. Pity. Would have wanted to order beef tenderloin but didn’t want to spend P1800 plus for that. (I can eat steak cheaper in House of Minis.) We ordered dessert. Very fancy: three pieces which I will describe as I don’t remember their names. One had a crust that was laced with chocolate at the bottom and topped by what I thought was meringue. The thing should have had white chocolate but I didn’t “feel” it when I ate. The next was a chocolate cake, really tiny. It was wet and was ok, not really special. What I liked most was the rolled chocolate with a cream filling inside. That was a winner. And the presentation of the entire set was cute. red dots of strawberry spread. (I can’t recall where we ate where I ordered cake and it was delicious but somehow lacking. The plate wasn’t decorated. Was that sloth or should the cake’s taste have taken care of the plate’s bareness? oh well).

The Mi Piace experience was capped by two tiny pink boxes tied with pink ribbons. Each box contained three chocolate pieces shaped like two hearts. One piece was dark chocolate, the other was milk chocolate and the last, white chocolate. Just right for my family and me. Each one of us prefers one of the three over the two others.

Italian restaurants

For a long time now, a cousin’s wife has been telling me about Amici. Once, she and her family even gave me a half gallon of blueberry ice cream from the place. While I’m not exactly a blueberry fan, I enjoyed it till the last scoop. I told my husband and son about eating there (it’s in Makati) but my suggestions were ignored.

Luckily a friend of my son’s told him the pizza in the place was good. Well if a mom’s suggestion can be dismissed so easily, not so a friend’s. So finally we went to Amici.

It is along Pasay Road within Don Bosco’s premises. One can easily miss it. Best to go there from Pasong Tamo by taking a left turn I think. At any rate, parking is difficult so one should pray hard that it is available or one should go to the place during non-peak hours. Like at 10 a.m. when it opens. It closes at 9 p.m. and on Sundays and election day.

My son and his friend shared an all-meat pizza, my husband ordered a salmon pasta, I ordered osso buco. Wow, everything tasted really, really good. I liked the osso buco best. The meat seemed to melt in my mouth. And the gelato was great at P40 a scoop. All in all, we spent some P1000 I think, with soft drinks. After the meal we got a loaf of bread, a tray of ensaimadas, some crinkles, 4 cheese rolls and paid only P190. Sadly, only the crinkles seemed good enough to buy again. The rest were so-so.

The place is certainly worth trying out and we intend to go back. There’s no ambiance to speak of, it is actually a cafeteria. But the people are friendly except for the man in the parking area. Maybe he was just having a bad day…

Oops I just realized I wrote Italian restaurants. I’ll make another post for the second Italian restaurant… maybe later.

Out-of-town trips

A few weeks ago we hied of to Ilocos Norte after I made advanced bookings in Fort Ilocandia. The place was beautiful but there were a few things that could stand some improvement. There was a smell (stench) in some areas which wasn’t exactly pleasing to me. My son said the carpets might be able to stand some washing. Sometimes I thought it was incense. Whatever it was, how I wish it weren’t there.

The food in Fort Ilocandia is so-so. The buffet breakfast was impressive in terms of quantity, except that the food wasn’t top quality. Some guests would scoop out gravy sloppily and the receptacles containing them would have traces of the gravy at their sides but the waiters didn’t bother to wipe this. That was bothersome to look at.

The front desk people were mostly grouchy except for one younger lady who was smiling.

The business office had huge flies and using the Internet there cost a whopping P300 per hour. Too much. Made me so tense.

The shops in the hotel were peopled by friendly personnel but gosh, was I surprised to see that a flannel blanket that cost P480 in the hotel sold for only P120 in the Camp John Hay commissary. Luckily, I didn’t buy the one in the hotel, nor for that matter the one in the commissary.

The hotel has a game room but billiards and table tennis cost P300 per hour. Only the use of the pool is free. The gym would have been free too, except that it was under renovation.

Drove off to Pagudpud the morning after we checked in and saw wonderful sights along the way. Saud Beach (see picture) was lovely but not too accessible to someone in a wheelchair.

The mausoleum of Marcos exuded an eerie air because of the lighting and the music. Was that really he? Tried the tinubong they were sampling nearby and how great it tasted. Soft and nice. Back at the hotel, opened the tinubong we bought: it was tough. Tinubong is coconut bibingka (sort of) stuffed and sealed in a bamboo pole. One has to strike the pole against a hard surface to break it open.

(This will be utterly randomly written so I’ll just write whatever I remember in no particular order.) Going to Ilocos was a bit scary in the sense that we left Manila at 10 in the morning so that by the time we were in La Union it was getting dark and the roads weren’t lit, mostly. For long stretches, there were no houses either so that if one’s car suddenly broke down, wow. Scary. And gasoline stations. My husband refuses to put in any type of gasoline in our car except for Shell V-Power. Problem is Shell isn’t too visible for long stretches in the north and suddenly when you see one, you realize they don’t offer V-Power. arrgh.