Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Goodbye 2014

I guess this is the last post of 2014, I'm happy that the year had been good for me. Many moments of happiness with friends, family, work. I'm excitedly looking forward to 2015! Have a good year ahead! 

Saturday, December 20, 2014

It's more fun in the Philippines Part 4 (Boracay Trip Day 4)

Day 4 in Boracay was actually just an hour of breakfast time in Boracay as our flight was scheduled at 1pm and we had made arrangement with the hotel to help us with airport transfer (taking van, boat, van to Caticlan) from 10am onwards. The day turned out to be a long long day of traveling... I wont really say its nightmarish, but really unforgettable.

Saying goodbye to Boracay


When we woke up in the morning, it was still drizzling outside. We stared at the beach for the last time,  it was quite deserted as many tourists were deterred from wandering around due to the wet weather. Although the hotel charged us 1000 php (500php/pax which P felt was expensive) for airport transfer, we were glad that one of their staff actually volunteered to go with us and helped us with the luggage. We could have handled our luggage on our own as it was just a small cabin luggage but it was still nice of him, it was a hassle to bring it up and down the boat, even though the boat was a more spacious one this time. Strangely, when we pack our luggage the previous night, it became more compact and it was just down to 8kg when we had it weigh at the airport. We did not have any issue with carrying our stuff on board and I was glad that P talked me out of carrying my usual cabin luggage which was bigger and would not have fitted into the cabin.

Okayyyy.. this is really quite worrying
It was really early when we reached the airport, more than 2h before we would start boarding. I was quite worried looking at the schedule of flights departing from Caticlan, as flights since the morning was delayed or canceled due to the rain. While we were waiting, the first flight from Manila finally arrived at noon, after about 4h of delay from schedule. The airport was full with waiting tourists, they were mostly foreigners. The waiting area was small but cleared quickly when a few more planes arrived from Cebu or Manila. Our scheduled time of boarding at 1.05pm came and passed, we were still waiting patiently as the flight before ours scheduled at noon managed to depart around 2pm, so the delay was eventually shortened to 1h-2h.

Our worst nightmare happened :(


However, what we were dreading really happened. At around 3pm, one of the staff announced that our flight is canceled due to some technical fault and we were rescheduled on another flight at 7pm from Kalibo. This is the first time I was affected by a flight cancellation, although I remembered reading from a forum it happened to someone flying to Caticlan just a week before our trip. We could not do anything except for accepting the new arrangement made by Cebu Pacific, they had a van ready to transport us to Kalibo airport, and it was a 2h ride from Caticlan airport. There was another family in the van with us, a foreign couple with a toddler and an infant. I really admire foreigners as they are much more adventurous compared to Singaporeans or Asian parents, they are more likely to bring their young kids to places like Boracay despite having to juggle with prams and screaming kids during transits Recently, I saw a comment made by one of my Singaporean friends about the complexity of traveling to Boracay, and she was saying she will only bring her kids there when they are much older. Her kids are mostly teenagers, by the way.

Rainy Boracay with the dark clouds, all these seemed so far behind us as we waited for our flight

We reached Kalibo airport by 5pm, re-checked-in at the counter and the waiting game started again. We were supposed to board the plane at 6.30pm, but once again, the time came and passed and flights were also delayed from what I could hear from the announcements. At 7.30pm, we were called to the counter again, and we were told that the plane we were supposed to board was still at Manila! Oh my... They had re-rediverted us to another flight and informed us that the new boarding time was at 8pm. I was quite skeptical by then as we had faced so much delays that day, it would only take us an hour to fly to Manila but we had already waited for more than 8h just to get on a flight. :( I was also feeling tired as Kalibo airport was much more crowded than Caticlan, there were many locals as well as foreigners, so it was quite noisy. Finally, at 8pm, I could not believe it when people started to queue to board the flight, but it really happened!

Boracay at its best. We were really glad to finally leave but we will be back someday, surely.

We felt really happy to be finally on board, it was still far from home but at least we were traveling instead of waiting and waiting. After reaching Manila, we still had to get a cab to bring us to Pasay, where we boarded a bus and traveled for two hours on the road before we got home after midnight. Sigh... It was really a long and tiring day spent on traveling. The beautiful beaches of Boracay seemed to be so far behind us when we finally reached home.

Previously, I had encountered problems when I wanted to change my flight itinerary on Cebu Pacific, but this was really my worst experience. When I got to tripadvisor the next day, I posted about my bad experience. Our plan was to travel to Boracay from Caticlan Airport as it was just next to the island, and we could save 2h of traveling on the road. However, there is tendency for the flight to get canceled due to bad weather conditions and there are many restrictions as the planes are smaller. Thus, I'll probably advise people to get there from Kalibo if they are ever going to Boracay. Other than redirecting us to another flight, they provided a Jolibee Chickenjoy dinner (one piece chicken+rice) which was already cold by the time we collected, but we were hungry so we finished it rather quickly. There was also a free one way domestic flight ticket which is valid for the next 180 days, but I doubt we will even use it.

Friday, December 19, 2014

It's more fun in the Philippines Part 4 (Boracay Trip Day 3)


After days of waking up early, we were glad to be sleeping in for once. We woke up just early enough for breakfast at Willy's before it end at 10am. The best part about breakfast at Willy's was just the egg station and the fact that it's free, the rest of the food are just bearable and so-so. It's still nice to sit at the cafe early in the morning, watch the waves and the tourists stroll around the beach, some of them will even come in for some finger food and drinks as the location of our hotel is simply awesome. After a chilly night, there were still occasional showers, the air is much cooler than the time we first arrived on Boracay. It seems that we always bring rain whenever we get to a nice beach destination, its kind of sad as the waters are more tempting when its warm and nice.
A cup of taho 

We spotted Uncle Rene walking around the beachfront, so we guessed he probably did not find any customer for the day. Even though parasailing is on our to-do list after our Langkawi trip in April, we still felt like lazing around for the day, so we asked Uncle Rene to get us on a parasailing trip later that afternoon. After we got our fourth round of Jonah's shake (Papaya Banana for me this time), I saw one of the vendors on the beach with a metal container. P told me they are selling taho (filipino version of soya bean curd), its quite interesting as the vendors are roaming around like how they do it in China. Even though the taho came in lots of brown syrup and sago, it wasnt as sweet as I had imagined, and its soft enough to be poured down the throat, thus it came in a cup.
Our hotel, with a strategic location, also 'sell' the beach chair for lounging


P and I are on our 15th overseas trip together, and we are great traveling partners as we simply like to bum around! Its not easy to find a good traveling partner with similar energy levels such that we will all enjoy the trip together, more often than not, I'm the one feeling tired easily and needed time to 'nuah' in the hotel. Anyway, instead of spending time wandering around Boracay and doing stuff (there's so much more to see and do), we went back to our room to watch 'Back to the Future' movie series and take our nap. We finally got out of the room at 4pm to check if Uncle Rene can bring us parasailing, but we realised the weather condition must be quite bad as there were only surfers at the beachfront, we did not see boats out at the sea. With hopes of doing anymore activities dashed, we decided to just enjoy the beach and the sea, so we swam in the shallow seawater and played with the surf at the beachfront. Even though we only did helmet diving and snorkelling for this trip, it gave us more reasons to be back at Boracay again someday.

As hotel guest, we can use the beach chairs anytime, most of them were always available when we were there.
The rain started to fall heavily as we swam, so we got out of the sea, wrapped ourselves in the beach towels issued by the hotel (those beach towels are real life saviours in keeping us warm!) and headed out looking for food as we did not have lunch. P was craving for sisig (again!) and fries, I remember Boracay Kitchen just across the street from our hotel was recommended in another blog, so we decided to head there to look for some food. Unfortunately, Boracay Kitchen was not opened. But we were soon thankful for that, as we found a gem just next door! The eatery is Kolai Mangyan Fudhaws (foodhouse?), a 24h small filipino establishment serving typical filipino stuff, good and cheap. One thing we realised about Boracay, anything found just a little further away from the beach tend to be cheaper than those at thebeachfront. The were some other tourists and locals having their meals there, seeking some warmth from the rain. They served unlimited Bulalo soup before our orders came, its common for filipino eateries to do that and a nice gesture in the rainy weather. It's the first time I tried fresh lumpia with gravy (once again, filipinos loved their sauce gravy), it's quite refreshing although I would prefer it without it drowning in the gravy. The sisig came and it was nice too, for Boracay price standard it was also considered cheap. As we were swimming in the sea before this meal, I did not bring my phone and thus there's no pictures taken.
The sky didnt look good but it was one of our last time lazing at the beach

We finished the satisfying meal just as the sun was setting, went back to the hotel to shower and hide from the cold evening. P took a nap and I only managed to wake him up at 10pm, the previous meal was supposed to be merienda (light snacks) but it turned out to be our dinner. It was still drizzling outside but we decided to venture out again since this is our last night at Boracay and we still have a fries mission to fulfil. The rain stopped slightly when we headed out, we walked along the beachfront towards Station 2 as P spotted a 'Potato Corner' there the previous night and he also wanted the banana split from Crazy Crepes. We equipped ourselves with an umbrella and also the big towels from the hotel which had proven effective against the rain and the cold. The rain came down heavily again when we finally reached Potato Corner, so we sat down to finish off this monstrous and sinful big tub of fries dipped in unhealthy flavoured MSG powder. I did not really want to eat too much of those unhealthy stuff, but there was nothing to do except to consume them since we were stuck in the shop.

Travel out on a cold rainy night just for this big tub of sinfulness
We finally got sick of the fries and the rain stopped momentarily again, so we decided to head back to the hotel. Once again, we decided to take the tricycle back since it was a cheaper and faster way. We were also worried that the rain will pour down again any moment. One weird thing about Boracay, at the area near our hotel, it was just a short walk of few metres when we want to get to the street from the beach. However, at Station 2 and 3, we had to walk through these alleys for at least ten minutes. It was also further to travel back to our hotel when taking the road, although it was just a straight path along the beachfront. Anyway, the small streets behind those shops were flooded after the rain, and we were treading carefully since the water was ankle deep! We were wading through the flood when P pointed out something, I looked up and saw the signage to D'Talipapa.. Zzz.. After looking for it for the past two nights, I finally found it when we were making our way through the flooded alley on our last night here.

We got on the tricycle shortly, found our way back to the hotel, packed up and got knocked out soon.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

It's more fun in the Philippines Part 4 (Boracay Trip Day 2)

We woke up early today as we were going to start our day of activities in Boracay. The previous day, I asked P to check out the price of the different activities from the touters on the beach, he spoke to only one guy and already paid him the deposit for bringing us out on a 4 hours island hopping trip which includes helmet diving.

Admittedly, the guy looked trustworthy and gave us his contact number, but I was a little worried that he would not turn up at the said time to meet us. Luckily, we spotted him as we were having breakfast at Willy's, he waved to us happily and waited patiently for us to get ready. We grabbed our things from the room, got our fruitshakes from Jonah's (same flavour as previous day) and set off to Station 2, where many boats were waiting for tourists to get on board.
View is super nice from the 2nd storey of our hotel (taken on the first day)


We waited around for a short while before boarding a small boat with another couple. It started raining the moment we stepped onto the boat and our adventure began. Luckily, it was just a passing shower and we soon approached a bigger stationary boat after a short choppy ride out at sea. After we got on board, we saw many tourists on the boat getting ready for helmet diving. This 20min session cost us 500php each and a CD with our pictures/videos were included in the package. Boracay is the first place that I've been to with this activity and it is one of the most popular activities with tourists, thus there were many people on the big dive boat when we were there. As a certified diver, diving is not something new for me but it's the first time I could get a taste of diving with P so we were still quite excited.


They got us to make this funny pose.. Picture moment!


We waited on the boat for a group of tourists to finish their session and it was our turn. The vendors gave us a short briefing (hand signals to go down, up and getting help if needed), took photos of us (it turned out to be the cover for our CD) before we descended the ladder at the side of the boat. Unlike proper diving, we did not need any equipment. The heavy helmet filled with oxygen was fitted onto our shoulder just before we totally submerged ourselves into the water, and it became almost weightless when we were in the water. A guy fitted with dive gear was with us the whole time, the dive was just 5m-8m deep but the water was nice and clear and there were many fishes swimming around. He passed us some bread to get the fishes near us and while we were feeding the fish, he was busy snapping pictures of us using a camera fitted with waterproof cover. It was fun but also funny, it was like a underwater photo shoot session as he also got us to pose in different positions. Sigh, I really miss diving and Boracay is really a good spot to dive, how I wish I can go on a dive trip again...
Beachgoers getting the sun early in the day

We emerged from the water feeling glad that we did helmet diving, at least it was quite fun. Next, Uncle Rene brought us onto the boat where we will start our island hopping session. As he promised, it was a private tour with just the two of us on board the small boat. We were soon enjoying the wind pounding on our face and the nice scenery of the island out at sea. After awhile, we reached a site where there were many tourists snorkelling, we put on our masks and went into the sea to try snorkelling. Frankly speaking, I'm not as fond of snorkelling as compared to diving, especially when the sea condition is rough and choppy. We did not venture out too far from the boat as we got tired quickly, it was also quite shallow and we were snorkelling without fins so our feet were hurting when we stepped on some corals or sharp shells. P also got paranoid when we looked down and saw spiky sea urchins on the seafloor.
The expensive fresh coconut

We got onto the boat and ride for awhile before we got to the second snorkelling site. Along the way, we actually passed Ariel's cliff, one of the popular tourist spots in Boracay. Earlier on, we had requested to stop there to experience cliff diving so that we do not need to do a separate trip for that. Unfortunately, the sea was quite rough due to the weather condition and we could not stop at the site. P had a bad experience when we went snorkelling at the second site, his masks was filled with water several times so he swallowed quite a few mouthful of the seawater while he struggled with the strong currents at the same time. We got up to the boat shortly even though the second snorkelling site was deeper than the first and there were many fishes swimming around us.
Touring around in a boat

We were feeling tired from the snorkelling and due to the rough waves, we could not get to the islands listed for island hopping, so we stopped for lunch at a small filipino eatery built on the rocks. As we were feeling slightly overwhelmed after the sea activities, we ordered tinola (a soupy dish) to calm our souls. There were many other tourists taking their lunch break there after their various sea activities, and the guides get a 5% commission according to Uncle Rene. The eatery was serving tradition filipino food at a steep cost, a fresh coconut cost 250php there, and our lunch with tinola and one pork adobo dish came up to around 1200php. On hindsight, we could have just went back to our hotel area for lunch, as we were already tired and wanted to head back after lunch was over. I had my second round of Jonah's for the day, trying out a new combination of Papaya with Mango this time.

Nice decor at the door, using watermelons

As beach bums duo, we went back to the hotel to clean up, watch video on our laptop and took a nap. When we woke up, it was already dark outside and I was craving for a nice seafood dinner. We walked to D'mall area to look for a famous seafood market D'Talipapa, but we could not find it and our stomach were growling. We saw this Paradise Garden place serving buffet for 450php per pax, it looked pretty good and even cost less than our lunch. It proved to be a good decision, as soon as we got our seats and went around to the buffet line to get our dinner, torrential rain started pouring outside. I was looking forward to the veggies and salad dishes at the buffet, my observation when staying in the Philippines is that meaty meals with lots of sauces or gravy are very common and easy to find, but people dont really eat healthy stuff like veggies here. I needed my greens badly and I had almost given up on finding a good salad, normal Chopsuey and Pinakbet were the two common veggies dishes on the menu, but those are still not as healthy as plain stir fried veggies or salad.

We were kind of stuck in the restaurant as the rain continued to pour, part of the restaurant was even flooded and they had to shift the tables away. There were many Korean tourists and they could not get out of the place after their dinner, so we kept ourselves busy eating and watching entertainers doing some fire tricks amidst the dinner (many other bars have similar shows). We started having dinner at 8pm and only got out of the place after 9.30pm when the rain finally stopped. The wind was strong outside and it was so unbearably cold when we stepped out, therefore we decided to take a tricycle back to our hotel, thankfully the public transport system there is efficient!

We got some titbits from the 24h convenience store next to our hotel (another plus point!) and cuddle up in our warm bed during this cool and chilly night. I guess most of the business in Boracay were affected by the rain as many of them thrived on serving drinks and snacks under the stars at the seafront.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Its more fun in the Philippines Part 4 (Boracay Trip Day 1)

After a traditional filipino breakfast at the Kabayan Hotel (I chose longaniza and corned beef), we got ready and set off for Manila International Airport at 9am. We booked for airport transfer through the hotel, it cost us 480Php, P felt that its a bit too expensive but I thought the price is quite okay since it is a private car and we got to the airport well ahead of time. Luckily there were no traffic jams along the way. I was still scarred by the human jam in and around Manila the previous day, so anywhere in the city without jam is really lucky for us.

Simple filipino breakfast before setting off

After we reached the airport, I finally realised why P had avoided flying to SG and anywhere from Manila, it was simply chaotic. First of all, even before getting into the airport, all our belongings had to be scanned and there was a long queue forming outside the entrance for the domestic flight area. We queued patiently and finally cleared the scanning of belongings. After entering the airport, there was a big crowd haphazardly standing everywhere with their trolleys and belongings, waiting to do the check in at self-service counter. There were flights going to many different places of the Philippines, and it was just oh-so-crowded at the waiting area, with super long queues at the counters. Our flight was at noon and we waited for awhile before it was 10am and we could start to queue and do the check-in. 

The luggage allowance thingy had been a stressful issue for us since the beginning of the trip, we grossly underestimated the amount of things we needed for the trips when we booked the tickets a few months ago, now we wish that we had just paid slightly more to get this burden off our shoulders. To cut the long story short, we did not get any luggage allowance for Boracay as I thought that 7kg for our carry-on should be sufficient. But I was wrong. Our individual backpacks (with a laptop each) was already 4kg-5kg and the luggage holding our clothing for the 4 nights was 10kg, so in total we had more than 5kg of overweight luggage. Anyway, I made a mental note to add on 5kg to whatever estimation of luggage space I need in future, if i'm traveling on budget airlines again, which is very likely. 

There was also a miscommunication as P was the one handling all the communication with service staff since this is his turf. After we did the self service check-in (with the help of a friendly staff), we did not get our boarding passes. I thought that this was due to the fact that our luggage was overweight and we need to do a check-in, so I told P we will just check-in the luggage. We queued for quite sometime at the very long queues forming at the counters to drop off the luggages, I can just say that the queues are really horrendous and I was starting to get stressed. It was at this moment that P realised that something was wrong and he went back to the first 'friendly staff' to enquire again. After he came back, we moved to another queue for 'check-in' but I felt that something is really wrong as we've already done the self service checked-in. I could see was that he was running to the different counters to check and confirm where we should go and I got really stressed. Looking at the long queues at each counter, waiting at the wrong places will really waste a lot of time. Finally, he pulled us out of all the long queues and we got to the very last counter for body weighing, where there was nobody queueing. I was really suspicious. Before we did the body weighing, we stood at a corner to repack our stuff, making sure that our luggage is not more than 7kg. What's stranger after that was we stepped on the weighing scale instead of the luggage itself, and the staff issued the boarding passes to us! Phew!

After we cleared the immigration, the mystery was solved. The airline staff were more concerned about our bodyweight than the luggage weight as we were flying to Caticlan in a very small aircraft and measuring each passenger bodyweight is standard SOP. This is a first for me, thus I misinterpreted the reason we did not get our boarding passes in the first place. Sigh…

Comfort drinks from Mrs Fields


To reward ourselves for being early and as a comfort after the stressful morning, we stopped at Mrs Fields for some hot drinks. I tried ensaymada again (no idea why I have craving for it whenever i see it in the display window), once again its quite oily but still delicious. The hot chocolate was also quite good. We went to the boarding gate on time and once again Cebu Pacific proved to be a really stressful airlines to fly with as the waiting area was crowded with people. Trust me, crowded is an understatement. The boarding time was slightly delayed and we had to stand and wait since there was no seats and there were also a lot of people roaming around. When it was our turn, only a small group of people formed at the gate since the aircraft was smal. I could not resist taking a picture of it as the flight of stairs leading to boarding is so cute and short, it's also been a long time since I sat in an propeller aircraft (think the last time was the trip to Koh Samui).

Our cute little aircraft


The flight was delayed after boarding and I fell asleep while waiting, I almost thought that we had reached our destination when the  pilots announced that it was finally time to takeoff. Luckily, the flight was only an hour and I finished reading the e-book by Oatmeal by the time we reached. 

Finally! Boracay! I was honestly happy to see the sign stating 'Boracay Airport' but its so near yet so far… We found the guy the hotel arranged to pick us, just got slightly comfortable in the car and it was time to get off again. To get to Boracay from Boracay airport Caticlan, we still had to take a boat after the short car ride. It was really squeezy inside the small boat, P was balancing the luggague on his knees and the few foreigners next to him had their backpacks on their legs as well. On a side note, I must say that filipinos are really good at squeezing and making space on public transport, proven so many times when we took the jeepney, the MRT around Manila, now on the boat and later on in the tricycles around Boracay.
Super happy us when we finally landed on the island


It was just a short boat ride, almost the same as the bumboat ride we take to P.Ubin from Changi, or maybe shorter. When we approached the clear blue water surrounding Boracay at long last, my heart was shouting with happiness and relief. The transport arrangement we had was already waiting to pick us up from the jetty, it was another private van. Along the way, I saw some of the places I've read and researched about from forums and blogs, and I was wondering why D'mall, Station 2 etc were lined along the road like Langkawi. But later I found out that I was wrong, the side at the beachfront was where the stuff are happening, the other side is quieter but cheaper if you need to go for a basic meal.

Willy's Beach Hotel... Our home for next three nights


Finally, I'm in Boracay, breathing in the air of BBQ stuff and the sea! Our hotel Willy's Beach Hotel was not my first choice but I loved it so much once I see the view in front of the hotel. I couldn't help but started taking lots of pictures, the view is super picturesque and many of the sea view pictures did not need any filters to look like one in the travel magazines. Back to Willy's Beach Hotel, I'm glad that we've reserved this place over Boracay Beach Club (my choice last year) even though the latter was just across the street and looked really clean and neat. The main reason is the location, we were just sitting at the reception area and the beach/sea is out there in front of us, with tourists roaming past, swimming, surfing, sun-bathing… It's fun to people-watch there. The room is also the best out of the few hotels we've stayed in, when we were traveling around the Philippines. It's spacious enough, with an extra bed for us to put our things and dirty clothes or sandy bodies. Although we did not have a sea view, the sea is quite accessible as we were just on the second floor. The big plus point was that the staff are really friendly, always serving us with a smile and greeting us whenever we meet them along the corridors. 
Nice beads for the room key and the staff presented a welcome gift made of shells

Of course, the famous Jonah's fruitshake is just two shops away from our hotel, so I could drink as many milkshake as I wanted to during our stay there. I am not usually a great fan of fruit shakes as I'm pretty sure it's loaded with sugar, but I just couldn't resist as it's Jonah's. After we put our things down, we immediately went next door to get the milkshake. The unfortunate thing was the avocado and strawberry shakes were not in stock for all the four days we were there. Initially I thought it's just the first day we arrived too late, but the next two mornings we went right after breakfast and it was still the same, so I guessed avocados and strawberries are simply not in season. For a start, I chose Banana choc milkshake and it tasted really good, unlike some other shakes which tasted too icy or bland, the taste of banana and choc was really strong. Come to think of it, it's not cheap as it cost 120php each, almost like our popular bubble tea back on the island.

Jonah's fruitshake was just next door!

After we got the fruits shakes, we were just roaming around and taking pictures in front of the hotel near Willy's rock, and touters started to approach us to get us to take up the activities they had to offer. I had some activities in mind which I've wanted to do, so I asked P to check the price with those people. For others selling hats, sunnies and other stuff, it was easy to fend them away with a slight shaking of head and looking uninterested.

First Jonah's fruitshakes: Banana Choc and Melon

We saw some sand art just further down the beach and we went over to take pictures as its a perfect memorabilia for our stay in Boracay. One of the kids started talking to P and we realised that they are doing the sand art to earn extra pocket money, so we got them to do it with personalised with our names. I started to pity these kids who had to get their hands dirty just to earn those 150php from us. While we were waiting for them to complete the work (they are quite fast, just took 15min), a few more tourist couples came over and also got the same kids to do theirs on the beach since it looked good in pictures and did not cost a lot. We did some calculations and decided that it's quite a good way for them to earn extra pocket money, even getting 300php a day for a kid is considered a lot to spend. The sun was setting while we were busy taking pictures, and it looked even more beautiful with the sunset.
Nice creation by the kids
Our names with the sunset and Willy's Rock behind :)

Palabok from Inasal Mang
In the Philippines, the sunset is earlier, it is complete darkness by 6pm (more than an hour earlier than SG). We went back to the hotel, showered and get some rest before heading out for dinner. As we only had breakfast in Manila earlier, and of course the fruit shake after arriving at Boracay, we were hungry. We took a tricycle to D'mall to hunt for food. Its convenient to get around Boracay on these public and communal transport, which is also commonly seen in many parts of the Philippines. The tricycles in Boracay were much bigger than the ones we always take around Tarlac, and it will just stop along the roads as long as there's space (one tricycle can take up to 7 passengers) so most of the times we are charged for a sitting space in the tricycle (about 10php each from our hotel to D'mall) as we share with others. 

We did not go to any speciality food haunts in Boracay, we ended up in a local fast food chain 'Inasal Mang' as P had a craving for BBQ stuff. We had a satisfying meal even though it was just at a crowded fast food chain, P had his favourite sisig with rice and I had palabok.
 Palabok is a special filipino noodles dish served with a special sauce on top, and as a noodles person, I crave for the dish at times. After the meal, we walked through D'mall and got to the beachfront where there were a lot of tourists partying at the bars or just walking along the pavements. Being the most famous tourist destination in the country, Boracay is one of the rare places in the Philippines where I'll see more tourists than locals. I must say that I enjoy the place a lot more than other beach holiday destinations like Phuket and Langkawi as we really get to walk along the whole stretch of beach when hunting for food and activities. The weather was also nice and cooling, it was really romantic to stroll and experience the place with loved ones.
Saw this interesting sign outside one of the bars
Happy to see Crazy Crepes

I was so excited when I saw Starbucks, I made a beeline there to get my Boracay mug, another Starbucks mug for my collection! We saw Crazy Crepes and we stopped again since I was missing the crepes in Tokyo. I ordered a large "Banana Choco Vanilla" flavoured crepe, its not difficult to see that I loved the banana and chocolate combination a lot. There were famous chains such as Gerry's grill, Macdonald's, Yellow Cab Pizza and big hotels names along the buzzing Station 2, the whole place is definitely more touristy than Bohol, another beach destination in the Philippines I visited two years ago. I'm just glad that I managed to visit Boracay before it gets too expensive and crowded, it will definitely lose its beauty then.


The display window is exactly like the ones we saw in Harajuku



As it was our first night there, we were not familiar with the place. After walking to one end of Station 2 (the new Astoria Hotel) from D'mall, we thought that we had to turn back, so we ended up walking to Station 3 instead of Station 1 where our hotel was. I felt tired by all the walking (P was always wondering how I could complete a marathon but still get so tired from walking after a short while) so we took a tricycle back to our hotel. P was looking forward to a massage since most of the spas were just asking for 350php for an hour of massage, even cheaper than the massage we had a few days ago, so we headed out again just after a short rest. The area just outside our hotel was much quieter compared to Station 2 and Station 3, which is nicer if we just wanted to chill. 



Yummy crepe!
We ended up at a spa next to our hotel. Like most beachfront spa area, it was just a open air hut where we could lie down and listen to the waves beating against the shore during the massage so it was quite therapeutic. However, both P and I regretted the experience as we did not get a chance to wash up after we left Manila, and a swedish massage mixed with the fine sand of Boracay left us oily and sandy at the same time, so it was quite uncomfortable. It was also the first time a male (later I found out that he was a gay so I felt better) did a swedish massage for me, coupled with the fact that I was lying half naked in the open area where anyone could look in, I felt really awkward. Luckily it was already 11pm and Station 1 was also relatively quiet, so I did not just die from embarrassment there and then. 


After we went back to the hotel feeling oily and sandy and dying to shower, we discovered the first flaw of staying there, the water took at least ten minutes to warm up! P still felt uncomfortable and oily after the shower, but I felt so much better, I fell into deep sleep soon after my head touched the pillow. 

Sunday, December 14, 2014

It's more fun in the Philippines Part 4 (12/12/14 - 28/12/14)

Day 2

We woke up really today as P had a shoe deal in Manila at 11am. We were afraid that there'll be a traffic jam in Manila so we set off at 8am, we even brought our breakfast onto the bus and had it during the bus ride. Luckily, the traffic was smooth and we reached Manila by 10.30am. We were supposed to meet his buyer at SM North Edsa, but the mall only start operating at 11am, so we were waiting around the area. I was amazed to see people crowding outside the mall waiting to enter, Manila has several of such big malls (Megamall, Mall of Asia, Greenhills etc) but going to the mall still seem to be the one and only favourite activity of filipinos there. I read about this 'phenomenon' in some other blogs too, when I ask P about it, he said they go there for the free air-conditioning. In SG, we rarely see people waiting outside any shopping mall (we normally call it shopping centre), waiting for it to be opened. Most of the eateries (especially those that serve breakfast) also operate independently from the mall opening hours and are more likely to be opened by 9am onwards.

Before we set off in the morning, tita was warning me to be careful in Manila, and to carry my bag in front of my body, so I was quite apprehensive. We traveled to Manila quite a few times during our trip in 2012 so it was not my first trip there, but I could feel that the atmosphere is quite different once we reach the capital. It is much more crowded, people are rushing around, traffic is terrible and there's also more signs of poverty there.

Yummy donuts

Finally, the mall was opened, and we waiting for the crowd to thin out before we enter the mall. I've been to the other malls at Manila but it was my first time at SM North Edsa, I was delighted to see big chains like Coldstone Creamery and J-Co Donuts in the mall, it was much too early for ice cream so we went to J-Co to get some donuts. J-Co is opening quite a few outlets in Manila and other parts of the Philippines (saw it opening soon at Marquee mall too), it's a great hit with the filipinos as long lines are formed and people walked off with boxes of dozens of donuts. P stood in line for quite sometime but we only bought two donuts to be consumed in the shop while waiting for his buyer.

After that, we had to get to SM Megamall to get some shoes repaired. P said that we had to get there by MRT and I was apprehensive again. I only took the MRT once before this day and I will say that Manila, being the only place in the whole of Philippines with a train system, can really do much better to improve its train system in the capital city. I will not compare it to SG, but traffic is bad in Manila just like some other capital cities in Asia, namely Bangkok and Jakarta. Bangkok MRT system is much more efficient and as modern as SG, so its a real saver for the city, I guess its reason why tourists still flock to Bangkok despite the bad traffic there.
Finally stopped for coffee and ensaymada 
We left the shoes to be repaired at the mall and went to Greenhills to get lunch and some stuff. Thankfully, it started raining, so we took a cab there instead of using the much dreaded MRT. After our KFC lunch, I started to feel quite drowsy after that while P went to hunt for his 3DS games. I felt terribly in need of coffee and we finally stopped at Starbucks after two hours of torment for me. I felt like I was gasping for air as the place was so crowded and I was really sleepy for no reason, walking around like a zombie.
My new rubrik cube
One thing I had accomplished this holiday, its I've learnt how to solve a rubrik cube! I developed a sudden interest in learning to solve it at the start of the holidays, found some youtube videos and managed to memorise the formulae after a few tries. I had been practicising on some rubrik cubes I found lying on my table for years (confiscated from students long ago) but those are almost broken and not easy to twist. I managed to find a good quality cube from Greenhills and it felt so much better turning and twisting it around. Yeah!

We took a cab back to SM Megamall to collect our shoes. I've sent in my ferragamo heels for repair as the heel tips had dropped out, P also sent several of his treasured possession for repair as the soles had kind of dropped off a little. I must say that the guys at the shop did a really good job as they not only replaced the heel tips, they also stick back the pieces of plastic that got detached from my shoes (which I believe most shops at SG wont take the initiative to), just at a cost of 255php. 

Our return journey from Manila involves taking a cab to five star bus terminal from the mall, and it was a nightmarish experience that day. The queue at the Megamall was so long, we tried to imagine that we're queueing for a theme park ride at USS, think it took us more than half an hour to finally get on a cab.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

It's more fun in the Philippines Part 4 (12/12/14 - 28/12/14)

Day 1

This blog entry is listed as Part 4 as it is my fourth trip to the Philippines, I've attempted to blog about Part 1 in 2012 (but it ended up after Day 2) and Part 3 was just done earlier this year in a single blog entry in September. Actually none of my trips was successfully documented as my previous entries on Japan trip (stopped after Day 5) and Hong Kong trip (stopped after Day 2) were not completed as well, but I'll try my best this time.

As like my previous trip to the islands, my trip to the Philippines is mainly scheduled at the end of the year when P clear his leave and goes back home for Xmas. We also take the chance to explore scenic places each time we're back for an extended holiday. This year, we are going to Boracay! Finally! It has been on our bucket list ever since we visited Cebu and Bohol in 2012, we booked the trip last year but many things happened... So it was postponed to this year.

We were ready to go, and for once, we were early. 
We actually arrived at Manila on the night of 11th December, but it was already past midnight when we finally got home after a 2h ride in a car we'd arranged. Unlikely the previous three trips, tita had kindly prepared sisig and baked macaroni, thus we did not go out for supper.

The next day, we did not do much except for visiting a nearby hospital where P got a quick checkup, he had been coughing for more than a year and we had tried doing X-Ray, visited TCM for a few weeks and he went to the clinics many times to get cough meds but all these didnt solve the issue. After his checkup, it was almost 1pm and we stopped by at one of his favourite eateries in Tarlac (since his high school days) for lunch. He ordered his all times favourite (burger steak) and I tried a grilled pork tenders dish, it was really delicious. 
The cake that P loves so much, and I grew to love it too

We went to his favourite Cake House to get a cake (I'm no longer surprised that he can finish one on his own) and many packets of aparons for me (fell in love with those since September), its had became a ritual for us to visit the Cake House on our first day back.

Waiting at the spa reception area
By this time, we had walked off some of the bloat in our stomachs and we were looking forward to a massage for weeks (I had been craving for one for days after I finished the marathon). We saw quite a few banners advertising this nearby spa, so we headed there. There was a ongoing promotion there, so a 90min massage only cost us 450php (so much cheaper compared to SG), it was quite good as the rooms were cleaner  and bigger than those we visited in Langkawi and Penang etc. The masseur did not really massaged hard enough but I loved it as they used a hot compress after the swedish rubbing and even placed a warm beanie pillow below our necks and waist when we lied facing up. P did not seem as satisfied as the massage was less than 90min, he said we will try another place the next time. 

Lechon was part of my sinful diet in Ph

We bought lechon from Tessie's (P loved it with lots of gravy) and we headed home to rest for the evening.

Baluts we had for supper, another must-eat in Ph

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Race Review: SCMS 2014


After battling ITB for weeks, I was totally in dilemma and unsure if I should go ahead with the marathon, but I eventually made up my mind after REPC, I think somehow collecting the rack pack got me hyped up and motivated, thus I decided to just make my way slowly to the end point. Another push factor for me was the fact that I read a friend's post about how she finished her marathon in over 9 hours, and another article about how a couple walked their way to the finishing line in over 7 hours. I was thinking: Hey, if they can do it, I can do it too!

Love my bib number and everything was in blue
With the experience of the previous marathon, I knew it was crucial for me to get to the race site early as bag deposit will take some time. I decided to take the first train to town and thus I planned to sleep by 9pm so that I can wake up at 2.30am to prepare myself. But alas, I had too much rest during the day (even though I did not take a nap) so I had difficulty falling asleep that night. Usually, I do not have problem with insomnia, but the night before my marathon, I was really lying in bed for hours, with eyes wide open. Even though I tried playing soothing music on my laptop, it did not help.

I drifted in and out of sleep till it was past midnight, I felt like I hardly catch a wink and it was time for me to wake up and get ready. The first train started from Jurong East around 2.45am, so I estimated it will take roughly half an hour to reach my station, thus i left the house slightly after 3am to catch the first train to Orchard. There were already several other runners waiting at the platform when I reached, and when the train came, it was filled with people in blue. The station was already crowded with runners walking in all directions when I reached Orchard, I quickly found my way to the lorries for the baggage deposit. The queues were forming up but it was not as bad as 2013, and I managed to deposit my bag by 4.15am.

Next, it was the issue of finding the toilets. Last year, I saw Wendy's on the way to the start line and quickly went in to use the washroom. This year, I was disappointed to see that Wendy's was not opened, so I had to follow the signages to get to the portable toilets at the back of the MRT station. I got there at 4.30am and the queues were super long, there must be 15-20 runners in each line. After waiting for sometime, some guys sneaked off to the bushes nearby (dark hilly area behind the portable toilets) to make it a fast one, I wish all the guys can do that and leave us ladies queueing but that did not happen. When I finally left the toilet and headed towards the start pen at almost 5am, the first wave was already flagged off. I'm glad that I was thick skinned enough to get a blue bib so I was able to move to the front of the remaining pack, since the red bib people were barricaded behind.

I was apprehensive and worried about my right knee, therefore I've decided to adopt the 1 min walk - 4 min jog method again. Unlike last year, I did not need to attach the Gymboss timer to my SPI belt as my Garmin watch have the function, one more advantage of using my GPS watch! Unfortunately, in the middle of the run, I had wanted to change the ratio of walk: jog to 1:3 or 2:2 but I wasnt able to do so. This is one downside of using the watch.

After we inched forward and moved past the start line, my pace was quite steady and I was happy as I did not feel any pain at the knee area. Nevertheless, I still tread carefully. Prior to putting on my compression long tights, I had taped my knee as a preventive measure. After awhile, I saw a group of pacers catching up with me and I thought that those must be the 5.30 pacers I had intended to follow. But as they drew closer, I realised they were the 5.15h pacers. I soon bid farewell to them as I could never do such a fast pace with the condition of my knee. I kept on running till the 5.30h pacers appeared around the 11km mark, I kept up with their pace for a km or so and I actually felt good doing that. Unfortunately, I felt a strain at my knee after awhile and I had to slow down before the onset of the pain affect me too much.

By that time, we were already approaching the ECP stretch and finished 1/3 of the race. I pushed on using the walk-jog method but I could feel that it was a sluggish effort, I stopped for toilet break when I felt that my bladder was full but actually it wasn't. Soon after the U turn point at ECP, I slowed down to a walk. In the previous edition of SCMS, I just kept on walking. But this time round, I stopped several times to get Tiger Balm from the volunteers or to tie my shoe laces. The muscleache was just the normal ache I experienced during long run but this was the first time I stopped to rub my muscles and rest, it was soothing but I also know that I had slackened a lot and only aimed to finish the race. I was eagerly waiting for the banana station and I was expecting it to be an energy booster before we leave the ECP at 26-27km. It was disappointing when it wasn't there but I kept pushing on, looking out for it as I didn't really study the route map and the organisers might have moved it further down the race. The banana station did not turn up ( turned out there was a glitch in the supplier's part and there wasn't a single banana in the whole race!) Anyway, we just walked on as 2/3 of the race was already over, I was just glad that my knee didn't work up and it was really a miracle in itself. I would admit that there were points of times I really considered giving up and just take a bus back to get my bag, but I'm glad I pushed on. 
The final 14km is the most challenging part of the race as runners were all exhausted and the sun shone mercilessly on us during that long uncovered stretch of road before we enter GBTB, everyone around me was already walking by this time. It was really bad this year as I nearly wanted to ask for water from the volunteers but I could see that they were also suffering under the hot sun. Finally the water station came up and there was many people resting in the shade. I joined them and started chatting to an Aunty, somehow it motivated me when I meet the friendly veterans who did not give up. By a strange stroke of luck, it's the first time I brought along a chocolate bar in a race, thinking of using it to motivate myself after I reached the mid way mark at ECP. It had melted as I did not take it out earlier but it served its purpose at that point as I had given up hopes of finding the bananas. I ate half of the bar and continued on my grueling journey.

When we reached the Marina Barrage, things took a turn for the worse as the volunteers there were shouting that it's the last water station! It was also supposed to be a gel station but I didn't get any gel there, my own supply had ran out after ECP as I was expecting the organizers to top up the last 2 gels. We still have 8km more to go without water so it was quite depressing, I sat down to enjoy my last two cups of isotonic drinks. However, I have same strange stroke of luck for this race, I also put in a $5 bill earlier, half thinking that I might need it to take public transport if I gave up halfway. When we passed satay by the bay, I went in to buy a bottle of mineral water, and I also bought a banana from the fruit stall. Both items were grossly overpriced by I didn't mind a bit, I was the only one who get to enjoy my banana and that made me a happy runner. 
Feeling soooooo happy with my banana

We trudged on and just before the U turn point to get on Sheares bridge from GBTB, I saw volunteers packing up at the water station that had closed and realised they had ran out of water. It was the same at the next station but there were volunteers giving out bottled water when we exited the bridge. By this time, I was already 7h into the race and looking forward to finish the last few km. There was another old uncle who chatted with me as we passed the F1 gallery, another foreigner lady who was walking towards the float to collect her stuff cheered me on. Finally, I finished the race at 7h 30min, the timing is horrendous but the feeling was really awesome. 

There was no free muesli bar or banana at the end of the race this year. I collected the medal, finisher tee and left Padang feeling really good about myself. Later that day, I saw many posts on FB commenting about the bad weather and demanding condition of the race this year, and I felt better about my lousy timing. The feeling was really good when I got home and stand under the hot shower, however i saw the shape of the racer back runner tee imprinted onto my skin, almost sun burnt!



With SCMS over, it also marked the end of my year in runs/fun runs/races for 2014. These are the races I've attended this year:

Best feeling in the world to get these 'souvenirs'
Safari Zoo Run 
Venus Run
Garfield Run
Shape Run
Hello Kitty Run
Straits Times Run at the Hub
Great Eastern Women's
Newton Challenge
SCMS 2014

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Pre Marathon Blues

These saved my life after I got home from Great Eastern Women's Run
Right after Great Eastern Women's Run, I was walking with pain in my right knee, that was especially so when I tried walking down stairways or steps. I didnt know that my ITB issue could escalate to such a scale and I certainly did not foresee that this will pose a problem to my 2nd marathon quest. The previous few times I encountered the issue, it just went away after a few days.

I was seeking suggestion from the guys in the forum, and they were sharing information that was both depressing and shocking to me. ITB is the most common injury among runners and I cant do much except for allowing it to heal and rest. I was glad that the Hello Kitty race pack included two strips of Acti Tape, I didnt know if it'll work but as soon as I got home from the race, I dug out those tapes, plastered it onto my knee area and the pain was relieved immediately. I didnt know how long those strips of tape can last but I made it a point to get to Watsons so that I can get my hands on a full roll of tape since it worked wonders on me.


Even though I heard a lot of horror stories about ITB injuries, I was still hopeful. I put on long pants when I go to school the next few days, to cover up the tapes. I thought a week of rest should be more than enough, but things dragged on... After a whole week of rest, I tested things out in gym but my knee ached when I started jogging lightly on the treadmill. I was alarmed but could not do anything about it. I cant remember the last time I attended gym classes, but in order not to waste my trip to gym, I went into a yoga class which had just started. It felt good doing some stretching and I realised yoga would help me in recovery. Another week went by and the same thing happened, I ended up in yoga class after another unsuccessful attempt on the treadmill.

Yeah! I love my Garmin, its a real investment. 
On the other hand, I had not given up all hopes of going for my 2nd marathon. In order to replace the two dead iPod nano, I need my music fix and also a GPS watch to track my running progress. I had been eyeing a GPS watch for quite sometime and was waiting for SITEX so that I can get it at the best price. Even though I wasnt sure if I'll still be running a marathon this year, it was motivating after I've gotten them.

New Sony Walkman with my Garmin

One week before the marathon, the pacers were having one final training and I decided to test out my gadgets and tried to see if I could at least complete that 15km. For weeks, I already had no issues when walking and the sharp pain only resurfaced when I tried running on the treadmill. As I started running with the 5.30h pacers, I could feel the pain coming back. But after awhile, I wasnt even sure if it was still there, it almost felt like the pain was not there anymore, but I had gotten so used to it that it lingered on my mind. There was a very big group of people following the pacers that day, so I just stayed right behind trying to get used to the feeling of running again.
A huge turn-out for the training run. (Photo courtesy of Running Department)

I was also not used to the sound quality of my Sony Walkman W series, its very compact but it felt so different from my Nike sports headphones. As I was running along, I could hear the air vacuum bouncing around in my ears, some songs even sounded like a broken record, its almost like 20 years ago when I was carrying a CD player in my bag while walking. I cant really explain it in words but I took some time to get used to the extra noise in my ears.

I got worried about the slight pain in my knee and felt that I had to stop running before it became worse, so I turned back early and ran back towards Parkway Parade on my own. At that point, I was almost convinced that I should just let my knee recover and skip the marathon since its not my maiden attempt anyway. I was in a dilemma and over the week before the marathon, I kept wondering if I should go ahead or give up.