SATURDAY: Finally got a new pair of Florsheim sandals to replace the slowly disintegrating ones I got in Boracay. Ironically it was a non-sale item in this branch at Robinson's Ermita during their 3-Day sale, w/c makes me hate the ambiguity of the term "selected items."
SUNDAY: Plan was to go to Greenhills to look for a protective casing for my Creative Zen, then hang out at Starbucks to read (the things I do to avoid watching a 5-year-old's Hawaiian dance recital). Instead, after dropping off Pa at Casino Filipino, I stopped by Robinson's Otis to get a mini-dvr for G's PSP (didn't find one), but saw -- and ended up chatting the late afternoon away w/-- old classmate Nikki Lui, who was at this Robinson's Starbucks studying for a pre-MBA exam. And ya know what?
One of those times a happy accident trumps a half-assed relaxation plan.
May 18, 2008
May 14, 2008
Cruisin': Part 3 of My Trip to Shanghai, Kobe, Fukuoka, Busan and Jeju (whew)
Day 7 (April 28, 2008) BUSAN
Ugh, I’m stuck w/ so many Japanese coins because foreign exchange desk on the ship won't take anything but paper bills, and those racist slot machines only take American quarters.
View of Busan Seaport from the ship
Our first stop in South Korea was Busan. We weren’t able to reserve Shore Excursion tickets on time, so we went off on our own. Good thing the shuttle bus was free, but it’s strange how having over a dozen Pinoys dropped off in the middle of downtown Busan at 9 in the morning doesn’t seem to faze anyone anymore. Lord knows what everyone else did after we split up, but E, E, and I went inside the nearby Phoenix Hotel to ask for directions to the subway, and from there we rode from Jagalchi (got on the wrong lane at first, but thankfully the senior citizens on duty let us cross over w/o a fuss) to Dongbaek. That was an unpleasant 45-50 minute experience, since the inside of the train smelled like old people. And were some of the commuters staring at us because we looked out of place, or because we were seated in the handicapped/ senior citizen section? Took some pix of them for archiving.
Asking for directions to the Busan Aquarium was an adventure in itself, as English wasn’t the locals’ second language, and each person we asked (or we map we read) had ideas contrary to ours as to what constituted a “10-minute walk.” I figure guesstimated the time for foreigners w/ longer legs or strides (aka White people).
So while wandering the streets of the Hauendae Area we stopped by Haeundae Beach and took pix and made a mini dance video, something I never promised myself I’d do at a beach in a foreign country, but at least the girls were game. (Dance video to be posted upon request.)
When we finally found the Aquarium we only stayed for an hour (w/c doesn’t justify our paying 1600Won a ticket, sans IMAX movie option) looking at fish and watching scuba diving magicians pull long rubber wands out of a wet hat ('kay, that sounded dirtier than I intended). Afterwards there still a train to catch, then run like hell, lest we miss the final 3:30pm shuttle bus back to the ship. We had hotdogs for lunch (a quick carbs boost for that aforementioned running-like-hell thing).
As it was still early in the day when we got back I got in some gym, sauna and Jacuzzi time (it’s good to be on vacation). At the sauna (ditched the trunks this time), I made accidental eye contact and got into a conversation w/ an Indonesian businessman.
The accidental contact our freshly baked birthday suits made when he bumped into me at the lockers was awkward enough, but to chat while trying to get dressed was pushing it. Still, I kept my latent paranoid homophobia in check. Why couldn’t this have happened in the buffet line or anywhere else on the ship where nudity wasn’t an option? He said he was on the cruise acting as guide and middleman for some clients who wanted to travel. Contact info could not be exchanged, as I had no phone/calling card at the time. Just as well, as I don’t think I could’ve done so if it turns out that he was making a pass at me.
Day 8 (April 29, 2008) JEJU
As we arrived at Jeju we had to transfer to a mini-boat (called a Tender) because the Port Terminal was on the north side of the island, but we were touring the south. We were welcomed w/ complimentary bottled water and chocolates and greeted by 1 of the only 4 (or 7, I forget) English-speaking tour guides on the island.
First stop was the Jusang Jeollidae Cliffs. The black, hexagonal pillars bunched up together reminded of that kryptonite island in Superman Returns. We kinda lost Ma for awhile during the photo-ops. Turns out she wandered in the opposite direction of where we were.
Next stop was Yakcheonsa Temple, “The Largest Buddhist Temple of Zen Buddhism in Asia.” Didn't go inside to kowtow, but I did take a sip from their all-healing spring fountain, w/c claims to cure all that ails you, provided you “clear your mind 100% of all negative and impure thoughts/energies.” There’s always a catch…
Then were off to the Yeomiji Botanical Gardens. One path to the outer gardens was “guarded” by trees that were custom-cut for a corkscrew effect. The central arboretum had an elevator leading up to the observation tower, but the lines were too long, so forget that. The entire structure combined w/ the greenhouses made it look like the Triskelion in The Ultimates, w/ a green-thumbed touch. We looked at all the indoor themed gardens (saw my first giant barrel cactus, strawberry and lemon guava, and a sausage tree seriously lacking in sausages, plantlike or otherwise), but lacked time to explore the outer ones. Oh, well, they were being renovated, anyway.
Lunch was in the form of an international buffet at the Jeju International Convention Center. Loved the salmon sashimi, but my first taste of caviar was also likely to be my last. (Salty mothers…) Same deal w/ the imitation Sprite they served.
We spent the most amount of time at our penultimate stop, the duty free shop at the Lotte Hotel. Not sure how one goes from making chewing gum to having your own 4-star hotel, but business must be really, really good. Got G a passport bag, while the ‘Rents bought on some ginko root.
Our final (quick)stop was at the Cheonjeyeon Waterfall, whose height was probably comparable to that of the one in Hidden Valley. Not that I had time to make proper measurements, since we could stick around for 30 minutes before riding the bus back to the tender and back to the ship. While on the tender I got to chat w/ one the crewmembers (Korean lady who visited her family in Busan when we docked there), and from her I found out that that, w/ the exception of Kobe, all of our ports-of-call were supposed to be for less than a day. Ship in ship out w/n a 24-hour period. That might explain why the Ship Excursion tours today were scheduled so early.
We spent the rest of the evening sorting out all the pix we’ve taken so far. One more day, then we’re back in Shanghai. Gotta go pack and place our luggage outside before midnight. (No-one better call for a fire drill right now.)
Day 9 (April 30, 2008) SHANGHAI
Forgot to turn my watch back by an hour, so I woke up an hour too early. All the TV channels on the ship were showing nothing but the ship advisories and particularly glaring was when it said, “kindly vacate your stateroom by 8am.” So much for sneaking in some extra Z's. Still had to line up at deck 6 to get our passports. Afterwards we were out of our staterooms by 8 and out of the ship 2 hours later.
After disembarking we got on a bus headed for Putong (the “New” Shanghai), where we drove around the city w/ a new tour guide, who took us to lunch and to the ZhouZhuang Water Village, w/c looked like a cross between Vietnam and Venice. After catching bits of a live stage opera, we stopped by some “Old Money” residences and courtyards, were men’s and women’s rooms were not limited to separation of toilets. Entire quarters were gender specific, w/ women getting the short-end of the size stick when it came for furniture.
The star home we visited belonged to Ye Cu Cang, a rich businessman from yore who popularized Chinese Boiled Pork Leg, ZhouZhuang’s answer to Beijing’s Kao Ya. Every other food stall we saw here sold this shiny, bronze colored piece of pork, much to the dismay of the local’s arteries. Didn’t stop Elyssa from buying one to bring home, though.
Dinner was a return to the commercial Shanghai cuisine I’ve come to appreciate (read: juicy pork dumplings) before we took that 1+ hour ride to Shanghai International Airport. Dang, it’s HUGE.
The new section was only a few months old, but the already-humongous-to-begin-with old section looked barely used. I envy how has this country has so much space to waste. The number of seemingly crisscrossing bridges around the place makes you want to come in several hours before your scheduled flight in case you get lost while trying to look for the departure area. On the minus side the size of this place made boarding gate changes a really tiring experience, walking-wise. Worse still, our flight leaves past 1am; on another no-frills-nor-thrills Cebu Pacific flight. Crowded. Smelly. Unhygienic. God Almighty, I’m riding a local commuter bus w/ wings.
And to top if all off, what’s there to greet us in Manila past 4am but 37 degree Celsius weather. Not even a morning chill, for crying out loud! Once we made it home I went for the A/C and a shower before going to bed.
Ugh, I’m stuck w/ so many Japanese coins because foreign exchange desk on the ship won't take anything but paper bills, and those racist slot machines only take American quarters.
View of Busan Seaport from the ship
Our first stop in South Korea was Busan. We weren’t able to reserve Shore Excursion tickets on time, so we went off on our own. Good thing the shuttle bus was free, but it’s strange how having over a dozen Pinoys dropped off in the middle of downtown Busan at 9 in the morning doesn’t seem to faze anyone anymore. Lord knows what everyone else did after we split up, but E, E, and I went inside the nearby Phoenix Hotel to ask for directions to the subway, and from there we rode from Jagalchi (got on the wrong lane at first, but thankfully the senior citizens on duty let us cross over w/o a fuss) to Dongbaek. That was an unpleasant 45-50 minute experience, since the inside of the train smelled like old people. And were some of the commuters staring at us because we looked out of place, or because we were seated in the handicapped/ senior citizen section? Took some pix of them for archiving. Asking for directions to the Busan Aquarium was an adventure in itself, as English wasn’t the locals’ second language, and each person we asked (or we map we read) had ideas contrary to ours as to what constituted a “10-minute walk.” I figure guesstimated the time for foreigners w/ longer legs or strides (aka White people).So while wandering the streets of the Hauendae Area we stopped by Haeundae Beach and took pix and made a mini dance video, something I never promised myself I’d do at a beach in a foreign country, but at least the girls were game. (Dance video to be posted upon request.)When we finally found the Aquarium we only stayed for an hour (w/c doesn’t justify our paying 1600Won a ticket, sans IMAX movie option) looking at fish and watching scuba diving magicians pull long rubber wands out of a wet hat ('kay, that sounded dirtier than I intended). Afterwards there still a train to catch, then run like hell, lest we miss the final 3:30pm shuttle bus back to the ship. We had hotdogs for lunch (a quick carbs boost for that aforementioned running-like-hell thing).As it was still early in the day when we got back I got in some gym, sauna and Jacuzzi time (it’s good to be on vacation). At the sauna (ditched the trunks this time), I made accidental eye contact and got into a conversation w/ an Indonesian businessman.
The accidental contact our freshly baked birthday suits made when he bumped into me at the lockers was awkward enough, but to chat while trying to get dressed was pushing it. Still, I kept my latent paranoid homophobia in check. Why couldn’t this have happened in the buffet line or anywhere else on the ship where nudity wasn’t an option? He said he was on the cruise acting as guide and middleman for some clients who wanted to travel. Contact info could not be exchanged, as I had no phone/calling card at the time. Just as well, as I don’t think I could’ve done so if it turns out that he was making a pass at me.
Day 8 (April 29, 2008) JEJU
As we arrived at Jeju we had to transfer to a mini-boat (called a Tender) because the Port Terminal was on the north side of the island, but we were touring the south. We were welcomed w/ complimentary bottled water and chocolates and greeted by 1 of the only 4 (or 7, I forget) English-speaking tour guides on the island.
First stop was the Jusang Jeollidae Cliffs. The black, hexagonal pillars bunched up together reminded of that kryptonite island in Superman Returns. We kinda lost Ma for awhile during the photo-ops. Turns out she wandered in the opposite direction of where we were.
Next stop was Yakcheonsa Temple, “The Largest Buddhist Temple of Zen Buddhism in Asia.” Didn't go inside to kowtow, but I did take a sip from their all-healing spring fountain, w/c claims to cure all that ails you, provided you “clear your mind 100% of all negative and impure thoughts/energies.” There’s always a catch…Then were off to the Yeomiji Botanical Gardens. One path to the outer gardens was “guarded” by trees that were custom-cut for a corkscrew effect. The central arboretum had an elevator leading up to the observation tower, but the lines were too long, so forget that. The entire structure combined w/ the greenhouses made it look like the Triskelion in The Ultimates, w/ a green-thumbed touch. We looked at all the indoor themed gardens (saw my first giant barrel cactus, strawberry and lemon guava, and a sausage tree seriously lacking in sausages, plantlike or otherwise), but lacked time to explore the outer ones. Oh, well, they were being renovated, anyway.Lunch was in the form of an international buffet at the Jeju International Convention Center. Loved the salmon sashimi, but my first taste of caviar was also likely to be my last. (Salty mothers…) Same deal w/ the imitation Sprite they served.We spent the most amount of time at our penultimate stop, the duty free shop at the Lotte Hotel. Not sure how one goes from making chewing gum to having your own 4-star hotel, but business must be really, really good. Got G a passport bag, while the ‘Rents bought on some ginko root.Our final (quick)stop was at the Cheonjeyeon Waterfall, whose height was probably comparable to that of the one in Hidden Valley. Not that I had time to make proper measurements, since we could stick around for 30 minutes before riding the bus back to the tender and back to the ship. While on the tender I got to chat w/ one the crewmembers (Korean lady who visited her family in Busan when we docked there), and from her I found out that that, w/ the exception of Kobe, all of our ports-of-call were supposed to be for less than a day. Ship in ship out w/n a 24-hour period. That might explain why the Ship Excursion tours today were scheduled so early.
We spent the rest of the evening sorting out all the pix we’ve taken so far. One more day, then we’re back in Shanghai. Gotta go pack and place our luggage outside before midnight. (No-one better call for a fire drill right now.)
Day 9 (April 30, 2008) SHANGHAI
Forgot to turn my watch back by an hour, so I woke up an hour too early. All the TV channels on the ship were showing nothing but the ship advisories and particularly glaring was when it said, “kindly vacate your stateroom by 8am.” So much for sneaking in some extra Z's. Still had to line up at deck 6 to get our passports. Afterwards we were out of our staterooms by 8 and out of the ship 2 hours later.After disembarking we got on a bus headed for Putong (the “New” Shanghai), where we drove around the city w/ a new tour guide, who took us to lunch and to the ZhouZhuang Water Village, w/c looked like a cross between Vietnam and Venice. After catching bits of a live stage opera, we stopped by some “Old Money” residences and courtyards, were men’s and women’s rooms were not limited to separation of toilets. Entire quarters were gender specific, w/ women getting the short-end of the size stick when it came for furniture.The star home we visited belonged to Ye Cu Cang, a rich businessman from yore who popularized Chinese Boiled Pork Leg, ZhouZhuang’s answer to Beijing’s Kao Ya. Every other food stall we saw here sold this shiny, bronze colored piece of pork, much to the dismay of the local’s arteries. Didn’t stop Elyssa from buying one to bring home, though.Dinner was a return to the commercial Shanghai cuisine I’ve come to appreciate (read: juicy pork dumplings) before we took that 1+ hour ride to Shanghai International Airport. Dang, it’s HUGE.
The new section was only a few months old, but the already-humongous-to-begin-with old section looked barely used. I envy how has this country has so much space to waste. The number of seemingly crisscrossing bridges around the place makes you want to come in several hours before your scheduled flight in case you get lost while trying to look for the departure area. On the minus side the size of this place made boarding gate changes a really tiring experience, walking-wise. Worse still, our flight leaves past 1am; on another no-frills-nor-thrills Cebu Pacific flight. Crowded. Smelly. Unhygienic. God Almighty, I’m riding a local commuter bus w/ wings.And to top if all off, what’s there to greet us in Manila past 4am but 37 degree Celsius weather. Not even a morning chill, for crying out loud! Once we made it home I went for the A/C and a shower before going to bed.
May 11, 2008
Cruisin': Part 2 of My Trip to Shanghai, Kobe, Fukuoka, Busan and Jeju (whew)
Day 4 (Apr. 25, 2008) KOBE
For $188 dollars, that trip arranged by the ship wasn’t that worth it. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
We docked at Kobe after lunch w/ plenty of time to prepare, but a lot of it was wasted w/ both seen and unforeseen delays, the former being Kathleen’s Seapass card becoming invalid, the latter being Pinoys being really slow shoppers.
First stop: Yodobashi Department Store, w/ floor after floor of gadgets and appliances, but due to the aforementioned delay (and midday Kobe traffic), we only had less than an hour to “shop.” It didn’t help that I wasted time looking for a bathroom, so no dice on the new mini-multimedia player and flash drive.
Last stop: Universal Studios in Osaka, where w/in the first 10 minutes of my arrival I wasted 300 yen due to my inability to read directions on a refrigerated Japanese pay locker (I wanted non-refrigerated). For the most part, if you’ve already been to Uni Studios Orlando, that should be enough. But since I’m already here...
The Peanuts playpen was new to me, as was the Wizard of Oz Zone (sadly the live show of excerpts from Wicked wasn’t playing today). Waterworld was closed and I didn’t even bother w/ Amityville. I bought Des a souvenir from the Hello Kitty store (while totally ignoring the Pink Panther and Spider-Man stores) and caught a glimpse of the roving Sesame Street parade, the characters whom the Japanese students there went nuts over. Strange how the kids we came here w/ (Katrina and Wendy) knew Elmo but not the show he originated from.
Got on the Spider-Man (w/ improved Hydro-Man effect) and Jurassic Park rides, and waited 40 minutes in line at the Hollywood Dreams roller coaster, where the seats have stereo speakers placed by your head so you have your choice of rock, jazz or J. Pop music playing while doing several 360 loops. I was surprised to hear that Pa got on the Back to the Future and Spidey rides and was subsequently freaked out by the experience (got pix to prove it), w/c was ironic since those rides didn’t really go anywhere.
Since I used up most my 3 hours walking around and neglected to grab a proper meal (w/c was difficult since you don’t usually associate theme park food w/ healthy eating), “dinner” consisted of caramel popcorn. Turns out none of the Pinoys had any real dinner, but what annoyed was that I found a 2nd entrance/exit to the park, and just outside that one was a whole chain of restaurants. If I knew some of us pushed the 8:30pm deadline extension to return to the bus (instead of 8pm like most of us) I might’ve been able to order something to go. But instead we all waited ‘til we got back to the ship and stuffed ourselves at the Solarium, since that was the only food area still open, even if all they served were burgers, hotdogs, fries, and pizza. And, really sweet lemonade. As in too sweet. As in I-fill-my-glass-w/-a-third-of-water-first sweet.
Day 5 (April 26, 2008) KOBE
We were leaving Kobe later this afternoon, but most of us didn’t get off the ship anymore for any last-minute sightseeing. All a big blur, now that I think about it. Hmm, didn’t even get to taste Kobe beef.
Day 6 (April 27, 2008) FUKUOKA
Our stop in Fukuoka was only for today, so we had to make the most of it and decided to go into town on our own because the ship’s tour only took up 4 hours max and in the early morning.
Once we got off the ship we took a bus to downtown Tenjin (天神), but before harassing the hell out’ve a local salariwoman who was on the bus w/ us for some commuting tip and directions. One of Ma’s friends even offered to pay her to show us around! Bless her for being so accommodating, but dang if our pestering her didn’t reach the point of embarrassment, ‘coz I was sure she still had to go to work, w/c was all the more apparent when she got off the same stop we did.
Finally we split up into several groups. Some of us took a look around the Daimaru department store, w/c was 8 floors of Rustan’s like shopping booths, save for the cool food-market on the top floor. Stalls there were giving out samples of sushi, chocolate, pastries and noodles. Wish I took them up on it, since those single serving cakes went for as much 365 Yen, and that’s Bizu prices, if not more. Having had enough of the department store, we crossed the street and saw an electronics shop. Elyssa and I got new flash-disks, and a Creative Zen (8gb) to replace my busted Muvo. Had a slight scare when, while waiting for the C-card t clear I realized that I left my camera and tripod in the other store (where I found – but didn’t buy – some resistance bands), but the girls managed to get to it.
Shopper’s remorse hit me a while later when I looked up the price for the Zen online (via a 100 yen for 10 minutes Internet access PC at the subway station) and found out I overpaid. (Note to self: Re. Search.) Come to think of it, everything’s overpriced around here, including the McDonald’s double cheeseburger and a clear plastic umbrella I got for Lola.
I walked around a couple of blocks, making sure I don’t get too disoriented and unable to find my way back. Took a look inside the Taito Amuplats arcade building, w/c was floor upon floor of gaming machines, from the most kiddie friendly on the bottom floor to the more adult (as in mature, not porn) games higher up.
The ground floor had claw machines offering everything from candies, action figures still in their boxes, stuffed animals, jerky and even giant, beach-towel sized strips of chewing gum (how would you store that in your luggage, much less eat it?
Mmm, panda jerky... Still mint-in-the-box
The top floor looked like a mini-casino, w/ an elaborate virtual horseracing setup. Over a dozen guys laid back on their computerized barbershop chairs “grooming” their virtual horses and selecting jockeys in front of a 120-inch wide TV screen. And to think cops in Manila go nuts over ancient, single-screen virtual derbies.
screen
Across the block, meanwhile, had nothing but Pachinko arcades. The noise coming out of the stores resembled a metallic buzzing, or a crashing waterfall of ball bearings.
For $188 dollars, that trip arranged by the ship wasn’t that worth it. But I’m getting ahead of myself.We docked at Kobe after lunch w/ plenty of time to prepare, but a lot of it was wasted w/ both seen and unforeseen delays, the former being Kathleen’s Seapass card becoming invalid, the latter being Pinoys being really slow shoppers.
First stop: Yodobashi Department Store, w/ floor after floor of gadgets and appliances, but due to the aforementioned delay (and midday Kobe traffic), we only had less than an hour to “shop.” It didn’t help that I wasted time looking for a bathroom, so no dice on the new mini-multimedia player and flash drive.
Last stop: Universal Studios in Osaka, where w/in the first 10 minutes of my arrival I wasted 300 yen due to my inability to read directions on a refrigerated Japanese pay locker (I wanted non-refrigerated). For the most part, if you’ve already been to Uni Studios Orlando, that should be enough. But since I’m already here...
The Peanuts playpen was new to me, as was the Wizard of Oz Zone (sadly the live show of excerpts from Wicked wasn’t playing today). Waterworld was closed and I didn’t even bother w/ Amityville. I bought Des a souvenir from the Hello Kitty store (while totally ignoring the Pink Panther and Spider-Man stores) and caught a glimpse of the roving Sesame Street parade, the characters whom the Japanese students there went nuts over. Strange how the kids we came here w/ (Katrina and Wendy) knew Elmo but not the show he originated from.
Got on the Spider-Man (w/ improved Hydro-Man effect) and Jurassic Park rides, and waited 40 minutes in line at the Hollywood Dreams roller coaster, where the seats have stereo speakers placed by your head so you have your choice of rock, jazz or J. Pop music playing while doing several 360 loops. I was surprised to hear that Pa got on the Back to the Future and Spidey rides and was subsequently freaked out by the experience (got pix to prove it), w/c was ironic since those rides didn’t really go anywhere.Since I used up most my 3 hours walking around and neglected to grab a proper meal (w/c was difficult since you don’t usually associate theme park food w/ healthy eating), “dinner” consisted of caramel popcorn. Turns out none of the Pinoys had any real dinner, but what annoyed was that I found a 2nd entrance/exit to the park, and just outside that one was a whole chain of restaurants. If I knew some of us pushed the 8:30pm deadline extension to return to the bus (instead of 8pm like most of us) I might’ve been able to order something to go. But instead we all waited ‘til we got back to the ship and stuffed ourselves at the Solarium, since that was the only food area still open, even if all they served were burgers, hotdogs, fries, and pizza. And, really sweet lemonade. As in too sweet. As in I-fill-my-glass-w/-a-third-of-water-first sweet.
Day 5 (April 26, 2008) KOBE
We were leaving Kobe later this afternoon, but most of us didn’t get off the ship anymore for any last-minute sightseeing. All a big blur, now that I think about it. Hmm, didn’t even get to taste Kobe beef.
Day 6 (April 27, 2008) FUKUOKAOur stop in Fukuoka was only for today, so we had to make the most of it and decided to go into town on our own because the ship’s tour only took up 4 hours max and in the early morning.
Once we got off the ship we took a bus to downtown Tenjin (天神), but before harassing the hell out’ve a local salariwoman who was on the bus w/ us for some commuting tip and directions. One of Ma’s friends even offered to pay her to show us around! Bless her for being so accommodating, but dang if our pestering her didn’t reach the point of embarrassment, ‘coz I was sure she still had to go to work, w/c was all the more apparent when she got off the same stop we did.
Finally we split up into several groups. Some of us took a look around the Daimaru department store, w/c was 8 floors of Rustan’s like shopping booths, save for the cool food-market on the top floor. Stalls there were giving out samples of sushi, chocolate, pastries and noodles. Wish I took them up on it, since those single serving cakes went for as much 365 Yen, and that’s Bizu prices, if not more. Having had enough of the department store, we crossed the street and saw an electronics shop. Elyssa and I got new flash-disks, and a Creative Zen (8gb) to replace my busted Muvo. Had a slight scare when, while waiting for the C-card t clear I realized that I left my camera and tripod in the other store (where I found – but didn’t buy – some resistance bands), but the girls managed to get to it.
Shopper’s remorse hit me a while later when I looked up the price for the Zen online (via a 100 yen for 10 minutes Internet access PC at the subway station) and found out I overpaid. (Note to self: Re. Search.) Come to think of it, everything’s overpriced around here, including the McDonald’s double cheeseburger and a clear plastic umbrella I got for Lola.
I walked around a couple of blocks, making sure I don’t get too disoriented and unable to find my way back. Took a look inside the Taito Amuplats arcade building, w/c was floor upon floor of gaming machines, from the most kiddie friendly on the bottom floor to the more adult (as in mature, not porn) games higher up.The ground floor had claw machines offering everything from candies, action figures still in their boxes, stuffed animals, jerky and even giant, beach-towel sized strips of chewing gum (how would you store that in your luggage, much less eat it?
Mmm, panda jerky... Still mint-in-the-box
The top floor looked like a mini-casino, w/ an elaborate virtual horseracing setup. Over a dozen guys laid back on their computerized barbershop chairs “grooming” their virtual horses and selecting jockeys in front of a 120-inch wide TV screen. And to think cops in Manila go nuts over ancient, single-screen virtual derbies.
screen
Across the block, meanwhile, had nothing but Pachinko arcades. The noise coming out of the stores resembled a metallic buzzing, or a crashing waterfall of ball bearings.
When we got back to the ship, some of us decided to have dinner at the Windjammer café for a change. Later I wished we did it some other night, ‘coz it turned out that Edelweiss served lobster. Lots of lobster. Sigh…
(And as an addendum to my buyer’s remorse, I found out that the Zen prefers a particular video format (*.wmv) and could only be charged via USB.)
(And as an addendum to my buyer’s remorse, I found out that the Zen prefers a particular video format (*.wmv) and could only be charged via USB.)
May 8, 2008
Cruisin': Part 1 (of 3) of My Trip to Shanghai, Kobe, Fukuoka, Busan and Jeju (whew)
Day 0 (April 21, 2008) MANILA - SHANGHAIWe left the house at around 4:45pm to account for traffic and the long line at immigration. Ran into Cheyenne (Rafael) there, along w/ her mom and another companion as they were taking a connecting flight from Iloilo and headed for Australia, then at the waiting lounge I then saw Evangeline Chua and her littler brother, both of them heading for GuangZhou for a trade fair. Haven’t even left the country yet and already I’m bumping into friends I’d prefer to have seen abroad, if only to increase my simultaneous surprise and pleasure of doing so.
One chicken sandwich and a bottle of C2 Iced Tea served as an early dinner before our 8pm departure. Tried listening to Bill Bryson’s audiobook on the life of Shakespeare, but it proved to be a dull “read.” Good thing I had a portable DVD player at hand to help pass the time on Cebu Pacific’s no-frills or thrills flight, where they sell you the stuff (i.e. food and drinks) you’d expect to get gratis, then pass the time w/ asinine parlor games. I watched the first 1 and ½ eps of the Sharpe series (starring Sean Bean), not knowing that each show’s running time was as long as an average feature film. (Hmm, no wonder that “hour” took forever to finish.)
One 45-minute drive from the airport later we arrived at the Citadines Apart’Hotel. We had a bit of trouble using the elevator at first, turns out we needed to swipe our card in the slot before we could press on the keypad. Our room was a 1-bed and 1-bath apartment, w/ a completely stocked kitchen (at least w/ it’s cutlery) and fully furnished living room. Unfortunately TV viewing was restricted to the latter (unlike in other rooms where there was a hole in the wall separating living room from bedroom and the TV can swivel to accommodate whoever wants to use it), w/c, along w/ a DVD player, made up for me having to sleep on the couch’s pullout bed.Day 1 (April 22, 2008) SHANGHAI
The gang went around the Apart’Hotel’s neighborhood looking for a place to have breakfast. We ended up at a small Ongpin-style restaurant where the staff seemed surprised at receiving so many patrons this early in the morning. We had noodles and juicy dumplings.
Later on our tour guide brought us to the Super Brand Mall (seemingly named w/ an instant Chinese-English electronic dictionary), where I was surprised to find a Tom’s World arcade. Guess that bear in a spacesuit mascot idea wasn’t a Pinoy invention. Another surprise was the absence of toilet paper in most (if not all) of the cigarette-smelling men’s rooms (ironic “No Smoking” sign inside them notwithstanding) on all 8 floors of this mall. So many shops, so little time.
Finally found a McDonald’s w/ a decent bathroom (read: non-squat toilet), so I had a late Chicken McNugget lunch, followed w/ a vanilla latte from Starbucks. The seedier looking shops at the back reminded me of those stalls I saw in Beijing, where they sold only buttons, adhesives or even just paper. Some shops even sold toy robots that were painted red and blue, given a helmet and a mask over its mouth. Voila: an Optimus Prime variant/bootleg action figure.
Dinner was at Ding Tai Fung at the South Block Mall of XinTianDi, a classier version of WangFuJing or HouHai (sans artificial lake/canal). The restaurant’s walls had illustrations of various celebrities, some of them even autographed. 
The tour guide then took us to ZhongShan Road to check out some of Shanghai’s famous landmarks from across the HuangPu River, or at least as much as we could see this foggy evening, like the tackily lit Orient Pearl TV Tower. I bought myself some gelato for dessert.
(In case anyone’s wondering how I’m able to recall all the names of these places when I can’t even tell you where I had dinner last week, two words: Google search.)
Day 2 (April 23, 2008) SHANGHAI, THEN TO SEA
Taking advantage of the electric kettle, breakfast consisted of 1 sachet of Ovaltine and half a bowl of instant noodles (shared other half w/ Ma). While packing for our trip to the cruise ship one of the zippers on the Samsonite luggage came off. Lost something in translation while explaining my dilemma to the front desk, as I asked for pliers but they had a guy bring up some plastic rope, instead. With time to kill and an appetite to salve I took a stroll outside. No MacDonald’s in sight, so I went back to Citadines and waited for our bus.
The bus took us to a “pre-departure” building; w/c was apparently still far off from the actual harbor. Almost like checking in the front desk of a hotel then having to take a cab to get to your room. Even w/ our pre-confirmation status the lines were still long. Finally we received a “gift bag” of water, chips and cookies for our approx. 1-hour ride to the harbor, and were greeted w/ strong, chilly winds. Great, it’s Vancouver all over again. When we got up the gangplank we were greeted by a Pinoy security guard. Seems there’s going to be more Filipinos working on the ship than vacationing in it.
Our interior “large” stateroom on Royal Caribbean’s Vision Class ship Rhapsody of the Seas definitely looked a lot bigger in the online pictures. Instead of 2 regular bed we got 4 fold-out bunk-style beds. Naturally I got the top bed. It was smaller than my dorm room in BLCU, and the bathroom’s shower area was tighter than a phonebooth. Toilet was a combo H2O-vaccum model, w/c made flushing w/ the lid up very noisy.We had a late buffet lunch at the Windjammer Café, followed by an emergency drill a couple of hours later, then afterwards I hit the gym w/ Elissa and Erlynn, where I was hit w/ a bad case of stomach cramps. Hate it when a burp gets trapped in my gut. Thankfully that passed (Elyssa's suggestion of drinking hot tea worked) before I visited the sauna and Jacuzzi, unlike the bout of seasickness some of us in the group experienced.
Dinner was at the Edelweiss restaurant as we served by an Indian and Pinoy waiter. I ordered the salmon. The optimist in me thinks all the attention and great service from the waiters is just them loving their job. The pessimist in me suspects it has more to do w/ the fact that the ship has "gratuity guidelines" suggesting how much to tip each waiter per day, per customer. Lessee, minimum of $2.50 from approx. 1700 passengers times 3 meals a day for 7 days comes to... a lot of freakin' tips.Elyssa’s mom was made to eat some crackers and a Fuji apple to help ease her seasickness. Too bad the same couldn’t be done for Elyssa, who said she hurled into her barf bag the moment she stepped out of the diner.
After an easy-come-easy-go moment w/ a quarter and a casino slot machine, we caught of bit of the husband-and-wife team juggling act at the Broadway Melodies Theatre. Physically speaking they looked more like a magic act, w/c made the realization that they just juggled (and had to shout nicely at the audience for applause) all the more disappointing.
Day 3 (April 24, 2008) AT SEA
Ship’s really rock-a-bye’in now, and we still have a whole day of sea travel before we reach Kobe. Tried to walk like a zombie to keep balance, but for the most part ended up walking like a drunk. Rocky waves days like this might explain why the plates and glasses at Windjammer are made of plastic/fiberglass.
‘Lynn, Lyssa and I went down to the medical bay at Deck 1 to look for some anti-seasickness patches for Pa. There were none available in the pill vending machine (w/ a small basket full of quarters for use on it), so the doctor told us to look for it at the duty-free shops up on Deck 6. No patches there, either, so I ended up buying a pair of non-medicated anti-drowsiness wristbands for 15 bucks(!) Why is placebo and acupressure so pricey?
I spent time hanging at the library, w/c was very accommodating, having scheduled meeting for “Friends of Bill W.” (aka Alcoholics Anonymous) and “Friends of Dorothy” (aka gays). Makes me wonder if that “Cigar Aficionados” meeting might also be code for something else, but I digress. I watched one episode of Sharpe before heading back to the gym (yes, I brought several sets of gymwear), where again I got cramps. Maybe I shouldn’t breathe through my mouth.
Tonight was the Captain’s Ball, so that meant formal wear, w/c for me meant to dress up like it was JS Prom. Didn’t pack a jacket, so I made do w/ a dress shirt (w/ the fashion faux pas of my white T-shirt peeking out underneath). Compared to the other guests I was definitely underdressed. (Hell w/ it, just drink the champagne.) After some ballroom dancing (but not by me) the passengers was introduced to Norwegian Captain Stein (that’s his first name) and the rest of his international crew. The Captain mentioned the number of nationalities currently on the cruise, w/ Koreans dominating the roster. Photo-ops w/ other crewmembers followed.Kobe to come.
Apr 13, 2008
Ben's Birthday Weekend
I hosted small birthday party at Fernand's condo at Asia Tower in Makati, but after all the preparations w/ the food, sounds and venue I overestimated the effectiveness of inviting guests via Facebook. So save for one friend (and her sister) who actually RSVP'd, it was the ones that I contacted by text message (and YahooMessenger) that made it to the party. Sigh, why can't people embrace technology like me..? :pHere's pix of me and and the wonderful people who came and wished me well.
Overall it wasn't too bad. Now I have enough cake, beer and leftovers from Haagen Dazs and North Park to last me till next week. ;)
Summary of Expenses:
Rental fee for function room: P1,550.00
Takeout dinner, North Park: 1,201.20
Ice cream: 1,602.01
Supplies: 305.40
This Sunday it was the families' turn. Shabu-shabu at Gloria Maris Greenhills (at the less fancy wing). Man, I just wanna sleep after family brunch. Turns out an hour's nap was all I needed. After that is was catch-up time w/ My Name is Earl, Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles and Life. (Happy, Eileen?)
Apr 9, 2008
Tendon(ic) Tuesday
Went for a workout at Slimmer's World at Trafalgar Plaza in Makati (w/c I sometimes get to do whenever Ma goes for her facial treatment), and while doing a post-workout stretch I may have pulled a neck/shoulder muscle. (Tip: Don't stray from proper yoga stretch techniques). Now I move around like I'm wearing those neck braces you see on people when they've suffered whiplash. I say "look like" coz I don't really have one but instead have to concentrate on not nodding nor tilting my head back, although turning left and right is okay. In video camera terms I can pan but not tilt.
This made preparing food slightly awkward since I could only work w/in peripheral vision (bless eye-level cupboards and dang below eye-level kitchen counters). And since I don't have a neck brace a Salompas pad (and Alaxan) will have to do.
Excuse me, I have to adjust the office chair height.
This made preparing food slightly awkward since I could only work w/in peripheral vision (bless eye-level cupboards and dang below eye-level kitchen counters). And since I don't have a neck brace a Salompas pad (and Alaxan) will have to do.
Excuse me, I have to adjust the office chair height.
Apr 7, 2008
Slackish Sunday
I was supposed to join my brothers for a swimming party at their Mariana Heights condo in New Manila, but we opted for Plan B (i.e. they go swimming and just come to my house for lunch) instead.
Didn't leave the house today and just watched a lot of downloaded television and one movie, La Vie En Rose (aka La Mome), a sad-but-not-depressing movie about French singer Edith Piaf. The film reminded me of Chaplin, not only for the way the film jumps back and forth w/ the timelife but also w/ lead actress' Marion Cotillard's uncanny resemblance to Piaf. I think they shaved her hair above the forehead slightly to match Piaf's hairline (as well as her eyebrows).
As w/ keeping w/ our President's tradition of moving holiday dates for longer weekends, Bataan Day was moved from April 9 (Wednesday) to today. Not that I have plans to go out or anything. Am looking for a venue for the b-day party on Saturday, though. ;)
Didn't leave the house today and just watched a lot of downloaded television and one movie, La Vie En Rose (aka La Mome), a sad-but-not-depressing movie about French singer Edith Piaf. The film reminded me of Chaplin, not only for the way the film jumps back and forth w/ the timelife but also w/ lead actress' Marion Cotillard's uncanny resemblance to Piaf. I think they shaved her hair above the forehead slightly to match Piaf's hairline (as well as her eyebrows).
As w/ keeping w/ our President's tradition of moving holiday dates for longer weekends, Bataan Day was moved from April 9 (Wednesday) to today. Not that I have plans to go out or anything. Am looking for a venue for the b-day party on Saturday, though. ;)
Apr 6, 2008
Sister's Saturday
After lunch I got some office work done and rushed to the SM Supercenter in Pasig to catch my friend Joy Alano's 1-Act play called All I Want at the Coffee Nook, w/c she directed. I went w/ Wella and w/o the benefit of a newer street atlas book (it was in the other car) we got lost for almost half an hour and and ended up missing almost half the play.
The Coffee Nook was located in the same floor area of the supermarket, so having a play inside a packed coffeeshop w/ only glass walls to dull the noise of grocery shoppers outside wasn't exactly ideal. You could also tell it was the playwright's first play since the jokes were kinda predictable and the dialogue contrived, but it had its moments. Actually it reminded me a lot of my first One-Act Play. (Reworking the diaglog on it now.)
After the play Wella and I ordered coffee then went to Tiendesita's next door to check out she stalls. She ended up buying a faux vintage Wonder Woman print T-shirt.Sis' birthday was also today, and for dinner she treated us to Banana Leaf at Robinson's Ermita. Food we ordered was better than what Goldy and I had last week when we ate at BLeaf in Greenbelt (w/c was followed by 1 scoop of Gellato ice cream immediately afterwards, but I digress). It was during dinner I realized that I forgot to pay for the coffee at Coffee Nook! I texted Wella and she suggested that we have to be them, so I said fine and that next time we get lost looking for that place that's the first thing I'll do.
Apr 5, 2008
Fishy Friday
In anticipation for the huge amount of food I'll be consuming at Lola Ina's for dinner, I only had salmon steak ("steak" apparently refers to the way the meat is sliced, and not some weird fish-beef hybrid) for lunch, w/ 1 tomato in place of rice. A real stomach-slimmer, that one.
Also anticipating long hours of after-dinner chatchit from the 'rents and visitors from Bicol, I brought along my portable DVD player and watched Confessions of a Superhero, a documentary featuring 4 street performers who dress up as movie/comics/cartoon characters along Hollywood Blvd., specifically Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Hulk (that's 3 for DC Comics and 1 Marvel, in geek ratio).![]()
"Superman" here is Christopher Dennis. Imagine Christopher Reeve's older, scrawnier cousin.
Anyhoo, I digress. Dinner had our usual orders: flame-grilled tuna collar, broccoli stir-fried w/ garlic, tuna belly, shrimp tempura, pork liempo, spicy fried crab and calamari. Every time. But I never tire of it. Dad ordered some red fish sloshed in sweet-and-sour sauce, but it didn't go over very well.
Among our dinner guests were my chosen Confirmation godparents, Jesse Robredo and wife Lenny, the former currently the mayor of Naga City (5 terms and still going strong, I believe). Busy guy that he is I hardly get to see him, so it's always a treat when we do meet up. Boy, there's a feeling I'm familiar with. (Just kidding, milady.)
On the sorta down side, I just recovered from that a cold a caught from one of my nephews when I caught one again, this time from my sister-in-law, who sat next to me at the dinner. Can't blame her; wild seahorses couldn't drag her (nor any of us) from the food at Lola Ina's.
See ya around (sniffle)...
Also anticipating long hours of after-dinner chatchit from the 'rents and visitors from Bicol, I brought along my portable DVD player and watched Confessions of a Superhero, a documentary featuring 4 street performers who dress up as movie/comics/cartoon characters along Hollywood Blvd., specifically Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Hulk (that's 3 for DC Comics and 1 Marvel, in geek ratio).
Anyhoo, I digress. Dinner had our usual orders: flame-grilled tuna collar, broccoli stir-fried w/ garlic, tuna belly, shrimp tempura, pork liempo, spicy fried crab and calamari. Every time. But I never tire of it. Dad ordered some red fish sloshed in sweet-and-sour sauce, but it didn't go over very well.
Among our dinner guests were my chosen Confirmation godparents, Jesse Robredo and wife Lenny, the former currently the mayor of Naga City (5 terms and still going strong, I believe). Busy guy that he is I hardly get to see him, so it's always a treat when we do meet up. Boy, there's a feeling I'm familiar with. (Just kidding, milady.)
On the sorta down side, I just recovered from that a cold a caught from one of my nephews when I caught one again, this time from my sister-in-law, who sat next to me at the dinner. Can't blame her; wild seahorses couldn't drag her (nor any of us) from the food at Lola Ina's.
See ya around (sniffle)...
Apr 1, 2008
I, Clod-ius
Man, I'm a jack@$$.
While chatting w/ a friend online (American currently living a Bohemian artist lifestyle in Beijing) I realized for the first time what another friend (and sometimes my mom) meant when they said I'm insensitive to another person's feelings by making jokes in bad taste.
Now, if u knew me you'd realize that any joke or wisecrack I make regarding friends is done w/ tacit approval of said person and w/o any malice (i.e. I am under the impression that he/she's ok w/ it based on their mannerisms). I don't go through doors unless they've been opened, knowwhatimean? Old-fashioned ribbing and teasing.
In 2004 (when both my friend and I were in Beijing) she was assaulted by a mentally unstable student from our university. Long story short she suffered some head trauma (but recuperating nicely at present, thankfully) and that student (Korean w/ major connections) was never brought to justice. Some time after the attack she seemed to be alright, smiling and joking about. She must be coping, I thought.
During our last chat I made an off-hand comment after she excused her missing a line in our conversation as a result of "brain damage." (Her words.) Here's where my inner jack@$$ stepped in and said "Well, at least your excuse is believable." She gave a rejoinder ("at least your present is returnable") but called me to task for "appear(ing) to make light of a very real condition." I said I thought it was ok because she seemed to be making light of it herself.
The impact of my offense didn't hit until she started to tell me in more graphic detail the assault and its aftermath (details her mother failed to mention in her letters to me and detail I won't repeat here 'coz they're a bit horrifying) and then said, "i've never moped about anything in my life. but neither am I going to turn it into a cheap joke. it's like laughing about rape."
She was right. This woman survived a horrible aggravated assault and I'm treating it like she lost her freakin' wallet.
Needless to say I apologized repeatedly (it's not enough, I know) and promised no more brain jokes. We're okay now.
Another reason I'm telling you this story is because I don't want that to happen again. The instant you think I go too far or say something obtuse please tell me right away and don't let if fester and grow. HelloKittyPeanut is already ignoring me because of a misunderstanding (and is apparently a lot less understanding about the concept of apologies).
If that ever happens I prefer that we talk things out, no matter how uncomfortable it may be for both parties, because from experience I know that discomfort goes away, and the relief that follows outweighs the former.
Hmm, just realized that my last statement sounded like I was describing post-constipated twosies.
While chatting w/ a friend online (American currently living a Bohemian artist lifestyle in Beijing) I realized for the first time what another friend (and sometimes my mom) meant when they said I'm insensitive to another person's feelings by making jokes in bad taste.
Now, if u knew me you'd realize that any joke or wisecrack I make regarding friends is done w/ tacit approval of said person and w/o any malice (i.e. I am under the impression that he/she's ok w/ it based on their mannerisms). I don't go through doors unless they've been opened, knowwhatimean? Old-fashioned ribbing and teasing.
In 2004 (when both my friend and I were in Beijing) she was assaulted by a mentally unstable student from our university. Long story short she suffered some head trauma (but recuperating nicely at present, thankfully) and that student (Korean w/ major connections) was never brought to justice. Some time after the attack she seemed to be alright, smiling and joking about. She must be coping, I thought.
During our last chat I made an off-hand comment after she excused her missing a line in our conversation as a result of "brain damage." (Her words.) Here's where my inner jack@$$ stepped in and said "Well, at least your excuse is believable." She gave a rejoinder ("at least your present is returnable") but called me to task for "appear(ing) to make light of a very real condition." I said I thought it was ok because she seemed to be making light of it herself.
The impact of my offense didn't hit until she started to tell me in more graphic detail the assault and its aftermath (details her mother failed to mention in her letters to me and detail I won't repeat here 'coz they're a bit horrifying) and then said, "i've never moped about anything in my life. but neither am I going to turn it into a cheap joke. it's like laughing about rape."
She was right. This woman survived a horrible aggravated assault and I'm treating it like she lost her freakin' wallet.
Needless to say I apologized repeatedly (it's not enough, I know) and promised no more brain jokes. We're okay now.
Another reason I'm telling you this story is because I don't want that to happen again. The instant you think I go too far or say something obtuse please tell me right away and don't let if fester and grow. HelloKittyPeanut is already ignoring me because of a misunderstanding (and is apparently a lot less understanding about the concept of apologies).
If that ever happens I prefer that we talk things out, no matter how uncomfortable it may be for both parties, because from experience I know that discomfort goes away, and the relief that follows outweighs the former.
Hmm, just realized that my last statement sounded like I was describing post-constipated twosies.