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Published: August 8th 2007
Filipino Breakfast and Airport Hassles Our plan is to be at the airport at 8:30am, so we get up before 7am and are ready to go by 7:45am. We walk down and Vit has prepared a monster spread for breakfast - chicken longganisa (chicken sausages), SPAM, daing na bangus (marinated, fried milkfish), scrambled eggs, red rice (kinda like brown rice), vienna sausages, toast, and ponkan (a type of orange) juice. It was delicious! Brings me back to my childhood days. I love Filipino breakfast because they’re basically like lunch! I have come to love American egg breakfasts too, especially since they are healthier if you avoid all the hash browns and jams, but it really brings back memories to have this kind of breakfast. Jamie, Vit, my mom, Leroy and I eat leisurely and then head for the airport at 8:30am. The morning was calm except that my mom forgot a bunch of stuff when she did her late-night packing at Xandra’s house last night. She forgot my camera and more importantly she forgot her medication. Oliver, Xandra’s hubby, agrees to meet us at the airport to deliver the much needed medications. There’s crazy traffic on the way to the airport
as expected, and we arrive a bit later than we wanted. Sam and Baba were waiting for us outside since we had their tickets. The line to get into the domestic terminal is long but at least it moves quickly. We then learn that the Philippines has already instituted anti-liquid policies, so we will have to check in all our stuff anyway. Leroy and I get frustrated with the rookie travelers going through security before us, but we just keep it all in. Once through the terminal security, we have to check in, and the lines are deep. We don’t want to miss our flight! We also had to repack some items because of the unanticipated anti-liquid policies (it turned out not to matter as they let people through with liter-sized bottles of water). After checking in, we paid the terminal fee (200 pesos each = $4) and went through the real security gate.
Hanging out at NAIA domestic terminal and flying Cebu Pacific Once in, the place was packed and to my dismay, there were no ATMs. Leroy and I only had a little money which my mom had given us as a gift from my stepdad Bob,
Manila Domestic Airport
Just trying to pass the time, thanks to a 1 hour delay. Smooch right back at you baby.and it looked like we’d have to do with just that for a while. Linus, Sun, and Eunhee were already there, having arrived much earlier and thus getting seats right next to each other. We were all happy to be there, and because of a one hour delay, we had lots of time to hang out. Leroy quickly got a ripe mango shake (delicious!) and then spent some time going from shop to shop deciding what to get. A latte? No, maybe some Pringles. Or a donut? Cinnabon?? He came back empty handed and decided to tough it out. Linus gave in, buying siopao and a beer. Finally, when they put up the sign for our flight to Kalibo, I jumped while Leroy was in midsentence and ran to the line. We were all given separate seats, except for Sam and Baba, so half of us boarded from the front and the rest from the rear. I had a window seat in back of Jamie, and Leroy had an aisle seat several rows in front. The Cebu Pacific flight was pretty smooth, and I had great views of some of the 7,100 islands of the Philippines. Jamie doesn’t like flying,
so I spent some time calming him down too. With only 45 minutes, the only entertainment was a game the flight attendants played in which they would name an object and the first person to raise their hand with the object in it would win a prize. Baba was the first to hold up her ticket when they asked for it, so she won a sports bottle. With this amusement, the flight went by quickly, and before I knew it, we were landing in Kalibo airport and watching the palm trees pass by. We disembarked, grabbed our luggage, and met the agents with whom our hotel arranged transport.
The Van - Boat - Jeep Trek to SeaWind Because my mom, Sam, and Baba are staying at Las Brisas resort with the rest of the family, they had to arrange their own transport. They paid to ride the van with us, but would have to take a ferry and tricycle on their own in order to get to the Boracay resorts. Since we were staying at SeaWind resort, all our transport was pre-arranged. The van ride took 90 minutes, and I was uncomfortable as the sun was shining directly on
me. Leroy was blogging and playing Risk, and everyone else took naps. Well, everyone except Linus because he was seated in a mini-seat - the kind that folds into the aisle - and it was lopsided so he got a terrible backache. After the coaster (what those kinds of vans are called here), we parted ways with my mom, Sam, and Baba. SeaWind had arranged for their boat to take us across the water from Aklan to Boracay, and as we were the only passengers, we were psyched! The view was so spectacular that we all pulled out our cameras and started taking pictures and video. The ride was only 20 minutes, but it was incredibly enjoyable. The water was a beautiful blue and aquamarine. Due to environmental reasons, the boats no longer drop you off in front of the resort (which is great, otherwise we would have been swimming next to boats). They dropped us off at a port, then put our stuff in a small jeep. We didn’t need to lift a finger. The jeep was tight, but it took us to SeaWind where they had lemonades and cool towels ready for us as we checked in. Each
Manila
from 41842.84 Kilometres up of us had a room with a double bed and a twin bed, even though Jamie was the only one in his room since Vit had to cancel last minute =(. The place had everything we needed - air conditioning, comfy beds, good bathrooms (except our toilet was a runner and we had to get it fixed), and a balcony where you could hang out. Once checked in, we touched base with the crew at Las Brisas and made plans for lunch.
Shakes and Seafood with the Whole Fam at Jonah’s Boracay is divided into three stations, with Station 1 being the best because it has the finest and whitest sand as well as the more luxurious resorts. We walked from our Station 1 toward the other stations, enjoying the sand but melting under the oppressive heat. We stopped at Jonah’s fruit shake and ordered various tropical shakes - mango, mango and lemon, mango papaya, etc. We also ordered the grilled milkfish, grilled mixed seafood, and fried milkfish, all with garlic rice. The best thing about eating in the Philippines is how good and plentiful the food is, and also how affordable it is when you think about it
Two...
of the 7100 islands of the Republic of the Philippines in dollars. For example, the grilled seafood platter was about P300 or about U$6 (remember U$1 = P48). The Las Brisas crew didn’t get our message to meet us down the beach and were knocking on our doors at SeaWind. But soon enough, they met us in Jonah’s and there were happy hellos all around. Big hugs and kisses for Xandra, Terran, Tito Raffy, and Tita Jenny. Terran, my godson, also had his yaya (nanny) Sarah with him. He was in a foul mood and seemed overwhelmed with all the people, but by the time lunch ended, he had made his way from one end of the table to the other, where Leroy and I were sitting. The key was finding out that he loves to be called Boy Bawang (Bett, can you believe it!). Boy Bawang is a snack brand for a type of corn nuts. Bettina gets some from her family and has given some to Leroy. It’s the same stuff that Diego and Linus mealed on when we were in L.A., leaving Leroy with just a little bit of Boy Bawang. Well, we’ve come to Boy Bawang central, and Terran loves the nickname. Our food took forever
because of the size of our party (14 adults and one child) and the fact that we all ordered the grilled seafoods. We finally got our meals and ate everything, of course. Then, we walked back to SeaWind to hit the bar and get our swim on.
Linus Gets a Concussion in the Pool Back at the resort, we hit the bar, although I think I just drank water. A few of us were feeling quite dehydrated in the heat. Linus, Sun, and Eunhee wasted no time and went swimming in the pool. At one point, Linus dived down and swam from one side to the other, but he had no visibility and thus smacked his head right into the wall. He came up for air with a big welt on his forehead! We were laughing sympathetically since he was cracking up like a hyena. It was all good, nothing serious, although Sun gave him some sympathetic hugs. I took a dip in the ocean, which was warmer than the Pacific in California, but only stayed until the sun set. We clapped when the sun set, reminiscing on the first sunset in 2005 which Leroy and watched from Ipanema
beach in Rio. Boracay is a very beautiful place. It’s just what I expected and what I wanted for this short vacation in the Philippines. Having been born and raised here until age 10, I have wonderful memories of childhood, but whenever a friend in the U.S. tells me they’ve been to the RP (Republic of the Philippines) and loved Boracay or Palawan, I can only smile because I have no first hand experience of these spots. All my visits home since immigration to the U.S. have been to Manila, and I usually just hang out with my family in their homes or in Manila malls. Of late, we’ve been planning day or weekend trips to Tagaytay, Puerto Galera, and Los Baños. This time, with the much anticipated “Family Reunion,” we got things together for a bigger trip to Boracay. And it is everything I wanted. My cousins Carlo and Moe are not here, nor is my Tita Aura who lives in Canada, which is the only sad thing, but everyone else is together and it’s perfect. If only we could get our act together for dinner!
Happy Hour Miscommunication The youngies (basically, my generation of the family as
opposed to my mom’s) agree to meet at a place next to Jonah’s where the happy hour is from 4-9pm and one bottle of San Miguel beer is P25. Beer for 50 cents! Game! But, somehow, all lines are crossed. Jamie gets a massage for P400 in his room, then heads to the bar next to the one we agreed on. Linus leaves his cell phone with Sun and Eunhee, who are also getting massages in their room when we leave. Leroy and I don’t have a cell, so we walk with Linus to the bar, unknowingly passing Jamie at Cocomanga’s and going to the bar next door. We sit at a table on the sand with pillows and beanbags for chairs. We order some bar food (sisig, which is fried pork face and which I don’t like so much, and mixed seafood) and a bucket of four beers for P100. I get a kalamansi (Philippine lemon) juice and a vodka shot, then mix them up for my Filipino version of a caipiroska! Delish! We amuse ourselves by watching a beach dog play with a crab. The dogs that roam Boracay are the healthiest dogs I’ve seen in a while.
They are not fat like our dogs in the U.S., and they have lovely shiny coats, unlike the dogs I see in Manila. And they seem so happy, sitting and looking out at the ocean. The live nature show amuses us for a bit, then Linus falls asleep with his head on the pillow and feet on the sand. Leroy and I try to take a photo of him with his own camera, and he can’t even feel me tugging on the camera hanging on his neck. We wake him up so we can meet up with the rest of the fam at Las Brisas as we had discussed at lunch, but when we get there, no one is there. Jamie finally gets in touch with us and meets us at Las Brisas. We call the rest of the fam, and they’re all at SeaWind having the buffet dinner! Did we walk right by them??? Sun and Eunhee are passed out in their rooms after their massages (must have been good!). So, after playing with Boy Bawang at Las Brisas for a bit, we walk the five minutes to SeaWind and see the family at a table on the sand.
From the plane to the van
Meli didn't want to take this shot. Can you tell? The buffet at SeaWind is amazing, and I know I’ll want to try it out. At one point, as we watch them grub on pasta and grilled fresh seafood, we decide to take some photos by the beach, which is all of 100 feet away. Jamie has a phat camera and choreographs a jump photo for us. Must be his background in video and advertising that makes him want to catch the perfect shot. Well, after four tries, he gets it! We get a great jump shot - and Leroy’s ups put us to shame. It’s really not fair to pit a tall college athlete against four short Pinoys!
Taboo and Wine The fam is still having dinner, so we happy hour peeps walk to Las Brisas to set up our Taboo game. While there, we dress Terran up in his life jacket and make him pose in his rowboat. He is our toy, oh shame on us. We pop open a couple of the Australian wine bottles and when the fam gets there, we share glasses and divide into teams. Traditionally (i.e. the last time we played in Laguna), we divvy ourselves up into the oldies and the
youngies, but we figure it’s too unfair. The oldies always lose terribly. My mom wants to split into Filipinos and Americans (which does not mean just Leroy on one team, it means those who live in the U.S. so I’m included), but that would mean an unfair advantage for us since there are lots of U.S.-only references in the game. We finally decide to split into random groups by birthdate - first half of the year versus second half of the year. Team A has my mom, Leroy, Sam, Xandra, and me. Team B has Tita Reena, Tito Raffy, Tita Reena, Baba, Jamie, and Linus. It was a landslide win, with Team A annihilating Team B. Mostly, we won because Tita Reena and Tito Raffy gave us lots of points by using all the taboo words on the cards. That, and Tita Reena kept trying to give personal clues to my mom and Xandra, and they would scream, “We’re not on your team!!!” It was fun… when we left, one of the tourists on the beach said, “Good game?” and we said “Great game!” We only got through two bottles of wine between 12 people, even though everyone loved the
wine. The SeaWind people took the short walk home and said our good nights. Welcome to paradise!
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delene
non-member comment
amazing shot
the zero gravity shot is unbelievable. you all should be on a billboard somewhere! mad props to the photographer.