Christmas in Nueva Ecija

Christmas day in the Philippines is so different to the UK. Shops and malls are open, and it really seems to be business as usual. The obvious difference is that almost everyone seems to have the Noche Buena celebration when Christmas Eve turns into Christmas day. The Noche Buena is when families get together - many of them balikbayans and give presents out to their immediate and sometime extended families. If you are family oriented it's a nice get together. My experience was with Apple and some of her immediate family, but also cousins from the US of A and Japan. It was nice to meet them all - they made me feel really welcome - and now we've now got open invites to USA and Japan!
The ice was broken by the younger adult family members by drinking a Filipino liqueur called Lambanog which was a little bit like Sake but much much stronger. We drank it warm which was a little wierd, and it seemed to be taking the enamel off my teeth!
We had our very special Christmas lunch in NE Pacific Mall - and went out later for as near to a fine dining experience as my budget will stretch to at Retro Bar. I finished the day off with a very nice Pinoy rum called Tanduay.

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