Advertisement
Published: December 23rd 2009
Istanbul, 13 Years After
it was a dream come true to revisit this city that straddles 2 continents. i would not mind visiting it again and again.A couple more nights and it's that time of the year once more. They say one of the longest Christmas Season can be found in this lone Catholic nation in Asia. Filipinos love Christmas and let everyone be warned that in this country, you can hear Christmas carols as early as September. And those Christmas decorations should be up long after Christmas, perhaps till the middle of January.
Footloose
I started off this year by spending New Year's with the family in
Hongkong. Those were all of 4 days of bonding moments , dining galore, and playing tourists. Though we have made many trips to Hongkong before, this city with such an international flavor is always a pleasure to visit. More so since our family spent the holidays with dear old friends who flew in from Cambodia to
"eat Peking Duck with us".
I was back in Manila soon after this holiday, but not for long. The long-planned trip to
Turkey and Greece with my niece Shelly was quite an adventure. Turkey in March was a pleasant discovery . Shelly and I agreed that it is one country that is so much more than just Istanbul.
Aaah.....Meteora
So happy to bring Shelly here. Place is magical! Yet Istanbul never fails to amaze me, even after all of 13 years since my last visit. Cappadocia, Ephesus and Pammukale also rank high among our favorites. From Turkey, the cruising and island-hopping in Greece around April made us pine for more adventures. Those who sang praises for Santorini, Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos and Patmos were not wrong. It would be a challenge to choose just one favorite from among these lovely islands. Everytime I tried to pick a favorite, I would change my mind in the next few minutes. The cruising part was also a first for Shelly. Though it was not exactly the best boat, the itinerary for this cruise was a sure winner. Like a sampler of the Greek islands. Sure, we rushed through all those lovely isles, but the stopovers were enough to give one a good idea of which places to go back to. In my case of course, they are all worth going back to. Next time, with much much more time to spare. In the mainland, who can argue with Athens' Acropolis and the rock monasteries of Meteora? So glad Shelly was delighted to visit these places just as I did years back. It
Smog in Beijing
Meeting up with friends in Beijing and traveling from there through Xian to Shanghai........was a brilliant idea. I am sure we will do this again. was worth the long 6 hour trip in the wee hours of the morning to reach this magical place. (Check
this link )
On our way back to Manila, we met up with family in
Shanghai, China. Not my first time. Nor was it going to be the last for the year. I came home with the family for a few weeks in Manila, only to leave again in May to meet up with dear old friends in
Beijing. Our trip from Beijing through
Xian to Shanghai was a renewal of time-tested friendship. With my friends, i visited the same touristy sites in shanghai and that lovely water town as well as partook of all those sinful Chinese dishes. We parted ways in Shanghai as we took on separate homeward flights. We bid goodbyes and promised ourselves we would make another trip together. Soon, we hope. (
check here)
As we settled back in Manila, we fancied checking out the many promotional offers . Luck was with us when we booked a return flight to
Taipei early August for less than US$100. But that luck fizzled out as soon as we landed in Taipei. Typhoon day was declared just as
Taipei
To arrive in Taipei right on Typhoon Day was just our luck. But we don't get discouraged that easily. we reached our hotel. For the next 3 days, we made good use of our US$1 raincoats from 7-11. By the time the winds eased off, we were ready to throw away those raincoats with ripped sleeves and torn hems. All in all, the trip to Taipei kept us in the city and prevented us from exploring the countryside. But time was not wasted as we made good on our shopping and dining. Besides, this trip was a good break from all the campaign activities I got myself involved in. (
Typhoon 101 @ Taipei 101 )
It didn't take very long before I found myself on yet another trip. This time to Indonesia with a couple of friends. I spent my birthday (Oct 22) in
Jakarta and spent the next few days in
Yogyakarta and Bali. By this time, I have grown quite used to packing and unpacking on short notice. It was my first time to spend my birthday outside of the country, and without family to celebrate with. But my two dear friends were with me, and we had a good time. Yogyakarta proved to be a revelation. This place should be in every traveler's itinerary. Borrobudur is so underrated. I
Underrated Borrubudur
It was a short trip, but offered just as much excitement. Not our first to travel together, but it sure won't be our last too. wonder why? And then there's that much hyped Bali. I expected beaches, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Bali is much more than just that. Ubud in the island of Bali was an altogether distinct culture within Indonesia itself. The temples, the art galleries, the architecture, the religion. It is not Indonesia, yet it is. Please don't ask me to explain that. ;-) (
want to read this?)
Politics, Anyone?
In between these trips, I kept myself busy with the campaign. Oh yes, my last blog was my Indonesian trip in October. I "settled down" after. Or, rather, the political campaign got more intense and I found myself horribly busy. There were domestic trips to Mindanao and there were those regular meetings with the volunteer groups. I am not a political animal ......until now. About time I stand up for the candidate I can believe in. Or perhaps , it is more like me feeling it is about time to put a stop to all this sentiment going on where public sympathy is being exploited to win votes. Whether my candidate wins or not, I feel obliged to do something. A first for me, really. And I can't say
Politics, Anyone?
That's my Presidential candidate. He has to win against a sea of public sympathy for the only son of a martyred father (now considered a hero) and a much-revered mother who is ex-Prez. But simple ME ranks my candidate as the best to lead our country in 2010. it is something I can get used to. Just the same, I 'm in and I better enjoy it and do what I can. For all this, I was rewarded with a bunch of new friends. Mostly under 30. I now respond to calls of
"Tita Lili" (meaning Auntie Lili). I made a rule that anyone under 30 can call me that, but the rest better drop the
tita. Ahem.
Five trips this year: Turkey, Greece, Taipei, Indonesia, twice to China. Political sorties. Patricia into more swimming competitions and Fun Runs, while Martin enjoys his taekwondo lessons. They make me proud. Two devastating typhoons. Lives and properties lost. The ugly scene in Maguindanao, in the southern part of the Philippines I dare not even talk about, as it causes so much pain and shame to every Filipino. Charity work (which continues to inspire me). And a last trip this end of year to
Boracay where the family will greet the new year and enjoy the sun and sand for the next four days.
Let's all hope to end this year with restored hopes and peace in our hearts.
Merry Christmas, everyone!!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.241s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 10; qc: 37; dbt: 0.19s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Maisondubonheur
Pierre-Alexandre
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Seems 2009 was pretty nce, we just have to make 2010 even better...