After spending a day with my high school buddies catching up & planning our Boracay trip, Rene & Eric dropped me off to my cousin's (Joel) whom I have not seen since he was 7 or 8 years young which was over 30 years ago. It was 2 AM by the time I got to his house and finally met in person his wife Gina whom I had been corresponding with the previous 2 months planning out trips for my stay. Joel and I briefly exchanged our past memories but had to prepare for our road trip in just a few hours. So I cleaned up and packed 1 bag for the road. The weather has been rainy since noon on my first day in Manila. It continued to rain as Joel, his wife Gina, and ... read more

After an overnight stay (a big thanks to my buddy Alan and his wife for their hospitality) in Alan's home, he and I went out for breakfast on our way to the airport. Alan chose a no-frills restaurant that specializes in authentic Filipino breakfast dishes. As expected, it was my type of eatery. It is minimalistic yet clean – just the way I like it as I care more about the quality of food than the quality of décor. We both ordered the Com-Si-Log special – (Com)bination (Si)nangag It(Log) which translates to Combination with Fried Rice and Fried Egg. You get to choose 2 items with it. I chose the fried milkfish and Filipino sausage (longaniza – Miranda's favorite) while Alan chose the fried tiny dried fish and fried cured beef. Mmmm mmmm good! He then ... read more