Manila: Walk This Way

Last September, I read an article online about a certain Carlos Celdran, who staged a protest action against the Church's opposition to the reproductive health bill. According to the news, he was dressed as Jose Rizal when he entered Manila Cathedral during a mass. He stood before the altar with a sign bearing the word "Damaso" to the dismay of the bishops and priests. It was from there that I learned that he has his own tour company called, Walk This Way, which does walking tours in Intramuros, among other places. 

Walking tours are very common in Europe. I've joined Sandeman's walking tours in Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam and Prague. But I never thought that we also have walking tours in the Philippines like the ones offered by Carlos Celdran. So when I came back to the Philippines a couple of weeks ago, I convinced my sister to join me in Carlos Celdran's Intramuros walking tour entitled, "If These Walls Could Talk".

I love how he livened up the walking tour by combining theatrical elements during his narration. He shared several stories about the late Jose Rizal when we were inside the Rizal Shrine, a small museum located in Fort Santiago that has exhibits related to the life of the national hero of the Philippines. 

When it started to rain, Carlos Celdran rented several calesas that took us to San Agustin Church. 

The San Agustin Church is the oldest standing church in the Philippines. It has also been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Nearing the end of the tour, we were led to an old Spanish colonial house that has been converted into a restaurant and gift shop. We were each given a serving of Halo-Halo, which literally translates to Mix-Mix in English. He wrapped up the tour by likening the popular dessert to the Filipino culture. The Halo-Halo is a mixture of various ingredients  (jackfruit, purple yam, etc), while the Filipino culture is a hodgepodge of various cultures (American, Spanish, etc).

For more inquiries about tour dates and tour rates, you may visit his personal site: http://celdrantours.blogspot.com/ 

July Photoblog

  *** Hanging bridge in Sunway Lagoon in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ***

Dose of Inspiration

Oakroom

My sister is back in Manila for a work assignment. My relatives and I are beyond thrilled to have her back in the country. Yesterday, my cousin invited us for some snacks at Oakroom. We ordered nachos, quesadillas and their ginormous halo-halo. The food was excellent and the ambiance was just perfect. I will definitely come back here!

You can visit Oakroom at the 6/F of Oakwood Premier Joy-Nostalg Center Manila, 17 ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

Officially Back

I officially got back to work yesterday during our company's third quarter sales kick-off at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. I am so excited to be back after being away for nearly a year. I met my co-workers once again and exchanged pleasantries with a lot of them. The sales kick-off was very timely because I really needed the inspiration and adrenaline rush to get back to the grind.

Food Trips With My Greek Tsoula

It has been a week since I came back from Europe. I terribly miss Europe already. But more than the beautiful scenery, it's the people that I have met that I miss more. I especially miss my Greek tsoula, Nicoleta. For the past ten months, she has been my constant travel and food buddy. Let me share some of our memorable food trips:

1. This was the lasagna from a restaurant in Masarykovo Náměstí.

    This was the giant pizza that we ordered for lunch last Maundy Thursday.

    This was our favorite gyros from the park in Českobratrská. 

    This was the Czech delicacy that we bought near the Ostrava Castle.

2. We ate at a Japanese restaurant along Stodolni Street on my birthday last May. It was Nicoleta's first time to use chopsticks. She looked so funny trying to figure out how to use the said utensils. We ordered Ebi Tempura, California Maki and Gyoza.

3. Once or twice a week, Nicoleta and I made it a point to meet up for coffee or sweets. Our favorite hang out places were Café Au Père Tranquille and Cafe Černá Hvězda. We tried so many varieties of sweets, but we kept on going back for their Chocolate Strawberry, Tiramisu and Chocolate Banana Cakes.

Hongkong: Shining, Shimmering, Splendid

Like I said in my previous entry, I was in Hongkong for a mini-reunion with my parents. We stayed in Hongkong for only two days. Here are the highlights of our short trip:

Mongkok: We went shopping in this vibrant district in Hongkong. It was already 9 in the evening when we made our way to the night markets of Mongkok. The shop signs lit up in all kinds of neon lights in Chinese. We snagged very sweet deals on clothes, bags, shoes, souvenirs and a lot more.

Avenue of Stars: We arrived here in the middle of the afternoon to check out Hongkong's version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the breathtaking view of the Hongkong skyline.

Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront: At night, we strolled along the pedestrian-only promenade at the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. We were able to witness the Symphony of the Stars, a spectacular sound-and-light show involving 20 buildings on the Hong Kong Island skyline.

Lantau Island: On our last day in Hongkong, we took the scenic Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping Village. We didn't miss seeing the Giant Buddha, which is said to be the world's tallest outdoor seated bronze Buddha.

Macau: Asia's Entertainment Capital

After my year-long stay in Europe, I headed to Hongkong to meet up with my parents. Part of our itinerary was to visit Macau, the Entertainment Capital of Asia. We only stayed in Macau for two days. Here are the highlights of our short trip:

Welcome to Macau: We were welcomed by the grand lobby of the Venetian Macao upon our arrival. The intricately designed ceiling of the hotel caught my eye instantly. After check-in, we immediately had dinner at the food court because we were all so famished.

The Venetian Macao: I snagged a sweet deal from agoda.com that's why we were able to stay at the 5-star Venetian Macao Hotel. The well-carpeted hallways reminded me so much of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas--both equally classy. We were very pampered in our spacious 70 square meter Royal Suite with canopy-draped king-sized bed and fluffy duvet. This is definitely 1000x better than the cramped hostel rooms I stayed in Europe.

Take Me to Venice: After we freshen up, we leisurely strolled at The Grand Canal Shoppes, which is modeled after the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. Oh how I miss Europe!

A-Ma Temple and Ruins of the Church of St. Paul: The first two sights we visited that rainy day in Macau.   

Fisherman's Wharf Convention and Exhibition Center: The 5,260 sq.m convention & exhibition centre is designed with an ancient civilization theme. There was hardly anybody in the venue. We left after we had lunch and took pictures. 

Hotel Hopping: Mid-afternoon, we went hotel-hopping in Macau to escape from the scorching heat.

Ice World: This is one of the largest indoor ice exhibits ever created. The famous Harbin artisans personally carved the ice sculptures out from 9,000 ice blocks to create the perfect 1,700 square meter ice wonderland. The temperature was freezing but we enjoyed every moment we spent inside. 

Bambu Asian Feast: On our last night in Macau, we had a sumptuous dinner buffet at Bambu. Perfect just perfect.