Despedida Dinner with my family

While in Manila and 2 days before our departure,we arranged a dinner out with my family.

The Venue was in "DAMPA"(in my language it means a small & humble native house).The place is a food center where in you can choose anyone of the food stalls with in and bring your shopping bag of seafoods or meat to be cooked anyway you like it paying a sum of lets say 1-2 euros per kilo for every dish you order.Other ingredients is on the house,just bring the fish or meat and ask them to prepare it grilled,fried,sauted,etc.etc. Because Dampa is a seperate area within Farmers Market,you can buy everything fresh in the market.

I had a last minute comitment and lunch date with some of my friends that day and combined dinner with my family at 7:30,we were coming late so i phoned my son to shop for the seafoods that i have in mind and have it already prepared while waiting for us.We arrived 30 minutes late.Mom told me that my Auntie was already having tantrums because of hunger and i asked them to order something else to eat before dinner is serve but we did´nt wait long ,dinner was served within 15 mts upon our arrival.Drinks are to be bought seperately,beer for the men,water or juice for the children and fresh cocunut juice for the older ladies.

Here below are some photos:



We had butter & garlic prawns,calamares,grilled squid,roasted pork meat(lechon kawali),sweet & sour lapu lapu (small grouper)and a delicious head of salmon fish soup ( sinigang na ulo ng isda)supose to be for the children as they like soup but we all end up sharing the soup.



After everybody is satisfied with their stomach,this is what became of my grandchildren later. I have been hearing a commotion & laughter from some people as if they´re having fun and they really are.I look around & saw my grandchildren on a stage acting and posing as super heroes for pictures,lol!!!


My grandchildren on stage. Only one is missing in the picture.she was not able to come as she´s in the province 300 kms from manila.


My youngest son J.Michael with 3 of his children.A happy and proud father of 4 lovely children

Food Experience

The hotel where we stayed for 7 days in HK,4-5 mts walk to the metro station,bus stop on the other side of the street,45 mts by hotel bus to and from the airport.

And another photo of a building with other buildings reflected on the glass ,picture taken in a bus while passing thru.

We went to Stanley Market that day by bus that took us about 40 mts to get there. Stanley market is the best place to shop for bargains though we are not really interested in shopping to avoid having excess luggage as we are still flying to Manila , but as usual we could´nt resist buying souvenirs like HK T-shirts and a D & G fake bag as requested by one of my daughter in law.Prices are not really as cheap as we thought it would be as we found out later when we were already in manila.

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Photos at the market of beautiful orchid flowers and fruits below:



We walked & walked around the stalls to see what we can find interesting up to the last shop, only to end up to a find some food stalls by the seaside promenade.Nothing much to eat except sandwiches,we are feeling hungry and we´re looking for something warm to fill our stomach.Its quite cold that day and we did´nt bring a proper clothing to keep us warm.
Finally we left the area to find and ask people a place to eat.Nada,we cant locate the restaurant that somebody said we can eat well.

Within the market,i saw a signboard looking promising with nice photos of noodles soup (picture below).We cant see the inside so i challenge nubby to give it a try,remembering our experience in a small restaurant in singapore.He laugh and said " lets go!!" we were so hungry that we can eat anything,lol!!



We pass thru a small alley as you can see in one of the photos below:

The alleyway and the anbience inside...it was full house!! Then a guy walk us thru in a small room with electric fan and 3 tables set (the room must be a sleeping quarter at night)
We ordered won ton soup with noodles and beef noodles,H2o for me and a beer for hubby.Then hubby pointed to another delicacy he wans to taste,fried crispy fish skin,i said ok,anything goes when were hungry.



The menu and in front of our table in one corner a place for offering:



The Dining Area and our Special room:



The Kitchen and Service counter:



Did we enjoy our food?? Its just another day of food experience,we´re just glad we did´nt upset our stomach.

We ate in the hotel that evening to compensate ......

Note: You can click photos to enlarge

Visiting HK History Museum

Not wanting to avail of some travel agencies package tour on our first day,we ventured on our own with just a guide map at hand and an Octopus card that you can use for your transportation (bus and metro)
You can buy the card at any metro station counter for as low as 20 HK $ or more (depends of how long you intend to use public transport).Just make sure you validate the card each time you used it. By using the card,transport fee comes cheaper than when you are paying straight to the bus driver for your transport.The card also gives discount for seniors citizen,no need to show your ID to prove your age.
Anyway,hubby´s card came out cheaper than mine :)And so by taking the metro we started our tour at HK history & space museum located at Chatham road,Tsim Sha Tsui.

Riding the metro can be a lot easier and quicker than bus but with the bus,you will see more and appreciate Hong Kongs tall buildings

Photos below:











After the visit,we had our lunch ,roam around the shopping area then back to our hotel where we had our dinner

1st Night Out In Hong Kong

For a firstime traveller to an asian country,please be warned that most shops and restaraunts closes as early as 20:30 hrs.Therefore no shopping after 20.30 on roadside shops or eating in restaurants after 10:30,except of course in the hotels.

After a long rest in the hotel,hubby and i are ready to have our first meal of the day.It was 20:00 hrs and i did´nt want to eat in the hotel so we ventured outside to find a place to eat.There were still some small roadside restaurants open but my attention was caught on a bigger restaurant nearby when i saw a lot of clients inside.So we went in and was immediately ushered on a table,and served a pot of tea and the list of menu they served written in chinese with english translation.

Hubby and I (picture below)looking fresh after a long rest from our 24 hrs journey to HK.




The waitress does not speak english ,she has to call somebody who can.Service is very quick and so with their english,i cant understand the explanation she made with regards to my question.So,i ordered a steamed fish,a plate of vege,and fried rice with prawns.The waitress pointed us to an aquarium to choose the fish to be steamed.Hubby went there to check and take photos as i choose a small grouper,one of the fish on the photo (poor thing :))



Food arrived and served within few minutes.Typically chinese way of cooking,everything is cooked and done quickly.The secret? all ingredients are prepared beforehand,a Wok and a strong fire!! Food was perfect but be warned with your bill,we paid more than 60 euros for this order!!

Here are the dishes we ordered,it was too much for us!!



Guess where we had our coffee and dessert???



As they dont serve coffee in the restaurant,so we went to McDo nearby to have a coffee and an apple pie!! Not bad!! Chinese food for dinner and western coffee and dessert to end the night.

Hello! ,Ola! ,OI!,Kumusta! ,Ni Hao!, Marhaba!

They are the only simple greetings i know in different languages....

It´s been a while since my last entry and and my excuse is i´ve been away for a long vacation in my homeland,the philippines in the far east 45 days to be exact. So many places visited ,so many events happened during this period and i dont even know how & where to begin.

We left,Dec.4,2008 on an early morning KLM flight from Lisbon to Amsterdam then another 11 hrs direct flight Hong Kong arriving the following morning Dec.5,2009.
Hong Kong Int´l airport was built on a a large artificial island reclaimed from two former islands that were leveled and is connected to the northern side of Lantau island.

As we got out of plane,we expected to get into a bus to take us to the terminal building but no instead,we followed the signs & movement of co-passengers going up and down the escalators until all the passengers stoped in front of a glass sliding door.
Bewildered, i asked hubby,"are we going to catch a train?" and he said,"I dont know,we better asked the airport guard" I asked one passenger instead and he said the train will take us to the terminal.

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And so we did and it took us maybe a minute or two before we arrived at the terminal building then another ride in the escalator up.On our way to the immigration,we heard a chinese security screaming to a filipino #$%&?#?!!" Take off your cap!!!!" I guess that was what she was screaming about as we saw the filipino immediately took his cap off.We wondered why its not allowed to wear a cap inside the airport??

Half an hour more on queu to pass thru the immigration,our passport was stamped with a ninety days stay visa and then we´re free admiring the huge building,taking some pictures and finally went to look for a desk to get some information where we can take a taxi to go to our hotel,the guy asked whats the name of the hotel and the location,i told him the name & location of the hotel then he pointed us to another desk where they attend to hotel clients.After all the formalities,name of hotel,name of clients,they gave us a sticker to put on our shirt and we´re told to wait for the driver that will take us to our hotel.





When finally we reach our hotel at about 11:00,we we´re really dead tired to even think of having lunch. Opened our lugage to get some fresh clothes,took a shower then off to bed till evening...

By the way i forgot to mention that while on our way out of the airport i saw a sign for a place inside where you can take your shower or have a massage . It could have been a good idea to take,is´nt it?? Massage and a shower at the airport!!! Great idea for a weary traveller like us.

Manila,Queen City of the Pacific 1938

I just thought i´d show this film about Manila taken before World War II....courtesy of travelfilmarchive videos.

It was quiet a pleasant surprise for me to see how was the life of the filipinos before the war. Some buildings and bridges still exist and are well preserved and of use to this date.Not much has been changed in the downtown district of old manila since except for the transit,the passenger jeepneys that replaced the "Karetela" or "Karamata "on the road,the way most filipinos dressed now and the way we immediately acostumed to the western ways & mentality. No longer are the typical filipina dress called Maria Clara even though our lady President and her secreatary´s still use it for formal ocassions already modified & modernized.

I grew up to see my grandmother wearing the same filipina dress with long skirt down to her toes till she passed away in 1997 age 97.She never cut her long hair and never adopted to the modern fashion as most women her age did.As she has always been good to me,I also love to offer her things on her birthdays & christmas, like a nice comb to adorn her hair or a pair of a local step-in adorned with beads as she like and also materials to make her clothings. How I loved to see & look at this old family picture of my grandparents with their siblings and grandchildren after the war ( myself as a baby in my moms arms and my father next to her:))




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Hope you enjoy this video archive of Manila as I did.

Im back...Im still Around

I have´nt noticed that its been almost three months since i last posted something in my blog....the summer heat of August & September must have affected me in a way :)

But its was not the only reason,i´ve been busy surfing the net for airfares from,Lisbon-Hong Kong-Manila in December trying to get a fare price. Planning and preparation for our holidays has always been always my task as hubby has no time and patience for it.He trusted my discretion and judgement on this matter although the last word will always be his. Lol!!

Therefore,in mid September i finally bought our ticket online for a flight to Hong Kong not direct to Manila. We decided to stay a week Hong Kong ,and during this period we will also visit Macau and Guanzhou,China .I also requested my son in Mla. to buy us a ticket from HK-Mla as KLM dont fly HK-Mla and besides their airline partner that can fly us to Mla charge more than another local airline that i checked thru net. So i opted for our local airline and we manage to get a good price for it too, paying only 150.00 Euros for a one way ticket for two from Hong Kong to Manila.

Buying airline tickets online is always cheaper,you get to check on their prices and compare it to other airlines until you are satisfied with the price and can make your reservation in advance. All you need is to have a bank card where they can debit your payment.Reservation fees also are a lot cheaper than when you buy thru travel agencies.

Anyway,we shall leave on an early morning 3 hrs flight from Lisbon-Amsterdam on Dec.4, then we change plane in Amsterdam for another straight 11 hrs flight to Hong Kong to arrive the following day.In Hong Kong we´ll have a chance to adjust our body clock.Its the most difficult part during this travel because when its morning in Europe,its already the end of the day in the Far East.Time difference Europe to Far East is 8 hrs.

For now,i´m still busy replacing our summer clothes to our winter wardroves most especially hubby´s wardrove. He still works you know,therefore i need to prepare all his office winter clothings.

Yesterday,we have already adjusted our clock one hour late.The day is getting shorter and so is the temperature, thermometer is getting lower although i can still enjoy wearing a lighter clothing during the day as in summer only to change to a warmer clothes when the sun goes down.

In my last post,i promised to write about manila but as we will be in Mla within 6 weeks time,I guess i prefer to show and write about a more updated photo of Mla.

Meantime i could´nt resist to show you some photos taken during our last holiday 2 yrs ago.
Photos were taken with my friends at the newly inagurated SM shopping mall said to be the biggest in asia.



The Shopping Mall of Asia and friends photo by the seaside



Inside the shopping mall



Group picture as our shopping bag of seafoods are being weighed before cooking and another picture of our happy faces on the table before we start attacking our food.
After our dinner,we pass by the fruit market section to buy native fruits to take home.




From the shopping mall and few minutes drive from there ,picture were taken when we went to a fish market nearby to buy seafoods and have it cooked in one of the many restaurants nearby for our dinner.We were celebrating one of my friends birtday that same day. Photos were taken before the photos above

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As you can see in the photos of the fish vendors,you´ll note how fun loving and well humored the filipinos are. Oblidging to my hubby´s whim in taking photos of the filipino life and so as to show photos of what our wet markets has to offer. Hubby enjoys going to these type of places and many others to observe and take note of everything around him especially the typical way of life of the people around the world.