cliff notes

our trip to the philippines summarized (somewhat).

culture/history

villa escudero

tunog at galaw @ the folk arts theater

ayala museum

fort santiago

beauty of the land (...i don't know what else to call this category)

zambales

mindoro

people's park in the sky in tagaytay

shopping

robinson's place

sm mall of asia

sm city

sm mega mall

eastwood city

greenbelt

divisoria

food

cabalen (robinson's place)

villa escudero

greenwich (mall of asia)

max's (malate, near baywalk)

soul food (greenbelt)

jollibee (mall of asia)

chow king (tagaytay)

pancake house (harbor square)

somethin' fishy (eastwood city)

edsa shangri-la chinese restaurant (pasig)

blue bay buffet

complimentary breakfasts from hostel 1632, parang beach resort & angelo king

countless homecooked meals

transportation

experiencing filipino driving for the first time in trace's car

cramming into uncle ben's pajero

searching for non-overpriced taxis

clinging for our lives in jeepneys

getting driven by uncle pip's driver

trying to cross the crazy streets on foot

getting serenaded on a carabao driven cart in villa escudero

walking from max's to the folk arts center

walking from harbor square to the floating restaurant (jumbo kingdom)

sleeping on the ferry to mindoro

reading & observing nature's beauty on the ferry to batangas

getting stuck in traffic

getting lost

falling asleep in almost every vehicle (including the jeepney!)

hotels & houses
overnight

uncle ben & auntie ellen's in paranaque

hostel 1632 on adriatico in malate

the cua's 8-room vacation home in candelaria, zambales

uncle minggoey's in baesa

parang beach resort in oriental mindoro

angelo king guest house at the manila adventist medical center

visited

ephteen's apartment in pasay?

lolo's brother's house in candelaria

my cousin's relative's homes on my lolo's land in barangay binabalian (sp?)

uncle manny's mom's house in candelaria

uncle manny's brother's elizabeth beach resort in candelaria

uncle ben & auntie ellen's kubo in mindoro (from the outside)

auntie pinay & uncle manny's house in quezon city

where my mom's old house used to be in project 3, quezon city

uncle boy's house in quezon city

edsa shangri-la hotel in pasig

the model home of the house auntie mimi bought

churches & schools

manila SDA church in pasay

philippine international church @ aup

adventist university of the philippines (my dad's alma mater)

university of the philippines (where my cousin is the chair of health promotion & education)

university of santo tomas (est. 1611; my mom's/my cousin's/jose rizal's alma mater)

we didn't visit any but Iglesia Ni Cristo's are EVERYWHERE!

miscellaneous

failed attempts to take pictures

vomiting-causing migraine in zambales

only 5 bug bites! (=

getting darker... my tan line is sooo bad. T=

boys diving for coins by the ferry in mindoro

seeing the uncanny resemblences between siblings

ads EVERYWHERE (huuuuge billboards in clusters, banners on homes, after each song on the radio)

weird teapot in the lounge @ edsa shangri-la

experiencing the hospitality and genuine niceness of people here

getting called ma'am every 10 seconds

...getting followed by one of the many attendants in almost every store

pollution...

greeeen vegetation, blue skies, clear water

being surrounded by filipinos 24/7 (it's really weird)

the feeling of pride & amazement at cultural/historical sites

feeling stuffed after almost every meal

appreciating hot water, water pressure, toilet paper, and air conditioning

being too scared to use my limited knowledge of tagalog to use... T=

going without the Internet for over a week!!!

hyperman & Sup Er Man

weird, weird, cute, sexy

wanting to come back ASAP to taste Zambales mangos, to see Cebu, Palawan, & Boracay, and to buy my parents a house?!

my hair looks like crap...

watching Superman Returns at SM Mall of Asia at 12nn June 28

karaoking with cousins