Manila Chronicles (Part 2 of 3): Spaced Out

            Here’s the continuation of my Manila trip from the end of last year. Sorry it took me so long to finish this. I’ve been drowning in a lot of backlogs but anyway, this is one of the times I’ll be baring myself to you as I share my first ever roller coaster ride. :D

Day 3 – Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013

            Enchanted Kingdom used to be just a familiar place I’d keep hearing about from friends who’ve been to Manila… until this day. I only realized during our trip that I haven’t been to any ‘legit’ local amusement or theme park. I’ve been to Hongkong’s Ocean Park and Disneyland and Singapore’s Sentosa. But, this was finally the day I’d get to meet the wizard in the purple robe.

            If I had been here before the international theme parks, I would’ve thought it was pretty grand for our third world country. The entrance, though not as magically grandiose as Disneyland’s, was good enough to believe that there was something to look forward to.

Manila Chronicles

            It’s been half a decade (do the math) since I’ve last been to Manila. And yes, it feels as long as it sounds. If my memory of Manila were a gadget, it would most likely be obsolete by now. True enough, I did feel like a caveman (okay, maybe that’s too much) when I unexpectedly found myself there by the last weekend of 2013!

            You see, my mom has a thing for giving me short notice on things. For this trip, I was only informed a day before we had to leave. We were going there to visit her mom, siblings and my cousins.

            Since I started this blog, I’ve been following several Manila food blogs to get myself updated with the capital’s food trends and compare it with my beloved Cebu. As much as I’ve been learning a lot from these food blogs, I’ve been developing a mild stroke of envy for Manila as well because they get dibs on most of the cool food. Unfair, right?! Hehe.

            But really, I’ve been wishing to visit the capital again for some good grub and most especially to meet the food bloggers and chefs I’ve made friends with. So, you can imagine my panic attack when I found out. Guess what the most urgent thing I thought I needed to do was – tell my blogger and chef friends I would be there the next day! Fb status and private messages, Instagram comments, tweets; you name it, I did it! And to my relief, it worked well even with my mom’s all planned out itinerary for the trip.

            I have to confess that I wasn’t too excited when I found out because like I said, knowing my mom, she would already have an itinerary all planned out and this does not include restaurants to try. I told her my plans though because as soon as my friends knew, I was immediately invited to their Christmas Party and other affairs that I dare not miss. Fortunately, she gave me leeway to catch up with them. And boy, was I a happy little piglet!

Our trip’s schedule was set for December 26-30, departing for Manila on the 26^th and returning to Cebu on the 30^th. Here’s the itinerary my mom planned out:

*The ones in red font are my own itinerary.

            Day 1 (Dec. 26, Thursday)

     -   Resorts World to watch the Cinderella play

Day 2 (Dec. 27, Friday)

    -    The Fort, BGC for the Mind Museum

    -    Ocean Park

    -    KTG Christmas Party

Day 3 (Dec. 28, Saturday)

    -    Enchanted Kingdom

Day 4 (Dec. 29, Sunday)

   -    Malling

   -    Café Ysabel/CACS

You’ll find in my following posts that this itinerary will have some changes. Although I wasn’t too excited for this trip in the beginning, the excitement swelled up as I was sitting in the plane and when I saw the Manila city lights, as we were about to touch down.

Anyway, I’ll save the story for later. I’m really excited to share my Manila experience! It’s the best I’ve had so far. Thanks to my mom! :D

Hope you’ll stick around for the following posts!

oink oink,

Babe for Food

               - your BFF in Cebu dining! :)

Hat Hat Hooray!

         It's Krispy Kreme's 75th birthday! And guess what, we're all invited! :D

We all know Krispy Kreme has dominated the world wih hundreds of branches worldwide and since they're so sweet, they're doing a Global Photo Contest to give ONE lucky fan from the 16 participating countries, a chance to pack his/her bags and visit any of their locations around he world! 

HOW???

All you gotta do is take a picture of yourself or with friends WEARING THE KRISPY KREME HAT and submit it to hahathooray.com. Then, tell all your friends to vote for you! :D

The HAT is your ticket! :D

A Visit to the Roots

                The babe has been away since the end of April, specifically April 29-May 3 to be exact. This was my first official vacation trip this year: 4 days in Mindanao for a family reunion of Mom’s side and the birthday celebration of mom’s uncle, Papa Jerry. I was actually reluctant about this trip because I’ve just started getting my pastry line Blissful Bites moving, but family matters are not to be missed. I was also hoping this would be my chance to finally begin a travel blog but lo and behold, after fully charging my camera the whole night, it was left behind. No worries though, that doesn’t stop me from sharing with you my great adventures in the wonderful homeland of my mom. :D

The trip was sojourned by boat, Superferry of 2Go, from Cebu to Nasipit and back. The route: Cebu – Nasipit, Agusan del Norte – Butuan City, Agusan del Norte – Mangagoy, Bislig (Surigao del Sur). Only Cebu to Nasipit and vice versa was on boat. Nasipit to Butuan and Bislig were all land trip, courtesy of the relatives (yay for relatives!). The travelers for this trip are JB (my older brother), Joanna (the baby sister), Mother and I. Departure from Cebu was scheduled at 4 am but there was a slight problem with the system so we were delayed to 6 am. Original arrival scheduled at 6 pm was then moved to 9:30 p.m.

To my frustration, there was no internet connection onboard the boat so I really couldn’t update my blog nor check my emails as much as I wanted to; thus, the quiet blog. Our tourist cabin was also quite warm (and I was wearing long sleeves and jeans, expecting it to be freezing cold from previous experience) because the AC was really low so I couldn’t sleep much. Fortunately, the viewing deck was there to comfort me with a great view of the ocean reflecting the sky and the cool, strong wind from the boat swiftly cutting through the water. Watching the sunset was so appeasing and there was also a part of the ocean where it was incredibly tranquil and looked to be as a mirror, the boat being the only invader of the stillness. I wish I had a good camera to take photos of these.   

                As for the food served in the boat, meals were sold at P105 which consists of a main dish, rice and coffee. It was tasking to devour their offerings, really. The food was overpriced and murdered. Rubbish, if you had to ask Gordon Ramsay. I had dry, overcooked fish steak for lunch and unmarinated, almost spoiled pork barbecue for dinner. Bringing your own food and drinks is strongly recommended on boat trips.  

I have traveled to Surigao City with mother countless times in my younger days though not in a long time (the last time was probably back in high school). But this was to be my first time to visit Butuan and Bislig after two decades of only hearing about them all the time. It only takes 30 mins. to get to Butuan from Nasipit. We got to our abode for the night, Emerald’s Hotel, at 11 pm; P1000 for a double bed accommodation. The room had old furnishings, especially the TV; definitely not worth the cost but we didn’t mind anymore. At least they had warm water to bathe in. I was knocked out. I slept right after washing up.

Sorry I don’t have photos for this post but I’d hate to keep this dragging in dullness either. I assure you the next post will have photos to entertain and tease your eyes and of course your taste buds. ;)

P.S. I hope this little travel segment on my blog will be as entertaining and informative as the food segment. 

xoxo,

Babe for Food

- your BFF in Cebu dining! :)