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Ava Monique *Nikki*
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| Burj Dubai a.k.a. Burj Khalifa: World's Tallest Building |
[Jan. 24th, 2010|08:24 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  hungry | ] |
I didn’t really get to celebrate my birthday 2 weeks ago because I had to spend it resting for a flight to London Gatwick. My pickup was very late at night, so I just spent the afternoon at Ellen’s flat then I had to sleep by early evening. I didn’t really mind not celebrating on the day itself, since I had an upcoming Manila flight a few days after London Gatwick anyway. I was supposed to arrive in Manila by Saturday afternoon and I had plans to meet up with my friends for dinner. My sister Joann also had a Manila flight that same day, arriving in the evening, so we were supposed to have a post-birthday lunch with the whole family the following day, Sunday, since all of us would be in Manila.
I arrived in London Gatwick the morning after my birthday. The whole place was white! Very thick snow covered the ground like icing on a cake. It wasn’t snowing when we arrived, so I went out straightaway to the shopping center in Crawley, just a few minutes walk from our crew hotel. As usual, I just bought lots of groceries from M&S, plus a dozen of my favorite Millie’s Cookies – half for me and half to bring to my friends in Manila. Haha.
The following morning, our wakeup call was delayed because the London Gatwick airport was closed due to the heavy snow. The incoming flight from Dubai that day couldn’t land in Gatwick, so the plane had to divert to the London Heathrow airport. When we finally had our wakeup call, we were told that we had to take a 1.5hour bus ride to Heathrow and operate the flight from Heathrow to Dubai. Because of this mess, we had so much delay. We arrived in Dubai 4++ hours later than scheduled. Since there are certain rules and legalities regarding rest and days off, I was no longer legal to operate on the Manila flight that Saturday because the delay made the flight extend up to the day that should have been my legal day off. To put it simply, I lost my Manila flight because of the delay. So much for the post-birthday celebration with friends and family in Manila. I was so sad! :( :( :(
Here’s me just outside our hotel in Crawley, England, just a few minutes away from the Gatwick airport, which was closed that morning because of the snow.
It’s not so obvious in this picture, but my colleague Ulysses from Brazil looks exactly like Ben Stiller in person!!! Such uncanny resemblance that a lot of us just had to take pictures with him! ;p
So anyway, the next day in Dubai, I was so upset that I didn’t have my Manila flight anymore. Instead, I had my legal day off + 2 days of Can Use. To make myself feel better, my sister and I went to check out the Burj Dubai, a.k.a. Burj Khalifa, since it just opened early this month. The Dubai Mall is right next to it. I haven’t been to that mall in months, and I was surprised to see all the shops open now. It used to be a really boring mall before, but now I really like it there!
Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building (I prefer calling it that than its official name.)
There’s a fountain show in the evening every 20minutes! It kind of reminded us of the Bellagio in Vegas.
My sister Joann and I went back the following evening. We just wanted to look around the Dubai Mall some more.
The Burj Dubai looks like a needle. Joann and I have similar pictures with the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. For me, the Petronas is much more impressive and more imposing. Actually, the whole setup (tall tower + big mall + fountain) reminds me of Malaysia.
Anyway, my 2 days of Can Use turned into a Munich, Germany layover. (There’s actually a story behind this, but I’m too lazy to write about it.) It was also below freezing when we got there, but I still went out to the city. I’m starting to get used to this extreme cold weather… Nah, I’m just kidding. I hate extreme cold. It makes me tired to have to put on (and take off!) so many layers of clothing!!
My hotel room in Munich was on the first floor and this was on my balcony. This picture is blurry because I was actually behind a glass door. I just put my camera on top of the lamp and set it on timer. :)
Me in Marienplatz in Munich, Germany
For the third time in just one week, my sister and I went back to the Burj Dubai and Dubai Mall. I wanted a picture with the Burj Dubai at daytime. :)
The Address Hotel next to the Dubai Mall
Let me post more pics from the beautiful fountain show. 1…
2…
3…
4!
We watched the fountain show again from another angle. Amazing!
The other day I was just in Dhaka, Bangladesh. I didn’t bother to go out anymore. Tomorrow, I’m off to Rome, Italy and I’m looking forward to it. Afterwards, I have 4 days off, then my dreaded annual recurrent SEP Training. Those 2 days back in Training College are my most dreaded, most hated 2 days of the year! Ack! |
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| Milan, Italy |
[Jan. 9th, 2010|12:35 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sleepy | ] |
My very first layover for 2010 is exactly the same as my first layover for 2009 – Milan, Italy. I was rostered for a flight to Beijing but I tried to get rid of it. Luckily, someone swapped it with me for Milan. I remember how unbearable the below freezing weather was in Milan last year, so I layered up more this time. I originally didn’t have any plans for Milan since I’ve already been to the major tourist spots there before, but Italy is one country that I love revisiting. On the flight going to Milan, I was just thinking of where to have my pizza and pasta, and if I could bear eating gelato in the cold. Suddenly, I realized I haven’t been up to the Duomo rooftop yet. Long ago, I saw my sister’s pictures on the Duomo’s roof and I was really impressed, but somehow I just completely forgot about it. The past 2 times I’ve been to Milan, I went to the Duomo but never bothered to go up. Good thing that I remembered! It got me really excited that I actually had something new to check out.
We arrived in Milan in the evening, and I was pondering on whether I should still go to the Piazza Duomo so I could see the Christmas tree all lit up. I decided against it since it was already late and I was already quite tired. Plus it might be too cold at night! Anyway, a lot of the crew mentioned how delicious the room service pizza was in our hotel, so I ordered one before I went to bed. Sad to say, it was a disappointment. Anyway, the next day, I had lunch at the Galleria and the pizza and pasta were quite good. And because a trip to Italy would never be complete without gelato, I still had 2 scoops even though it was already freezing outside. I know it’s crazy, but I really just had to have some. Ü
Buongiorno, Milano! There are lots of pigeons at the Piazza Duomo, and you can feed them just like in Venice. But I stayed away from those people who try to put seeds on your hand so the birds will flock to you, and then rudely demand for you to pay up. It happened to us last year even though we kept saying no. Next time, I’ll bring my own seeds. Anyway, I love how the pigeons here were caught in the picture.
The Duomo di Milano from a different angle :)
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Inside the Duomo di Milano (Milan Cathedral)
Here’s the door to the Cathedral. There must be some superstition about those parts of the door’s carvings that have already discolored due to everyone touching them, but I’ve no idea. I wonder what it means to touch the knees, leg, hands…
This is the Christmas tree that I wanted to see lit up at night!
To go up the Duomo rooftop, you can either use the stairs or the elevator, which I think costs a little more. We came across the stairs first, so that’s what we took. It was a long, really narrow and steep walk up and I was already panting midway. Had I known it would be like that, I would’ve preferred to take the elevator. Anyway, when we finally reached the top and I saw the countless spires, I went WOW!! Bellisimo!
The roof of the Duomo had such amazing design!
The spires and sculptures were just spectacular! It’s good that they let people go up the Duomo’s roof, otherwise such wonderful, detailed works of art would be unappreciated. From here, you can also see the Galleria and the busy Piazza below.
On the very top of the Duomo is the Madonnina, a statue of the Virgin Mary.
The front part of the Duomo’s roof
We had lunch in one of the restaurants inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. I’ve always loved the glass roof of this arcade. (I look like I’m wearing a Christmas bow on my head here. Hehe.)
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Take 2!
I’ve been up since midnight today, so I have to sleep soon. Ciao! |
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| December: Birmingham, Munich, Manila, Cebu, etc. |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|11:02 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  happy | ] |
I flew to Birmingham, England with Ann in the second week of December. The one and only time we flew together was in 2007 when we did a Manila flight on Ann’s birthday, so we really got excited this time. It was freezing and we were tired when we arrived in Birmingham but we wasted no time. We already had an itinerary: dinner at Nando’s, check out Boots, Primark, Body Shop, New Look, do some major Christmas shopping in Marks and Spencer, then buy a dozen Millie’s Cookies. We had to rush since we didn’t have a lot of time before stores closed, but we managed to accomplish everything. We bought so much Christmas gifts and stuff that everything didn’t even fit inside the cabin suitcases that we brought with us to the mall!
Christmas shopping with Ann in Birmingham, England
No need to be shy since no one was taking our picture. Haha. I just put my camera and tiny tripod on top of our suitcases and set it on timer. :)
St. Martin’s Church in Birmingham, England
Birmingham Bullring Shopping Centre
After Birmingham, I was supposed to have a Manila flight. I had leave afterwards, so I didn’t exactly need Manila before my leave. Instead I swapped it for a flight to Munich, Germany so I can do more Christmas shopping and buy my favorite yogurt. The last German flight I’ve done was Munich last March, because they took me out of my Hamburg last September. Hmph. Anyway, we arrived in the evening in Munich and even though it was below freezing, we still went to the Christmas Market.
Michel (my friend from Munich) and me, putting up with the –2 degrees weather, at the outdoor Christmas Market in Theresienwiese, same place where the annual Oktoberfest is held.
Michel, me, my colleagues Stuart, Cat, Lilita with our delicious German sausages in Munich, Germany
When I arrived back in Dubai, I just went to my flat to hurriedly pack my things then went back to the airport to catch the flight to Manila. Finally going home on leave, yay! But I only had just a little over a week for my leave, boohoo. My mom also wanted me to visit my grandmother in Cebu since I haven’t seen her in ages, so I had to spare a few days of my short leave to go there.
No Manila leave would be complete without the usual bonding session with Angela. Hehe.
Tini, Jabi, me, Cheng met up for dinner in Burgos Circle at The Fort. (Umm, Kat, where were you?!) It was my first time there. It was nice to go someplace new for a change. Had lots of fun with Jabi’s new Polaroid. Haha.
Flew to Cebu to visit Lola, my grandmother from my mom’s side and the only grandparent I have left. It’s been about 7 years since I last saw her. I used to go to Cebu like every 2 years when I was younger.
Had no plans to do anything “touristy” in Cebu since I’ve been there many times before, but Magellan’s Cross was just nearby, so might as well drop by. :)
Outside Magellan’s Cross – and yes I feel like I’m on a layover in Cebu! Haha!
At the Basilica del Santo Niño in Cebu
We accompanied my godmother, Ninang Myrna, to visit this convent in Cebu where less fortunate kids have catechism classes every weekend. She brought Christmas gifts for all of them and gave it to them one by one, then we helped her distribute some snacks for the kids.
As a thank you, some of the kids performed some song and rap numbers for us. They were so lovely! I was really glad that Ninang Myrna brought us along. I wish I was also able to bring gifts for those kids. Their happy expressions when they received Ninang Myrna’s gifts were priceless.
After 2 days in Cebu, I went back to Manila. I must’ve eaten something bad because I got food poisoning when I arrived in Manila. Kept throwing up and couldn’t eat anything!:( Despite this, I still went out with Angela and Janis that night. Haha. I think the culprit was the fresh oyster I ate in Cebu.
The following day, I was still so weak, but I wouldn’t miss Aimee’s wedding for anything! Her wedding was the main reason why I took a leave this December! Just too bad I couldn’t eat much during the reception!
Groom Jose, me, Angge, Prissia, Corinne, Kamille, Bride Aimee, Mabel
At the reception with Aimee, Kamille, Angge
Souvenir photos with Aimee, Jose, Angge, Kamille
On Dec.24, I had to say goodbye to Manila and go back to Dubai! Wahh. My leave ended just before Christmas, but my next work was a Manila flight on Christmas Day, so I was back in Manila by Dec.25 in the afternoon for work. Haha. (Thank God I was able to swap my Moscow, Russia flight into a Manila flight!) At least I was still able to spend Christmas with my family in Manila, even if it was just for a short layover.
Me with my mom in Manila – Merry Christmas!!! I left Manila Dec. 24 and was back in Manila on Dec.25 on a layover. Haha!
Had Christmas dinner with relatives at my uncle’s place that evening of Dec.25. I noticed we hardly take pictures during family gatherings. We don’t have a complete picture with everybody, but here’s one with some of my aunties, uncles and cousins. My bro is in blue and my mom is in green on the left side, while my dad is in the red/white shirt in the middle, and is the only one among his brothers who refuses to dye his white hair. Hehe.
Here’s me at home on Christmas, by the Christmas tree and family portrait. We used to always have 7-foot tall Christmas trees, but my mom got lazy. Haha.
Flew back to Dubai as crew on Dec.26, did a turnaround to Riyadh the next day, then flew to Jakarta, Indonesia. I’ve done a 2-day Jakarta layover long ago, so I didn’t really have to go out anymore this time. Our roster for January just came out, so I spent my time in Jakarta sending swaps instead. I was so happy with my swaps for January! Managed to get a Milan flight for tomorrow, a Manila in the middle of January, then Rome towards the end of the month. The only thing I don’t like is my schedule around my birthday. Never mind. :(
Me and my sister in Dubai on New Year’s Eve – HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!:) |
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| Rome, Italy & Mauritius |
[Dec. 6th, 2009|01:53 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | tired | ] |
I’ve been lazy to post again these past few weeks. After my trip to Turkey, I had some turnarounds then I flew to Rome, Italy in the middle of November. I was very much looking forward to it because it’s been ages since my last visit there. As I’ve mentioned again and again before, I looove Italy! I just find it so beautiful – the picturesque place, gorgeous people, delicious food! Can’t get enough gelato, pizza, gelato, pasta, gelato…did I mention gelato?! *Drool*
Another thing was that I was flying with my friend Koko. It really makes a difference when you’re not flying with complete strangers. Koko and I have already been around the major landmarks in Rome before, but she’s never been to the Vatican so I decided to accompany her.
Welcome to the Vatican City!
St. Peter’s Basilica and the obelisk with my friend Koko
Inside St. Peter’s Square
Meet Emanuele, a rather charming Italian that we met inside the Vatican. :)
Koko and me inside St. Peter’s Basilica
With the Swiss Guards in their colorful uniforms
Goodbye, Vatican City! We were also able to visit the place where the popes are buried. Last time I went there long ago, we were still allowed to discreetly take pictures of the graves, but this time not anymore.
After visiting the Vatican, some of the crew we were with went to visit a nearby castle, but Koko and I were too hungry already. Next time we get to come back to Rome, at least we know where to go. After having our delicious Italian dinner, we went to the Fountain of Trevi.
It was my third visit to the Trevi Fountain, but I still threw a coin to the fountain to ensure my return to Rome. No harm in believing those legends anyway. :) I would love to go back to beautiful Rome again and again, even just for the gelato. Speaking of which, I had 3 scoops that night despite the cold weather!
My next layover after Rome was Accra, Ghana in Africa. It was a 24-hour layover there, and then we do a turnaround shuttle to Abidjan, Ivory Coast and come back to Accra and stay for another 48-hour layover. I’ve never been to Ghana, and I was actually looking forward to doing the Canopy Walk in the rainforest. Otherwise, there’s nothing else to do. Some of the crew went for the Canopy Walk, but – surprise! – I decided not to join. On any normal day, I wouldn’t have passed up a chance for a new adventure especially in a new country, but during that time, I just felt too exhausted. The forest was a 3-hour drive from Accra, and I wasn’t in the mood for a long drive on very rocky roads. Plus, the weather was so hot, and just thinking of having to climb a series suspension bridges under that heat (no matter how beautiful the view), was enough to make me feel faint already. I knew I really needed my rest, but I did regret my decision a little bit, because I felt like my layover was wasted since I didn’t do anything. It’s not often I choose rest over adventure and I’m sure my body is grateful that I didn’t push it to its limit this time.
Here’s me in uniform, a few minutes before our pickup, bored to death in my hotel room in Accra, Ghana. I was ready to go but still had extra time, so I took pictures of myself, practicing my no-teeth smile. I know, I’m such a loser! Haha. I usually hate how I look in pictures if I smile without teeth, but I think this one is not bad. I just need a little bit more practice… Vain, vain, vain!!! :p
I was supposed to have a turnaround and another Rome flight at the end of November, but I swapped them for a Mauritius. I was so frustrated with the unfortunate incident that happened last end of October that I immediately accepted the Mauritius swap that someone sent me. I really wanted to go to Mauritius, but after I flew to Rome, I wanted to go back! Too bad we couldn’t undo our swaps; otherwise I really would’ve taken back my Rome. But it’s ok. I had a blast in Mauritius anyway. I’ve only been there twice long ago, both 12-hour layovers only. Now we stay at a different resort and the layover is longer by a day, 36-hours! More time to enjoy the tropical paradise!
We now stay at the La Plantation Resort, a beautiful resort with lots of pools.
Off to the beach just in front of the resort
The beach in front of La Plantation – I love this picture!
La Plantation Resort, Mauritius
As I said, the resort has many, many pools!
One of the reasons I really enjoyed Mauritius was because the crew I flew with were a lot of fun! We had this crazy pictorial at the beach after dinner. That’s Nawale from France (too shy to show her legs, haha), Peach from Thailand, Nimo from Tanzania, Glendy from the Philippines, Edna from Kenya, Ashleigh and Thomas from South Africa, and yours truly.
I really like this fun picture! Nawale (2nd), really didn’t want to show her legs, so she just pretended to be scandalized. Hehe!
Show your right leg, take 2! Our French colleague really is stubborn. :p
The following morning, my Mauritian friend Yash, who works for Air Mauritius, picked us up and brought us to a bigger, better beach, the Mon Choisy.
Group picture at the Mon Choisy – me, Thomas, Yash, Ashleigh, Glendy
Sunbathing in Mauritius
Mon Choisy, Mauritius
Group picture in the water
This would’ve been a better picture if someone tried to hide his beer belly. Hehehe!
Me posing with a jet ski
After spending some time at the beach, Yash brought us to the capital city of Port Louis. It’s my first time to ever see the city in Mauritius!
Casino in Port Louis
Me and Yash at the Port Louis Waterfront
Me, Yash, Glendy in the city of Port Louis
We didn’t have much time to go around the city because we had to come back early so we could still sleep before our pickup. But at least we got to see it, even if we were in such a hurry. So that’s it for my November. This beginning of December, I have a bunch of turnarounds. Boo. I’ve already done a few, but earlier I got offloaded (taken off the flight) because my medical license had “213” printed on it instead of “2013” as its expiry date. I don’t really mind being taken off since it was a blah flight anyway. I have another long turnaround coming up, and I think they’ll have to take me off that one too since I still have to wait for my new medical certificate before I could fly. I hope I could get it soon because I’m flying to Birmingham with Ann in a few days! I really, really want to go to Birmingham since the last time I’ve been to the UK was early this year. Need to do some Christmas shopping over there. And of course, I really want to fly with Ann, too! Crossing my fingers I’ll get my medical certificate ASAP! |
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| A Bite of Turkey: Holiday in Istanbul and Ephesus |
[Nov. 25th, 2009|02:06 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | tired | ] |
It’s always the same story when I go on vacation and take too many pictures – I get too lazy to sort them out. I’ve posted about a hundred or so photos on Facebook, a mix of pics from my camera plus some others from Ann and Rars. For this blog, I need to cut down and just put the highlights of our trip or else this is going to be a very long post.
I’ve been itching to go see Turkey for the longest time. It always frustrated me that Istanbul is a turnaround flight for us, meaning we fly there from Dubai then go back straight away without going down the aircraft. People have been telling me what a beautiful place it is, a mix of Europe and Asia since the country is located on both continents. I told myself I’d go visit Turkey someday, somehow…!
Last September, I was chatting with Ann and venting out my frustrations about my cancelled trip to Egypt with Ellen due to overbooked flights to and from Cairo. I was telling Ann that I wish I could use my leave days to go somewhere else, but I had no one to go with me since Ellen preferred to go home instead. Somehow, we ended up talking about Turkey and making plans to go there in November. The only catch was that Ann had already booked her leave in November, but for me, I’d have to count on getting days off. By hook or by crook, I was determined to get them! Anyway, we invited Rars to come along with us, too. It was a struggle for both of us to get the days off we needed, but we somehow managed to find a way. Thank God we were able to fix our rosters and push through with the trip to Turkey! Finally!! (We had also invited Nadz, but she wasn’t able to get the needed days off. *Sniff*)
We spent 5 days and 4 nights in Turkey – 4 days in Istanbul and a 1-day trip to Ephesus in the middle. One thing that we can say about Turkey is that although there are countless tourists there, there is a shortage of Asians. Apparently they’ve never seen 3 cute Pinays over there, hehehe. ;p Because everywhere we went, people were treating us like we were celebrities! Strangers were giving us flowers, asking us out here and there, feeding us cheesy pickup lines, and approaching us to have their pictures taken with us. At first it was quite flattering, but after a while, it kind of got annoying. We even wanted to write “Philippines” on our foreheads so everyone would stop asking where we’re from or guessing that we’re from China or Japan. Sheesh. Locals also kept calling us “Angels,” but we only finally understood what they meant when someone went, “Can I be your Charlie, so you can be my Angels?” Haha.
We just took it easy the day we arrived in Istanbul. Our flight was a bit delayed, but at least it was quite empty and we got 4 seats each to ourselves. Our hostel was very conveniently located in Sultanahmet, so almost everything was just a short walk away. For our first day in Istanbul, we just walked around the Blue Mosque area (above), did some window-shopping, and then had kebabs for dinner and really good Turkish ice cream for dessert. Yum!
Good morning, Turkey! Day 2 was a full day of sightseeing in Istanbul. This was taken just right in front of our hostel.
With Rars and Ann outside Topkapi Palace, our first stop for the day
Inside the Topkapi Palace, we had a beautiful view of the sea.
Here’s a huge chunk of Turkish ice cream! The consistency is very different from regular ice cream. It’s really sticky and doesn’t melt as quickly.
The Hagia Sophia, famous for its massive dome, is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture.
Ceiling mosaics inside the Hagia Sophia
At the Grand Bazaar with Ann
Yummy Turkish food for dinner!
For Day 3, we left our hostel at 6:15am to catch an Atlasjet flight from Istanbul to Izmir at 8am. From Izmir, it was a 1-hour drive to the ancient city of Ephesus. We had to book a day tour then fly back to Istanbul by 9:30pm!
Eastern Gymnasium and Baths of State Agora
Upper Agora and Basilica
With Kim, a Korean girl who joined our tour group, and Mehmet, the tour guide that really sucked (He had no patience with us when we wanted to take pictures!)
Marble Street of Ephesus
Temple of Hadrianus
The Library of Celsus
The Great Theater behind us
After Ephesus, we went to visit the House of Virgin Mary, which is believed to have been Mother Mary’s home before she died.
Near Mary’s house, you can drink (miraculous) holy water from the springs.
We went to a ceramics shop afterwards, but everything there was very expensive as compared to the shops in Istanbul. Unfortunately, it also started to rain really hard. The last stop for the tour was the Temple of Artemis. We drove over there but couldn’t go down due to the heavy rain. Sad.:( We proceeded to the airport quite early to catch our 9:30pm flight back to Istanbul and got back to our Sultanahmet hostel before midnight. We couldn’t believe we actually flew to Ephesus and back on the same day!
For Day 4, we just took pictures outside Hagia Sophia in the morning.
Then we inside the Yerebatan Sarnici (Sunken Cistern or Basilica Cistern). It’s a Sunken Palace where 336 marble columns rise out of the water.
That afternoon, we stopped by the Spice Market (a.k.a. Egyptian Bazaar), and then took a Bosphorus On Boat tour. It was an amazing cruise between the 2 continents, Europe and Asia.
Passing by the Rumeli Fortress during the cruise
Bosphorus Cruise – my favorite picture! :)
Late that afternoon, we went back to the Spice Market, then took the tram to Taksim, a very busy area filled with shops, restaurants and bars. In the evening, we met up for some drinks with Rars’ Turkish crew friend Erhan, who also happened to be home in Istanbul that day.
Day 5 was our last day in Istanbul. We had to leave for Dubai in the afternoon, so we only had the morning free. One very important landmark that we haven’t been able to enter was the Blue Mosque! We couldn’t leave Istanbul without going inside!
Inside the Blue Mosque, where we had to wear head scarves
That’s it for our holiday in Turkey! Ann, Rars and I definitely had a great time in this wonderful country and I’m just very, very grateful that our vague plans to tour Turkey turned into reality! Ü |
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| Guangzhou, China and an unfortunate “Mauritius” incident, etc. |
[Nov. 5th, 2009|08:19 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | excited | ] |
I had airport standby a couple of weeks ago and I only had like an hour’s sleep because I really thought I wouldn’t get pulled out, but they put me on a flight to Guangzhou, China. I didn’t mind so much since it’s one of the very few layover destinations left that I’ve never been to. Usually, when crew go to Guangzhou, they just go shopping. But for me, when it’s my first time somewhere, I’d much rather go sightseeing. A colleague and I were thinking of getting a short tour, but it was so expensive. We decided to just go around by ourselves, and we managed to go to 3 major tourist spots in Guangzhou in just an hour and a half, which left us some time for shopping. But as I have always said, I don’t exactly enjoy shopping in China. It annoys me when you ask how much something is and they give you an amount x10 of the actual selling price and you’d have to waste so much time bargaining.
First stop – Western Han Nanyue King Tomb Museum
Just outside the museum
Inside the museum (I forgot what this is, because I wasn’t really that interested. Haha.)
One of the ancient jade displays
Right below the glass pyramid is the Tomb of the Nanyue King. From the outside, it looks like a mini Louvre.
A nicer shot outside the Western Han Nanyue King Tomb Museum
Second stop – Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
Here’s the front view of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. I found the place really nice from the outside, but I wasn’t really in the mood to go inside anymore.
On the way to the third stop, we got to pass by these really cute plants!
Cool stone frames!
One thing I noticed all over China is that there are so many statues!!
More statues
Third stop – Chen Family Ancestral Temple
There are supposed to be ancient relics inside, but once again, we didn’t bother going inside anymore. Maybe because we were so bored from the first museum that we just became too lazy. Usually, I’m always curious to see things, but during that time I guess I really just wasn’t up for it.
Last stop – Shangxiaju Road for a bit of shopping (Statues again?!?)
After Guangzhou, I flew to Durban, South Africa, a new destination for October. There were so many things to do, but not enough time. So sad! :( Another thing was that I started getting sick. I ended up just walking to the mall in front of our hotel to buy some food and that’s it. I felt like it was a wasted layover because I didn’t get to do or see anything. New destination yet no pictures. Boohoo.
I flew to Manila a few days later, even though I still wasn’t very well. It’s been 1 whole year since I’ve done a Manila layover! Before, I used to have Manila flights like once a month. But since they came up with that stupid, heartless rule of putting a 50% Filipino limit on Manila flights, I didn’t bother bidding or swapping for Manila anymore. Oh whatever.
A really irritating thing was that I was supposed to have a 36-hour Mauritius layover after my Manila flight. I was so excited for it already, since the last time I went to Mauritius more than a year ago, layovers used to be 12 hours only. Now we stay at a different resort, and I was really looking forward to snorkeling or dolphin-watching. Anyway, I was removed from the Mauritius flight due to some legality issues on my roster, which I won’t bother explaining. Instead, I got a day off, and – surprise! – a Mauritius TURNAROUND. It was only recently that we started having those Mauritius turnarounds. Since the flight is actually too long to be a legal turnaround, crew only work for the first sector going to Mauritius, then instead of having a layover there, we deadhead (fly as passenger) on the way back to Dubai. It was so ironic. Technically, I was still going to Mauritius, but not quite. I was already so pissed as it is, but that wasn’t even half of it.
When we were arriving in Mauritius, the Captain couldn’t land because there was no visibility due to the rain. We tried twice, but couldn’t land. We ended up circling and circling for so long, until we were about to run out of fuel!!! We had to divert to the nearby Reunion Island to refuel. There were other aircraft that also had the same situation, so we had to wait for our turn. The thing is, Reunion Island airport is just so small, they didn’t have enough fuel for all the planes that diverted! We had to wait so long for fuel because it still had to be delivered from Mauritius! Finally, when we were ready to take off, they couldn’t remove the steps they installed outside our aircraft because – get this – it ran out of fuel!!! My goodness, I didn’t even know those stairs needed fuel!!! So we had to wait and wait again for the steps to be refueled. After a long time, we were ready to take off again, when suddenly there was some kind of minor fire at the Reunion Island airport, so we didn’t have permission to take off anymore! What the?!? It was like a series of unfortunate events! Anyway, when we finally arrived in Mauritius, we were already delayed for like 4 hours. Plus, the bad thing was, we still had to deadhead back to Dubai instead of having a layover in Mauritius! So we had to wait another hour until we took off for Dubai. Another unfair thing was that half of us (me included) had to sit in economy class while the other half were in business class. After such a long, tiring day, how could we rest properly?! We landed in Dubai at around 6am (it should have been 1am if we didn’t have to divert and stuff), and I got back to my flat past 7am. To think that I took the crew bus to work at 7:30am the previous day!!! It was like I was on duty for almost 24 hours!!! Wahhh!!! :(
After that incident, I had a couple of days off in Dubai. I got to catch up on sleep, but a few days later, I had some problem (too lazy to write about it anymore) and I got sooo stressed out. I even ended up crying in my flat and I really felt like I was going to get sick from all the stress. Poor me. Finally, God answered my prayers because I found a kind soul who helped me. In times of need, some people can really be angels in disguise.
Anyway, I just had a long flight recently, Melbourne-Auckland-Melbourne. We got delayed for so long from Dubai that our first layover in Melbourne became so short! Then in Auckland, I just went out for a while but didn’t really do much. I managed to sleep for 15 hours! Wow. When we went back to Melbourne, a funny thing was that some guy that worked at the hotel where we stayed suddenly just asked me out for dinner/coffee because “I know it's kinda upfront, but i may never see you again…!” Haha! He was right about not seeing me again. I told him I was just there for 1 day! Anyway, our Melbourne layover got extended by about 13 hours, due to some problem with the aircraft. They even had to change our wakeup and pickup times twice. A really pleasant surprise was that we ended up doing a “ferry flight,” (zero-passenger plane) back to Dubai! It was a 15-hour flight and we had the entire plane all to ourselves. We got to sleep in first and business class, and I even got to watch 4 movies that I’ve been itching to see. It was so cool. If the whole Mauritius incident was so sh*tty, this ferry flight was the complete opposite.
I’ve something coming up tomorrow that I’m really thankful for – I’m finally going to TURKEY!!!Ü It’s a 5-day holiday with Ann and Rars. We’re going to have so much fun for sure!!! Ü |
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| Punta Fuego, Batangas |
[Oct. 11th, 2009|01:10 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | tired | ] |
Since the Egypt plans with Ellen were cancelled, I ended up going home to Manila towards the end of September. I spent 1 week there (so short!) and left the following day after Typhoon Ondoy. Thank God our home and the rest of our village were spared from the flood! Due to the typhoon, I thought I’d get stuck in Manila and not be able to return to work on time, but I didn’t care anymore. My problem seemed so insignificant as compared to the trauma and disaster my fellow countrymen were experiencing during that time. So devastating. :( :(
At the very start of my leave, I got to go to Punta Fuego in Batangas. (Thanks so much to Gail and Chester for letting me tag along!Ü) I had a great time there and I was planning to post pictures right after my leave. Although I did make it back to Dubai in time for work, I didn’t feel like posting anymore since all I could think of was the flood back home. It’s only now that I actually remembered these Batangas pictures!
Stopping over at Terrazas de Punta Fuego with Jabs and Janis
I absolutely loved the two-level infinity pool at the Peninsula!
We were at the lower level of the infinity pool here. From this angle, it doesn’t look infinite at all since you can see where the pool ends. Hehe. We were too lazy to take good infinite-looking pictures that day. :p
Not-quite-infinity pool
Beach group picture - Chester, Gail, Janis, Jabi, me
After dinner at Dalampasigan – great food and nice ambiance!
The following morning, we went to the smaller infinity pool at the Upper Beach area.
Now the pool actually looks infinite! Ü Janis, me, Jabi were counting how many islands we can see from there.
Me and Jabs in the small area by the end of the infinity pool
The best seat for a great view of the sea
Still a beautiful scenery from here
Me in between the infinity pool and the sea
This one is my favorite! :)
I met up with just a few friends during my leave since I was only in Manila for a very short time. Then when I went back to work, I had to do a couple of turnarounds in a row. Boo. One thing that really upset me when I went back to Dubai though, was that due to negligence, my dear camera fell. I had carelessly left it in a compromising position, and when it fell it stopped working. *sniff* My camera is already 3 years old, and even if it’s only 5 mega pixels, it’s very precious to me and I just love it. I never ever use high resolution when I take pictures, so I really don’t understand why all the new cameras need to have such high mega pixels. :( Anyway, I was so disturbed. I probably wouldn’t have minded as much had it stopped working because of old age. But since it’s because of my own negligence, I wanted to kick myself. No one to blame but me. I just wish they still sold brand-new, old-model cameras in the market.
The only layover I’ve done after leave is Hong Kong, which I came back from just a few days ago. Although I super duper enjoyed it when I went there on holiday when I was 11, I didn’t like it anymore during the 2 times I got to go there on layover. I don’t know why. I was bored and I didn’t like the shopping. Anyway, I’ve got airport standby in the morning. I don’t think I’ll get pulled out. |
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| Cannes, France & North Africa: Tripoli, Libya + Casablanca, Morocco |
[Sep. 16th, 2009|08:26 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  pissed off | ] |
I haven’t been updating this blog recently not because I’ve been my usual lazy self, but because I haven’t really had the time. It’s been a busy past few weeks and I’ve spent most of the little free time I had catching up on much-needed sleep.
I flew to Nice, France towards the end of August, determined to see Cannes. No one wanted to come with me at first since everyone else wanted to go either to the beach or to nearby Monte Carlo, Monaco. Good thing one of my Thai colleagues decided to join me, otherwise I would’ve felt a little uneasy trying to find my way to Cannes alone. Instead of taking the train, we took the bus to Cannes, which was surprisingly cheap at just 1 Euro. It was quite a long journey, about 1 hour and 10 minutes from Nice. When we got there, we practically walked all over the city.
The famous Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, where the annual Cannes Film Festival is held.
Now I can say I’ve walked the same red carpet as the stars! ;p
It was the perfect hot summer weather in Cannes and everyone was on the beach! I would have loved to go for a swim if only we had enough time. I was even wearing a swimsuit underneath just in case. Next time I’ll go swim in Nice or Cannes since I’m done with all the sightseeing.
One thing I was a bit upset about was that I found one of my favorite sunglasses broken inside my bag. :( Without my beloved shades, I couldn’t face the glaring sun and look at the camera.
The InterContinental Carlton Hotel in Cannes, the most prestigious place to stay at during the Film Festival.
The InterContinental Carlton Hotel at the Promenade de la Croisette
Love this picture with the French flag at the marina in Cannes!
The marina in Cannes
The Cannes Castle (left) and the Notre Dame Esperance Church (bell tower, right) are perched on top of a hill overlooking the city of Cannes and the Mediterranean Sea.
The Cannes City Hall (Hotel de Ville), just below the castle
We took the last bus back to Nice and fell asleep on the bus! We were completely exhausted because of the heat and all the walking. I slept well that night, and woke up the next morning with still enough time to hit the beach before our pickup. But by the time I got dressed, I was already so hungry. I went to a nearby open-air café but decided to just take the food back to my hotel room because I couldn’t stand the heat outside anymore. And even if I still wanted to go to the beach just in front of the hotel, I didn’t bother to go out again because it was just too hot.
At the beginning of September, I flew to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A few days later, I had to go to Training College for Nujoum, some kind of program all of us crew have to attend at some point. Then just this past week, I got to have 2 layovers I’ve never done before – Tripoli, Libya and Casablanca, Morocco. Tripoli reminded me so much of its neighbor, Tunis! I like Tunisia much better than Libya, though. But Casablanca is also very similar to the 2. They’re all in North Africa anyway.
There are many historical sites in Libya, unfortunately, they are all too far and our layover is too short to go there. But it’s ok since our hotel had a good location, right next to the Medina, the Old City. We met 2 locals at the Medina – Eman and Mohammed. Eman was the only one who spoke English, and she was so nice to us! Even if she hasn’t eaten the whole day (because it’s Ramadan), she still gave us a walking tour around the area and told us all about Tripoli. When she finally left, the locals started harassing us. That’s when we realized that Eman was such a blessing not only as a tour guide, but as a bodyguard as well! :p
At the entrance to the Tripoli Medina
Libyan Locals Eman and Mohammed, my colleague Antonette, and me inside one of the shops
Some local Libyan stuff at the market
My colleague with the same name – Ava from Hong Kong, Eman, Mohammed, and me outside the Medina
The walled Old City
At the Green Square
Ava and Ava, Eman and Mohammed near the Dragut Mosque in Tripoli
The Marcus Aurelius Arch in Tripoli, with the Gurgi Mosque in the background
Roman carvings at the Al Athar (The Ruins) Restaurant just next to the Marcus Aurelius Arch
View of the Marcus Aurelius Arch from the other side, with the Abdul Wahab Mosque in the distance
Traditional Libyan setting at the Ancient Zumit Hotel/Restaurant
Entrance to the Gurgi Mosque in Tripoli
Back in Dubai, my friends and I squeezed in some playtime on our days off to go ice skating at the Dubai Mall. It was sort-of a post-birthday celebration for Ann.
Ice Princesses Katy, Ellen, Ann, me at the Dubai Mall Ice Skating Rink
The next day, I flew to Casablanca, Morocco. I heard that Casablanca is usually a very busy flight, but mine wasn’t tiring at all since the load was so light plus a lot of the passengers were fasting. When we arrived, my colleagues and I hired a van and driver to take us around the city.
The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is the largest mosque in Morocco and has the tallest minaret in the world. It is also is the world’s 3rd largest mosque.
Somewhere near the mosque, but I’m not sure exactly what this place is… ;p
Arches at the base of the Hassan II Mosque
One of the mosque’s many beautiful doors
One of several sets of entrance doors to the mosque
We went to the Habous Market afterwards and bought some souvenirs. The stuff they sold were just like in Tunis and Tripoli!
One thing I’ve been wanting to try for the longest time was the Moroccan Bath, or Hammam, as they call it. I finally got to try it in Casablanca! At first I was uneasy to be in a room with all these naked women, but you get used to it after a while. My colleagues and I got the whole package. First, they soap you and put you in a steam room, then scrub you clean. It’s funny and disgusting at the same time when you see all the dirt they scrub from you! Eew. :p Then they put some seaweed therapy all over your body and wrap you in plastic. After rinsing comes the massage. People have told me that they’ve never felt so clean afterwards, but for me I didn’t exactly feel that way. I’m happy to have experienced it, but I don’t think I’ll ever do it again!
The flight back from Casablanca to Dubai was extremely light, and our Purser asked us for volunteers who wanted to deadhead (not work, but fly as passenger instead) back to Dubai. (Since they’re saving money and all, then they don’t need everyone to operate. You get paid half if you deadhead.) I was almost ready to fight over it, but before I could raise my hand and scream “Me me me!” I noticed that none of my colleagues said anything and most were even shaking their heads. Umm, hello?! Why’d they prefer to work when deadheading is the best?! You get to sleep or watch movies throughout the whole flight, yet you still get paid half the flying hours! What could be better than that? I was so surprised that no one wanted to volunteer. After a while, I volunteered, but tried to mask my eagerness, haha! Four of us ended up deadheading in business class seats, whoopee! Got paid to watch 3 movies during the flight. Haha, I looove deadheading.
Today, I was supposed to fly to Hamburg, Germany. I just swapped my Hong Kong for it. Yesterday, I found out that they took me out of the flight. (Part of the cost-cutting again!) I’m so pissed about it right now because they gave me a friggin’ Doha turnaround + Can Use (like Reserve) instead. I’m going to freak out if they change the Can Use into another turnaround. Aargh!!
Ellen and I took leave this month because we were supposed to go on holiday to Egypt. Wrong timing, because our leave dates coincided with Eid, the celebration of the end of Ramadan, therefore it’s impossible to get on the overbooked flights to/from Cairo. Boohoo. Ellen doesn’t want to go anywhere else except Hawaii, but I’ve already been there before so I’m not too eager. I had my heart set on going somewhere new, but no one can go with me, so I’ll just go home for my leave. I’m not even homesick yet…! |
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| 3 little missions in Paris; surprising positive feedback |
[Aug. 22nd, 2009|08:17 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  silly | ] |
Although I was a bit sad that I was no longer going to meet up with my brother in Paris because he had to leave just a few days before I arrived, I was still determined to go out. Last time I was in Paris was September last year, but I slept through the whole layover. So the only 2 times I’ve been out in Paris was in Christmas 2006 when I met up with my brother there, then 2 years ago when I was on holiday with my mom and sister. I’ve been rostered Paris flights countless times, but I’ve always, always swapped it for days off either to go home or to extend my holidays. But at this time of recession when a lot of crew are on unpaid leave, there is currently no surplus of days off. So even if I would have wanted to swap it away for days off this time, I wouldn’t be able to anymore. All of us are swamped with work because the company is trying to maximize its remaining workforce. :(
Anyway, one thing I don’t like about the Paris layover is that our hotel is near the airport and very far from the city. It’s a lot of hassle to go to the center of Paris. But I had 3 goals for this layover, so I still went out even though I was so tired I just wanted to sleep. I also said before that I no longer found their complicated subway system confusing, so now I had the chance to see if I could really manage without getting lost. Ü
It’s summer in Paris now and it was sooo hot!! I felt like I was melting as I was walking around. My first goal was to take a good picture with the Notre Dame Cathedral. I have a picture with my brother from before, but it was too dark because it was nighttime. I also have pictures from 2 years ago, but our snotty French tour guide parked our tour bus too close and was hurrying us up after she toured us inside, so the pictures were no good either. Now my mission was to have a Notre Dame photo at daytime, AND at a distance so the whole cathedral can clearly be seen.
December 25, 2006 – Nighttime picture at the Notre Dame with my brother
June 2007 – Took a picture of myself, doing my best to include the whole church; My sister, mom, me in front of the Notre Dame, but not much of the church can be seen :(
Aug. 2009 Mission #1 Accomplished: Nice, full, clear picture of the Notre Dame at daytime!Ü (I even wanted to hear mass because it was a Sunday, but there were too many people and they wouldn’t let us in anymore.)
Not part of any mission, but I got to pass by the Louvre, too! I already have loads of nice pictures there before, both inside and outside the museum. :)
Goal number 2 was to go to the Godiva shop at the Vendome. We’re no big fans of Godiva Chocolate, but my mom, sister and I tried the dark chocolate Godiva shake in Paris before, and it was somethin’ else! It was so good that we even went back to try the milk chocolate and white chocolate versions, which were sadly just ordinary. I know there are so many Godiva shops around the world that also make those shakes, but I just wanted to drink it again in Paris where I first discovered it.
June 2007 – The unforgettable dark chocolate shake at the Vendome
Aug. 2009 Mission #2 Failed: It was a bit tricky to find the Vendome, but I still managed to find it! Aug. 15 was a national holiday in Paris, so unfortunately the Godiva shop at the Vendome was closed! Boohoo! :( :(
June 2007 (Tried 3 out of 5! Yey!) vs. August 2009 (Closed! Wah!) Posters
Goal number 3 was to find the Moulin Rouge and take a good picture WITH it. 2 years ago, we met this Filipino guy in Paris who drove us to Versailles to see the Palace and also drove us past the Moulin Rouge. I only got to see the Moulin Rouge from inside the car as we quickly passed it, so it was quite frustrating for me.
June 2007 – 2 shots of the Moulin Rouge hurriedly taken from inside the car
Aug. 2009 Mission #3 Accomplished: I found the Moulin Rouge and finally have a picture with it! The area around was quite seedy, so many sleazy bars and creepy-looking people. Couldn’t wait to get out of there!
I would’ve wanted to revisit the Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower, but poor me didn’t have the energy anymore. Maybe next time. But I have a different mission for my next visit to Paris. I will go to Versailles to visit the Palace and see the beautiful garden behind it. It was sunset when that Filipino guy drove us to see the Palace of Versailles before, and we were quite far, so the pictures weren’t nice at all. And I’ve never seen the gardens behind, but my brother said it’s the most beautiful garden he’s ever seen in Europe. So that’s my next mission, though it will be much harder to accomplish since I’ll have to travel maybe 2-3 hours from Paris to get there. If I don’t get to go there then maybe I’ll just go back to Vendome for my dark chocolate shake. ;p
The Sheikha of Sharjah (neighbor of Dubai; another emirate of the UAE) was our passenger from Paris to Dubai. My sister once had Sheikha Latifah on her Paris-Dubai flight before, and she gave all the crew a huge amount of money. I was disappointed that it wasn’t her on our flight instead. Hehe. My next flight was a quick flight to Doha, Qatar. I was supposed to have a Moscow, Russia, but I don’t like that flight (nice layover but terrible flight) so I swapped it for something quick and easy. In briefing in Dubai, we were told that some royal family of Qatar were our passengers! Again, I didn’t care, because it wasn’t Sheikha Latifah. Another friend of mine also had Sheikha Latifah on her Doha flight before, and she gave all the crew so much money too! Now, I just had Paris like my sister, then Doha like my friend, members of royal families as our passengers, but not the generous, money-giving Sheikha Latifah!! Grrr.
Speaking of my quick Doha flight, I got a small, pleasant surprise. Doha flights are just a little more than 40minutes long, so once you take off, it’s time for landing! There’s hardly any time for service, so we have to rush to give the trays then start collecting right after, even if the passengers are still eating! So whenever someone asks for something, our usual line is that we’ll try our best if we have time, but we can’t promise. My flight to Doha was completely full, so we were all in a hurry. During the flight, this guy didn’t take a tray because he didn’t want to eat, but he asked me for coffee. I told him I couldn’t promise because there was no time. Somehow, I still managed to bring it to him right before we started collecting. Then right before landing, he asked me for a comment form. 99% of the time, comment form = complaint form. Passengers never ever ask for one unless they want to complain, so I asked him if there was anything he wants to complain about. No, he said he wants to comment because he was happy. Usually, all they ever want to do is complain, so that came as a surprise to me! I almost told him there was no more time for me to get a form because we were landing, but I still got him one anyway. After we landed, he gave the form to me. I was really surprised with what he wrote, because we never have grateful passengers who actually bother to write positive feedback.
Mr. Passenger must have been in such good mood for him to write this! It was a pleasant surprise for such a quick flight. Ü
Tomorrow, I’m going to Nice, France. I’ve been there twice and both times I went to Monte Carlo, Monaco. Tomorrow, I want to go to Cannes! I’m sure no one will want to go with me because most likely everyone will go to Monaco. I’m determined to go see Cannes this time, even if I’m just alone. I just hope I don’t get lost! Ü |
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| back to work; Devonport, New Zealand |
[Aug. 8th, 2009|11:58 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | sleepy | ] |
After almost 3 months of vacation, it’s back to work once again! I flew back to Dubai at the end of July and had 4 free days before I had to go to work. I needed those 4 days to do some reviewing plus run some errands that I’ve put off the past couple of months.
And while everyone else has been wearing the new company uniform since June, it was going to be my first time to use it this August. I think it looks so much better than the old one. Although I had been dreading going back to work, I was a teeny bit eager to don the new uniform. ;p
Anyway, my first flight was Brisbane-Auckland-Brisbane, 5 days out of Dubai. I was a bit nervous at first, because the company has been implementing a couple of changes the past 3 months I was away. I kind of felt new, lost and ignorant all over again. I was also dreading the briefing, which we do before every flight, because I was scared I wouldn’t be able to remember the answers to questions I might be asked. Luckily, majority of us on the flight also came from unpaid leave, so we were all on the same boat. And everybody was really easygoing that we ended up getting along and having a good 5-day trip. I’ve just returned from it Saturday morning and I’m happy to say that coming back from leave, it was a good first flight to do.
Since I’ve been to Brisbane, Australia countless times before, I didn’t do anything new this time. It’s just a short 24-hour layover, so there’s really not much to do anymore unlike before when we used to stay a few days. As for Auckland, New Zealand, it was only my 2nd time there. The first time was last February but I didn’t really get to explore the city. Now I’m glad I got to see more of Auckland. I took a ferry with 2 other crew and we went to this charming seaside village called Devonport.
We took a 12-minute ferry ride from Auckland to Devonport. In the background is Mt. Victoria. We just had to walk a few minutes to reach its summit.
View of North Head Volcano from Mt. Victoria
The Rangitoto, the largest and most recent of Auckland’s volcanoes, rose from the sea 600 years ago.
Great view of Devonport and the Rangitoto Volcano from Mt. Victoria
Fort Victoria Disappearing Gun 1899
Beautiful view of Auckland City from the summit of Mt. Victoria in Devonport (See how the Sky Tower stands out!)
The following morning, we walked to Albert Park, a small park just near Auckland’s main shopping street. From there, we still had a good view of the Sky Tower.
After Auckland, it was back to Brisbane for another 24 hours, then back to Dubai. Up next I have a flight to Lagos, Nigeria, which I really tried to swap away but no one would take it. :( Then I have a Paris middle of August. I was actually looking forward to that Paris flight since my brother is going around Europe for 3 months and had agreed to meet me there. But he had a change of plans and has left Paris and is now in Nuremberg in Germany. Sad. It would have been so nice to meet up with him there again, just as we had last Christmas 2006.
I’ve actually caught up with updating this blog! Ü It’s not delayed anymore! Haha. ;p |
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| Long Leave Part 10: 5 Weeks in Manila |
[Aug. 8th, 2009|10:50 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | sleepy | ] |
This is the last part about my long leave, I swear. It’s the second half of my entire vacation but worth only 1 entry since I hardly did anything but live a bum’s life in Manila. Towards the end of June, I flew almost 16 hours from LA to Dubai and watched 5 movies on board because I couldn’t sleep. I had the intention of staying 1-2 days in Dubai because I had some errands to run, but after staying a few hours in my flat I decided that those errands could wait. Even though I was just dying to sleep on my bed, I unpacked my US/Canada suitcase, packed for Manila, and then went back to the airport to catch the next flight back home. It was a dream come true for me to be able to just rest at home. I felt like I was a student on summer break! Work was the last thing on my mind and I loved not having to worry about anything for a while. In the 5 weeks I was home, I didn’t even go out of town. Sometimes I’d meet up with friends, but most of the time I was just happy being anti-social. :p
Shami, Janis, Jabi, me, Ann, Tini, Pat in our favorite Pepper Lunch
Pat, Ann, Janis, me, Tini, Jabi after ice cream desserts :)
Dinner with Grace and Pia (Our fingers spell out “AVA” haha!)
Tini, Kat, Karinne, me, Zarah at JM’s spankin’ new mansion
The gang at JM’s barbeque – Marjoe, Ysa, Jacob, Zarah, Karinne, Kat, me, Tini, Angela, Jm
Ira, Kamille, Baby Seth, Aimee, Angge, me, Jose at another Pepper Lunch branch :p
Lunch in Makati with Jessica
Watching the live ADMU-FEU UAAP basketball game with Jabi (Go, Ateneo!)
Thumbs up for Ateneo – Jabi, Karinne, me
Dinner with Kamille, Baby Seth, Donna, Angge
With Angge and Angela
Pre-Saguijo “Webcam” picture with Janis and Jabi
Jabs and I ran into Twinkle! Ü
Outside Mall of Asia with relatives visiting from the US (whom we visited in Virginia last year) – Paul (oldest brother), Matthew (1st triplet), Mark (2nd triplet), me, Vincent (3rd triplet), Auntie Mai
Group picture – Auntie Mai, Paul, Triplets Matthew, Vincent and Mark, Tita Marinette, Peter, mom, me
We brought the triplets (who are now 12) and their older brother Peter try this out. They’re like hamsters inside an inflated ball floating in water. I probably would have loved this when I was younger. It’s not even too late to try it out now. Weight limit of 150 pounds and no height limit!
Joann, mom, me with matching white, silver, gold sandals Ü
Vincent, mom, Auntie Mai, Matthew, Joann, Tita Marinette, Paul, me, Mark in BHS
Dinner with college friends the day before I left Manila – Lynch, Aimee, me, Tini, Pat, JM, Pepe, Jabi, Clauds, Charles, Janis, Mark
That’s it for my long holiday! 3 weeks normal leave + 2 months unpaid leave = no work for almost 3 months! Sounds like a long, long time, but I still felt like it wasn’t enough. I would have wanted a longer break, but longer than 3 months away from work meant I had to take 2 days of recurrent training, so never mind. I’ve just finished that annual recurrent training end of February and I don’t want to have to study for those gazillion tests again quite so soon. It sucks to go to work in August when it’s hot as hell in Dubai. But break’s over, and it is time once again to make a living. ;p |
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| Long Leave Part 9: Back in LA; Universal Studios |
[Aug. 3rd, 2009|12:08 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | sleepy | ] |
We went back to LA after the 4-day tour for the last part of our long US/Canada trip. I was quite sad to have just a few days left there. Boohoo. We didn’t have the desire go to the usual touristy places anymore since LA was already a familiar place for us because we’d sometimes go there for the summer when we were much younger. We still wanted to go to a theme park but decided to skip Disneyland since Joann and I just had an overdose of Disney in Florida less than a year ago. Universal Studios seemed to be a better idea instead. It was cool that we got to meet the Simpsons there. Haha.
Picnic in Redondo Beach with Auntie Emma, Joann, mom
This is like a scene from Baywatch! But then I shouldn’t have been wearing a dress. ;p But It was too windy to go swimming.
I like this Baywatch picture better, but the lifeguard is gone. :(
We walked for almost an hour until we reached the boardwalk. It was hot but very windy.
Cute pelican! (And yummy frozen choco-banana!;p)
Korean Friendship Bell with mom and Auntie Emma
Outside Wayfarer’s Church
With Auntie Lucy, Auntie Emma, Uncle Tony for Joann’s birthday dinner at Cheesecake Factory
The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios
Me, Homer Simpson, Joann, Joann’s friend Pia
Marge Simpson and her nice hair ;p
Lisa Simpson!
Bart Simpson and his balloon sword (?)
Group picture with the tall dude! Joann’s friends (Mau and family) drove all the way from San Francisco to visit theme parks for the weekend.
Mom and me with the star of the Waterworld show
With the cast of Waterworld (The guy on the right is cute, but very small!)
We wanted a picture with the sign but were too impatient to wait for those 2 people to leave…
Outside Universal Studios
Universal City Walk
Marilyn Monroe made out of Jelly Belly jelly beans!
That’s it for the first half of my long vacation. The whole US/Canada trip took almost 6 weeks and I really, really got to enjoy myself the whole time! Goodbye, North America! :) |
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| Long Leave Part 8: Around West Coast USA |
[Aug. 1st, 2009|03:55 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  blah | ] |
After 2 weeks in Vegas, off we went to Los Angeles, California to stay at Auntie Emma’s house. For our first few days there, Joann’s friend Kaye took us around. The day after we arrived, Kaye brought us to the CBS Studios to watch the taping of a comedy show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. It’s just like The David Letterman Show, except hosted by some Scottish guy. I’ve never really heard of Craig Ferguson before, but it was interesting to be part of the studio audience. The only thing I didn’t like was that we were all told to laugh and laugh and clap and clap at Craig Ferguson’s jokes. It didn’t matter even if we didn’t get it, we really just had to pretend it was hilarious. The show wasn’t exactly that funny, so by the end of the taping, my mouth was tired from all the fake laughing and my hands hurt from clapping. Too bad we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the studio. After the taping, we walked to The Grove, a very pretty commercial area that I first visited with Ann 4 years ago. Anyway, we spotted Tim Allen walking on the street! We wanted a picture with him but he was walking too fast we couldn’t keep up. But he isn’t exactly an exciting celebrity to encounter, so it’s alright. I have a picture of his back, which is enough already. If it were some other big Hollywood star, I would’ve chased after him or her for sure. Anyway, the next day, we got to visit 2 beaches.
At The Grove in Los Angeles with Joann
Kaye, me, Joann at the Grove
Santa Monica beach
A shady part of Venice Beach, where the crowd looked like druggies (No, not THAT guy!)
My mom, sister and I were all staying in LA with Auntie Emma for almost 2 weeks, but Auntie Emma booked us a 4-day tour for the middle part of our stay. I don’t really know the name of the tour because we just went to so many different places around the West Coast. I think the highlight was supposed to be Lake Tahoe in Nevada. But the funny part was that the tour also took us to San Francisco. To think that Joann and I started our vacation there because we had extra time to kill before going to Vancouver. The only difference this time was that we were with our mom instead of Trix!
For our first stop on Day 1 of the tour, we went to Solvang, a quaint Danish village in California.
We explored the 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, California and stopped at the Bird Rock, home to countless shorebirds, seals and sea lions.
Bird Rock at the 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach (cute bird to the right!)
The Lone Cypress, the tree on the right, has prevailed on its rocky perch for over 250 years and is the eternal symbol of Pebble Beach.
For Day 2 of the tour, we went to San Francisco. Mom and I took a picture at the bottom of the crooked Lombard Street but Joann didn’t even bother to leave the bus anymore since we were just there a month ago!
The Colonnades at the Golden Gate Park with mom
At the Palace of Fine Arts in Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge with mom and Joann
At the Fisherman’s Wharf, mom and I got to try the famous clam chowder. Yum!
Mom and me with the noisy seals in Pier 39
We slept at a hotel in Reno, Nevada after San Francisco. For Day 3 of the tour, we visited the Nevada State Capitol in Carson City in the morning.
Lake Tahoe in Nevada is the largest alpine lake in North America and the second deepest.
Lake Tahoe is also known for the clarity of its water.
Joann, me, mom in Lake Tahoe, Nevada
We made our way back to California and stopped by the California State Capitol in Sacramento. We were hoping to catch Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger outside his office! :p
The California State Capitol in Sacramento
On Day 4, the last day of the tour, we drove around the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The General Grant Tree in Kings Canyon National Park is the second largest tree in the world! It’s just not obvious how tall it is in this picture since we were too near. I had to put my camera on the ground just so the whole tree can be seen.
One end of a fallen tree trunk at the Grant Grove
Giant Sequoias at the Kings Canyon National Park
The whole tour was ok, but our tour guide sucked. We were with an Asian tour group and our Chinese tour guide would talk first in Chinese then translate in English. What was annoying was that his English translations were so short that it seemed to be just a small fraction of what he said in Chinese. Whenever he talked, either in lengthy Chinese or short broken English, I felt like I was listening to a lullaby because I always ended up sleeping through his speeches. But at least we still got to appreciate all the sights of the tour, and that’s what’s important. Anyway, after the tour we were brought back to Los Angeles and we stayed there for a few more days. :) |
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| Long Leave Part 7: 2 Weeks in Las Vegas |
[Jul. 28th, 2009|10:40 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  okay | ] |
When I was much younger, I used to say that Las Vegas was my favorite city in the world. With all its themed hotels, I felt like Vegas was the whole world crammed in one city. I was able to go there when I was 13 and 15, and since then they’ve already put up countless new hotels. I was so eager to get to visit Vegas again and find out if I’d still love the place as much as I had years ago. I’ve been to so many wonderful places since I last visited Vegas that I thought I might not enjoy the City of Sin as much anymore.
We never used to have any friends or relatives in Las Vegas, so our past stays there used to be limited to only a few days since hotels were very costly. However, my Auntie Inday, who used to be based in Los Angeles, is now based in Las Vegas. That meant we could crash at her house and stay much, much longer this time. Ü We ended up staying for 2 whole weeks and we didn’t even want to leave anymore. A big bonus was that my 4th grade best friend Lorraine now lives in Vegas too. I was so excited to see her there! Thanks to Lorraine and her friends for showing us one helluva good time!Ü
Mau and Alfred (Joann’s friends from San Francisco who took us to Napa Valley) also happened to be in Vegas when we arrived. On our first night there, they took us to watch their favorite musical, Phantom of the Opera. It was quite good!
Buon giorno! I love the Venetian in Las Vegas. It’s just like the real Venice, only much, much cleaner. ;p
Alfred, Mau, me, Joann inside the Venetian
Inside the beautiful Bellagio, where Mau and Alfred were staying
Bonjour! It’s the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas, as seen from the Bellagio
Every 15-30 minutes, there’s an amazing water fountain show at the Bellagio.
We also got to watch The Lion King musical at the Mandalay Bay. When we were in New York last year, we really wanted to watch it in Broadway but weren’t able to. This time I’m glad we did, because it really is the best show ever! Our seats were pretty far but we could still appreciate everything. I was really impressed.
We saw fake tits everywhere in Vegas. Hahaha.
One hotel that really disappointed us was the Luxor. I remember how it had so many Egyptian sculptures before. Now there aren’t many left and the hotel just looks old and boring.
Lorraine took us clubbing at the Palms, in this place called Moon. That night was one of the most fun nights of our whole trip.
So who’s the cutest of the 3?;p
Paparazzi photo – Joann, me, Lorraine in Moon
After clubbing, Lorraine and her friends brought us to this videoke hangout for early breakfast. We didn’t realize how late (or early?) it was until we stepped out and the sun was already shining!
My cousin Ann-ann doesn’t live that far from her mom, Auntie Inday. When we visited her house, Joann and I were so overwhelmed with her Barbie collection. This isn’t even half of it!
Lorraine also took us to Treasure Island to watch the show Sirens of TI. Thanks to Lorraine’s connections, we got to watch it from the VIP viewing area exclusive to Treasure Island guests. Ü
Lorraine, me, mom, waiting for the show in Treasure Island
Group picture! Lorraine, me, Joann, Joann’s friend Kaye, mom inside the Venetian
$1 margaritas! :p
The girls outside the Flamingo
Auntie Inday also brought us to this pretty place in Green Valley called The District, which had nice shops and restaurants.
That’s Auntie Inday and her brother-in-law, Tito Henry with me, Joann and Kaye. I loved Tito Henry’s house because there’s a lake right behind it!
Clubbing in Moon take 2 – Joann, Kaye, me, Lorraine, and Lorraine’s friend Joy
Me, Joann, mom at the Serendipity 3 restaurant in Las Vegas, very different to the Serendipity 3 in New York
At the Pussycat Dolls Casino inside Caesar’s Palace
Kaye, Joann, me at the Italian fountain inside Caesar’s Palace
At the Caesar’s Palace Casino – but we didn’t gamble even once for the entire 2 weeks!
Outside the Parisian
Inside the Bellagio, they have the World’s Largest Chocolate Fountain – 8 meters tall!
Another show we got to watch was the Blue Man Group, an award-winning and supposedly unique production. It was the worst show I have ever seen! It was a complete waste of time and money. I couldn’t believe we even paid for it. I wouldn’t even watch it for free next time.
Me, Kaye, Joann with 1 of the 3 Blue Men
With the rest of the cast of the terrible Blue Man show
It was Auntie Inday’s birthday a few days before we left. My cousin Ann-ann treated us all for buffet dinner at this new hotel called M, which had a very lovely lobby.
This is Vegas at daytime. New York New York is on the left and MGM Grand is on the right.
The Excalibur
The Monte Carlo
At the M&M’s store in Vegas
At the Coca-Cola store with the Polar Bear mascot
I guess I can no longer say that Las Vegas is still my favorite city, but it is still definitely among my top favorites. When people ask me what’s my favorite city or country, I can never really answer just one. As for Vegas, I don’t think I’ll ever get bored if I live there. It’s just so alive and there’s always so much to see or do. I wouldn’t mind going back there again and again. Ü |
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| Long Leave Part 6: The Butchart Gardens in Victoria, Canada |
[Jul. 21st, 2009|06:26 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | tired | ] |
We were dropped off back in Vancouver after the Rockies tour and we had plans to check out the famous Butchart Gardens the next day. Butchart is quite far from Vancouver so we considered booking ourselves a package tour that included a sightseeing tour of Victoria before going to the gardens, but it was too pricey. So instead, we decided to skip the tour and find the way to Butchart ourselves. It was quite a long and complicated journey. We had to take 2 buses, and the second bus went inside a ferry. We had to disembark the bus once inside the ferry and it took an hour and a half to reach Victoria. The ferry ride was an experience in itself, but it was too windy out on the deck that we opted to stay inside. Once in Victoria, we took a taxi to the Butchart Gardens. It took all morning just to reach Butchart! I expected to see such incredible gardens that would make all the hassle worthwhile. To be honest, it wasn’t that great. I mean, it was pretty, but it was nothing exceptional.
Me, mom, Joann, Auntie Inday at the entrance of Butchart Gardens
The Sunken Garden
The Ross Fountain
This is at the Rose Garden, but there were no roses. :( So sad it wasn’t the rose season. Had there been roses, I would have enjoyed this place a hundred times more.
There were so many bees hovering around these flowers but I still risked being stung just for this picture. I had to pose hurriedly because I could hear them buzzing near my ear and it got me a bit scared.
Group picture with the flowers
Pretty, pretty tulips
It’s raining yellow flowers! And they match my bag! ;p
We spent one more night in Vancouver and flew to Vegas the following day. Goodbye, Canada! Hello, Sin City! :) |
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| Long Leave Part 5: Canadian Rockies Days 3-4 |
[Jul. 15th, 2009|09:34 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | sleepy | ] |
Day 3 of the tour started off with a visit to Lake Louise, probably one of the most breathtaking sights ever. The scene looked straight out of a postcard; I couldn’t believe I was actually in the middle of all that natural beauty. Afterwards, we went around Banff National Park to explore more of nature’s wonders. The town of Banff is actually known around the world as a place where some of the most beautiful, mountainous land on the planet can be found.
The picture-perfect, half-frozen Lake Louise
The scenery of Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier – too beautiful for words
Lake Louise
Chateau Lake Louse with Auntie Inday and my mom
Castle Mountain
At the Johnston Canyon in Banff National Park
Me, mom, Joann, Auntie In and the frozen waterfalls
Johnston Canyon
Johnston Creek
On the way to the Lower Falls
At the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
Mom and me along Banff Avenue
Group picture in Banff
The Cascade Mountain in Banff
Mount Rundle and Vermilion Lake
Another great view in Banff
Bow Falls
Bow Lake
View of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, known as the “Castle in the Mountains”
Stopover at the Glacier Park Lodge on our fourth and last day, as we made our way back to Vancouver
Before heading back to Vancouver, we stopped for lunch at Log Barn 1912, a small homey place on a farm nestled within the mountains of the Okanagan Valley in Armstrong.
At the Log Barn 1912, you can’t help but feel nostalgic. It’s as if you went back in time, where everything was so simple…
Log Barn 1912 sells fruits and vegetables, plus home-baked goodies and sweets, but it is best known for its sausages and freshly baked pies. I’d say the sausages were quite ordinary, but the pies were delicious!
Log Barn 1912 is in the middle of a serene farm in the Okanagan Valley. I wanted to stay longer there because it felt like a good place to just relax and daydream all day.
That’s it for our tour of the Canadian Rockies. Goodbye to the magnificent postcard sceneries and hello again to the bustling city of Vancouver! |
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| Long Leave Part 4: Canadian Rockies Days 1-2 |
[Jul. 14th, 2009|03:46 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | hungry | ] |
I didn’t really know what to expect from our 4-day Canadian Rockies tour. I knew we’d be seeing beautiful landscapes, but I didn’t know how picturesque they’d be. Our tour started from Vancouver and it was the most breathtaking drive as we went east towards Alberta. It reminded me somewhat of the scenery when we went around Switzerland 2 years ago. Nature couldn’t be any prettier.
Stopping over at Kamloops for lunch at the start of the tour
We spent our first night in the tiny town of Valemount. We spotted a moose and 3 wild bears along the way!
Mount Robson – our first stop for the second day of the tour
Me, mom, Auntie Inday at the Maligne Canyon
The Maligne River
The Athabasca River, which flows all the way to the Athabasca Falls
In the small town of Jasper in Alberta, Canada
Jasper National Park
The best part of the tour was going up the Columbia Icefield by the Athabasca Glacier!
Mount Athabasca? Not sure. So many names to keep track of…!
Yellow Snowmobile
The four of us went up the Columbia Icefield via the Brewster Snowcoach.
Joann, Auntie Inday, me, mom all smiles despite the cold
Meet Matt Riva, the best guide ever. He was the driver of our snowcoach and he is the most charming guy we’ve ever met! He made such an impression on the four of us that even if our encounter with him was so short, we couldn’t stop talking about him for days! It was because of him that this experience was so unforgettable!;p
We shot a short video from here, which I posted in Multiply and Facebook long ago. We also have some similar snow-filled pictures from 2 years ago when we went up Mount Titlis in Switzerland. Both were wonderful icy experiences, but this one was more fun because of our super charming snowcoach driver! Haha!
I loved taking pictures with all the ice in the background. I couldn’t believe I was actually up there in the glacier!
Breathtaking view #4321 (Like I said, I can’t keep track of all the names!)
Picturesque mountain #1234
This is a waterfall but it’s frozen!
With Auntie Inday and Joann by the frozen Bow Lake
Still too many postcard-pretty pictures for the next 2 days, so I’m splitting this entry into 2 parts. |
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| Long Leave Part 3: Vancouver, Canada |
[Jul. 9th, 2009|05:41 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  bored | ] |
Joann and I flew from San Francisco to Vancouver and arrived there just a few minutes before my mom arrived direct from Manila. Our timing was just perfect and we got to meet up at the airport with no hassle. I’ve always heard that a lot of Filipinos who migrate to Canada prefer to live in Vancouver because the weather is more pleasant than in other parts of the country. I was pretty surprised to find out that it was still quite chilly there even though summer was just around the corner. (That was like 7 weeks ago. Again, way overdue post.) Apparently, it rains a lot there, too.
We got the 5-star treatment in Vancouver thanks to Tita Minnie, my mom’s ex-officemate from way back before I was born. She and Tito Ver were our full-time tourist guides and they took us to all the beautiful gardens and tourist spots all over the pretty city. There were even some forest-y places that we passed by where the view kind of reminded me of the setting of certain scenes from the Twilight movie.
At the Van Dusen Botanical Garden
Tita Minnie, me, mom, Jo at the Van Dusen
With Tita Minnie and mom at the Queen Elizabeth Park
Love the combination of the pink and blue flowers!
White tree!
I’m so proud of this dragonfly photo! I took this using my old and rusty Canon Powershot, but I think it looks professionally taken. Yesss. We found this injured dragonfly on a rock, and Tita Minnie picked it up with a stick. It couldn’t fly anymore, so we had to put it back on the rock. Poor dragonfly. :(
Still at the Queen Elizabeth Park with Tita Minnie
Tita Minnie, me, mom at Stanley Park
Totem poles at Stanley Park
The Thousand-Hand Buddha at a Buddhist Temple
At the garden of the Buddhist Temple
Meet Casper, the sweet, super cute dog of the Tiongson family. He looks like an oversized baby here. He’s so adorable!
The Capilano Suspension Bridge – one of Vancouver’s best attractions
Joann, mom, me about to cross the 450-ft. long, 230-ft. high hanging bridge
You can’t cross the Capilano Suspension Bridge if you’ve got fear of heights. As for me, I even enjoyed looking down at the Capilano River. I didn’t feel queasy at all.
In the middle of the forest
Tita Minnie and Tito Ver treated us to a fine dinner at the peak of the Grouse Mountain. We had to take a cable car to go all the way up there. We had such a lovely view of Vancouver from the restaurant.
View of Vancouver, just outside the restaurant in Grouse Mountain
Still at the Grouse Mountain – the snow looks so fake!
Grrrowl!
With the Tiongson family, our very hospitable hosts – Jm, Zari, Tito Ver, Tita Minnie, with Auntie Inday, mom, Joann, Casper, me
Auntie Inday just flew in from Las Vegas on our 4th day in Vancouver since she will be joining us for the Canadian Rockies tour leaving the next morning. We felt so at home in Vancouver that we didn’t want to leave yet. I wanted to kidnap Casper!!! |
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| Long Leave Part 2: Napa Valley, California |
[Jun. 30th, 2009|05:15 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | bored | ] |
After Trix left San Francisco, we still had 2 days left before we had to go to Vancouver. Now where to?! To fill in the gap, Joann and I stayed with Joann’s college friends Mau and Alfred in their home in Antioch, about an hour away from San Francisco. Alfred picked us up lunchtime on our third day in San Francisco, just a few hours before Trix was scheduled to leave for Dubai. We had lunch at the Fish Market before heading to Antioch. Later that evening, we went to Walnut Creek for some drinks. The following day, they took us to Napa Valley, famous worldwide for its wines, for a winery tour followed by some wine tasting.
After lunch at the Fish Market – me, Joann, Alvin, Alfred, Zac
Alvin, Alfred, Mau, Joann, me at the Pyramid Alehouse in Walnut Creek, where we got to sample 5 different kinds of beer
At the Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa Valley with Alfred and Mau
Me, Mau, Jo at the entrance of the winery
Behind us is the vast vineyard
Winery tour
Me, Joann, Mau and the vineyard down below
Countless wine barrels
Artsy photo by Alvin during the wine tasting
Cheers! We got to sample 3 kinds of wines during the wine tasting. I must admit I am totally clueless when it comes to wine. I am so not sophisticated, haha. I never saw the point of sniffing wine then swishing it around the glass, etc. But I did enjoy the wine tasting because it enlightened me just a teeny tiny bit.
After the winery tour
Me me me
We went to this place called Mustards Grill for lunch. There was a long waiting list but we stuck it out since the food was supposed to be really good. “Sorry everything is delicious”?! While waiting, we even heard some people who were leaving gushing about how great the food was. I had very high expectations, but I wasn’t disappointed at all.
This is Zac, Alfred and Mau’s 3yr. old son. He’s so adorable. When he first met us the day before, he was a complete snob. (Check out the first picture.) But eventually, he warmed up to us. He didn’t know our names, but if he’d see either Joann or me alone, he’d go, “Where’s the other auntie? There are two aunties!” So cute!
Our flight to Vancouver was very early the next morning. Since where we were staying was an hour away, we thought it would be more convenient for Alfred and his family if they brought us to the airport late in the evening rather than having to wake up really early in the morning. So for our last night in San Francisco, Joann and I slept like bums at the San Francisco airport. Nothing we haven’t done before, so it was alright. Ü |
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| Long Leave Part 1: San Francisco, California with Trix & my sis |
[Jun. 28th, 2009|06:35 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  mellow | ] |
Long time no blog. I’ve been on vacation around the US and Canada since the second week of May, so I haven’t really made time to sit down and post something. But now I’m home in Manila, and I have until the end of July to bum around here. Ü Might as well start updating.
The original plan for our May holiday was supposed to be a cruise. My Auntie Inday, who is based in Las Vegas, was going to join us. We were considering an Alaskan Cruise, but after some considerations, we changed plans and booked ourselves a tour of the Canadian Rockies.
Vancouver was the starting point for our rockies tour. My sister and I were supposed to meet our mom there a few days before the tour, and Auntie Inday would just follow. The thing is, my sister and I managed to get ourselves a couple of days off long before our scheduled date to arrive in Vancouver. That meant we had free time to go somewhere else first! Hmmm… Where to?!
Trix had a scheduled flight to San Francisco coming up. The first and only time I’ve been to San Francisco was with my mom way back in 1996, so I definitely wouldn’t mind going back. Both Trix and my sister have never been there, and I thought that it would be a great idea if Joann and I got on Trix’s flight so the 3 of us could tour the city together. I asked Trix if Joann and I could pretty please crash in her hotel room during her 2-night layover, and luckily for us, she didn’t mind. Yay! So that’s the story as to why my sister and I suddenly ended up kicking off our long, long leave in San Francisco. Ü
The flight from Dubai to San Francisco was like 16 hours long. (Too long! I’m so glad I never ever do US flights for work!) Joann and I both got roomy exit row seats, which made the flight much more bearable. Plus, we had Trix as crew taking care of us. Hehe.
Lucky to be a passenger on Trix’s flight to San Francisco
That afternoon we arrived in San Francisco, Trix’s husband’s cousin Ate Ann and Kuya JF picked us up and brought us to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a very windy day, and we wouldn’t have survived if not for the extra thick jackets Ate Ann brought along for us. But what was so frustrating was the dense fog which completely covered the Golden Gate Bridge.
There’s Joann, Ate Ann, Trix, me, and ummm… the Golden Gate Bridge playing hide and seek with us. Grrr.
Ate Ann and Kuya JF took the 3 of us for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in Union Square. It was located at the very top of a building and from there we had a great view.
Dig in! Brownie Sundae Cheesecake = YUM!!!
The following day, Ate Ann brought us back to San Francisco’s most famous landmark for another chance to take pictures. At least it wasn’t too foggy that the bottom half was visible enough.
Joann, me, Trix with the shy Golden Gate Bridge
Sisters at the Sister Bridge
Nix in San Francisco
San Francisco = Cable Car!
From the top of Lombard Street – the world’s most crooked street
Lombard Street from below
Ate Ann dropped us off at the Fisherman’s Wharf in the afternoon. Trix, Joann and I ate lunch at In-N-Out Burger because I remembered how I loved it so much when I got to eat there in Los Angeles in 2005. This time, though, it didn’t seem as good anymore.
A funny thing that happened to us while we were walking along the street was that we got offered a free limo ride. This old guy driving an empty limo slowed down and tried to pick us up because, according to him, “I like Asians! My ex-girlfriend was Asian!” Duh. We declined, of course. It would have been more impressive if he were the limo’s passenger, or perhaps 2 decades younger. Haha! ;p
Jo and me at the Fisherman’s Wharf
Cute statue of seals
Lazy, noisy, stinky (but cute) seals at Pier 39
One of my fondest memories from my first Frisco visit when I was 13 was munching on the biggest strawberries I have ever seen. I got to relive that memory 13 years later. Ü
Cable Car driver
Cable Car passengers
The temperature began to drop slowly as the day went by. Trix even had to buy herself a jacket and lent me the cover she was previously wearing. Still, the wind was too chilly for me.
Trix and me at the Ghirardelli Square
We were dead tired by the end of the day, but it was all good. Super thanks to Trix who let us crash in her hotel. I was so sad that Trix was leaving the next day. :( As for me and Joann, that was just the beginning of a really long, enjoyable holiday. Ü |
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