Coming Soon

Due to problems with my Globe internet connection at home, I am unable to post pictures on Blogger. I have the following lined up:
1.Mini concert of my BIL in Ilustrado
2.Birthday celebration of two of my college barkada
3.Treat of my Dad at Fely J's in Greenbelt 5
4.Dinner with my office friends at The Heat, Edsa Shangri-la
So stay tuned for these entries!

It's Official: I Hate Globe!

Being a Globe subscriber is really a test of patience. I wish I can easily change service providers. Internet service has dropped a dozen times tonight, I can't even complete messages for my Facebook contacts and upload photos to Blogger. It's a good thing I'm not a student with a deadline tomorrow, or I would have really lost it!!!

Macau City Center

Although we stayed in Macau for 6 days, we only had a few hours to see the city center. We went to the Senado Square. We found it very quaint and pretty. We bought most of our "pasalubong" of Macau delicacies here. We also went around to look at the stores. Surrounding the area were several shops selling factory overruns of clothing. Also, most brands found in Hongkong were there, like Giordano and Bossini.

My Venetian (Macau) Holiday

Technically, I was in Macau for official business. But that didn't stop me from enjoying the city, and especially the Venetian. No doubt, it is Macau's greatest attraction. The Venetian was so grand, and so big, we got lost often on our first two days.

Cocktails by the Lagoon
The Food Court. Note the blue sky above, which is artificial.

Photos were not allowed in the casino itself, so we tried taking photos from the floor aboveThe Venetian Hotel Lobby

By the indoor canals where one can take a gondola ride. The gondolier in the background is a Filipina who had an astounding voice. If you watched Mel and Joey's feature on Macau, she was the lady gondolier interviewed by Joey. The Shopping Mall itself was so big, we didn't get the chance to visit all the stores.

We got to watch the spectacular Zaia of Cirque du Soleil

The Venetian Macau

I thought that our suite at the Venetian deserves an entry of its own. This was our home for one week and we absolutely loved it. Note the two queen-sized beds, plus a den with a sofa bed. This room could easily fit 6 people...

I "Heart" Hongkong

Hongkong is on top of my most loved places. Good friends to see, fabulous shopping and there's always something new to discover. On our way to Macau, my designated room mate and travel partner for this trip AF and I decided to make a quick stop-over in Hongkong.

We stayed with AF's good friend ES on Lantau Island. Her apartment had this fabulous view!


After a hearty buffet lunch at Citygate Novotel's coffee shop, which was ES's treat by the way (Thanks, ES!), we went straight to Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong specifically for H&M and Uniqlo. This is the first time I've seen these brands and I loved them.

Festival Walk

After Festival Walk, we went to Tsim Sha Tsui. AF and I, being both bag lovers, had a great time at LV, Gucci, Tod's and Burberry. I'm just amazed at the crowds in LV and Gucci, it was like a midnight sale in SM, I am not kidding. Nope, we didn't buy anything, but had such a great time looking!

We had dinner with good friend RW at OVOlogue (66 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Tel. No. +852-25276088). The place was amazingly beautiful. It was in a 120 year old building and also serves as an art gallery/design showroom. And we had good food as well. We had the dimsum platter, steamed garoupa, beef, fried chicken and steamed vegetables with garlic. Thanks for the delicious treat, RW! We had such a great time with you.

Good friend RW and travel partner AF at OVOlogue

Me and RW

On our last day, AF and I spent a few hours at Citygate Outlet Mall (located directly above Tung Chung station, an MTR ride away from Central), which was just adjacent to ES' apartment. All Hongkong shoppers should visit this place first before going to other Malls. It has the outlet shops of Polo Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade, Bally, Burberry, Giordano, Esprit, Nike, Adidas and a hundred more stores.

Citygate Outlet Mall

Before we knew it, it was time to go to the ferry terminal to catch our ferry to Macau:-(

19 lbs. and 4 inches

Yup, that's how much I lost so far. Today was the final weigh-in for the Biggest Loser Competition. I'm still 6 lbs. short of my personal goal, but I'm very very happy with what I've achieved so far. Considering 2 overseas trips in countries known for good food, this was indeed a true test of willpower. Thanks so much for all your support! By the way, sharing with you a picture taken by a colleague of mine during our Macau conference.

Halfway

I just gave the Midterm exams to my students today. That means we're halfway through the term. I can't wait to check the exams and see how my students performed. Of course how my students performed is also a reflection of how effective I was as a teacher. Hmmm, I hope I won't be disappointed...

Reconnecting

This week has been one of reconnecting:

1. Spent a good hour talking on the phone with good friend from MS Comp Fin,CG, who is based in New York. She works in Wall Street and is currently in the middle of all the action. It was nice to know that despite the uncertainties, she is having the grandest times. Am so happy for her.
2. I spent several days on instant messaging with another very good friend from MS Comp Fin, CC, who is now based in Hongkong. We exchanged notes on a lot of things. I miss my MSCF days. It was hard work, what with full-time work worsened by tough academics. I couldn't imagine how I survived that, but it was also filled with good memories because I gained a lot of good friends.
3. Spoke to good friend, former classmate from MBA/MS Comp Fin and former boss in Old College where I used to teach. We had a great time updating each other. Apparently, both of us have been expanding our horizons.

It was indeed a refreshing week, I should do this more often.

Healthy Restaurants

Found this article online: America's Healthiest Restaurants, and found it very interesting. I also thought it can come handy one day:-) Of the 10 Best Casual Dining Spots, I've gone to three: Uno Chicago Grill in San Diego and Romano's Macaroni Grill in New Jersey on our recent trip to the US, and Olive Garden in Pennsylvania on my 2006 US trip.

In Manila, we have had several discoveries for those who are trying to eat healthy:

1. Cyma. We love their Roka Salata. They also have a wide variety of grilled entrees.
2. Pho Hoa, a Vietnamese restaurant. My favorite is their Shrimp and Pomelo Salad.
3. Italianni's. I discovered two great salads: Seared Tuna and Grilled Chicken, both with vinaigrette dressings.
4. Pancake House. Their Fiesta Taco Salad is the best!
5. Most Japanese restaurants, for their sushi, sashimi, ramen and grilled entrees.
6. Most Filipino restaurants for their Sinigang na Bangus or Sinigang na Salmon.

Feel free to share your own discoveries!

Dining in Singapore

Singapore is definitely food heaven, and during our stay, we had some of the best that Singapore has to offer:

Jumbo Seafood (various locations, we went to the the Riverside branch, 30 Merchant Road #01-01/02 Riverside Point, +65-65323435)
A trip to Singapore wouldn't be complete without a visit to this fabulous restaurant. Its specialty is crab. We had the popular Singaporean chili crab and the Black pepper crab. We also had the delicious Prawns in cereal. I love this dish! We were pleasantly surprised when TS paid for the bill! Thanks, TS! It was a fantastic meal. The Riverside branch's location is perfect because it is in the Clarke Quay area, the heart of Singapore's nightlife.

On our third day in Singapore, E and I spent the day in Orchard Road. We had lunch at Pepper Lunch (Ngee Ann City) and had the Pepper steak (yup, I was a bad girl). The Pepper steak in the Singapore branches was cheaper by at least about P100+ than the Manila branch, I wonder why. And, while walking along Orchard, we couldn't resist the street food of Old Chang Kee.

We also had the chance to go to a hawker center when E's friend S brought us to the Bukit Merah town center where we had a couple of local favorites (sorry, don't know the names of the dishes, but I had vegetables and fish).

More F1 Excitement

More F1 Videos:

2008 F1 Singapore- World's 1st Night Race

September 26-28, 2008
Marina Bay Circuit, Singapore

(Some photos courtesy of TS)

Play the video for a taste of F1!

Hiking in Singapore?

Yup, you read that right. We went hiking in Singapore. TS, E and I set out Saturday morning (Sept. 27, Day 2 of our Singapore trip) to the MacRitchie Reservoir Park specifically to set foot on the HSBC Treetop Walk.

When we got to the entrance of the park, the trail to the Treetop Walk was described to be "moderate to difficult" and would take about 3-4 hours. Uh-oh... What have I gotten myself into...

So without exaggeration, the trail was indeed "moderate to difficult" and it was a test of determination for me, there was no turning back...

But when I got to the Treetop Walk, everything was worth it, I knew that it wouldn't be easy to have another opportunity to experience that.

By the way, it took us 3.5 hours to finish the trail, not bad! I must have burned more than 400 calories and this gave me an excuse to eat more liberally during the trip:-)

Singapore F1 - Day One

Free Breakfast at the Miascor Lounge, NAIA

We had the Lounge all to ourselves:-)

The F1 Boys




Practice Sessions


The Hawker Village



The Singapore Flyer

Motorshow at Suntec City


It was too noisy, and the camera can't keep up with the cars! (If you look hard enough you would see a race car whizzing by)

September 26, 2008 - Friday

We took SQ's earliest flight at 8:20 AM. Again, our trip is courtesy of Kris Flyer mileage points, and for this, we are forever loyal to Singapore Airlines. We also took advantage of the American Express Platinum privilege at the Miascor Lounge in NAIA. We had a choice of using the Northwest Lounge (a privilege for Citibank Platinum holders) or the Miascor lounge, but decided on the Miascor lounge because it was less full:-) Free breakfast included pasta, pork and fried rice,cereal and several savory snacks. If you are hungry and have the Amex Platinum, be sure to take advantage. It was a nice perk even if we had to fly coach, now that is what I call value for money. At the airport, we saw E's friends who were also going to Singapore to watch the race.

Upon arrival, we went straight to TS and family's apartment where we will be staying for the next few days.

E and cousin TS went to the Marina Circuit Bay in the afternoon to watch the practice sessions, see the motorshow and basically tour the place to plan out their strategy for the succeeding nights.