Kid-Friendly Nail Salon

Toto has shown interest in girly things like makeup, dresses, princesses, and nail polish. Instead of fight it, we are just going with it (while also offering other things like basketball and toy cars). Since Tita R was in town we booked a girls morning at Coco Nail Studio. All their polish is free of the nasty stuff, and the small, cozy salon is kid-friendly! There are little chairs, kid-safe nail polish, and a play area. 

The salon opens at 11am, but they opened early for us so we could squeeze it in before Toto's nap. On the weekends you can have a tea party with scones, macaroons, and cupcakes (you must book in advance). Toto was thrilled that I let her have a cupcake at 10am.

Tea Party packages:
Saint Germain package for 2: regular mani with paraffin pedi (P2,300)
Las Marais package for 2: mani-pedi spa with premium polish (P1,800)
Toto got the Coco Petite - not sure how much that was :)

Directions from Makati: Take SLEX, Exit Sucat, cross to West Service Road, make a R at the Total gas station, Don Jesus building on left (above Pancake House)

Call or Text: 0917 561 9555

Manila's Chinatown

I've had a brochure for Old Manila Walks since we arrived in 2011, but just finally got around to taking a tour last week - The Big Binondo Food Wok. The tour was about P1,200 per person ($30) and lasted 3 hours. When I first hear three hours of walking in Manila I spazzed a bit - the pollution, the traffic, the heat! But January was an awesome time to do it, as was a Saturday morning. The three hours flew by as we walked and ate with our fabulous Chinoy guide, Ivan. Highly recommended (even for vegetarians-just let them know in advance)!

Veggie Lumpia

Best dumplings ever.

Managed to squeeze in some shopping

Fun Farm

The Fun Farm really lived up to its name.  Visiting requires a reservation, which is unusual for the Philippines.  Some months are literally booked everyday, but this weekend with Typhoon Santi expected to make landfall, no one had booked for Sunday.  We left Makati at 7:45am and were there before 8:30am.  We spent the first half hour playing in the sand house, which is fun except for the duck poop.  There are tire swings and a slide.  Afterwards, we fed rabbits and guinea pigs, checked out the pigs, walked over the bridge on the fish pond, and even rode a horse.  Then they put a wagon on the caribou and we took a ride around the grounds.  The only downside was there was nowhere to go to cool down or even buy a cold drink.

The Fun Farm is open everyday from 9a-4p and costs P300 per person over 2 years old.

Urban Recreation: Ortigas

Finding ways to entertain children in Manila is not easy. Taking advantage of the lack of traffic on Sundays, we headed to Ortigas. What would be a 45 minute ride on a weekday took only 15 minutes. We started with breakfast at Cafe 1771. Cute setting and decent food.

Afterwards we were among the first to arrive at the Ark Avilon Zoo. Their website was misleading, marketing it as a conservation organization when it was actually a dismal zoo with tiny cages. Redeeming factors were the guinea pig feeding area-it was fun watching Toto hold a carrot on a stick-and the play area which included rocks and sticks. Always a winner with two year olds. We will not be going back.

We also discovered a closed off street full of bike rentals. Toto had fun riding around with The Shark.

Just another Manila experience...

Urban Recreation: La Mesa Eco-Park

I had been planning all week to take Toto to the Sta Elena Fun Farm in Laguna on Sunday, but Saturday night I checked their website and realized they require a reservation! I texted and they were booked in the morning. Being that it is ungodly hot in the afternoons and I have a 3pm Jivamukti class, we decided to go to the La Mesa Ecopark in Quezon City.  It only took about 20 minutes to get there at 8am on a Sunday morning.  There weren't many people when we arrived, but when we left at 10am it was starting to get packed and loud. The entrance fee was P50 ($1.25) and an additional P80 ($2) for the Butterfly House. Let's chat about the butterfly house, shall we? 

Great sign lured us in and the caretaker took us to the glass breeding tanks where we saw the stages from egg to butterfly. While he was talking he threw a couple of dead caterpillars out and told us that they died from the stress of too many people holding and squeezing them yesterday. Um, what? Maybe you shouldn't let people do that, caretaker of the butterflies. Onto the butterfly tank where the new guys were emerging from cocoons. Before we went to the next area, the caretaker had to sponge the blood off the bottom of the cage. So gross. Who knew butterflies bled as they emerged from the cocoon. Never saw that in any cute kid's book. Toto was not thrilled with all the butterflies swarming near her face, but they were pretty. And we saw two species--"the black one and the white one."

We strolled through the flower terraces, pet the horses baking in the sun, watched a "pre-nup" photo shoot in the amphitheater, saw some fish, and then headed home. We'll probably go back to see the orchids and organic garden.  Despite the growing crowd, humidity, and stall after stall of hot dogs, the huge trees and relatively clean air will bring us back.

My advice - go early.

Don't squeeze the caterpillars.

Some dead, some bloody, but still educational.

View from the La Mesa Dam.

Bangkok: The Marathon

After months of training, I felt ready to finally run this marathon. At 5pm on Saturday, we ordered pasta to the room and I went to bed at 7pm. I set the alarm for 1am so I could make some instant coffee and grab a taxi. I seriously would have walked to the start line if there had been an open Starbucks on the way. During the 20 minute taxi ride I saw tons of people shopping for fruits and vegetables at night markets, and several people on their way home after a night at the bars. I managed to eat a boiled egg, Clif bar, and banana, and drink a water bottle. I decided to carry the Nathan waist pack with two water bottles (small), 5 hammer gels, and my iPhone for texting/pictures/music. There weren't many people at the start line at 2am, so I was able to stretch and use the bathroom - on a bus! - in peace. At 2:45am they started herding us towards the start line. The announcers said lots of stuff in Thai, and there was a lot of arm waving, and then we started.

The first 16 miles or so were on a desolate highway, which didn't bother me because I am not the type to look around while running. Every 2km there was a water stop, so I walked for 20 seconds or so and doused my head in ice water. Yes, it was hot and humid in the middle of the night.  Not as bad as I had imagined, but still hot. Every couple stops they had gatorade and only about three times they had bananas. I was so happy I had my gels.

Sunrise on bridge

Mini marathon??

I stopped to take pictures once the sun came out and I got off the highway. We passed some pretty buildings, none of which I recognized. But I did see a scary lizard dragon animal come out of the water.  I did my cockroach jump squeal that I do at least two times during any run in Manila.

Swimming mutant dragon

Official-looking building

At 32km I still felt great, at 35km I felt ok, but at 38km I was sure my legs were broken.  It took lots of self encouragement to keep going. When I finally saw the finish line I got a 17th wind and sprinted to the end. Granted, it took me 5 hrs 18 mins to finish, but I have never been so happy to stop running.  The Shark had already run the half and was waiting for me at the end. The first 20 minutes after the race I felt terrible, but by the time we got back to the hotel I felt a lot better. Oh, and here's a tip: don't wear hot pink underwear during a marathon, apparently they run dye down your legs and also pool in the seat of the taxi - sorry Thai taxi driver, hope we tipped you well!

Dragon arch

Old fort

We spent the afternoon riding the train and going to the park. It was only around 1 million degrees out and Toto insisted on me carrying her most of the way.

My ankles, knees and hips were sore, but a 90 minute Thai hot herbal massage and a tall beer(s) took care of that. Will I run another marathon? Not sure. I enjoyed the discipline of having a training schedule, but disliked running in humid polluted Manila.  I'll probably stick to shorter distances and hope to get some big hikes in next year. Any marathons in your future?

Marathon Countdown

Seven days until the Bangkok Marathon!  

Highlights from my training in 2012

Longest run: 20 miles

Best week: 36.2 miles, Week of October 22

Worst week: 3.1 miles, Week of January 2

Yoga classes taken: 39 

Tai Chi classes taken: 1

Best running aid: Hammer Gel (Expresso flavor)

Races: 2

Best recovery aid: 1 hour at home foot/leg massage for $6

Total miles run this year (so far): 726.65  

I initially thought a marathon 14.5 months post-partum was a stretch, but then I read multiple accounts of pregnant women running marathons and shut the hell up.

Yeah, that 3.1-mile week was right after Christmas, family in town, and a STILL colicky baby to deal with. Best week included my 20-mile training run---I probably should have had some weeks at 40 miles, but just doing this to do it, not to set any records. Yoga has been my savior in all this.  I take all my classes at Bliss Yoga, but was fortunate enough to have an amazing private class in Bali that I will never forget. Oh, and I know, only two races (soon to be three) in 2012?! While Manila hosts tons of races and is home to thousands of runners, it just isn't a great place to run.  I ran the World Vision half marathon and the Men's Health Urbanathalon, but that might be it for Manila races.  It would have been cool to run 1,000 miles this year, but I a guessing I will get closer to 800.

Oh, and you might want to think about moving here if you haven't already.  The best foot masseuse I have ever had comes to my house.  And I can drink wine and blog.  I usually end up tipping her 75% because, folks, it is a $6 massage at my house. You can bet that is a weekly occurrence. But no, I am not getting my feet massaged as I type this, but I should be.

And one more thing, should you be wondering. I am indeed Type A and keep meticulous records of all my workouts and have been doing so since college.  So what?

Seven more days!

Finding Green

Having grown up surrounded by green spaces - a farm and the suburbs - The Shark and I want to make sure Toto doesn't spend the first five years of her life thinking metro Manila is the norm.  When we are not traveling, we scout out green spaces on the weekend.  Purchasing a village sticker for our car gives us access to the gated suburban communities that often have nice parks.  We frequent the Forbes Park playground because it is huge, clean, and has baby-sized swings and slides.  This morning the leaves were falling and it looked a little like fall.  Especially since I was drinking a holiday latte - it's already Christmas at Starbucks!

We also keep lots of plants in the house including this new window herb garden.  Toto was surprisingly patient and interested in the seed planting and we check out the sprouts everyday for progress.  Hopefully she doesn't start eating random plants after we demonstrate that you can eat what you grow...

Urban Recreation: Manila Ocean Park

Manila has a lot to offer.  You just have to be willing to battle traffic, crowds, and heat to enjoy it.  We decided to take crabby Toto to Manila Ocean Park, hoping the fish, lights, kids, etc would distract her.  Traffic was reasonable and we made it from Makati in about 20 minutes.  The line for tickets was very long and I quickly realized I should have purchased online ahead of time--lesson learned. After 15 minutes of slowing snaking through the line, I made it to one of the TWO cashiers who wanted to charge me extra for Toto.  I assumed she would be free of charge as all children under 2 feet are, but they actually measured her - a 13 month old - and decided she had to pay.  Granted, it was only about $12/person, but it was the principle, people.

Patience wearing thin, we headed inside.  Some areas were very nice, well ventilated, and nicely displayed.  Others, not so much. The poor crocodile was resting in some less than clean water with some debris tossed in by visitors.  And it was LOUD.  I am no stranger to screaming kids and they actually rarely bother me now that I have one of my own, but in a dim, tightly packed area it was a bit much.  Even Toto signed "all done." But Manila Ocean Park redeemed itself in the Jellies Room of Dancing Fairies.  With classical music playing in the background and jelly fish dancing around to changing colors, even the kids got quiet and we danced along with them.  

The strangest part was the mall we had to walk through to get to the exit.  Vendors were seriously selling everything from tiny umbrellas, which Toto desperately wanted, to frozen yogurt to high heels. Oh, and there was a vaccine clinic.  Would we go again?  Probably not until she is older.  And by then the terrifying 'Birds of Prey' exhibit should be open.

Is it better here or Manila Bay...?

Screaming Tunnel

Peaceful Jelly Fish