Jeggings

As part of my work responsibilities, I attended the opening of the new American Eagle in Manila. I expected a ribbon cutting and some pictures, but it was a full-out high society affair. My favorite part was the food--cupcakes, mini mushroom pies, french fries, tempura vegetables. And I discovered jeggings?!? At first I thought it was a joke like "jorts" (jean shorts). But apparently these are the norm in the US. Sadly, American Eagle doesn't carry "longs" here, so no jeggings for me. 

I was still hungry afterwards.

Jeggings on the runway.

Balloon Fiesta

Last year we debated attending the balloon fiesta at Clark Airfield, but decided a 5-month old might not enjoy it so much. But our now 17-month old loves all things that fly, so we decided to brave the crowds. We bought tickets in advance at SM - P250 per person per entry - hoping we could avoid long lines. A friend recommended the Lewis Grand Hotel and an executive room was only $100. Angeles City doesn't have the best reputation - think a great location for a bachelor party - but we preferred to be closer, instead of trying to leave Manila at 4am to see the balloon launch at 6:30am. The NLEX was clear until we got stuck for an hour due to a very bad accident. 

Our room had a great view and the air seemed a lot cleaner that Manila. Granted the room smelled a little like smoke and they sold condoms in the room (no coffee...), but overall it was ok. Toto spent a while in the pool, and the food was pretty good. Not to mention the FREE beer when we arrived. Nice touch, Lewis Grand.

View from our room. Some big mountain.

We woke up at 5am on Sunday morning and drove about 10 minutes to a parking lot, then walked with the hordes about another 10 minutes to the airfield entrance. The crowds were big, but they managed to get us inside pretty quickly. We found a nice spot and set up a blanket. The balloons were colorful and Toto loved them. About as much as she loved all the pieces of trash that needed investigating. A man on a motorized flying thing flew the flag and Toto yelled "Yaya" because, well, that's Yaya's flag. Side note: she can identify the flags of the U.S., Philippines, Bahrain, and Qatar.

We stayed until about 8am then headed back to the hotel for breakfast. Next year I think we'll pack food, drinks, chairs, and maybe a tent so we can stay out a bit longer to see the other attractions. 

Hiking Philippines: Pico de Loro

As I have mentioned, we have been avid hikers in most places we have lived (or visited, like San Diego), but have only managed to hike Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines. February 18 was an American holiday so we set out with 3 colleagues to hike Pico de Loro in Ternate, Cavite. First, without GPS we may not have made it. The jump-off or trailhead is on the Ternate road. Basically take the Cavitex until it ends and then follow the major coastal roads until you get there. And by there, I mean a faded "DENR" sign, which according to other blogs says, "Magnetic Hill." Maybe it's in Tagalog because I did not see it. Luckily, The Shark recognized the DENR symbol and we pulled into a little dirt lot. A very old woman, who apparently has been working for DENR for decades, charged us about 50 cents per person and had us write our names on a sheet of paper. Presumably to alert someone if we never returned. Then we were off.

The trail is well-marked with random strings (or sometimes garbage) tied to trees. Seriously. We knew we were going the right way when we could see a red ribbon tied to a tree trunk in the distance. Many other blogs mentioned getting lost, but we managed to stay on the trail. And luckily we did because we got to see a dead cow on the trail. Yes, on public land managed by the government, there was a giant dead cow. The great thing was that before we looped back, someone chopped it into pieces and carried it out of the forest. Who needs ribbons when you can follow the trail of blood?

Also, interesting to note, was the tin structure along that was manned by god-knows-who, where we had to "register" (again) and pay 50 cents (again). According to the DENR woman, these people charge illegally but "there is no way to stop them." Like kick them off government-protected land? No, couldn't do that. 

It took about 3 hours to reach the summit and about 2 to get back down. Luckily it was a Monday wo we only saw a few people and had the peak to ourselves, as well as the base camp for lunch. The DENR lady keeps a stock of cold drinks. Sprite never tasted better.

Leave a comment or email me at paceyogawellness@gmail.com if you have questions!

Ringing in Chinese New Year

Salcedo Village is a happening place. Well, for the senior and family crowd at least. Last year Toto was only 5 months for Chinese New Year and had no clue what was going on during the parade. This year she was just old enough to be terrified. That's an exaggeration. She LOVED the drumming and does the drumming motion every time we go to the park now. Why they chose to have the parade in the market is beyond me, but again, most things here are. Nice to celebrate Asian holidays while we are in The Asia.

Excuse me, Chinese dragon coning through.

Wish Stone

I write a lot about the Saturday Salcedo Market, but I also try to go to the Sunday Legaspi Market at least once a month. Totally different vibe. More stalls sell recycled or locally-made green products, like my new favorite dish and hand soap (more to come on that later), there are more food options (including awesome pad thai), and a group holds a drum circle (Toto loves to drum). 

We always stop by the Washington Sycip Park afterwards so Toto can run around. There are so many cool features of the park, but today I'll focus on the "Wish Stone." As you can see, there is a large stone that you can write your wishes using a stick and water. While we waited our turn, a young woman wrote that she wished for happiness for her family. Within seconds the sun had dried away her wish. Then a much younger girl started writing "I wish for my dad..." then she got embarrassed/distracted and ran off to play. I was actually really curious what she was going to write. For the first time Toto was excited to write on the stone. And then stick her hand in the filthy water of course.

I wish my mom would let me take this rock home.

Unexpected Clown Sighting

I have a driver. That sounds weird even to me. When I read that many people hire drivers in Manila, I assumed they had all gone off the deep end. Then I got here and drove myself to work and realized what everyone was talking about. I have literally seen it all--driving the wrong way down one-way streets ("counter-flow"), cars literally parallel to 4 lanes of oncoming traffic, driving on sidewalks, left hand turns from right lanes, merging at about a speed of 1 mile per hour. There are no rules. Until there are. 

I have been pulled over twice. TWICE! The first time I made an illegal U-turn to get The Shark to the hospital for stitches in his eye (basketball injury), so I just slowed down and screamed hospital and he waved me away. The second was for a left on a green light. Apparently you have to wait for the green arrow, despite the fact there are no signs indicating that, and there were no cars coming--a rarity in Manila. Mind you when smoke-belching buses cut me off to let passengers out in the middle of the road in rush hour traffic the cops don't blink an eye. 

But, anywho. I spend the majority of the 30 minute ride to and from work on my iPhone catching up on the news, I mean blogs, but occasionally get nauseous and look out the window. Except that was a big mistake the other day when I noticed a Precious Moments clown handing out fliers for the Precious Moments Restaurant and Gift Shop. So many things wrong with this picture. But part of me is now desperate to go in and see what it's all about. Damn clown. So terrifying, and yet so intriguing.

Take this flier. Or I'll kill you.

One of Manila's Perks

We used to live in Rwanda. Most people's eyes bug out of their heads when we tell them that, assuming the country is incredibly dangerous given it's history. Well, it's not anymore. The genocide was almost 19 years ago and the country has made phenomenal progress in many areas. 

But they didn't have this:

Oh Manila, you charmer.

I almost cried when I moved in and saw these outlets. Being that we have lived overseas for more than 5 years now, we are constantly searching for converters, or worse, those giant transformers we had all over our Rwandan house (taking up VERY valuable kitchen counter space). Or, actually much worse, NO ELECTRICITY, like our little Ghanaian hut. 

Over the years we have destroyed a couple items, namely our beloved coffee maker (RIP you wonderful machine) and a set of speakers. Maybe more that I have blocked out. And now that we own a hodge podge of 110V and 220V appliances, our outlet sitch in Manila has been a lifesaver. Granted our condo needs about 90 more outlets, but the ones we do have are so awesome. Who knew that outlets could make me so happy??