A Walk in the Park

When was the last time you've been to Luneta Park? I'm a self-confessed mall rat. I prefer staying in air conditioned spaces where everything is within your reach. It's been years since I've gone to Luneta. I'd often walk past Luneta park when I was still in college but never really got to relish the entire thing. Yesterday, our trip with our kids was a combination of reminiscing and discovery.

We started our trip at Luneta, located along Taft Ave. The place still looked the same. The map of the Philippines still situated in the middle, however the viewing ramp is no longer there. When I got near the map, I noticed that it has embossed mountain and volcanoes on it and on the rails, it has some markers of the provinces of the Philippines.

We then proceeded to Children's Park which was located on the right side of the Department of Tourism building. There was an entrance fee of P10/person and as we entered the place, a whole rush of memories went in my mind.

The slides ...

the giant tree house ...

the giant hippo ...

and the giant fish and turtle.

They were still there!!! It was so exciting to see our kids enjoying the same place I went to 30 years ago. What surprised me the most was to see the place clean and well maintained. Although it still requires a lot of modification but it was clean enough and safe enough for children of the new generation to play with. There were even tables where people could have their picnics but with all the greens in the area,a lot of people have decided to just stay under the trees with their picnic mats.

For the people of our generation (a.k.a. born in the year of the 70's), you would probably remember the roller rink with a globe in the middle. Well, that globe was replaced by

Lapu-Lapu

and a gigantic Lapu-Lapu to boast. Then we went to the Nokia Orchidarium and Butterfly Farm. The kids were getting tired already but the man-made pond and waterfall excited them and to our surprise, they were actually enjoying it. We decided not to go to the Rizal Stadium and bayside anymore since it was already lunch time. We decided to eat lunch somewhere but as we were crossing the street, we chanced upon a calesa. The kids were excited and although it was quite expensive, P200 from Luneta Park to CCP, it was actually worth it because we got a good view of Baywalk and Manila Bay. We ended our trip at Harbor Square to have lunch, al fresco.

So to all of you guys out there, why don't you start packing your picnic basket and head out to Luneta Park and start creating your new adventure with your friends and family?

Kung Hei Fat Choi

It's the Year of the Golden Rat and since I am forcibly on leave from work, we decided to go to Ongpin (Manila's Chin atown) to witness the festivities.

Our first stop ... MANOSA!

This has been our favorite Chinese restaurant for almost 12 years now. It's styled like the old canteen type Chinese restaurants where they have tiled walls and a short order cook right at the entrance. It's located along Ongpin St. right past the small Eng Bee Tin store alongside Baker's Fair. You can ask any stall owner or vendor and they'll eagerly point you to the right direction. The food is good and cheap. For a complete meal for two which consists of fried rice, rellenong hipon, siomai, maki and drinks it's going to be less than P300 ... that's just about the same price of as two orders of an upsized hamburger meal in any fastfood joint. And the servings are big. The second floor is air conditioned though you really have to wait for a table to be available because it seems like we're not the only ones who patronizes this restaurant. Service is just satifactory though but I don't think you'll have time to complain since you'll be busy enjoying every food they serve. Our recommendations: maki - pork cutlets served on sticky brown soup; siomai - 4 giants sizes per serving; ma chang - sticky rice with some meat in the middle; kikiam and rellenong hipon. They also serve pancit bihon, miki bihon and other noodle recipes.

After our hearty meal, we decided to stroll along Ongpin. We chanced upon a dragon dance and ati-atihan on the streets. The Chinese dragons and the loud noise created by their drums are said to drive away bad spirits.

We were planning to go to a Charm store behind Sta. Cruz Church to have our feng shui but the place was crowded when we got there so we decided to end our Chinese New Year celebration instead. It sure was a wonderful experience and to all those who believe in luck Kung Hei Fat Choi!!!

American Dream

Yep, the American Dream! Every Filipino has a dream of coming to the U.S., the Land of Milk and Honey. Well, here's the real deal. My brother Sam, the farthest on the right, has made it to the "promise land". He was there on training and would a very promising career in hand. I just like this picture cause it accurately defines every Filipino had wanted, to be in the land of snow. I'm gonna elaborate more about his adventures next time. But for now, that's him right now, living the American Dream.