A Day in Pililia, Part 1
One thing about having visitors when we were in Cambodia – when we get back to the Philippines, they can’t wait to return the hospitality. Thus, when Uncle and Auntie were in Cambodia with Mom and Dad, and as a group were dubbed as the “Septos (Septuagenarians) in Cambodia” (Uncle is now an octogenarian though), Uncle was already inviting us to go to his private mountain resort in Pililia, Rizal.
Upgraded in Jakarta
“Our room is so small!” complained my male colleague who was sharing a hotel room with another male colleague so that they could save on their Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) during our meeting in Jakarta this month.
Wishing to empathize with my friend on his complaint, I, too, whined, “My room is sooooo small too.” But I went on to say, “well, at least the second floor of my room is soooo small”.
The view of my picture window from the loft -
Much to the consternation of my friend, the Hotel Gran Mahakam was fully-booked so they upgraded me to a suite which had… tajan…. a second floor!
Read more in Toe’s Kurokuroatbp.
Bali High (and Bali Low)
Three nights and four days in the beautiful exotic island of Bali in Indonesia ought to bring me to heavenly highs. Unfortunately instead, I was pulled down to earthly lows as I spent most of my time there cooped up in long boring meetings in a conference room. What a waste! Anyway, I did enjoy my beautiful room in our sprawling Javanese style-hotel, the Ayodya Resort Bali. I had a perfect view of this lagoon from my balcony.
My boss though didn’t enjoy his room as much and complained of his small TV and his remote control. So I gaped at him and said, “My TV is a flat-screen”! But seeing his consternated look, I relented immediately and said, “Joke lang sir”. I knew I did the right thing when he heaved a sigh of relief… even if I did have to say a little white lie. Shhhhhh! I did have a flat screen. My work motto: do not aggravate the boss needlessly. 
Read more in Toe’s Kurokuroatbp.
Sunday Market with the Well-Heeled
So it’s a market. In the Philippines. Thus, it’s scorching hot, the floors are muddy, the narrow aisles are teeming with a sea of humanity, and there are stalls and stalls of fresh produce, food, dry goods, kitchenware, garments and other little tidbits of things to buy.
Read more in Toe’s Kurokuroatbp.
Getting My Driver’s License
For the first twenty-three years of my life, I had a perennial headache. I thought that I was simply frail or delicate (Frail or delicate? Moi? Hrhrhr). Then suddenly, my headaches stopped? Why? I learned how to drive. I realized that the culprit is the driving of Manoy, our family driver of more than thirty years.
Note: You may be wondering why twenty-three years, when Filipinos could get a driver’s license at eighteen. Well, I’m such a klutz and slow learner that I had to renew my student’s permit for five years.
Don’t get me wrong about Manoy though. I love the old guy. He is fiercely loyal and dedicated to our family. Before I got married, I think I’ve probably spent more hours with him than any other person in the world. He took me everywhere and waited for me for endless hours – school, piano lessons, swimming lessons, piano recitals, swimming competitions, parties, soirees. He made sure that my feet never got wet when it rained and that not-so-acceptable boys kept themselves at bay. He was also my own personal assistant when I took the Philippine bar nine years ago. So never mind if he’s a clutch driver who is accelerator hungry complimented by his love for sudden brakes and driving too near speeding jeepneys.
So now I am back in this crazy great city of Manila after six years in Cambodia. I can choose to go around this city by a) enduring Manoy’s driving, b) getting myself pushed and kicked around in the MRT, or c) driving myself. I chose c. Unfortunately, my driver’s license has been expired for 5 years. When I was still living in Cambodia, everytime I visited the Philippines, I refused to renew my license because a) I didn’t want to take the disgusting drug test and b) I didn’t want to take the disgusting drug test. But now, unless I either wanted my childhood headaches to return or pack myself like a sardine in an MRT car, I had to take the disgusting drug test.
Read more in Toe’s Kurokuroatbp.
A Very Jologs but Funny and Special Love
Honey will not be caught dead watching a Filipino movie. But he is still in Cambodia and I and my three old friends had nothing to do one Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago. Perfect timing. I can be as jologs as I want and I have a jolly-ogs good time. So off the four of us (myself, two manangs and one son of a manang – who tagged along with us under threat of loss of allowance by his mother) went to Gateway to watch A Very Special Love, the romantic comedy movie of John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo.
To protect their kasosyalan (or so they think), I am not disclosing the names of my friends (they all have dignified positions with decent employers and the son studies in a posh school). Myself… well, I can’t deny it any longer… I’m simply as jologs as can be.
Nonetheless, when we were queuing up in Gateway, we looked around surreptitiously to check if there were any media people waiting in ambush after we leave the theater to interview us about our rave reviews to be broadcast in the evening news or worse, The Buzz. Thankfully, there were none. Darn… secretly, I was prepared with my line which would have gone like this.. “Ang galing-galing ni Sarah! Ang guapo-guapo ni John Lloyd! Aaaaaaaaaaah!” with matching jumping up and down and clapping my hands in glee. Anyway, since there were no media people around at that time, I’ll just say it here – “Ang galing-galing ni Sarah! Ang guapo-guapo ni John Lloyd!” (jumping up and down and clapping my hands in glee).
Read more in Toe’s Kurokuroatbp.
Spirit House in Cambodia
I am not afraid of ghosts. Except when I’m alone. At night. In Cambodia where millions of people died of genocide in the seventies. Last year, when Honey had to go to the Philippines for work for almost two months, he left me in this kingdom far far away where I was alone. At night. In Cambodia where millions of people died of genocide in the seventies.
How did I manage to stop hyperventilating, prevent the hair at the back of my neck from standing up on end, and sleep during all those lonely nights? One, by multiplying my carbon emissions a hundredfold and turning on all the lights in the apartment at night. Two, by turning on the two televisions full-blast. And three, by comforting myself with the fact that my Cambodian landlady keeps a spirit house in an auspicious place right smack in the middle of the entrance of the apartment building.
Read more in Toe’s Kurokuroatbp.
Turtles Don’t Keep Junk in Their Closets
So six years of married life, all of those spent in Cambodia, and heaps and heaps of stuff, both junk and precious (mostly junk), managed to sprout out like mushrooms. And now that it’s time to go back to the Philippines, like turtles, we have to carry our entire home on our backs. So comes the impossible task of decluttering.
Yes, I’ve finally got off my lazy butt and for an entire month, we’ve spent hours and hours sorting and arguing about what to keep, what to throw away, what to store in our parents’ house (the junk, mostly), what to store in the warehouse (while the our new home is not yet ready), what to leave behind in Cambodia with Honey who will stay there for a month after I leave, and what to bring to our spanking-new condo, where my dreams of minimilastic living are rapidly disintegrating. We’ve got boxes and boxes of books, clothes, bags, shoes… I mean, we only go shopping once a year… where did all this stuff come from anyway?
Read more in Toe’s Kurokuroatbp.
Letter from a Future Tourist to Cambodia
I’ve received letters from a businessman on a business trip, a future teacher, and a future expat in Cambodia. Here’s one from a future tourist:
Dear Toe,
Hi! I found your blog via Kristene’s blog and I think you’re one of the best writers in the blogosphere (hindi kita binobola!).
I live in Dallas, Texas (originally from Bacolod), and was hoping that you could help me with some travel tips for Angkor Wat. My husband and I are going home for a visit to the Philippines in December and we’re hoping that we could make a sidetrip to another country in Asia during this time. I’d really like to see Angkor Wat if we can work it out.
If you have some time to help out, these are the questions I have:
- What airline would you recommend for the Philippines to Cambodia trip? Any good deals on fares (how much is a round-trip ticket)? Is there a straight flight from Manila (or Clark) to Siem Reap? Also, what ballpark price would you consider a “good deal” on the fares? How many hours of travel time is this?
- Any hotel recommendations? For hotels, around $100 would be our budget. We’re not picky on hotels as long as they’re clean and safe.
- Is December a good time to go to Cambodia? Are there any December dates/holidays that we should steer clear of (i.e. too many crowds at Angkor Wat? Or is it closed for the holiday?)
- Any recommendations on how many days to plan for Angkor Wat? Would three days be enough or would it be bitin (this would include arrival day + touring + departure day). We don’t really want to spend too many days away from the Philippines but would really like to do this sidetrip if time/resources permit.
- Do we need visas (our citizenship is Filipino so we still travel with our green passports)?
Thanks so much in advance! Hope you and your Honey are doing well!
Johanna
Read more in Toe’s Kurokuroatbp.
Farewell Koro Filipino!
In the middle of our last choir practice before of our performance, I made a little impromptu (okay, okay… it was quite long and drawn-out) speech to the choir. I said it mostly in Filipino, and this is more or less the translated version:
Okay guys, let’s stop for a while and please listen to me. Please turn off the TV for awhile… I know it’s the last few weeks of Lobo but you’ll find out what happens tomorrow during the Ang Nakaraan portion.
(I usually allow the television in the practice room to be turned on softly so that those who are waiting for their turn for me to teach their parts wouldn’t get so bored).
I’m going to say goodbye to you now because we might be all too busy during the National Day Reception for Honey and me to properly say goodbye to you. And don’t expect us to throw a party either. I mean… I love you guys and all that but I’m not going to wash all those plates. So I’ll do it now.
Read more in Toe’s Kurokuroatbp.
