forces of nature

me and my bebe in random pose

Happy 5th Anniversary to us! It’s been 5 years since the night we kissed during a game of billiard with Eric and Ryan. That was definitely not an accident nor premeditated. It was spontaneous and it was as if the forces of nature just brought us together on the same spot and made us feel the same impulse. Cupid’s arrows were right on target and as the saying goes… the rest is history.

This time we didn’t exchanged any gifts. We need to save up for the upcoming wedding. We just greeted each other, kissed, hugged and said our I Love You s. Then we had dinner at Almon Marina (we ordered everything in split, to save money and not to add more pounds...hehehe!) and watched Ms. Congeniality 2. It wasn’t grand nor lavish but it was enough for me the we spent quality time with each other and that he didn’t forgot about our anniversary. I’m so looking forward to spending the rest of my life with him. And have my own…happy ever after.

feeling a little eccentric

I've been very emotional lately. Tears just flow as easily as turning on the faucet. Last week, when our team was having a meeting our team leader asked if I have any concerns.. Told them that I am demotivated. And in front of my teammates, I can't stop my tears from falling. I was saying jokes and i laugh in between tears to stop them but I just couldn't. I'm so overwhelmed with sadness that I can no longer control my tears. Our team leader was pressuring me to disclose why the sudden burst of emotion (which she was also taken off guard because I don’t usually cry in front of people) I was tempted to tell the truth in front of the group but due to confidentiality of the reasons behind it, I was force not to disclose it because not everyone knows about the situation (a few chosen people have learned bout it in the course of time). I only told them that our team leader is the reason for my demotivation.

This morning, i received a letter from her. Which is so sweet :) this is the first time that she wrote me a letter (we've been friends for 3 years now). Maybe because we always tease her that we can't read her handwriting, heheheh! And she said that she had an inkling on what the reason was. She thought that I'm angry with her because she got the job that I was hoping to get. I was actually smiling while I read her letter. I don't think I'm that shallow to be angry with her for getting the job. If it was meant to be mine, it will be, whatever happens. But of course I'll be a hypocrite to say that I didn't felt disappointed when I learned out it but i guess the job is not meant for me, so why middle on it? The truth is, I'm demotivated because she's leaving the company and because the people who are the reason of me still being here are resigning one by one. My motivation to go to work is diminishing minute by minute.

And now, I had been feeling a little eccentric. I have this notion and feeling that Adrian has forgotten about our 5th year anniversary tomorrow. I don’t know where this came from. Woman’s instinct? Maybe. I don’t know. I hope I’m wrong. And again, just the thought of it made me cry again. I don’t know what’s happening to me. I’ve never felt this emotional… ever.. I’ve always been able to control my feelings and put a smile on my face on a very gloomy day. People don’t know that I’m depressed because I’m very good in hiding my feelings but these past few days ... its different ... kind of weird actually.

Zambales Escaped

Iba, Zambales is such a peaceful escape from the hassle and bustle of the metro. Where tricycle is the most useful mode of transportation, well at least for us, because this is what we used to and from the resort to get to their "bayan". We arrived in San Felipe, Zambales (30 minutes from Iba) at 3:00 am and stayed at Lance’s friend to get some sleep. After having breakfast, we walked about 300 meters to the nearest church to give our respect and said some prayers… and it was Holy Thursday. We then head to La Playa del Norte Resort. The place was very nice, we were escorted to our cabanas where our rooms have sharing bathrooms which is so cool that I though of Brenda and Brandon’s room (from the BH 90210 TV series during the early 90s). After settling our things and changing in to more comfy clothing we went to have lunch in the resort’s restaurant where they have buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. We ordered in some sizzling tuna, Kare-kare, enchaladang manga, inihaw na talong and litchong kawali…the food was superb. After some chitchat, we checked out the beach. It’s such a wonderful feeling when you’re at the beach…. The smell of it, every time the wind blows your hair, your feet on the hot sand. I can’t explain what it is… it’s a different kind of happiness. I’m so glad to be here is what my mind and my heart were saying.

Aboard the bus going to Zambales.We didn't plan on wearing the same color. Really! It just happened.

no sand castles in this beach, only sand turtles are welcome.

We headed back to our cabanas and took a nap out side our rooms while me and Adrian shared the earphones of his MD player and listened to some acoustic tunes as we dozed off. Woke up around 4:30 p.m. and grab some Doritos as I feel my stomach craved for food. Adrian and Lance went to the market to buy some seafood for dinner while Nancy and I stayed and chat about everything…hhehehe! The boys made "kinilaw na tuna" (raw tuna marinated in vinegar with spices) for their pulutan tonight and we asked the restaurant to cook our dinner while we headed to the beach for some night swimming. Around 9 pm we had our yummy dinner of barbeque and sinigang na tanigue and ripe mangoes and red watermelons. Zambales is famous for its sweet and delicious mangoes. After dinner, we went back to our cabanas and drank the night away.

Napping time for me and adrian

Woke up early the next day, 6:30 to be exact which is very unusual for me when there is no work but today is different. We need to catch the morning sun before it become hazardous to the skin. As we got out of our cabanas, our neighbor "tita Beth" which we eventually learned was the sister-in-law of the owner of the resort offered us some delicious mocha coffee before going to the beach. And we had the chance to play with her beloved pet named Chow-chow (a male Shih Tzu). He is so cute I want to take him home. The beach is calling my name! We swam, laughed, played, sunbathed, took pictures and ate. Around 9 a.m. we headed back to our cabanas, had breakfast and took a shower then played some pool. The Boys beat us this time. Lunch was again superb! We had sinigang na hipon, inihaw na pusit, inihaw na tulingan, enchaladang mangga at talong and fresh ripe mangoes.

I can't get enough of Chow-Chow. He's so cute!

Don't you just love the beach? I know I do!

Around 3 p.m. Adrian’s cousin, Kuya Noel dropped by the resort to deliver some drinking water for us. We then went to Adrian’s grandparents house to meet some relatives. Nancy and Lance tagged along with us to look for an ATM machine. After visiting his relatives and eating ice cream and maja blanca, we went to the bus terminal to check out the schedules of departure to Manila. We then went to another church in Iba before heading to the wet market to buy food for tomorrow’s breakfast and bought mangoes for "pasalubong" for our families at home. After another hearty dinner, we strolled along the beach while puffing our cigarettes and danced below the cloudless sky and twinkling stars. That was fun! We then went back to our cabanas and drank some red wine courtesy of Maricor.

The San Agustine Church in Iba, Zambales.

Our third and last day in Zambales. Lazily, I woke up and had breakfast then we headed to the beach for our last dipping. After taking a bath, we finally had our halo-halo that Nancy and I have been craving for, ever since we arrived here. And around 11:30 we checked out and took our last minute group picture and headed to the bus terminal. It was such a fun trip especially since this is the first out of town trip that Nancy and I had after graduating from high school… and of course with our respective Bebes :) ‘Till our next trip!

Finally! we had our most craved for halo-halo.

Nancy and I on our way to the check-out counter

Click here for more photos of our trip in Iba, Zambales,Philippines.

Iba here I come

I’m blogging right now while I wait for 11 p.m. this is the departure time of our bus going to Iba, Zambales. I’m so excited to go to this trip for this is my first time in Iba, Zambales. I’ve been to Olongapo (southern part of Zambales) but I’ve never been to Iba, which is the northern part of the said province. I’m also looking forward to the resort where we are going to stay.. others said that the beaches there are not as good as the beaches in the Southern part of the country but others said that the beaches there are nice as well... so what’s the real score? I have to see it to believe it. Whatever the beach will be like, I’m sure to have fun since I’ll be with my fiancé, my high school friend Nancy and her boyfriend Lance.

I promise to take lots of picture from this trip so I can blog and share it with you guys. So expect a 3 day hiatus. I’ll be back on Sunday.

Dressed up for Maielle's Debut

Seems like every time Maya's family cooks up a party... The A-holics always dress up for the event :) It's Maya's baby sister Maielle's Debut party yesterday at the Holiday Inn Galleria. Next dress up party will be ... my wedding.. if no more impromptu parties in between.

Top L-R : Adrian, Shiena, Maya, Kimchi and Fritz.
Bottom L- R: Baet, Kim, Mishy and Ethan (Fritz's nephew).

midnight sale!

Midnight sale! This is the one reason that can make me miss my yoga class. We'll aside from having the monthly (.) We're afraid that we might be too relaxed to shop if we do our shopping after the class. So at 7pm the shopaholics made their way to the stores. I went to a shop called "Nothing but Water", where they sell all beach things from swimwear to flip-flops to bags and accessories. I fitted this white 2-piece halter swimsuit but unfortunately it does not fit me and they no longer have other sizes available.... this is divine providence. It was not meant for me to buy. So we went to other shops and I was able to buy 3 casual tops from Kashieca and 2 tees from Giordano all at discounted price. Happy happy happy shopper I am... I also bought 2 dangling earrings, one for Maielle's party and the other for our beach trip on next week.

When I arrived home I took my purchases out of their bags and fit them all :D I also fitted my out-fit for the party on Sunday so I can see how it will look like with my new earrings.. Hahaha! It fits perfectly. I'm ready to party.

a boss free day

Its Thursday movie-date day again and excited to see my bebe after office. Another reason to rejoice about is that our boss is out of town for an event until Sunday. Yahuhoo! 2 days of boss free office and we are all looking forward to it. During lunch break, my officemates and I headed to the stores in the mall to check out some stuff for the beach. Me, Adrian and my friend and her boyfriend will be heading to Iba, Zambales next week. A northern province here in the Philippines which is about 3 hours drive from Manila. Anyway, we found this jelly flip-flops that are so cute and fashionable in the beach. I bought 1 in blue, which matches my swimsuit. I also looked for some earrings for the trip and something that will go nicely with my get up for Maielle’s Debut Party on Sunday but to no avail. I hope I'll have some luck tomorrow on the Midnight Sale. Yesterday, I bought this cute blue strapless top with sequences on them. Which goes very well with my blue and white stripe skirt that I’ll be wearing to the party. Now, I just need a white bag to complete my wardrobe. Which Baet gladly offer to lend me hers. Thank God for girlfriends.

Adrian arrived in our office around 6:30pm and we checked the internet on what’s showing in theaters. We wanted to watch Robots but the reviews were not as we expected it… so we watched Bruce Willis’ “Hostage”. The movie didn’t really do well in the box office but the premise of the film is quite good actually and out of the ordinary. Just imagine a hostage situation, which involves a rich family where the Chief of Police’s family was also taken as a hostage to make sure that the chief of Police (Willis) rescues the rich family. And these two hostages are done by 2 different groups and not related to each other. Now that’s a different kind of twist, don’t u think? Its not a great movie and its not bad either. If you’re a Bruce Willis fan this might be a great film since for me it brings back the memories of the Die Hard trilogy that I loved. He is also aging beautifully.

nobody knows it but me

No fireworks, no celebration, nobody even knows it but me. Today marks my 4th year here in this company. Gosh, that long already? My second job and the longest tenure in my career of 6 years. Honestly, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished and what I’ve become. Started as a telemarketer, promoted after a year to a senior post then an account manager during my 3rd year. I’ve come across different types of people, some have been good friends till now, some just stayed in passing, others became my source of inspiration… a few became my reason for staying this long in this company. A very promising company that have a very good vision and mission. A company that I’m proud to be associated with. Then there’s always a BUT.

Reflect on this, (excerpt from an email): "employees leave their managers/boss not the company". I don’t want to elaborate on this. You know what I mean. Maybe this is not always true to some people. But in this company, this is the scenario.

So what’s in store for me this year? I don’t know. I’m at a crossroad…I know what I want, I’m ready to take the risk but the opportunity is not there. I can’t just be contented where I am right now. No way! That’s why my hopes are still high. I hope the road that I’ll choose will not be the road to perdition. But a road to a blissful career.

for the love of ...

Its payday today and the much-anticipated incentive were given today as well. That’s why I opened my very first checking account and deposited all my cash incentive. It’s such an accomplishment for me to have 3 different accounts with my bank. A savings account, multi-earner and a checking account. Though the funds in these accounts are merely for our upcoming wedding, and most of the funds are coming from my fiancé’s pocket (70-30), I hope to keep these accounts active even after our wedding. I’m honest when it comes to money so Adrian has nothing to worry about… I won’t run away with his money…hehehe! Unless I caught him cheating on me (*evil grin*).

Anyway, when I arrived at home, my brother was busy installing our web cam. Our very first that is. Actually, he bought this web cam so that her girlfriend who is working in Macau can see him while they chat… sweet noh? So, my advantage is that I get to use it free of charge :) Calling all my YM buddies… kita kits tayo online.

Me and my brother Dave, testing our new webcam.

Work, TV and A Series of Unfortunate Events

I’m so busy I didn’t even have time to notice that I’ve not written any post in my blog for a week now. Just to give you a rundown of what I’ve been up to:

Monday was all meetings and reports and setting up appointments with clients. Basically all work and no play Monday for me. Met with Kim’s friend who is a photographer and discussed his proposal for my wedding coverage. I have not really decided whom to get but I’m hoping to get my decisions final before April.

Tuesday: I trained newcomer Shayne with some of the companies’ products and services. More work, work and work. Later in the afternoon, our team went to Starbucks and held our meeting there over coffee and Oreo Cheesecake.

Wednesday: GMA-7’s Susan Enriquez visited our office and interviewed our boss for her segment on Job Hunting, since its graduation season already. Today, Google approved my application to Adsense. After reading Fritz's blog on his second paycheck from google, I wanted to upload adsense on my site too. I'm still thinking of re-designing (or not) my site again so it will be more visible. Aside from that, I can’t think of any other significant thing that happened to me so I guess its more work for me. Anyway, I have a yoga class at the end to the day to look forward to.

Thursday: Today its ABS-CBN’s ANC turn to do a segment on Online Recruitment. Cameras are here and there as we continued to do our thing. (like TV cameras are normal sights in the office). I just hope that 7 p.m. will soon be here so I can see my fiancé. It’s our Thursday movie-date day after office. Our friends Varian and Jan join us and went to Rockwell for dinner and movie afterwards. We want to see a relaxing movie so we decided to have some laughs and watched Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. I love the Baudelaire orphans.. Violet with her smart ideas.. She’s like a little MacGyver (an 80’s TV series which I love) and Sunny.. Who wouldn’t love this cute biting kid that talks like a baby but the subtitle of what she really means when she talks was hilarious. Adults and kids would definitely enjoy the humor of Jim Carrey and the (mis) adventures of the Baudelaire children.

Friday: Went to a client call as early as 8 a.m. My presentation went well and hopefully we can close the deal before the holy week. After lunch, we went around the mall and I fitted some clothes to wear from Maielle’s debut (Maya’s youngest sis) next Sunday. I found this fine sleeveless top at forever 21 but I’m having second thoughts …Went to yoga class after office.

Saturday: Stayed at home the whole day. Slept while reading Shopaholic takes Manhattan and when I woke up, I flipped through some wedding magazines for my gown. And tagged those that I like. Hopefully the dressmaker can do justice on the gown. Already 12 midnight but I’m not sleepy yet so went online to see who’s online at Yahoo Messenger… and guess what my good old high school best friend Ellie was online. She’s living in San Jose, CA with husband Brian and I’ve been convincing her to come home for my wedding. I hope Brian will permit her to come and visit, the last time I saw her was 1999 and she was still single then. I’m keeping my fingers crossed :)

Typo Error

Typographical error. Is it really important in this wonderful world of blogging? Some might say that it is and some may say not so much. I’m an OC (obsessive compulsive) when it comes to perfection. I double-check everything. So people type their posts blogger’s new post field, while I write my post initially in ms word and then just cut and paste it in blogger.com for posting. Thus, I can see if I typed the words wrongly right after I wrote them. Blogger has a spelling check of course … I still use that. After I pasted the words I’ve written in ms word, I still double-checked it with Blogger’s spelling check. And after that, I proofread my post just in case I missed out on something. I want my posts to be clear and error free… but of course I’m only human and error is inevitable.

Today I received an email from my friend Claude. The content was familiar and I received this email before. But just wanted to share it with you guys...

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmornatt.

See? Come to think of it, typo error is actually irrelevant since our brain can still understand what we post even if its garbled. We’ll the downside is that you should make sure that the first and last letters of the word is in its correct place so this can work. Nonetheless, I’m still amazed how our brain works.

Thailand Scrapbook: Day Four

 Breakfast at Montien Hotel

Our last day was a more relaxed atmosphere. This is the last time that we’ll enjoy the delicious American/Asian and Continental buffet breakfast at Montien Hotel so we all have our shares of 2nd and 3rd rounds at the buffet table. Foods in Bangkok are delicious. Whether it’s their street food (chicken butt, porkballs, chaa dam yen (iced tea with ground tamarind seed) and bread dipped in a creamy green sauce that I don’t know the name but equally delicious), their fresh fruits or their hot and spicy main courses, it’s guaranteed to be superb! I’m surely going to miss The Pizza Company’s excellent pizza and the authentic taste of Thai cuisines. I guess Thailand captured my heart through my stomach and not to mention my love for shopping. I truly enjoyed discovering Thailand’s culture, their history, the people, and the food. The authentic Thai Massage is like no other; it is a must for every person that lands in this country to experience it.

our home in Bangkok, Montien Hotel

After breakfast, we did some more shots of the hotel and went back to our room to get ready. I have luckily been able to fit everything in my luggage.. Almost. I have to use my backpack to put some of my stuff that can no longer fit in my luggage and a paper bag for some more take homes. I arrived in Bangkok with 1 luggage but I’m leaving with an additional backpack and paper bag :-) At 10:30 a.m. our ride to the airport has arrived. This is it... its good bye for now... but I hope to see it all again soon. In our honeymoon maybe.

our last group shot at Bangkok Int'l Airport

Thailand Scrapbook: Day Three

at the Skytrain after our shopping at Chatuchak

Its shopping time! I usually stay in bed until 11am on a Saturday but this weekend is different since I’m in Bangkok. It’s actually our most awaited day because it’s when the weekend market of Thailand opens its doors to the buying public. Chatuchak is the largest of its type in the world. And it is probably the most diverse. It is over 26 acres and 100,000 square meters in area. It’s so BIG, my feet sore already and we haven’t covered one fourth of the market yet. We went there in groups but eventually lost track of each other. Good thing I was with Baet and Maya and my phone was on roaming so we just sent SMS message to meet up at the Skytrain by 2pm. I bought some of my "pasalubong" there, some dried squid with chili and honey, T-shirts with "Thailand" printed on them, Adrian and my brother’s backpacks. I also bought a fancy ring for myself :-) So many great finds there, anything you can think of buying is there. I also discovered how the Thais are so creative, most of the shirts (for women) are hand painted or have beads on them (all hand made) I even saw this lady painting on a black shirt and selling them for 250 Baht. Some goods are cheap and some are not, you need to bargain if you want to buy the items for less. All sweaty and drained, we head to Mo Chit station to meet our friends. Kimchi and Kim still want to shop so they went to Pratunam and we went back to the hotel and had dinner. Take out some food from KFC and brought it to the hotel. After freshening up and changing into new shirts, we headed to the malls near our hotel, Robinsons and Central. Afterwards we went to MBK again and meet up with Kim and Kimchi who has not yet eaten lunch.

Anna's Cafe, delicious dining in Bangkok

Its already 7:30 and we went to Anna’s Café to eat dinner. A highly recommended restaurant by my friends who already have eaten there. We actually asked personnel from the hotel for directions on how to go to the restaurant but for some reasons we ended up in All Season, which is a condominium. We went inside and asked someone around where the nearest Anna’s Café and luckily a walking distance from where we are there is an Anna's Café. As we enter the building, its seems to be a fine dining restaurant but after looking into the menu the prices are affordable so we went ahead and ordered. We are so excited and eager to taste an authentic Thai food and we didn’t fail our tastes buds because the food was so delicious. I’m definitely going back here in my next visit.

Last minute shopping at Suan-Lum

After filling our stomach with yummy dinner. We continued our shopping spree at Suan-Lum Night Bazaar. Where I did my last minute shopping. I actually bought more stuff here than in Chatuchak. Prices are just the same; you just need to learn how to haggle. And my spiel that worked from me so I can get a big discount is that” I’m leaving tomorrow and I really want to get this for my friend/family back home” and with some sweet innocent smile, they gave in to the price that I haggled for. :-) Some merchants even recognize that we are from the Philippines and when I asked how come they could tell, some said its how we speak and some says how we haggle for the goods…always at 50% or even lower. For me, Thailand is not just a neighboring country rich in culture but a country of great, softspoken people, and a Shopping mecca to all Shopaholic. Becky Bloomwood-Brandon will surely love this country.. right Sofie?

And now the challenge! How to fit all the things that I bought in my luggage and not go over the required limit? Good Luck to all of us!

Thailand Scrapbook: Day Two

 The Ayuthaya Cruise 

After having our hearty all you can eat American/Asian/Continental Buffet breakfast, we are off to our Ayuthaya tour and the river cruise thereafter. Our first stop was the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, built during the Ayuthaya era. The palace is beautifully decorated in both traditional Chinese and European style. It was said to be the Palace where the Royal Family of Thailand stays during the summer. But today, the palace is only used infrequently, and mostly for state occasions rather than as a royal summer residence. The landscape and the houses are truly a beautiful sight to see. We circled the Palace and went inside some of open houses. Kimchi even fed the turtles and the fishes in the pond.

At the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

The Ruins at Wat Maha That

An hour later, we are off to our next destination, the ancient city of Ayuthaya. The former Thai capital for over 400 years, which was the center of trade between Thailand and other countries before it was destroyed. Nowadays the glory and the beauty of the grand palace and Temples in the past vanished leaving merely a glimpse of ruins, despite this it is a good reflection of the past. Our second stop was Wat Maha That. Over 600 years old, Wat Maha That was the heart and soul of the Ayuthaya people. It was almost completely destroyed by the Burmese during Thai-Burmese war. Then we went to Wat Na Phra Mane: which remains in perfect conditions, as it was used as the Burmese headquarters. This is the only temple that they didn’t destroy. Next we went to Wat Lokayasutharam, which has a mysterious past, because its origins are unknown. The temple enshrines a Largest Reclining Buddha Image, which was built during the early period of the Ayuthaya Region.

With the River Sun Cruise Captain

Afterwards, we depart for the River Sun Cruise, at the river sun Traditional Thai style pier at Wat Pho Taeng Nua. Lunch was already being served when we embark. Food was ok, I guess I’m to tired to notice what I ate. One thing that I remembered is that the fruits were delicious. Their guava is so sweet as well as the pomelo. After Lunch we just seated there and enjoyed the view but after a while to chit-chatting, I was getting sleepy and I did actually sleep with my head slumped on the table. And so at last, its time for a coffee break and we’ll be off the boat soon. But before we head the dock, we went to the deck and took some pictures.

We went back to the hotel to freshen up from our day’s tour and our guides picked us up to get a Thai massage, which we all needed after a tiring day. I was so excited to have my first authentic Thai massage. We had our massage at Body Relax, for 300 Baht you can already enjoy a two-hour massage. And they also give you jasmine tea to drink before finishing the massage. My masseuse, Pau was very kind and did a great job on my back and thigh. When I go back to Bangkok, I’ll surely visit this place again.

After our relaxing Thai Massage

Dinner at Suan-Lum Night Bazaar with L-R: 

KimChi, Tinette, Maya, Myself, Kim, Raffy and Baet

We then went to Suan-Lum Night Bazaar to start our shopping for “pasalubong” to our friends and families at home. For some reason, I was too relaxed and not in the mood for shopping. I want to go home and sleep. But I just went along with them. I just bought a string pants with elephant print. That’s it, while the other have plastic bags, left and right. We ate dinner around 11p.m. in one of the open restaurants in Suan-Lum. And the shopping didn’t end their, as we saw some stores are not yet close, we continued our walk around the bazaar. We left the night bazaar around 12:30 am and head to our hotel. We need to recharge for the whole day of shopping tomorrow.

Thailand Scrapbook: Day One

I’m back from Bangkok and excited to share with you our experience. The humid temperature didn’t stand in our way to experience Bangkok’s day and night life. Due to time constraints, I’m only able to do a post about our first day in Thailand. I will post succeeding days when time permits… I also miss my daily blog reads. I’ll try to cover as much reading as possible. Please bear with me my blogger friends.

Day 1:

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Left the house around 6:15 a.m. My brother drove me to the airport and we picked up Kim (my hotel roommate) along the way at the nearby gasoline station. We arrived in the airport at 7:30 am. Kimchi, Baet and Riggay are already waiting for us in the entrance. We waited for the others to arrive and finally around 8 a.m., we decided to check in. I presented my tempo miles card that I printed out… ahhh, my first 1,300+ miles :) Anyway, while waiting for boarding, we talked about our itinerary and what we plan to buy there. Oh we are all so excited. Winnie was talking on the phone most of the time... Hehehe, I guess she’s taking advantage of her last few hours in Manila to talk to JR. By 10:15, we aboard PAL Airbus 330 and I was seated beside Kim and Kimchi. Food was ok, movie shown was “Shall We Dance” but I slept through half of the film, I was so sleepy … waking up at 5 a.m. is not my cup of tea.

at Wat Trimitr with the Golden Buddha

It was a 2 hour and 45 minutes flight, and since Bangkok is –1 hour of Manila’s local time, we arrived in Bangkok around 12:30 (BKK local time). BIA is similar to Ninoy Aquino Int’l Airport. But what greeted us was an unexpected, not so pleasant smell something that I can’t describe.. I don’t know where it was coming from.. But anyway, as soon as I’m out of immigration, I’m just filled with excitement! We met our tour guides at the airport and accompanied us to our Hotel, Montien Bangkok. After bringing our luggage to our rooms, we then headed to our city tour. First we visited Wat Trimitr, famous for its world's largest Golden Buddha. The three-meter tall and 5.5 ton Buddha image, made of solid gold during the Ayuthaya period. Next stop was Wat Intharawihan (sometimes spelled Wat Indravihan) is located on Wisut Kasat Road on the northern edge of Banglamphu. This temple is known for a huge standing Buddha image called Luang Pho To. It’s about 4 pm and all of us are so hungry. There were some street food stalls outside the temple so we stopped by there before going to our next destination. My first Thai street food was a grilled chicken butt dipped in chili sauce… yummy but ohhh.. sooo hottttt!! Also tasted a porkball dipped in sweet and spicy sauce… a bottle of ice cold water will come in handy during this time.

Shopping at TOKYU in Ma Boon Krong

Our next stop was the Gems Jewelry Shop, where we saw how their precious emerald gems are collected, cut into shape and designed into jewelries. I bought a pair of earrings and a pendant for my brother’s girlfriend. We were dropped off at MBK for dinner and ate at the Pizza Company. We ordered the seafood pizza (thin crust)- which my fiancé recommended, and an all meat pizza ( thick crust) with some seafood pasta and spinach lasagna. And what a dinner that was! I’ve never tasted a pizza that good (I’m still savoring every bite even as I write this entry). A highly recommended place for you to eat if you’re in Thailand. After dinner, its shopping time! We went around MBK and we ended up in Tokyu where Naturalizer was way cheaper than here in Manila. And guess what, before leaving the airport told myself I’m not gonna buy a pair of shoes, but when I left MBK, I was holding 2 boxes of Naturalizer. Shoppaholics are on a roll!

Kim and Me after our Patpong experience

Went back to the hotel to refresh ourselves and around 11:30pm we went to explore Thailand’s nightlife at the infamous Patpong. We were lured by this guy to enter a bar with showgirls for only 100Baht. But when we got there.. and after giving us sodas and beer.. we were being charged 300Baht! What a modus operandi! We already drank our drinks, so we didn’t bother to argue since we were not in our territory. The girls were on stage and dancing with no cloths on and showing off things that their pussy can do (pardon my words). Of course our male companions were having so much fun who were seated in front of the stage... while we, the girls were giggling in the corner. I don’t say I’m culture shocked but had some realization that this is hard work for these girls. I’m both in awe and pity to those women who can’t get a more decent job other than this. Anyway, after an hour, the boys were still enjoying themselves so we left the bar around 12:30 a.m. while they stayed until 3a.m.

... to be continued.

xoxo,
S