Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Philippines Trip - Unang Hataw


day 1: (1/12)

a crappy photo of me trying to be
discreet while enjoying the hubby's
business class seat from JFK-HKG-JFK
The plane landed. It was a 16-hour straight flight from JFK airport to Hong  Kong then another 1.5 hours from Hong Kong to Manila. The husband booked a flight from Cathay. He booked 4 premium economy and one business class. Premium economy is just a slightly better version of economy. Wider seats, bigger leg room, better food, priority boarding, champagne welcome drink, toiletries and better headphones. Not bad. The hubby has long legs (he's 6-foot tall) and he hates flying and he really he won't survive the 16 hrs long flight so that's why he just sucked it up and booked for a business class even if it costs a lot more. I, on the other hand, was still able to enjoy it because we did rotation, haha. Once in a while we would exchange seats so I could be horizontal and catch an hour or two of business class zzZZs, lol.






flying premium economy with Cathay


Then my friend Deng picked us up at the airport. Terminal 1. I really wish they start using the better airports for international flights. Terminal 1 is just embarrassing. Dark and old.  Anyway, I rented a van from my friend Deng and he took care of our transportation while we're in Manila.

the dining area and living roomthe fully equipped kitchen

Our first stop was at the Ascott hotel. We love this hotel. I got lucky to have chanced upon their New Member, New Year promo. I was able to book their 2 bedroom suite for half the price. This hotel is great. The breakfast is excellent. The customer service is excellent. The location is excellent. It has fully equipped kitchen.

apartment hotel right at the Glorietta mall


The hubby and I were busy the whole time during the first few days meeting our wedding suppliers and doing our prenuptial photoshoot/videoshoot and because of that my sister-in-law is left at the hotel most of the time. But because Ascott is right at the Glorietta mall the sister-in-law can just wander around without me having to worry about her getting bored or getting mugged. We will surely book this hotel again on our next vacation to the Philippines, hopefully I'll chance upon another good deal.


day 2: (1/13)

We had to meet with our couturier that day. I bought my wedding gown here in the U.S. and just hand-carried it to the Philippines so the couturier is really just for the hubby's barong and the female entourage's gowns.

But before we left for the couturier that day, I took them to SM's food court. What better way to introduce my foreign guests to local food other than the mall food court. We just ordered food from "Sizzlers" and I ordered siomai and shark's fin from Hen Lin.

The SIL didn't come with us to the couturier because she said she had to do some shopping because she forgot some stuff that she needs for the wedding. So it was just me, the hubby and some of the wedding entourage who were scheduled to pick up their barong/dresses. After that we picked up the SIL to go to the Mall of Asia for dinner. Why Mall Of Asia? The hubby wanted to try the Japanese place with a conveyor belt (see video).



The hubby and the SIL marveled at how nice the malls in the Philippines are and they were even amused by the MOA's (mall of asia) parking lot. If you didn't know it yet, they have sensors on their parking lot with lights to indicate if a spot is occupied or not. Which is really very cool because all you have to do is look at the tiny lights suspended on the ceiling and you will know from wherever you are at the parking lot where an available spot is without having to go through each and every row in the parking lot. We even took a video of the hubby going in and out of an empty parking spot to test how to trip the sensor. The video looked stupid but it was actually funny, lol.


dampa feast
day 3: (1/14)

I was initially planning to take them to Tagaytay to do a "Wellness Tour" from Jeepney tour but my SIL wasn't in the mood so we went to Greenhills instead. I need to buy something for the female entourage. The SIL was amused by the place and the variation of unique items for sale that she asked me if we can come back so she could buy some souvenirs. She was just taking it all in that day and didn't buy anything because she said she's getting overwhelmed.

Then we went to Seaside for some "Dampa" experience in the afternoon. We went to the branch along Macapagal Blvd. They got to see what the Philippine wet market looks like. They witnessed how I haggled, lol. We bought, our lapu-lapu (for sweet and sour dish), lobster (thermidor), marinated liempo (bbq-ed), green mango (enchillada). shrimp (buttered).

They liked the food. The hubby specially liked the lobster thermidor and the SIL liked the sweet and sour lapu-lapu and bbq-ed liempo.


Then we went to some other malls including  Serendra, Bonifacio High Street and the Venice Piazza. We went to The Venice Piazza because the hubby is really interested in owning a condo there because he likes the Canal/Gondola concept. I, on the other hand wasn't too thrilled. I don't like a condo in the city, I want a barong-barong by the beach, lol.


day 4: (1/15)

We went to the Diocese of Paranaque for our Canonical Interview and some other church paperwork. Then went to eat at Dad's buffet for lunch. Nothing too exciting on day 4. Just all work (ie: wedding-related errands).




taking a break from the prenup photoshoot
(at Fernbrook Gardens)
 day 5: (1/16)

Nothing. Just trial hair and make up and prenuptial photo shoot and video shoot. Boring.



Vivere lobby


day 6: (1/17)

I took the hubby and SIL to my favorite cheap place where I get my foot spa. It's at the MRT Ayala station and it's calle Freshaire. I had to do some highlights for my hair (as suggested by my wedding hair stylist) so I figured I should make them experience foot spa while we're there and they loved it! And they were surprised how cheap it is (less than $5). I told them I do foot spa almost every payday when I was still in the Philippines but stopped doing it when I moved to the U.S. because it's just too expensive.

SIL with her foot soaked on spa suds


After that I just did some shopping (mostly spoofed shirts from T-shirt project) and then we changed hotel (Vivere). This is the hotel for the wedding preps. We can stay a day more at Ascott but we don't want the next batch of guests to change hotels 2 days in a row. We chose this hotel because it's close to Fernbrook Gardens, our wedding venue. Plus, we got big discounts at this place because of the endorsement from Fernbrook. We got the rooms for half the price. We booked 5 Executive Suites and 1 Regal suite (bridal suite).

unfortunately, this iphone photo doesn't give justice
at how awesome our view is during breakfast



We love this hotel too. The view at their restaurant (Skylounge) is worth every penny. Having breakfast at the Skylounge is awesome because of the good food, good service and very very excellent view (we always sit by the pool, overlooking Laguna de Bay). We like having dinner here too because of the live music and beautiful view of the city.

Then come late at night time we picked up our Bestman at the airport. The SIL's husband backed out and decided not to come. His loss not ours.








day 7: (1/18)

I arranged an Intramuros tour from Jeepney tours for my foreign guests but they were all busy that day and can't provide a tour guide for us. I really want them to do an Intramuros tour and there's no other day to do that so I made sure I find an alternative and that's when I discovered the White Knights Segway tour. It was a last minute booking and I'm so glad they were able to accommodate my guests (I wasn't with them, it's my relax day, being it the day before the wedding). They had a blast and my SIL can't stop talking about it (even til now). They went around Intramuros on a Segway. It's funny though, because there's a Segway tour in Philadelphia too and of all places they can try the Segway it was in the Philippines that they got to try it for the first time.




day 8: (1/19)

The wedding day. Just some boring wedding stuff. You can view some of the details from our wedding blog if you're curious.


Next part, the real tours. Villa Escudero, Tagaytay, Corregidor, Manila Bay sunset cruise, El Nido, Greenhills, staying at Resorts World. Stay tuned!


2 comments:

  1. Best wishes! I miss the Philippines too. I just realized I sort of "know" you online for years now, since Makati days.

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  2. Nice reading this post! Ako rin, I want a barong-barong by the beach. Or live on a private island! I didn't know about the Japanese place with food on a conveyor belt. Aliw! I learned new things from this. Thanks!

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